Jmax, Nick, Bass, CFF report, 4/29/17, CCSM

[Jmax]

I should have known it was going to be a poor one for us when we got there about 10 after 6:00 and it looked like every boat was still on their trailer and all were just standing around shooting the bull. emoScratch We could not even get into the lot because it was just one big cluster. We sat out on the road for a couple minutes until Mark moved in a little more that allowed us to get out of the road. That is not a ramp you can visit. There is not enough space to just stand around and shoot the bull. Then once folks did start to launch the others were in the way for those trying to park. emoBang You have to get there, launch, get your partner, not leave your boat tied up to the little pier everyone has to use to pick their partner up, then go out in the water once you park, out of the way and wait. emoGeezer

That was a mess. It ended up with us having to blast off about 30 to 45 minutes after safe light. emoMad For those on a early bite before the sun came up that killed us. Not to mention there were so many other tournaments going on that the five spots I was going to look to start all had a boat on them. All Freaking FIVE! emoDoh The one where I caught 20 the first 20 cast we went to and had to watch as another boat in another tournament was already culling and whacking them. emoBooHoo Our day went like that for most of our day. Even with the issue of not getting to start at any of the places I wanted we still managed 28 bass, but only six would keep and they were all just keepers. emoGoofy It was a fun day but a disappointing one due to the terrible start that seemed to carry us into the rest of the day.

It ended almost as crazy. We had just pulled up to a point and James caught one on a C-rig. We were thinking there might be some there. Had about thirty minutes to fish it. I look up and here comes this old long party barge hauling right up to us. emoScratch I am thinking where do they think they are going. We are about 50 yards off this point and these idiots go between us and the bank!!! emoBadLanguage For no damn reason! There was this big lake right behind us. emoCrazy They had no clue. Two men and two women, they were waving and saying hi. Cut the point off on us and slung mud all over because it was so shallow up on top where they had passed. emoAngry Then they went around the pocket there like they were sight seeing and moved on. Unbelievable!

After that I told James I was done and ready to just go in early. Ended up with 6.17 lbs with our three little keepers. As poor as that sounds what even is worse then that is we were in like 8th place out of 25 boats with that little weight. emoRedface Poor, poor, poor. Water was still in the low 70s. All the fish we caught were either on plastics or cranks. I am glad this one is over. We will hope for a better one the next one if I fish it. The next one was the same day as the big bass splash and some of our guys wanted to fish that so they moved it to the Saturday before that one. Issue with that is it shit on us that wanted to fish the CBA because now the CFF and CBA are on the same day. emoHoppingmad Jmax

 

[gobigorange]

Yeah that move conflicted us with our other club which is on the 13th back at Nickajack but its all good.

 

[FirstLight]

Man. What a rough day. I was interested to see if you would still be on your fish. Damn, bass fishing is a tough game man. I hope you fish in the next one.

 

[Nauticman]

Jim, you took a lot of time and effort in posting your report and thanks for that. I imagine it helped you to vent. Thanks for all the great reports you posted over the years, you are one of the finest bass fishermen around here!

 

[Strato-G]

It happens like that at times. Terry & I came across form Marion Park ramp, it was empty, 1 other trailer at that time.. Glad we did...we watched the circus..still you out weighed 17 others..... emoGeezer emoUSA

 

[Jmax]

FirstLight - 4/29/2017 10:41 PM

Man. What a rough day. I was interested to see if you would still be on your fish. Damn, bass fishing is a tough game man. I hope you fish in the next one.

I have not made up my mind which one I will fish. I think at this point I am just pissed off at how this change came down. Last year I was one of a group who asked if we could change one of our tournament dates. I normally don't care but this one was a conflict. It was determined after posting that once a date for a CFF was set it was not to be changed. Some had conflicts with it and others had vacation dates set for it and so on. I thought, "o.k. I can see that, people make plans and it is not fair to change those dates once one it set for the year." But now I see it really is not that but who wants the dates to change. emoBadLanguage Unlike the one last year no post was made, no one asked the members who fish it, nothing. It was just the committee met and voted on it and they voted to change it. emoTskTsk Double standard!!!! Just announced it at the tournament this past Saturday that "Some wanted to fish the Big Bass Splash that same day." and "Sorry about that, but we voted and it was changed." That is just wrong! Now some have to decide if they want to fish their club tournament, the CBA or may not even be able to fish it at all. I do not see how the Big Bass Splash takes priority over everything else other then the right people wanted to fish that one. emoMad Jmax

 

[beetlespin]

Agreed. It would be nice to see the committee rectify this mistake. I didn't even know about the date change.

