Numbers Can Be Misleading

My angler status and associated ranking does not fully reflect the story of my first year’s experience on the FLW Costa Southeastern Tour.  

Over two hundred anglers routinely fish in the FLW Costa Tour 

Yes, my ranking of 100th out of 268 is accurate, my weights were all properly recorded, but my numbers miss represent my 2018 story. 

In January, wind dominated southern Florida. The first event on Lake Okeechobee was very tragic. A pro boater’s judgement error and high winds played a key role in the death of fellow coangler Nik Kayler on day one. 

Remembering Nik Kayler - 2018

The tragedy caused the cancellation of the remaining tournament and only day-one weights counted.  A poor day of fishing showed in my pplace standing and a total weight of five pounds, two ounces. I was not on any solid fishing pattern so this finish was justified. 

Second stop of the Costa event was on Lake Seminole the first week of March.  Again, wind destroyed the lake the first day of the event and a lake wind advisory caused the cancellation of tournament day-one. 

A massive wind storm cancelled day-one

The full field was required to fish the next two days to determine the champion. 

In practice, despite the cloudy, windy days I found three solid fishing patterns that should have put me in contention for a top ten finish. 

Wind and weather had to be factored into the game plan

The fishing patterns were:  open water schoolers around isolated plant beds, prespawn bass in lilypads, and staging bass on 20-foot deep timber. 

Aquatic plants found to hold schooling bass

Lilypad beds where prespawn bass were holding

Deep water standing timber holding staging bass

The storm that passed the night of day-one wrecked my open water schoolers. I was only able to entice one bass in the three-pound class to bite my lure, but lost it at the boat. 

I also lost some numerous bass in the three-pound class fishing topwater frogs in the lilypads, and lost another four-pounder fishing jerkbaits in standing timber. 

In the end, my two day weight of 18lbs, 3ozs for eight bass gave me a finish mid-pack in the 238-angler field. 

Being in the bag line is a good thing

A large crowd gathered to see our fish

If I had landed any of the three-pound bass that I lost, I would have filled my allowable five-bass limit and I would have finished in the top 50 with a nice paycheck.  

In this last derby I played the weather correctly, developed a nice diversity of patterns to hold up for three days, and caught more weight in each consecutive tournament day. But bad execution cost me. I have relived every lost fish too many times to tell you, but I have also analyzed the cause of each loss and vow to correct the problems. 

Aquatic plants that grew underwater and chocked out spawning areas

A hard line where shorelines dropped steeply into the water

The “numbers” do not tell the whole story of how close I was to having a top finish!  

Remember, there is always a great story behind the scenes of how close each angler was to taking the prize, so do not take the numbers at face value. 

My best two bass landed on the final day of Lake Seminole event

Tight lines, and remember to learn your aquatic plants to catch more fish.    
Jeff 

Let the Lessons Begin for 2015

The 2015 Bassmaster Southern Open started with a full field of 200 pros, multiple weather fronts, numerous lessons to be learned, and ended with Chad Morgenthaler taking home the win!

My #AERF #MercuryMarine Triton boat rig at #BigTohoMarina waiting to launch out in the Bassmaster Southern Open

I finished 122nd, well outside making a check, but earned some valuable "Angler of the Year" points. This mediocre result hurts, and sets my year up to be tough. Now I am behind and I must perform better in my next two events.  Regardless of my finish, I always enjoy representing my sponsors and introducing the great work of Kids in Support of Soldiers to the audiences.

Competitor Chad Morgenthaler holding my trophy

It is nice to see a good guy like Chad win, but I am not happy to have donated my money to him again. He beat me at the Bassmaster Wildcard on Lake Okeechobee, where at least I finished 14th in that event and earned my money back. 

My Bassmaster Wildcard event on Lake Okeechobee where Chad beat me the first time 

Competition

Fishing the Bassmaster Opens is a serious game of competition. The skill level of this group of anglers is extremely high. Many are full-time touring Bassmaster Elite and FLW pros.

The winner of the Opens is typically the fastest and smartest at figuring out bass movements and capitalizing on that knowledge over a three day event.

The #AERF #Triton #MercuryMarine rig fishing for "Kids in Support of Soldiers"

During my practice I found good areas where bass wanted to spawn, but my "on-the-water street skills" were not up to par with bass movements.  Each day I quickly caught my limit by 11 am, but I was never able to keep up with how the big female bass were reacting to the fishing pressure, the winds, and the muddy, cold water.  Chad's win showed us the bigger bass simply swam back out to deeper cover near the main lake. 

