So my fiancee had a bright idea today at noon that we fish tonites local tourney. So I plugged the 3 bank charger in and started gettin ready. Went down to Warbirds tackle shop and paid my entry, 50 bux . I honestly thought me and Tammy had no chance whatsoever but its only 50 bux so I figured why not. Not bad for a first tx being it was only four hours that went 5-9 pm tonite.

We brought 5 fish to the weigh in, little did I know it was a 15 inch minimum and two of mine were just under that. My other 3 however weighed 11.9 pounds. So how bout that 3 keepers that averaged 4 pounds a piece. Thought we had more like 14 pounds  with 5 fish, but oh well. If only I could have got two more like that, the winning bag was 19.7 pounds !

All in all we probably caught 14 fish but most were around 11 inches long. My ole lady only caught one keeper but it was good for almost 4 pounds so I wasnt mad at her  Overall a great experience with zero problems other then not being able to get a limit. Plus out of twenty teams we finished somewhere around 7th place or so. Most of these guys were older and way more experienced fully equipped with big rigs and power poles. My old stratos did just fine. Would have finished a lil higher had my two small fish counted, Im lucky I didnt get penalized so Im grateful none the less. Just thought I'd share my first experience with you folks.

So you donated in your first tournament....no big deal, at least you took some good fish to the scale and beat quite a few more teams. Could've been worse. You'll get 'em next time.

Huge confidence builder 

Next time we will def do better so no worries there. This did infact gimme the confidence boost I needed to start doing more tourneys. Just sux I caught my PB which weighed 4.55 pounds and I didnt even get a picture of it, I was so focused on gettin a limit that I dropped her in the livewell and went right back to fishing. By the time weigh in came it was dark out and no flash on my camera phone but no biggie. I'll catch more 4+ fish this summer and get all the pics I want.

Steve,

No better feeling when your old lady brings in a 4lb fish, and you see the smile on her face.

I'm sure you guys had a blast. Keep it up.

I just started doing tourneys myself this year, its a local club I joined. Its been a lot of fun, I got skunked of my first tourney, but have finished 2nd and 4th in my next two. Each one had 15 co-anglers so I am happy with my finishes.

Its definately been a confidence boost, and I have learned a lot.

Its funny how my lady outfishes all my buddies when we go out. All those same guys been asking me if they could fish tourneys with me. I told them she flat out catches big ones every time she goes out. And she does. She got me that big kicker I was hoping for. I just couldnt handle gettin the livewell full from there. Each and every time she has went out with me this year on the potomac she has caught at least a 3 or 3.5 pounder. Always with a spinnerbait or a senko. Shes better with a senko then I am even.Not to mention she makes me pancakes, bacon and eggs almost every morning. I guess I got it made. She cooks and catches bass. Amen

Good job Steve. Make sure you know the size limits before you box your fish, you don't want to get a ticket.

The Warbirds guys are a great bunch of anglers, but it's all about time on the water. It doesn't matter how nice their rigs are or how many top of the line rods and reels they have, if you put the time in to find fish, you will do well. And I know you are out there a lot so it isn't surprising that you finished as well as you did. And what would fishing be without a little competeiton. That's why we always post pictures of our fish right? We want our fish to bigger than everyone elses!! ;D

Sounds like a great 1st tourney to me. Congratulations to you both.

d**n, 12 lbs. 3 fish, nice. But 20 boats? I was in war birds at 3   pm and only 4 were signed up. What was big fish?

Thanks for the words of encouragement Eli. I know you know how hard it is to compete with the locals on the Potomac. And yes there was twenty boats I think. Right before takeoff we counted 18 other boats around us plus my boat but might have missed one or two. So def 19-21 or so. Most ppl dont sign up till right before at the ramp. Nobody wants to commit and then sit in rush hour traffic only to miss launch off. Its tough for alot of guys to make it for a 5pm launch on a weekday.

Also I forgot to mention we went to only two spots. First spot was choppy and windy so I left within twenty minutes. Too bad cuz its a great spot. So then we moved to another new spot I been fishing about half a mile away, totally calm. We never left that spot and stayed within a 300 yard span goin back and forth working the same area methodically. Thats my style, I fish an area thurough once I start to catch fish. Had we more then 4 hours I likely would have moved around some.

It's a learning process but Im eager to learn and get better. Next week I wll be fishing the same tourney with someone I met on here recently. Im confident we will have a respectable limit this time. Bought myself a culling system and a weigh in bag today at BPS so Im ready to go. Now I gotta figure out where his rods and reels are gonna go, I had 14 of my rods n reels on the deck last night 

Way to go Steve! The size limit changes to 12" on the 15th but if you want to do well in any tournament on the river you need to have a limit of 15+" fish. Keep it up and you will be cashing checks in no time!

Also tell Tammy I said congrats on the big fish!

Ya Marc I was made aware of that  right after I tried to weigh the two small ones. It wouldnt have changed anything tho, we just werent able to get a couple medium bites to set ourself up for a check. All we caught were real small ones and the 3 big ones. Its strange cuz usually I catch a bunch of 15 inch fish and maybe one or two 3+ pounders. Thats a typical day for me out there. Once I do well in a few of these maybe I'll start to fish the weekend warbirds and LAPR  events too. Baby steps for now.

why couldnt I get a fish like this the other night when I needed it to cash a check  > 5 pounds 4 ounces taken on a purple swim jig wth a pb'nj trailer of all things