28177, RE: Chris Zaldain wins 2005 Clear Lake Open Posted by Chris, Tue May-17-05 04:24 PM
I wasn't sure how this split field was gonna work because of the weigh-ins being divided. But now that all is said done, I love it. It forces guys to find fish BOTH days instead of just sitting on one pattern in one area for the entire two days. I started day one in Lucerne racing Chris Z out of the marina. }( A hint of things to come. I started throweing my own crankbaits and a buzzbait cuz I can't resist 'em. Nada. Later I flipped a grove of trees with a beav and got a couple bites but couldn't sink a hook. Later I resorted to the dreaded 4" M.M., wacky rigged on a dropshot. It resulted in 3 fish for 5 lb 9 oz. Once we discovered what was going on in the Keys I knew the guys going to Lucerne were gonna have it tough. The wildcard though, was the size of the fish in the north end. Someone could pull up on a dock and find it loaded with fat chicks. Tourney over. I woke up feeling really good. I've been fishing well this year. The weather looks like it will be a bigger advantage for me than I thought. Yeah, I'm friggin' STOKED. Again Chris Z. and I race off leading the pack of kickboats & tubes into the Keys. He was the guy to beat. I found a great looking key and stuck a limit with Senkos by 7am and a double limit by 8 but was only able to cull once. Then for some strange reason, I never got bit again. I finished with 10 and some change for the day and over 16 pounds for second place.
It's really nice to finally add a small trophy of my own to my grandfathers collection of tourney trophies from the 70's.
Chris
I think I'm gonna go up to Clear Lake again this week and practice some sight fishin. You KNOW it's gonna be good! :7
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