Like I have said before, after getting out of the horse business, I wanted to spend more time with my bass crazy husband.  So I joined his bass fishing club and  April 5 was my first one.  It was pretty close to home, so we got to sleep into about 5.  (oh boy!)  Stopped to grab a biscuit and coffee for breakfast and I limited myself to a small coffee so that the bathroom breaks would be less of a factor.  The last 10 or so miles were widing one lane road and I have a real problem with car sickness (that is why I usually drive)(Not that day), so I needed about 10 minutes when we got there to get myself back together.  The temp when we hit the water was about 30.  I had so many clothes on, I looked like that kid on 'A Christmas Story'.  Thank, God, this lake is small and these guys have an idle speed only rule.  I couldnt even get my life jacket off when we stopped to fish.  Hands frozen...can't fish in gloves.  We finally did move out into the sun (when it finally came out).  The temps got up into the 70's.  So...end result.  9 hours on the water, not ONE BITE, I both froze to death and got sunburned on the same day.  I was so sleepy, my husband said he kept hearing my rod hit the side of the boat when I dozed off.  I was afraid I would fall off the fishing seat, so I finally curled up on the other seats and begged him for a 5 minute nap.  He woke me up saying that people were coming around the point and I think he didnt want them to see me napping.  I guess I was out for about a half hour.  The guys were all really great about me being there.  When it came time to back the trailer down, I have a horrible time seeing his low trailer so I drop the tail gate on the truck.  Several guys promised to kick my husband's butt if he gave me grief over my backing.  But I got it first shot and then I DROVE HOME!!!  No more car sickness. 

Not one of my best days on the water, but it was time together and that is what it is all about.  We went to Cabela's Saturday and he got me a new real.  He said that was my birthday present (18th is my b-day), but if that is what he really gives me....he is a dead man.

YA KNOW...I LOOKED AT THE 'REAL' TWICE AND STILL SPELLED IT WRONG

SEE....I SHOULD HAVE STAYED WITH HORSES.  I KNOW A BRIDLE FROM A BRIDAL!

ok...follow up.  We have now fished a total of 3.  2 club tourneys and this past Sunday was the Patriot Coal tourney.

On the 25th of April we went to Sutton Lake up in the middle of WV.  I guess the lake had just gotten to summer pool and the fishing was pretty bad.  Beautiful day (other than it started at 4:30).  Got up around 90.  So we spent 9 hours, most of which was broiling.  I caught nothing,  Bobby had abou 6-7, but no keepers (again).  I am beginning to think I am a jinx.  But we enjoyed the time together as always.

Last Sunday (5/2), same lake, different story.  The little motel we stay in (to keep us from getting up at 3), was filled with Bass Boys and 2 rooms of partiers.  Of course, they were in the rooms above us.  They ran back and forth all night.  My husband and another guy in the next room were taking bets on whether they had a horse or a mule up there.   I evidently was able to sleep through some of it, because my husband WOKE ME UP to ask if I was hearing the noise.  They were out on the balcony at one point and he went up an stared them down and it quieted down for a bit..  So we are up and moving, again at 4:45.  Did I mention it was pouring rain for the second day????  It let up for maybe a total of 15 minutes the whole day.  I did catch the first keeper!!!  yeah, me.  Then we moved on up and Bobby caught a giant.  It actually was  close second for the big fish (that paid about $130.)  We lost a couple that would have kept (see....I am learning the lingo)  I did catch this big Sunfish (?).  Bobby showed me how if you squeeze them just right they pee(or water) on you...he was squirting me like a squirt gun.  Who the heck figured that out!!!!

Anyway, we didnt place, got miserably wet but had a great time!  I never thought dry socks could feel so good!  Again, I was the only woman there.  Did get a couple cool door prizes including a gift certificate to Red Lobster which I found a really funny prize for a fishing tournament!!!!

I too enjoy a good story! We have something in common- I was in horses before boats- actually used to be a jockey before eating my way out of the saddle...my dad rode until he was in his 60s...we showed a lot of horses too.

You keep up that tourney stuff...my son and I are going to do one this Thursday...it will be our third but our 1st with a trolling motor...hoping to sneak up on 'em!

I had forgotten this topic!!! So glad you posted and brought it back up. 

Reading back, I think we had one more since I posted last.  I actually caught 2 good size large mouths which was better than some of the 'boys'.  Bobby had his limit I believe and maybe culled one or two. 

