Story by Hunter Baughman | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Coming to you this week from the comfort of my recliner, listening to the kids play while Andrea works on dinner. Life is good.
As I told you last week, I had a to-do list that needed to be accomplished. Thankfully, I believe I crossed everything off that list. Reels freshly spooled, tackle reorganized and loaded in the boat, electronics installed, new wheels and tires on the truck, jerseys ordered and most importantly, the truck and boat are both wrapped.
I’ve been extremely busy the last few weeks trying to finish everything up. It’s a stressful time. I’m always worried everything won’t get finished, yet it always does. There’s a life lesson in there – don’t stress over things outside of your control, and control the things you can.
The to-do list was done just in time for the first tournament of the year to kick off on Saturday. It was a nasty, rainy day with a few torrential downpours. This was a team tournament format, but I fished it alone for two reasons. First, I was going to lean heavily on forward-facing sonar. This is a tougher chore with two people in the boat. Second—and probably the main reason—no one else wanted to fish in such nasty weather!
Despite the less than favorable conditions, I had the best outcome possible. The water was cold and the bites were few, but the quality was there. I caught 13.83 with a 4.37 big fish on a lake that anything over 12 pounds is usually considered good. That was enough to win first place and big bass … and one of my closest friends and his dad finished up right behind me in second.
Some days nothing goes right and then other days nothing can go wrong. Today was the latter. Those days don’t happen as much as I’d like but I sure am thankful when they do. Saturday was a great start to a busy tournament season. Hopefully this was the precursor of a successful year.
This coming weekend I’ve signed up for the BFL on Lake Ouachita. I’m not really a fan of that lake but I figured it would be another step towards getting into tournament shape like we talked about last week. The weather is shaping up to be pretty interesting. A major cold front bringing a snow/ice mix and single digit lows is sure to confuse the fish. And for me living over 100 miles north of the lake, I expect the travel getting down there will be a challenge.
I’m so glad this season has finally started. The prep and planning tends to wear on you. Now the fun begins! The next two months will be a whirlwind, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I look forward to sharing how the BFL went with you next week. Until then, stay warm and catch some fish!
Hunter Baughman – Angler Profile
