It’s a new year and a new tournament season! My grandpa and I are ready to get back to competition! Our first derby of 2019 was held on Lake Istokpoga, located near Lake Placid, Florida. This large, shallow lake is over 27,000 acres in size and has tons of shoreline cover and vegetation.
The day prior to the tournament, my grandpa and I fished the lake for the first time. Our practice was pretty successful, as I caught several solid bass, on a swimjig, the largest weighing nearly five pounds. We had a pretty good game plan going into competition.
The following day, we began the morning fishing a set of canals on the east side of the lake, where we’d caught several fish the day before. I landed a chunky three pounder in the first five minutes on a swim jig to help get our day started. We ended up working the canals most of the day and caught a decent bag of fish by noon. We fished around some pads the last hour or so of the day before heading back to weigh in our catch a little before 3 o’clock.
My grandpa and I ended up weighing in 13.45 pounds of bass, which was enough for a 3rd place finish and a check. It was a great way to start the 2019 tournament season! We look forward to seeing what the rest of our tournaments in 2019 will hold!
