I haven't been on Mittry since August except for a couple hours prefish on
Monday. About 20 minutes before (6:45) sunrise I launched everybody and
then fired up Lucky 13 to idle across the lake a bit while she warmed up.
The Black Cat would get mad at me if I let Lucky 13 loose another power
head. After it hit stat temp I lit her up and headed over to a pocket full
of pencil tulies hoping for a quick flip bite. On the way up I chunked a
black and blue spinner bait hoping for an early reaction bite in that 60F
water. Nothing, and nothing flipping my pocket either.

A short run of flipping one bank and I broke out the chrome crank to tease
the points of a couple dirt fishing jetties. One short on the crank and
then nothing. Back to the flipping stick and still nothing on the main
lake.

I decided to hit some shallow pockets with the sun on them early with a
Senko.... nothing.

Then a run to a different area with a couple tulie patches and a couple long
tulie fingers. On my second trip around one tulie island (I had a feeling
it would produce) I was pitching one of my home made baits back deep in the
trash and I stuck a short. I slowed down and started picking apart
secondary features way back in, and stuck a 3 for the first keeper in the
boat. About 9:30. Woo Hoo! I'm never ashamed to take a 3 to the scales
and certainly not in a November tournament. I decided to slice and dice the
cover in the area. About 10 minutes later I farmed one when I wrapped up in
the brush. I didn't hit it hard and with confidence on the hookset so it
was probably barely hooked. Looked to be about a 2.

That was when I decided it was going to be one of those days where I just
have to slow down and saturation fish way back in the cover. Taking my time
and working up the bank with every pitch several feet back in the junk I
stuck my big one. A 6.9. I was afraid I was going to have to chase it into
the brush, but steady pressure and some care as I eased up the boat and she
came out into open water, from nearly 5 feet back in heavy brush... Another
hour (give or take) in that area didn't produce so Lucky 13 and I decided to
take the Black Cat into some real back water heavy cover fishing areas.

Down a channel with woody trees in the water on both sides and half a dozen
flips got my next bite. I had learned my lesson about those heavy cover
fish and hit it hard. I missed and stuck the hook in a branch. Don't be
fooled. Those Gami super line hooks are strong, but not that strong. I
opened it up and bent the point. I probably should have retied, but instead
I straightened the hook and rigged another bait. Working up the other side
of the channel I stuck another one. I hit it hard and stuck it good, but
immediately came up against a branch back there in the trash. I felt a pull
so I eased the boat over and held the rod high. Another nice 3 pounder was
dangling up against the branch, but it was way back there. The Black Cat
got as close as she could but I still couldn't quite reach the fish. I got
down and my hands and knees and hooked one knee around the trolling motor to
keep from falling in. I was just barely able to reach it, and it lifted
right over the branch. 3rd keeper and a decent bag for just 3 fish at
around 11:30.

I decided that hook and the first couple feet of my 65lb braid had seen
enough action and decided to retie. While I was retying I saw Alvin and
Christian coming up the channel towards me, but they were still throwing
reaction baits. One had a crank, and one had a spinner bait. That gave me
the confidence to head on up the channel and fish their used water with my
creature bait.

Sometime after noon I pitched way back into a huge tulie patch near a brush
type transition and stuck a fish I judged to be close to 5. Another one
back in the trash, but it eased out as I brought the boat up. Then five
pitches later I stuck a two in a tulie point. It came right out, but then
it wrapped around the only pencil tulie between the point and the boat, and
burrowed down in the grass. I eased the boat up and then just pulled it
straight up the tulie. Number 5 and a limit around 12:30.

In the next hour and a half I missed one and lost one when I wrapped up.
Both way back in cover. One was over a branch under a palm tree, and the
other was back in an overhanging tree. About 2:00 I decided that I was
going to head in early to get setup for weigh in at 3:00, and I was just
haphazardly flipping edges when I stuck my only keeper fish in open water
for the day. It looked like another 2 pounder, but a trip on the balance
beam showed it was just a tad heavier than my other 2 pounder.

.... and it was time to head in, but the cranking battery wouldn't turn Lucky
13 over quite fast enough. Uh-oh. I shut off all the Black Cat's
accessories and let her drift while I checked the connections at the
battery. The positive terminal bolt was a little loose, so I tightened it
up. Another couple minutes drifting and I hit the key again. It still
sounded like it was turning over to slow to start, Urrrr... Urrrrr...
Urrrrr..., but it started on the third crank and I was off. Vrrrrooooom! I
was sure glad I decided to head in early.

My final for the day was 18.92 pounds with a 6.91 pound big fish for 1st and
1st big. Second had 11.68 and 2nd place big fish was 4.25.

Not a bad day for a November tournament. I had started the day feeling like
I would be lucky to catch a limit of dinks.