Tournament Report from Team NuCanoe member Kenny Ratliff
.jpg)
Recently, I had the pleasure of fishing a local
fundraiser tournament with one of my sons. This was the second year for
me and third for him. Due to business travel the first year it was
held, I wasn’t able to participate but his mother contributed her
limited fishing knowledge in my absence. In spite of that, he took 1st Place that year which you’ll see is a significant part of the story.
Last
year we both fished from the Frontier. It was one of our first outings
and we had a few things to learn about watching your back cast, optimum
storage of gear, and most important – what gear not to bring! We
missed first place by a few ounces but determined we would return.
.jpg)
more comfortable and stable for that length of time.
He stood often, while I remained seated. But the stability of the
Frontier allowed me to swing my legs over the side without throwing him
off-balance. In that fashion we were able to fish water to the front
and back just like you would on a big bass boat. The coolest action of
the day occurred when we both placed unplanned casts within a foot of
each other, then both of us immediately set the hooks. Our first exact
double in all the time we’ve fished together! Mine kept and his didn’t,
but we were both pumped!
Once
back at the weigh-in, the winning boat only brought three fish to the
stand. However, one of them was a little over 3 pounds. We weighed
four fish that were good enough for 3rd Place, as the 2nd
Place finishers weighed the maximum five fish. The heartbreaker was
knowing we both lost a keeper apiece that might have given them a run
for that spot!
.jpg)