I had the gut instinct that while Lake Toho fishing was tough, it would turn on any day.  I never caught a lake-fish shallow in this event.  Meaning, all my bass were dark colored, which told me they had been up in the shallow water cover awhile.  Bass I caught out in main lake hydrilla beds were lighter colored than my shallow water bass, so I know that they were ready to come in shallow but had not done so yet.  

Dark, mottled coloring of bass caught around cattails indicated resident fish that had been up shallow for some time

While hard to see in this photo, the lighter, less mottled color of this bass shows it has stayed offshore

Friends

The Bassmaster Opens is also about seeing friends from all over the country.  It was great to hang out with friends like #ShawGrigsby, #PaulElias #GuyEaker, #PatrickPierce, #KenDuke, and #RolandMartin, to name a few. It was also about meeting new friends like #T-RoyBroussard and #DylanFulk.  

 

Discussing fishing techniques with Matt, Shaw Grigsby, Rich Howes, and Patrick Pierce. 

Teen Sportfishing Assocation organizer Neal Lazarus talks #TrophyCatch with Marty Mann and Jim Sweatman.

The folks at #FWC who oversee the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes continue to manage the fisheries along with the thankless task of managing the chain's aquatic plant population. This year's challenge has been controlling a new nuisance from a species of Primrose plant.  This plant is now growing over native plants and smothering out the valuable habitat.  Weed harvesting has removed much of the plant material. while selective EPA-labeled and approved herbicides are slowing the plant's regrowth. This invasive species threatens most native plants and I hope #FWC and #AERF find a solution soon. 

Neal Lazarus with Teen Sportfishing Association helps volunteer to launch 200 boats and organize trailer parking #BigToho

Volunteers
The Teen Sportfishing Association did a fantastic work in organizing the boat launching at Big Toho Marina, trailer parking, and shuttling fish to the live release boats.  They had to wake up early and endure the rain and cold winds.  I was proud to see my nephew Troy being a part of this great teen club. I look to see him on the trail in the near future. Thanks to all the adult and teen volunteers!

Weather

Weather is always a factor, and tournaments continue regardless of inclement weather. Except for the extreme life-threatening weather conditions, most fishing events go on in all weather conditions. This week started with water temperatures in the 70s and bass making beds to spawn.  Some spawning had occurred before this event, but most female bass appeared to be offshore and waiting for the right conditions to spawn. 

Heavy rains persisted during practice of the first Bassmaster event for 2015

A cold front brought a large amount of rain and cloudy conditions. This dropped the water temperatures into the high 50s. The water warmed up throughout the event and eventually settled into the mid 60s during competition. In practice, the winds blew light, but increased to a steady 10 mph during the competition. With sustained winds overnight, Florida's shallow Kissimmee Chain of Lakes muddied up and turned off many bass from feeding. 

Cold, windy weather moved in after the rains and challenged anglers to relocate the bass

I found that reaction bites were the only way to keep catching bass in my areas under these conditions.  I caught most of my smaller limit-bass on swimbaits and jerkbaits worked in openings of grass and along cattails edges. 

Open water edges that held many of the bigger bass

Swimbaits I used to catch limit fish each day

Cattail stands where I caught smaller buck-bass and an occasional female bass

I caught a few bigger bass flipping a Sweetbeaver on 5/16 ounce weight into shallow water cattails and bulrush.  All the bass hit on the initial flip as it fell through the light cover. Because of this I also considered this a reaction bite rather than a feeding bite.

The final day weigh-in was held at #BassProShops Orlando in front of several hundred spectators. Congratulations to all the Florida anglers who made the top 12 #TrevorFitzgerald #DannyLanier
 

My #Toyota4Runner enabled me to fish for #Toyota Trucks Bonus Bucks

Bassmaster Open Proangler #PatrickPierce talks #StarBright products with the spectators at #BassProShops weigh-in

#JeffHollandFishing is proud to be on the #MercuryMarine prostaff, the official engine sponsor of Bassmaster

Power-pole was an important part of my ability to anchor quietly in shallow water grass and fish for spawning bass

The Odds

Statistics extraordinaire Ken Duke will often tell anglers the facts: the odds of winning are stacked against every angler. So many factors have to fall into place in order for everything to go right for a win.  Besides the fish cooperating, anglers have to be nearly flawless landing bass without a net (new 2015 rule).  Then, there are the uncontrollable elements such as: fishing pressure, wind, clouds, boat draw number, locking times between lakes, lock capacity and operation, duck hunters, local anglers, guides, equipment performance, rain, opening of water discharge structures, lack of adequate motel parking, kicked extension cords that fail to charge boat batteries, how a well a fish gets hooked, random chaos, and much, much more.  

