I Signed up for the Aug 19 - 26 tourney on Saturday night. I figured I'd get the boys up Sunday, and we'd hit a few of my roadside spots and see if I could get a lunker. Well, we did, and it was brutally hot and humid by 7:30 AM. I hooked one at our 3rd spot, and it spit the hook as I raised it out of the water.Probably only about a 1 1/2 pounder. Other than that.....NOTHING. My boys were spending more time in the truck w/the AC on than they were fishing, so I knew it was time to go. I figured that was my only shot because my wife and I were supposed to go to the beach for the day to watch the East Coast Surfing Championships. My wife said she was taking the kids to her moms and when she got back we would leave. I decided to fish the lake behind my house in the meantime. While fishing my lake, a mean storm moved in, so I headed in as well, still....No Fish At that point we knew we weren't going to the beach because the forecast called for more of the same all day. At about 5 P.M the thunder faded a little, I decided there was still hope, and hopped in the truck and went to another neighborhood spot. This spot is my honey-hole. I can park and walk to the end of a small creek w/ rip-rap and a deep hole where a drain enters.Or, I can walk across the street and hit a small lake that connects to the creek Via drainpipe.After trying the creek with no success, i figured I'd try the lake. The lake is a figure 8 w/ one end about 1/3 the size of the other. There is a long sandy point with a sharp drop where they meet. I threw a 6-8' diving crankbait around it 2 days before, and landed about an 18 incher. I threw the crank a couple times, casting out as far as I could, and working it back up the slope. On one cast, I noticed a fresh willow leaf on one of the trebles. I figured there was a limb or something there, so I decided to throw a Texas-rigged artificial worm. The worm never hit the bottom.........WHA M!.....I knew it was a nice fish,maybe even a $ fish, and I had a lot of line out(about 25yds). That fish was DANCING his tail off! Having that much line out allowed me to enjoy the best fight I've ever had w/ a largemouth. My heart was racing, and all I could think was "Please Don't lose this fish!". The point I was fishing has a wooden bulkhead that ends and the earth has eroded back a little beyond it, and is lower to the water. Well, I had already decided I was NOT losing this fish, so when I got it about 10 yds out and it cut to the right, taking my line dangerously close to the end of the bulkhead, naturally, I jumped knee-deep into the lake. right into the slipperiest clay-mud ever."I am NOT losing this fish!"...... I musta looked HILLARIOUS as I scrambled back up the bank with one arm, all the while keeping tension on the rod with the other. At that point the fish had tired, Thank GOD!and I was able to get it to the bank and land it. When I measured it, sure enough, it was 21 1/2 inches long, at the time, good enough for 3rd on the leaderboard.It was my 1st tournament, and even though I was bumped from the leaderboard, I was damn proud of just getting a fish worth registering. That sure made for one hell of a Sunday.
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