RBL Fall 06 Tournament, Cyprus - An eye opener

[CyBasser]

The Russian Bass League Fall 06 tournament was held on Cyprus between Nov 13 and 17. This tournament is unusual as it is held from the shore, since no boats are allowed on Cyprus' reservoirs. Three BR members (Vyron, Dmitri, and myself) participated, along with 17 others competitors. The winner would be determined by a three day total catch (limit was 3 bass per day, minimum size 27cm). Here is the loooong story of it...

Nov 13 and 14: Practice days. Both me and Vyron do not have a chance for practicing. With the dams off-limits since Oct 31st, we hope that the two weeks away from the lakes will not cause problems (yeah... right...) :

Nov 15. Day 1. Kourris Reservoir.

A cold front has swept during the night. At 8.30 all is ready to begin under clear, bluebird skies. 9am Start. From Dam Wall. All three BR members choose to fish on the east shore, known as "Dark side of moon" due to the very restricted accesibility (Mistake1).

Surprise: The usual stained water has become clear - visibility now 10-12ft (was 2ft!) . Vyron curses aloud as his usual shoreline flipping techniques are thrown out of the window >. Vyron and Dmitri both end up at a bay with access to both shallow and deep water with brushes. Another 4 or 5 competitors in the area. I first choose to try an area near the dam wall. No bites at all on any lure for 45 minutes. I move on to a small cove, which has been surprisingly left alone. It has brushy edges with deep water in the middle. Lots of tries with spinnerbaits, crankbaits, spooks, lipless cranks, texas worms. Nothing. Vyron and Dmitri are also biteless. I try a 5" chartrause senko on weighted (3/8oz) texas rig. First two bites of the day - and I missed them. Third bite - a 0.699Kg bass is my first keeper of the day . At the same time the cellphone rings. Vyron has simultaneously nailed a 0.959Kg keeper on spinnerbait . Spirits go up. I try in the cove for another half hour, and have a couple more unhooked bites. I decide to give the area some rest (mistake 2), and I move to the bigger bay, while Dmitri gets his first keeper - 0.540Kg . They are smaller than what we are used at Kourris, but welcome nevertheless.

Time passes. We try everything we know that works at Kourris. No takers. The combination of post cold front conditions and clear water is killing us. I try again the weighted chartrause senko rig and another keeper is mine - the twin of Dmitri's fish at 0.540Kg. I realize I am running out of chartr senkos, so I save two and with two hours remaining I return to my cove. Surprise, surprise, no bites at all - even on the senko. What the... I try hard for 1 hour. Nothing. Back to the main bay. Nothing. We have 40 minutes to walk back. Last casts. Vyron looses one on spinnerbait, then hooks one of 0.682Kg  8-)- and I get hung up .

Back at the start with three minutes to spare. Well... The guys who chose the western shore had struck gold. E. Constantinov has first place, with a limit (3 bass) of 7.327Kg, (16.1lb), including the day's big fish at 3.057Kg . The second place lad, Y. Todorov has a limit of 5.620Kg, including a 2.822 whopper. But the great surprise is elsewhere... S. Titov, and E. Komov, whom we considered among the top favorites, return almost empty handed... At the end of day 1, Vyron holds 10th place with 1.641Kg, I am at 12th with 1.239Kg, and Dmitri is 17th with 0.540Kg...

Nov 16. Day 2. Asprokremmos reservoir.

Start is again at 9am from the Dam Wall. Water here is stained, even muddy at places. Again, all three BR members head to the east shore. Vyron and Dmitri have done some fishing at Asprokremmos in the last few days before it was off-limits so they immediately head to an area they know. I used to fish a lot this reservoir in 2003 and 2004, but with much lower water levels now it is almost a new lake for me. For one hour I check a cove which has provided me with plentiful bass in the past. No takers. I decide to move to the area where my friends have moved. As I walk, Vyron calls me that he has got a bass of 1.733Kg. Great! Before I even reach the area, Vyron has another keeper, while Dmitri has a three fish limit 8-). My spirits soar. I reach the area and I like it. But it seems I arrived too late. The bite has stopped. Vyron had found a sunken tree and his flipping prowess had rewarded him, while Dmitri caught his limit near two small bushes. I spot a good looking spot with some more bushes. No takers on soft plastics or crankbaits. I tie on a Terminator s/b (that has worked for me in the past in this lake) but I lose it on the second cast . Vadim Gidin, another of the favorites, casts to the same bushes with a s/b and he gets a 3lber!! My self confidence sinks :-/. Vyron, in contrast, is highly excited, and with two fish he walks on to try to get a lunker to help his overall weight. Dmitri stays focused on his bushes and hopes for some better fish. I check the whole bay there. I hook a keeper on another s/b but it comes unbuttonned - not good for confidence boosting :'(. With 2.5 hours remaining, I decide to move back, cross the dam wall, and explore a bit the western shore (mistake 3). I hope the 45 minute walk will reward me. My hope is in vain. I end up empty handed for the day .

