A normal day of fishing is relaxing and good for the soul. Tournament fishing is the exact opposite. It is intense and nerve wracking. Each and every knot, every chunk of bait, every gear in the reel plays a pivotal role in the success or failure of the mission. What is worse is that everything could be perfect - knots, leaders, baits and hooks - but that perfect fish just never shows up. And that is how it went for our hosts at the 2006 ASA Big Bass Open in Cape May.

   Tournament fishing is a whole different world. It is fraught with many “I shouldas” and “maybe I couldas”, but the bottom line is that the team with the biggest fish wins. Painstakingly choosing a spot, effectively prefishing, and even a few prayers are all on the tournament anglers’ checklist, but in reality success has more to do with being at the right place at the right time than with anything else. But that situation is the most elusive in fishing!

    The American Striper Association (ASA) is a tournament trail with events ranging from New England to Virginia. Each stop along the way pits the best striper anglers in the world against one another, often in very unfamiliar waters, making this a very challenging trail for sure.

   Our hosts plan for this competition was to stick to what they know. In this two-day tournament, day one was a bit challenging with a strong Northwest breeze and with Delaware Bay waters the color of freshly shaken Yoo-Hoo. Like most every big bass fisherman on the bay, Bill and Darren began the day with a cooler full of fresh caught bunker. The plan was simple, to deploy bunker heads and chunks right on the bottom, using fishfinder rigs armed with 10/0 Gamakatsu octopus-style hooks. The hope was that the ever-elusive 50 pounder would take one and run. And while the “50” did not show up to the dance, our hosts did manage a 27.5 on day one. A respectable fish, but nothing compared the 57-pound beast that was weighed in earlier in the day.

   The good news was that with a sunrise comes a new sense hope, and day two conditions were much different. The strong wind of the day before was replaced by a gentle, variable puff. Strategizing, our host decided to move up the bay in the hopes of finding that bigger fish. In their rationalization, the 18 teams ahead of them could, in theory, come up relatively empty, and if they could weigh in a 40-plus pounder, they would be in the money.

   So day two began with the drop of the anchor. Again the freshest bunker in the bay was lowered to the bottom, and the game was on. The first run never came tight, and during a tournament day a missed fish is fodder for an overactive imagination. After some composure, the second runoff came tight, and a very strange proportioned striper hit the deck. The fish was bleeding profusely, so it was going to the box, but this portly bass was the biggest bunker-gut fish our hosts had ever seen! Upon cleaning, this pig had a multitude of whole bunker, and bunker parts jammed into its stomach, and still wanted a bite of Darren’s bait!

   The day finally ended with a high teens fish for weigh in that placed our hosts in the top third of the field of 50 teams. Not bad considering they were up against the best on the East Coast.

   Tournament fishing truly adds something to a day of fishing. If you get a chance, this season, get a crew of friends, enter a tournament, and have an intense nerve wracking day, but never forget there is a chance you could win, and that is enough to keep you coming back for more!