The Califor
Do we love to hate it or hate t
I
n the world of bass fishing dreams, those of
us that live on the Sacramento – San Joaquin
River Delta are often considered the” lucky
ones”. With one of the nation’s best bass fisheries at our fingertips, the opportunity for a 30
fish day, a double digit bass, 30-pound limits and
personal best benchmarks are a prospect on any
given day on the water.
The unknown, the anticipation, the possibility …
the thought that any given cast can catch the fish of
a lifetime… that is what we love about our California
Delta.
The unknown turning into knowing you have
been skunked, the anticipation turning into a day of
reeling in shorts, the possibility that you are going
home without a check, without a limit, without a fish…
the thought that after hundreds of casts in a day you
will be back at the launch ramp without a catch… that
is what we hate about the California Delta.
We love it; we hate it. We praise it; we curse it. It
makes us bass fishing rockstars in the industry or
even in our
own mind; however, just as quickly it
can crash
down upon us and crush our
ego to
shattered bits.
As I moved into my relationship
with my home water, the Delta, it was very giving, the perfect symbiotic partner, a reciprocal experience. The bass were bountiful, the searches were short, I couldn’t choose a bait that didn’t bring a bite.
Being the ultra-competitive person I am, I knew this was a sign. I knew this meant my husband and I should immediately immerse ourselves into competition fishing. Why not? We were so awesome.
This developed into our first season as tournament anglers.
One brand new bass boat … check.
Two ginormous trips to the tackle shop … check.
Three team tournaments entered … check.
Two cashes and two additional big fish checks later, I knew we rocked. Hello, Hall of Fame… we are on our way.
enter season two. A totally different story began to evolve. There were no big fish, no cashes, sometimes no limits; still other times, no keepers at all. My first competitive year was so blinded by love of my home water that I didn’t even realize I could catch a short, because I never had. In year two, I became up- close and personal with a Wil-E-Go.
Call year one beginners luck if you must; however, what I know now, is that the honeymoon period between the Delta and I was over. It wasn’t giving anything up easy anymore. As team fishermen, we were going have to work hard to find our fish.
They were not going to jump into the boat
anymore.
Like a marriage in distress that must
seek counseling, our relationship with
the Delta needed some outside help. We
took advice. We practiced every minute we
weren’t at work. We got off our fave bait/ fave technique comfort zone. We gave up most poker games to fish. I gave up the NFL ticket to spend Sunday on the boat with the games only on Sirius radio.
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