At the end of the day, both Vyron and Dmitri have 3-fish limits, and as it turns out Vyron's 1.733Kg bass is the heaviest of the day 8-). Dmitri was able to cull two fish as well. The heaviest limit is scored though by S. Titov with 3.678Kg. Sergei has also lost a bass estimated around 4Kg right at lipping it, as he got stuck in the shoreline mud (three more competitors saw the fish and were awed by its size). The two guys leading after day 1 both return with zero fish, and Vadim Gidin takes a lead of only 82grams (less than 3oz) with a two-day total of 7.409Kg (and he is now considered the top favorite). With their limits Vyron climbs to the 5th place (5.209Kg) and Dmitri to the 12th place (3.500Kg), while I sink to the 15th place with 1.239Kg...

The results of the 2nd day gave a new excitement for the final day. Only 2Kg separated Vyron at the 5th place from Vadim Gidin at 1st, and everybody from 13th place up have had even a chance (however remote) to turn things over.

As for me, I really paid my mistakes :'(. First, I should had gone to practice - then I would know that Kourris had become very clear, and I would have located new fish-holding areas at Asprokremmos. And, I would have known immediately that the western shore of Kourris near the dam wall had again become a prime area.

Secondly, once I found that cove at Kourris with fish biting (even barely) I should had stayed there. For whatever reason, when I returned to that cove two hours later the bite had completely died. Had I insisted I might have hit one or two more keepers.

Thirdly, on the second day, I should had stayed in the area that gave off a few fish. Being in a "desperation" mode, I moved to an area that I was completely unfamiliar with, and this was a big gamble that didn't pay off.

But there was still one more day to go...

To be continued - shortly!

Photos: People get ready to start on Day 1, while I proudly show what I caught on day 2...

[CyBasser]

Here is the missing photo, taken at the beginning of the first day...

[CyBasser]

And the story continues....

Nov17. Day 3. Dhipotamos reservoir.

As usual the start is at 9am from the Dam Wall. This reservoir is smaller than the others and in the last few weeks before being off-limits it had a strong crankbait and spinnerbait bite. Almost all competitors headed to the same general area, near the main feeder creek, known in this forum from previous posts as as "Science Fiction Movie Canal". Vyron and Dmitri, both younger than me, moved quicker and they reached the general area in 25 minutes, while it took me about 32 minutes. Within minutes of his arrival Dmitri nailed a 2 1/2lber on spinerbait . Vyron moved to the complete end of the creek which has some bushes hoping for a flipping bite. To my surprise my usual spot was unoccupied - a point with a submerged road and some deep water near the opposite shore. But my "seclusion" didn't last long - within 10 minutes five more competitors including the leader and second guy in the standings were next to me. I moved to an alternate spot near Dmitri. As I walked, Dmitri got another 2lber. I tried some of the crankbaits that have worked recently with no luck, tied on a spinnerbait and hung up. I tied up a new spinnerbait, but I was too lazy to add a trailer hook (Mistake 4 - HUGE!!). Within minutes I saw a flash, got a strike, but the bass (estimated around 2lb) was not hooked. Minutes later I had another missed strike on spinnerbait :'(. The bass were not active. Vyron returned, and on his second or third cast got a nice 2 1/2lber on his trailer hook-equipped spinnerbait. Huge lesson learned here ! Vyron also reported catching a 26.5cm-long fish (0.5cm below minimum size). The bite died off completely.

It's almost noon. With four more hours to go, E. Komov comes near me, ties a hula grub, and proceeds to catch a 0.561Kg keeper. No-one else was using soft plastics. I tried a bit with the hula grub myself, no takers. I needed some minutes of rest, so I tied on a 5"senko for deadsticking while I would grab a quick bite. I indeed grabbed a bite - on the senko! But the bass was only 26cm long >! I fish this lake at least weekly, and have not caught such a small bass in the whole of 2006! What the...

With less than three hours to go, and with the area getting even more crowded, I decided to move to my alternate location - the eastern end of the rip-rap on the dam wall, which has provided me with good action in the past. After a 50-minute walk I reached my spot. Alone. With less than one hour to go I tried some spinnerbaiting and crankbaiting, hoping for a reaction bite, but nothing happenned. No bites on texas worms, or weighless or unweighted or wacky senkos either. I tried again the hula grub - a 24cm bass smacks it - useless. I suddenly saw a 3lber cruising nearby. I flipped the grub to the fish - he saw it, moved to it, and then disappeared in the depths. @#$%!!  > > >

With 20 minutes to go I only managed two more non-keepers....