My own statistics after three years of fishing the Southern Opens show that I averaged in the top 25% AOY each year.  Yet, I've come to the conclusion that unless the trophy is in my hands, I will never be happy with my results!! The win is my goal. 

I was not pleased with my start in 2015, but in hindsight, I consider this event an investment in my fishing education. Now I  have to look forward and take up where I left off in my pre-tournament research on fishing the Alabama River in Prattville, AL.  This second stop on the Bassmaster Southern Open tour will take place April 16-18, 2015. 

I have never been to this section of the Alabama River. In only four days of practice, I will be challenged with assessing how to navigate around the rocky river system and quickly find both spotted and largemouth bass species.  Oh yes, I have to figure out how to catch these bass better than the other 200 Pros. These are but a few elements in this game that must be mastered....

Lessons from the Ups and Downs of 2014

Fishing is a sport of trial and error.  When anglers go fishing everyone has their own style of tying on lures, testing theories, and eliminating water.  Luckily for everyone, the art of discovery is still a major factor in fishing, even with all the advances in equipment and electronics!

For tournaments my study always begin with looking at the fishery habitats available on each lake.  My homework helps answer the question of whether the water has aquatic plants, structure, or man-made docks and cover for bass to utilize.  A main source of information is the national Aquatic Plant Management Society webpage links. I compiled the most helpful links on my webpage under the Angler Tools page.


Preserving our nation's water through scientific understanding


Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Foundation has been my most supportive premier sponsor, and the Triton/Mercury rig my most reliable equipment for successful fishing trips throughout South Eastern US lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. Stop in at Miller's Boating Center in Ocala to pick out your own reliable fishing rig!

Triton/Mercury rig traveled nearly 5,000 miles in the 2014 season

During the 2014 season, I made a change in my normal way of scouting and finding fish.
After a few years of limited success on the Bassmaster Southern Open trail, I modified my traditional fishing techniques in an effort to reach higher finishes.  I based this modification on taking the advice of others, mainly listening to them say I had to fish the way that past champions fished in order to win.

Fishing large reservoirs is educational and rewarding. Spottedbass

By trying to fish the styles of other pros I hurt my overall success in 2014. One reason was being limited to three days of practice for each tournament due to my family and career obligations . With such limited time, this change in fishing habits did not fit my style and made it difficult to be consistent.  After a year of trying this new method, I learned how wrong it was for me.  I already began making mental changes to help me return to my own style in 2015.  Some of the psychology that aided me in understanding this was by Jay McNamara.  If you are a serious angler you should read  Jay McNamara's The Psychology of Exceptional Fishing.




Typical FL largemouth

Florida bass habitat

Growing up and learning to fish in Florida allowed me to develop a personal fishing style that focused on shallow water. While on the Bassmaster Open trail, I was forced to learn how to find bass in large, deep water reservoirs.  Fortunately, I found that I liked fishing deep water contour breaks.   Learning how schools of bass migrate in thirty to seventy feet-deep water made sense to me and has been fun to analyze on the tournament trail. 

Together, both my shallow and deep water skills have given me a method of consistently catching bass in tournaments.  My fish have not always been the biggest, but they consistently put me close to top 25% of the field.

Learning to fish contours such as this 70'-100' breakline has been fun.

Looking back on all my Southern Open events I found that my most successful baits were topwaters, jerkbaits, swimbaits, and jigs.   These accounted for all the bass I weighed in since 2012.  I like fishing spinnerbaits and crankbaits, but found these baits were only productive for me when scouting for bass in practice.  I am still working on developing my skill for fishing these baits for weary bass that have been heavily pressured by anglers. 

Docks are often the only habitat in large reservoirs

The 2014 season yielded emotional ups and downs like I have never experienced before.  I realized at the end of the season that I am not the same angler who started this level of competition.  I feel I have developed a quicker ability to analyze strengths and weaknesses, both in my angling skills and in choosing the best lures and bass habitats for the conditions.  I shared my techniques and habitat choices in my blog posts, Facebook page, and website links.  I hope they help you catch more fish as well.

