Posted on 3/27/2023 1:54:53 PM
By the end of my first season on the BFL trail I qualified to fish the regional championships at Lake Seminole. I had never been there before so it was another learning experience, but that's why I joined. I wanted to see what fishing big tournaments was like, but having a reason to travel to these different lakes and experiencing completely different types of fishing was the most exciting part. The least exciting part? Eel grass.
I didn't know anything about flipping, punching, or any of that when I got to Seminole. I mean, I knew what it was, but never had a reason to try it really. But that's what I needed on day 2 of the championship. We were mostly fishing areas thick with eel grass and my typical shaky head/crankbait stuff wasn't cutting it. On day 1 and for a brief moment on day 2 we fished in the Flint river, where our tournament launched. This is where I caught all (4) of my fish that I weighed in on both days because the river is more my style, but unfortunately I fell just out of the money yet again in this tournament. A common theme my first season in the BFL.
By the end of the season I spent way more money than I won but it really wasn't about the money to me. I just enjoyed having a reason to fish some lakes I probably wouldn't have thought about going to if they weren't on the schedule. What I didn't care as much for was the tournament grind. Getting up at 4am to fish is one thing, but doing it to get in a line with bunch of other people at the ramp isn't my favorite thing in the world. I mostly prefer to keep fishing as a hobby, it's much less stressful that way.