The end of the tournament found E. Constantinov, the guy who caught the huge limit on the first day as the winner. He got two keepers with a total weight of 1.100Kg, which proved more than enough for securing the top spot. V. Gidin who had the lead on day 3 caught nothing and dropped to third place, while A. Bobrov, who was 7th at the start of day 3 nailed a 3.015Kg limit and finished second. Vyron got another keeper and ended up 4th overall, while Dmitri with the heaviest limit of day 3 at 3.054Kg got 5th place. I ended up at a miserable 16th place as I had no keepers on days 2 and 3 :-[!

But this tournament - the first for all three of us was a great experience, a real eye-opener.

I would like to congratulate the winners, but also Vyron and Dmitri, for the great performance, being firstimers as well. Job well done guys

Vyron proved that he is a fighter and certainly an expert in getting decent fish to bite even under the most difficult conditions, and I believe that had he realized how close he got to winning on day 3 he might have tried even harder and secured a top finish. Dmitri also showed determination and confidence in his locations and techniques, especially on days two and three, and it really paid off for him.

As for me, I have made my self-critique and I know what my mistakes were. I have already outlined the mistakes of days 1 and 2. Also, on day 2, I should not had allowed my confidence to plummet. I knew there were keeper fish in that area, but with my confidence below zero I screwed up. On the last day, had I spend that one minute to attach a trailer hook to my spinnerbait, things could have been different. But beyond that, on day 3 I know I did things correctly, and I was maybe a bit unlucky. On day 3 my confidence never left me, even when that decent fish at the end refused to get my grub. I did concentrate hard, but the big fish bite I hoped for never materialized. Something to look forward for the next tournament I guess!!!

Thanks to all for reading this loooooong story!

Photo: The four winners of the tournament. The first three places got cups, while a plate was given for the biggest fish of the tournament. Vyron, at 4th place won a nice illustrated journal of the previous RBL tournaments. Again, Congratulations buddy!

[Vyron]

As a newbie,i would say i ve done huge mistakes.

1st : always prefish ( hevent seen the water for 2 weeks)

2nd: always take a variety of lures for different conditions. Taking with me only lures for stained and muddy water was stupid.

2nd day of the tournament after I got 2 nice bass instead of getting my limit I switched 2 monster worms in order 2 catch a 6-7 pounder. I could just catch a my limit,secure the 1st place and then experiment.

On the last day of the tournament I  was way unlucky . For half cm that fish could be a keeper and give me the 2nd place.

I would like to congratulate all the participants.

My buddy CyBasser was just unlucky , next time he ll really kick some @ss.

Dmitri congratulations for the 5th place, as a 1st timer ,u ve done great.

Denis, U da man, thanks for turning me into a hardcore fishing machine.

Sergei and Eugene, u r  the best , it was great fishing with u.

Last but not least, I would like 2 thank Bassresource ,in the last year u ve given me years of experience.

Mixing the russian and american technique was the ticket.

Next day of the tournament , NICODEMIUS got Cyprus record . A  3 550 kg monster. MAN CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!! and thanks for releasing her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fishing tournaments is cool ,its was i like 2 do from now on.

CyBasser , thanks for sharing all the above .As i said we ll kick some @ss next time as a team. U DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next time i ll be better!!!!!!

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

When I read this, I get the feeling that either you are all good friends, or sportsmanship is just a natural way of doing things over there.

Great report, congrats to all the winners, especially our own homeboy, Vyron.

Cybasser, you'll get 'em next time!!

Thanks for sharing guys, well done and keep up the quality sportsmanship!!!!!!!!!

[Valascus]

Awesome post fellas. You ALMOST had it Vyron, but you did great nonetheless. So did your partners. Sounded like a fun and educating experience.

[dmitri]

Thanks CyBasser for a great report. Few comments from my side:

It's been my first tournament I must say I liked it soooo much!!! Day after day excitement grows to unbelievable levels. I don't know a better way yet to spend my holidays. It feels like it's been a month away from the office.

First day was a disaster. Having totally overestimated my knowledge of the local waters I got lazy and didn't do much during the practice days. I visited Kuris (1st day reservoir) the day before the tournament for 1 hour after sunset during a rather heavy rain. As a result, water clarity the next morning was a big surprise for me. What has worked two weeks ago, did not work at all during the tournament. Also, looking at the others, who BTW did quite well, trying to imitate them and experimenting with new lures and techniques was a very bad idea as this resulted with nothing more than a loss of time.

For the second day we've decided with Viron and CyBasser not to fall into the same trap, but focus on the areas, lures and techniques we know best. I also decided to myself not to waste a lot of time on moving from one spot to another. Luckily, I found a good spot quite soon. Within a reach there were some shallow waters, then a drop with a couple of good bushes, then further in deeper waters there was a submerged tree from which I caught all 5 bass on that day. My secrete weapon was dark red Chompers (those smelly ones), which looked very much like crawfish one of the main feeding subjects for bass in that reservoir. I ordered them from BPS in advance knowing that nobody else would try anything like this. After I landed second bass, I did notice a small damage on my monofilament leader, but did not bother to change it. That was a big mistake as after just a few casts it cost me a 5 pounder which I lost after a few-second fight. Nevertheless, the day was much better than the previous one.

