I participated in the Mariner Sails Women’s Only Kayak Fly
Fishing Tournament held at Lake Athens.
Cody and I spent the night, since we were awakening at 4:30 to check-in
at 5:30 and be on the water at 6:00.
However, prior to going to the tourney, we assembled my birthday
present, a Malone Kayak Trailer!!! It
was something I really had been wanting, as it is easier to haul, load, and I
can operate it by myself. We had a good
time assembling it, until we ran out of shade.
It is a little hot with no relief scheduled for the tourney—ugh!
We got out on the water, and I fished some areas that looked
fishy but just weren’t producing. So I
headed to our Sunfish spot in the hopes of finding some Largemouths. No such luck, but I kept working my way down,
and eventually, I found a nice topwater bite.
I caught one Largemouth, but then the topwater action died down. I made my way all around the lake fishing to shorelines and eventually ending up at the dam. I caught some really nice Sunfish weighing just under a pound, but I needed weedguards on my fly, as the grass was out of control!
I placed 7th with my one bass, and even though
the tournament ended officially at 2:00 pm, ladies started heading in early due
to the heat. I fished up until 2:00 and
had not realized the announcements were already beginning, because I was the
only who didn’t show up early. Come to
find out, most fish were caught prior to noon with three caught
afterwards. Big Bass, a hare over 10
pounds!! was caught around mid-morning under a dock in all kinds of grass and
brush. I ended up winning a pair of
gloves and a cap. All-in-all, it was
fishing, and I did catch fish, just not enough of the right kind. Glad to take a break from school, fish, get
out of the heat, and head for home.
