AN EL GRANDE WEEKEND

The phrase timing is everything turned out to be true to the word this past weekend. I recently accepted a field staff position with El Grande Lures.  I received my first order from El Grande a few days before my first Bass tournament of the year.

The New York B.A.S.S. Federation held the first tournament on Cayuga Lake in union Springs New York. Bass Pro Shop hosted the event. When Bass Pro hosts an event you know it's going to be good, and it was.


204 anglers in total, trying to get their share of the $22,650 purse.  The series is points based, after the three tournaments the top point getters move on to the New York State Championship, which could ultimately lead to a spot in the Bassmaster Classic.  There was no shortage of top notch anglers in this event as they came from all across New York.  Anglers from Connecticut and Pennsylvania also came to compete. The lone Canadian in the event was me,from what I was told.

Due to the large amount of boats, blastoff was divided into four groups.  My boater (Mike Kozell) and I were in the first group and we blasted off at 5:30 am.  I slept in my car near the launch and I maybe had two hours sleep. between the Mosquitos and the heat there wasn't too much shut eye. A couple other anglers slept there as well in their vehicles. We had our own little tail gate party. I definitely enjoyed the fishing stories that were shared that night.  Oneida Rob and the two boys from Massena New York  were great company.

The forecast for the day was heavy winds and for once the weather person was bang on. Mike had some spots on the lake but we couldn't fish them because of the high winds, so we headed to dead center of the lake. The lake was a complete mess, dirty water with weed clumps and debris everywhere.


An early morning photo of the lake. The wind picked up as the day went on.
My boater picked up five fish in the first couple hours and was starting to cull. By 10:30 I had one Bass and a Pickerel.  My only Bass was caught on an El Grande Tube. The heavy wind made it tough to cast and control a Senko, I tried and had no luck. Jerk Baits and Crank Baits were getting buried in weeds so I went back to the El Grande Tube.

We were getting blasted by the waves at some points the waves were 3-4 feet. The photo above shows my boater Mike getting blasted by the waves. They rolled over the boat on some occasions, It was refreshing though as the temperature was hovering close to 100 degrees.

My day really started around 11:00 am when the El Grande Tube caught fire.



I didn't really have a pattern, we had a drift sock out but is was still a fast drift. I was tossing out at all angles from the back of the boat and the Bass weren't slamming the tube, they were grabbing and going.


In the next hour or so I caught my five and culled four more times.


Mike also culled several times. In total we boated around twenty Bass.  Neither one of us lost a fish and we both did a great job netting each others fish.

The drive to the weigh in was a rough one, but we made it in time.

I ended up finishing 2nd place for the non boaters. I missed 1st place by about 1 1/2 ounces. It was close but I was very pleased with second place in a tournament of this caliber.



All my fish were caught on an El Grande Tube.


That is my set up. A Texas Rig with no leader. I always go straight up with no leader.  I am spooled with 20 lb red Power Pro. It's probably a set up that some wouldn't recommend, I like it because I don't have line breaks. The El Grande tube has a hard head, which makes it great for this set up. The whole day I only threw one tube into the garbage. These baits are very durable.


Bass Pro 3/0 red hooks with Bass Pro 3/8 oz tungsten weights.  If your looking to save some money The XPS series from Bass Pro is cost effective and durable. I've used XPS for the last few years with no problems.


The El Grande Sunfish Potion was the final touch to my set up. The night before while visiting the launch I noticed some Sunfish around the docks and I thought of the Sunfish potion.  I only put a couple drops inside the tube. The Bass seemed to enjoy it.

Currently I am qualified for the New York State Championship after the first tournament. I know with two more to go it's not going to be easy to qualify.  I'll just keep working on my game and hope for the best.

I have to give a shout out to my boater Mike Kozell. Thanks Mike I appreciate the time on the boat and I couldn't have asked for a better draw. 

Please visit the El Grande website and check out the great products.

http://www.elgrandelures.com/index.html

Also join the Facebook group to keep up to date.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/El-Grande-Lures/217652448244798

For complete coverage and results for the New York B.A.S.S. Federation.
http://www.nybassfed.com/