The Year in Detail:

The 2014 Bassmaster Southern Open season started off with two events that experienced massive cold fronts and Gail force winds.  The article, North American Cold Wave of 2014, covered the extreme weather events we anglers faced in 2014.

Cold fronts on radar

Muddy water and severe cold made my groups of Florida largemouth shut down in the Florida event, while snowfall caused frozen line guides that hampered my Spotted bass success in Alabama. During such extreme conditions all an angler can do is just grind it out for a few bass and hope for the best.

In between tournaments I volunteered with several youth events: Teen Sportsman Association,
Kirchman Foundation, Osceola County Sheriffs Xtravaganza Fundraiser on Lake X, and several packing events for Kids in Support of Soldiers.

Famous Mercury Marine Lake X

Osceola County Sheriff fundraiser

KISS packing monthly care packages for US Troops

Goodies from Walgreens and many other donors for troops

My experience at the 2014 ICAST tackle show event in Orlando was inspiring! New tackle products were announced and demonstrated, manufacturers provide product training, and I even hung out with longtime friend Bill Dance.

ICAST 2014 in Orlando FL

Longtime friend Bill Dance at ICAST

In the spring of the year I joined Steve Chapman, Boodreaux, and Captain Mike Ortego on the Fishing Florida Radio show! Hilarious bunch of guys and a great radio show for fisherman throughout Florida.  I encourage you to listen live or download the podcast.

Headphones and on the mic with FFR

Fishing Florida Radio hosts Steve & Boodreaux

Bassmaster finished up the Southern Open season in North Carolina where roaming bass failed to stay grouped up during fall cold fronts.  The fronts brought bluebird skies between all-day rain storms which keep the shad moving and bass confused.  Or maybe it was just me who stayed confused?

Coming into weighin on Day1, Lake Norman

The trophy up for grabs in the last event of 2014

 While the 2014 season felt like my toughest ever, it was not.  I still maintained a 56th place pro ranking in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race for 2014.  That ranking brought my overall AOY record into the top 22% of the pros for my three year history with the Bassmaster Southern Open circuit.  I am proud of that record, given I am full-time father of four kids and holding down a full-time career as a Limnologist!  

                        Year    My AOY Finish    Overall Rank
                        2012         79                      Top 32%
                        2013         28                      Top 11%
                        2014         56                      Top 24%

An exciting year that allowed me to maintain a top 25% showing

Plans for the New Year:

My game plan for the 2015 season will be focused on using  lures that I am confident will catch bass on each lake given the weather conditions and habitats available.  The season starts on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Florida, travels to the Alabama River, and ends in Georgia on Lake Seminole.  Fishing spans from January through October and challenges anglers to catch fish in all seasonal conditions.

Lake Toho is the site of first Open in Jan 2015

The 2015 season will visit AL, GA, and FL.

The pro that wins the 2015 Angler of the Year race will have to catch pre-spawn, spawning, and post-spawn bass in the first two events, then switch gears and catch fall transition bass in October.  I am excited about all three events as they are scheduled in places and months that should bring unstable weather conditions. 

Without the benefit of long practice days, unstable weather helps me as it puts all anglers on an even playing field. Anglers who have been fishing for weeks before the event will have to start over.  Having to adapt throughout the tournament is a condition that suites my "scramble and move" style of fishing. 

I enjoy the challenge of fishing conditions that tests an angler's skill for adapting.  I began fishing tournaments to learn, and changes in fishing conditions may not always be fun, but it teaches the most about how bass act and react to lures.

Preparing tackle during the off season

You have to love this sport in order to appreciate this emotional roller coaster ride that unstable weather and fishing conditions bring.  The mental aspect of the game is the least understood and most confusing. But then again, I am somewhat of a fishing geek that likes to analyze the inner voice and the mental side of fishing.

Jigs accounted for many bass

I want to win this game and have made the mental plans that will allow me to break into the top 10% of the field.  This level will put me in contention for multiple wins in 2015 and beyond!

Learning to represent sponsors and talk to crowds is important

Thank you for following my 2014 season.  Look for another year of photos and videos as I share my fishing adventures on the lakes we explore in 2015 Bassmaster Southern Opens!

See you in 2015.  Have a Happy and safe New Years

   Jeff