Last day that was the only reservoir where I spent at least some time during practice days. I knew where I was going, run from the very start, got there first and caught two nice bass within first 20 minutes. Then I stayed at the very same spot for all 7 hours as I could see many others running around with no success. My tactic paid well, I landed two more bass and showed the highest score that day.

I've taken the following lessons from my first tournament:

Lesson #1 make a full use of practice days

Lesson #2 keep your eye open, but don't get disturbed by what others do. Stay calm and follow your plan.

Lesson #3 tournament days are not for experimenting. Don't waste time. Do what you can do well.

Lesson #4 take some time to check your tackle (line, leader, swivels) after each successful or unsuccessful fish landing.

Lesson #5 stay physically fit (especially true for shore fishing).

Many thanks to all for your support. I did get a lot of valuable ideas from you guys.

Regards

Dmitri

[K_Mac]

Nice post guys. Sounds like you all learned some good lessons that will pay off next time around. Keep up the good work, and thanks for sharing the story.

[CyBasser]

My buddy CyBasser was just unlucky , next time he ll really kick some @ss.

YOU BET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dmitri congratulations for the 5th place, as a 1st timer ,u ve done great.

DITTO!

Denis, U da man, thanks for turning me into a hardcore fishing machine.

DENIS, DON'T GET DISAPPOINTED - WE ALL KNOW WHAT YOU CAN REALLY DO!

Sergei and Eugene, u r the best , it was great fishing with u.

ABSOLUTELY! LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR NEXT VISIT!

Last but not least, I would like 2 thank Bassresource ,in the last year u ve given me years of experience.

Mixing the russian and american technique was the ticket.

INDEED - ALL THE TIPS FROM BassResource.com COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF OUR RUSSIAN FRIENDS ON SHORE BASS FISHING HAS BROUGHT A NEW DIMENSION TO OUR BASS FISHING UNIVERSE. JUST IMAGINE HOW INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COULD IMPROVE IF THE POLITICIANS THOUGHT AND ACTED IN INTERNATIONAL MATTERS LIKE WE DO BASS FISHING!

Next day of the tournament , NICODEMIUS got Cyprus record . A 3 550 kg monster. MAN CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!! and thanks for releasing her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NICODIM, IT WAS GREAT PUSHING THE LIMITS ANOTHER STEP FORWARD!

fishing tournaments is cool ,its was i like 2 do from now on.

CyBasser , thanks for sharing all the above .As i said we ll kick some @ss next time as a team. U DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANKS BUDDY!

[CyBasser]

HELLO LBH!

When I read this, I get the feeling that either you are all good friends, or sportsmanship is just a natural way of doing things over there.

I GUESS BOTH! SOME OF US ARE INDEED GOOD FRIENDS, BUT WE ALL ENJOY EACH OTHER! THE ATMOSPHERE THROUGHOUT THE EVENT WAS FANTASTIC - EVEN WHEN THERE WAS A LANGUAGE BARRIER!

Great report, congrats to all the winners, especially our own homeboy, Vyron.

ABSOLUTELY!

Cybasser, you'll get 'em next time!!

YOU BET! I HAVE LEFT SOME UNFINISHED BUSSINESS WITH THEM!

Thanks for sharing guys,

YOU ARE WELCOME!

well done and keep up the quality sportsmanship!!!!!!!!!

WE PROMISE WE WILL!!!

[CyBasser]

Thanks CyBasser for a great report. Few comments from my side:

I've taken the following lessons from my first tournament:

Lesson #1 make a full use of practice days

Lesson #2 keep your eye open, but don't get disturbed by what others do. Stay calm and follow your plan.

Lesson #3 tournament days are not for experimenting. Don't waste time. Do what you can do well.

Lesson #4 take some time to check your tackle (line, leader, swivels) after each successful or unsuccessful fish landing.

Lesson #5 stay physically fit (especially true for shore fishing).

Many thanks to all for your support. I did get a lot of valuable ideas from you guys.

Regards

Dmitri

Hi Dmitri!

Glad you liked my report.. and thanks for sharing your thoughts on this great experience. As for the lessons you mention I TOTALLY AGREE! We all learned a lot for the next time around and we should all do even better (especially me :)

[Catt]

Now that's a tournament, no high speed boat, no advanced electronics, just you vs. the bass.

Great work guys

[island bassin]

Cy basser , great report many thanks! Well done to all of you. Hope i will join you next year