Took off from work around 11 Friday morning, arrived at my motel in Winona just after 4pm, unscathed…. which is always a good thing! (I pulled a muscle in my back the day before, so the ride wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been.) Did the usual routine…. call FLW to check in, call my lovely and talented wife, and jumped in the shower. I had a 50 min. ride to Wabasha ahead of me, so there wasn’t even time to rest before I had to head to the meeting.
Found the meeting place…… not where it was supposed to be, but close to the launch site. Nothing like a truck parking lot, loaded with obnoxious flying undeterminable insects! Talked to some of my former boaters, and it was my pleasure to meet up with Slop Bass, d-nort & Bomber-A, and pick up a few more Brovarney swim jigs. 
There was severe t-storms predicted for the evening, and we could see the clouds forming as we waited for the meeting to begin. Sure enough, it started raining just as all the pertinent information was being announced!
As the pairings were given, I was stunned and amazed to hear my name called for boat # 10! 
This proved to the first 1st of this tourney for me. I was paired with Rollie Truehl from De Forrest, WI., yet another good draw for me. He was in 6th place in the standings before the event and was looking to move up. I told him I was in 79th and needed points also. He was on fish, but wasn’t sure about his best spot. During practice the day before, after he’d shaken off a few nice keepers and moved, another boat came in and started STICKING fish….. they stayed in that area for a freekin’ hour and a half! 
It was agreed that swim jigs and any kind of slop frogs were going to be the order of the day!
Boat check was at 4:45AM, take-off at 6 am, so I headed back to the motel around 8. I was meeting Rollie at 4am…. so with close to an hour drive, I had to get up at 2am. It poured the entire way back to Winona, but I knew the forecast for Saturday didn’t call for any rain. I also knew that if I was going to catch fish, I’d better get my fill in the morning. It was supposed to be overcast at first , then nice and sunny the rest of the day.
I was glad to see that Rollie’s spot was less than 1/2 hour away from the launch and the water was calm. My back really appreciated it. He also brought the comfy chair for me in case I needed it in the back of the boat! For a change, the weather was as predicted. I had a Brovarney Baits “Gringo” swim jig with a white grub tied on, and landed our first keeper in about 15 minutes, a 14 1/2″ smallie. Picked up a short fish, and due to boat placement, decided to switch rods and toss a white Zoom Horney Toad into the edge of the slop that the current was winding past. One twitch and a monster pike blew up out of the weeds! Rollie turned and said…. “if it’s a Pike, you’re on your own!” This fish went about 36″ from what I saw blow up out of the water, and headed straight down into the weeds. By the time I got it in, I had nothing but 20 lbs of weeds and a bare hook on the end of my line. I hope the fish has indigestion!
I picked up a couple more shorties, and landed an 18 1/2″ 2lb 13oz smallie at 8:30. A good solid fish, that would definately help the cause! Rollie already had 3 keepers in the livewell, and had nailed a few small pike. I told him he was on his own with them! 
A little after 9am and right around the time the sun broke thru, I landed a 15 1/2″ smallie. Three fish in the livewell! Yet another first…. actually, two in the livewell was a first for me! This proved to be my last fish for the day. I had a number of hits, but nothing made it into the boat. We worked all the slop in the area, and Rollie picked up a few more smallies to make his limit.
All my fish were caught on the Brovarney Baits Gringo Swim Jig! 
I have to say, he was the best boater I’ve ever had! He did everything he could, went out of his way, to get me into position to try and get me another fish. He’d get a missed blow-up in the slop, turn the boat and tell me exactly which hole to throw into. He’d also give me tips on how to work a certain area, a real class act! He did this a number of times, and even though neither one of us caught the fish he knew were there, I still greatly appreciated the effort! 
The weigh-in was nice, being in the first flight and with only 101 boats, there was no waiting in line for a bag. I knew I’d be moving up in the overall points standings with three fish in the bag weighing in at 6-12, but didn’t think I’d be anywhere near getting in the money. I decided to stick around and get the printouts, just to see where I ended up. Rollie, didn’t think he’d be getting a check with 11-02 since the leader at the time had 17-05, so he took off. He should have stuck around….. he came in 11th and got a check for $307! He moved into 3rd place, 10 points behind the leader. I wound up in 18th place, and got a check for $111! Yep, another 1st for me, and moved into 53rd place…. 13 places out of contention for the Regional! My last first of the day…… seeing a Bald Eagle flying low over the river, and seeing another flying up to the bluffs on my way back home! 
That 17-05 proved to be the biggest sack for the boaters, which included a 5-05 largemouth that was the big fish…… a real sweet looking pig! 13-05 was the winning weight for the co-anglers, with a 4lb’er being the biggest!
Next stop…….. Prairie Du Chien, Oct. 1st & 2nd for the Super Tournament! One nice healthy sack of fish on the first day should get me to Paducah for the Regionals. Points count 1 1/2 in the Super, and I believe the top 10 for the first day make it to Sunday! 