 

[Jmax]

beetlespin - 5/1/2017 7:58 AM

Agreed. It would be nice to see the committee rectify this mistake. I didn't even know about the date change.

Yep, they screwed you too. emoAngry Now you get to decide if you are going to fish the CBA or the CFF that day. It is apparent to me that some or someone on the "Committee" wanted to fish the Big Bass Splash and they voted and it was changed. One of those, "So screw everyone else, we voted and it is changed." Unlike last year when holy hell broke lose when it was suggested to change a date so it was said that once a date is set for the year it was not to be changed. emoMad

 

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

Well Ok, Jim pretty much covered it all. We didn't get on any of the spots Jim found in pre-fishing so we went to game plan G. Normally catching 28 bass would be a great day and it was but based on what Jim had been doing I had convinced myself that we were in for a 100 fish day even though that little voice was in my head saying, "you've gotten your hopes up before and something always screws up the day". The pontoon boat running over our point was just so fitting for the kind of day we had. I'm sure they weren't stupid people --- just ignorant of boating courtesy. All in all it was fun and I am thankful to get to participate.
As far as the problems, I'll only say this ---I've been in many unpaid leadership roles in church and athletic endeavors and no one can please all the people all the time. I am thankful for those who work so we can have the CFF with all the information that gets shared and low cost events. Could things be done better at times, sure it could but the truth is if any of us were running the show there would be times when things could be done better then as well. Remember blasting us off, taking care of the weigh ins, handling the paper work and the money and all the other stuff is a pain in the you know what and our volunteers don't get paid. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the next one. I'm sad to be counting down my time holding down the back seat of Jim's Ranger. He is a great friend and has showed me a lot about bass fishing that I didn't know. He and I have had some adventures for sure and Jim is one competitive fishing machine. As just one example I'll never forget the time a few years back in one of our events when a big red wasp flew in the boat and stung me on the arm. I said, "OOOOOOCH I got stung" and without hesitation Jim said, "That wasn't your netting arm was it?" emoLaugh I was so touched by my friend's concern emoEnforce . We've broken down, almost hit logs, almost got hit by lightning, rained on, endured high winds, hit a big metal bouy one night at a pretty high rate of speed and on and on. Bottom line is I've made a lot of good memories and I'm going to miss my CFF buddy

 

[Jmax]

Thanks James, the feeling is mutual. I have aired on this one enough. It just got to me with the day we had and then to have it end with changing the next one when last year we were told once it was set it would not be changed just got to me. The good times far outweigh the bad ones. Jmax

 

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

Jmax - 5/1/2017 3:42 AM

Thanks James, the feeling is mutual. I have aired on this one enough. It just got to me with the day we had and then to have it end with changing the next one when last year we were told once it was set it would not be changed just got to me. The good times far outweigh the bad ones. Jmax

Hey I understand the frustration but it is important to not lose sight of all the good as you say and I know we all appreciate the hard work and efforts of our committee. You've been such an important part of the forum and everyone appreciates your generous posts. I just didn't want all the good to be lost because of a series of mishaps. You said it right-- the good times far outweigh the bad and you know I'd had rather been in your boat on Saturday in spite of everything than the best hospital bed, best jail cell, best nursing home, best funeral home -- best ...................... well you get the idea. emoAngel I know Arkansas is home but are you sure you want to leave our great fishery and such a wonderful cast of characters as the CFF emoLaugh emoParty , seriously I'm just giving you a hard time --- I know your reasons and they make sense I just hate to lose a great fishing partner - we will always be friends emoGrouphug .

 

[Silverfish]

thought you were better than that language on here