Sitting on the bubble

Post date: Mar 27, 2018 1:17:48 PM

This past weekend was the 2018 SCDNR High School Fishing State Championship on Lake Murray and unfortunately, I wasn't fishing. Only the top 2 high school teams and top 2 middle school teams from each school were able to go. The qualifiers were decided back in February. We fished back to back days and after that the qualifiers would be decided. Going into that weekend my partner and I were 2nd place in our teams points and we just had to catch 1 fish each day and we would qualify. Unfortunately, that first day we fished from my partners boat on Keowee and got the big ole 0. When I laid down to sleep that night I knew the next day when we fished Hartwell from my boat, we had to get it done. We pulled up to the lake and I had a feeling it was gonna be a good day and I had no doubt I would have a chance at digging myself out of the hole from the previous day. Just as I had thought, it was a good day, but not for us. Complications with the cranking battery and not fishing clean landed us right behind Kaleb and Matt, the guys we had to beat. It was a great day of fishing and we had all the bites we needed but we just couldn't land them and ended up with about 7 pounds. The next week we found out who qualified and in the back of my mind I knew there might still be a chance. I log onto Facebook and see the Devildog Anglers post. We tied for 2nd in points but lost the tie breaker. For me, that was tough. At the same time I felt it was just meant to be. In the past, I haven't had the best finishes on Murray and Kaleb and Matt have so I felt they were better prepared and could represent our school better. I think this just fuels my fire. I would have loved to be there fishing it but it just didn't happen. It's the times like this when all those fish that came off, missed hooksets, wrong decisions all start playing back in your mind. Time to get back on the water and get after it again and try to qualify for the PBC Classic! Blessed to do what I love!