This past weekend, they were supposed to fish the local river which Bobby always complains he hates, so I put together a trip with my sisters to my favorite lake in Virginia.  Rent a house, take the pontoon....live the good life.  The State Park was having their 50th B-day party and great fireworks over the water.  We piled the family on the ponton and bobbed around watching the display.  Next day, cruised around a bit with my husband and brother in law.  Came back, swam off the dock for a bit, after lunch took everyone out for some tubing and sight seeing.  That night, at the edge of dark,  Bobby and I snuck off to do a little fishing.   We didn't have to even go far...just towards the mouth of the cove.  Dark, nobody on the water but us (Sunday night), little bit of music on.  Fish jumping all around us.   Absolute heaven!!!  In 45 minutes we had 3 nice  smallmouths.  When the lightning started up we puttered back to the house.  The Honda was so quiet you could hardly hear it.  My 3 drunken sisters on the dock spotted us and turned on every light in the valley!!!  We had to convince them that we could see better with the lights OFF!  We sat and had a beer with them, but the fish jumping was more than Bobby could stand.  He fished from the dock a bit then stepped onto the boat and got his spinner bait caught in a tree.  I heard him untie the boat and put the trolling motor down to go after it.  My silly sister from CA, just saw the boat moving off and was amazed...she thought it was magic that he could steer the boat just standing there and was really amazed that she didnt hear the motor...she kept calling him 'a Jungle Man!'.  Ya' got to luv a wino!!

All in all a great weekend.  I have never really fished at night.  Our next tourney is a night one..this should be interesting.

ok...Here is the night tournament story.  Sundeckbentley, if you are out there, you will be familiar with it. 

We cut a family trip to Myrtle Beach short by a day to come home to fish a 12 hour (got that??? 12 freeeeekin hours) night tourney on SDB's home lake of Summersville.  My favorite lake, I might add.  The clearest water you will ever see.  Usually a mad house on the weekends. It was threatening t-storms all day and the forecast predicted some pretty serious ones.  My husband was iffy on going, but he had missed several this year and I don't want it said that I was the reason.   We didn't get a chance to take a nap that day (I'll post the reason elsewhere) and were running 15 minutes lake for the blast off.  But alot of the guys were still at the ramp because they were iffy on fishing because the weather was so bad.  So we hit the water and motored over to the dock/ramp on the other side...just in case we needed to head to safety.  Wasn't storming at the time and my fishing sucked, but he caught 4 small, small mouths that wouldnt keep but at least we knew they existed!  When it started to look really ugly, my husband realized that he had the car keys for a guy he helped launch.  He was concerned that the other guy might want to call it quits and go home but we had his keys.  So we zipped back over to the other ramp.  It was wonderful to fly across this lake with the water like glass!!  We put his keys over the visor and passed the word to some of the other club members that were hanging around there and went on our merry way to fish.  I cannot tell you how beautiful yet frightening the lightning was.  Then the rain started in full force.  Then minute the rain started, the fish started biting.  And nice fish!!!  Not even a question if they were over 12 inches.  My husband said he was kinda' mad that we caught them because it made the decision to stay or go harder.  Well, being a girl...about 2:30ish I needed a bathroom break.  I am deathly afraid of snakes and didn't was to have to fight my rain suit and look for snakes at the same time.  There is a small island near where we were fishing, so I told him to just take me there.  He said that there were guys fishing in that area and they would see me....I said it was pitch dark and no one could see anything.  Then this HUGE lightning bolt lit up the sky like high noon, and yes indeed the island was lit up like Christmas. So we headed back to the ramp...along with about 4 other boats from the club.  2 of which called it quits (one even threw back the 3 fish he had caught)  A couple other guys hung out with us because the storm had really escalated.  I put the hot air hand dryer in the ladies room to good work and dried out a little bit.  We ended up in the truck for a while and I took a nap for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.  Bobby didnt go to sleep and had to go fire up the bilge pump a couple times.  So he woke me up at 5 and we fished until 7, catching a few more.  I ended up with 3 and he had 4.  I think if we would have mustered the nerve (aka left our brains behind) and stayed out when it was really ugly, we could have gotten more.  End result, we didnt win, but didn't give up!!  The drive home seemed endless.  We stopped for breakfast, but I skipped on the coffee because I didn't want anything to keep me awake when we DID find a bed.  Little did I know that I was appointed driver for the drive after breakfast. Man, that was rough!  We finally got to bed about 11am and I woke up at 3ish (again..I will post elsewhere what I got up to do)  and  because I knew I wouldn't sleep that night if I slept longer.  Bobby had to work midnight that night so he slept until 8.  All in all, I am glad I shamed him into it.  His new name for me is 'Trooper'.  I caught some good size fish and we got to have some time together to make up from him being such a jerk at the beach!!!!