The Day My Best Spots Were Already Taken

Yesterday's tournament at Sangchris was one of those days that leaves you with a lot to think about.

I was fortunate enough to get a couple afternoons of prefishing before the event, and it didn't take long to settle into a pattern. The better fish were relating to hard-bottom points, and they seemed willing to eat a crankbait, jig, shaky head, or swing head. The swing head was clearly producing the biggest bites, so I built my entire game plan around four or five offshore points, with two of them being my primary focus.

A few years ago, that would have been a winning strategy almost by itself.

Back then, very few anglers in SIKC spent much time offshore. You could fish shallow early, ease out to your deep spots later in the morning, and there was a good chance nobody had touched them. Even if someone fished through, they were usually casting toward the bank while the sweet spot out deeper stayed untouched.

That isn't Sangchris anymore.

Before blastoff I had talked with Darren Hemker, Walt McCree, and Dustin Siegel, and it became pretty obvious that several of us had independently found the same pattern. My "secret" wasn't much of a secret.

Then blastoff threw me a curveball. My motor decided it needed a compass calibration before it would run correctly, so I spent the first five minutes sitting at the ramp while everyone else disappeared over the horizon. Once I got going, everyone quickly realized conserving battery was going to matter on those long runs, so I slowed down, caught up with Kevin, and enjoyed a little conversation on the ride north.

I figured I'd be a little late to my best water, but I wasn't prepared for just how crowded it would be.

The first spot I wanted to start on already had Walt sitting exactly where I would have been. Not nearby...exactly where I wanted to fish. Good on him—he found a great spot. I slid around to another point behind him before easing over to the next community hole where Darren and Jeremy were already working. Jeremy was positioned almost perfectly on the key area, so I stayed out on the edges, worked the grass, the shallow flat, and the deeper break for about an hour while watching both of them connect with quality fish.

After that I decided to make a run toward the dam looking for fresh water.

Three hours later...

Dinks.

A pile of dinks.

I finally scraped together a 15-incher and decided it was time to head back to the area where I'd done all my homework.

When I got back, it really hit me how much this league has changed.

Dustin had worked his way up there. Darren and Jeremy were still on the community hole. Walt was still locked down on his point. Kevin had taken another point just south of Walt. What used to be several untouched offshore spots had become a line of kayaks, each sitting on quality structure.

That simply didn't happen a few years ago.

I slipped into one of the middle points that everyone had overlooked. While I was fishing it, a bass boat decided to troll right between Kevin and Walt before cutting directly across my casts. They weren't exactly thrilled about kayaks being everywhere.

I made another cast after they passed.

Halfway to the bottom, my swing head loaded up.

I set the hook, and a giant exploded out of the water right beside their boat.

20.5 inches.

A few minutes later I caught another one that measured 20 even.

Just like that, the day finally had some life.

About then Dustin paddled over. For anyone who doesn't know, Dustin and I have worked together for years, and we've spent countless hours fishing side by side. He wasn't trying to crowd me—he was actually asking if taking a ride back with Darren would get one or both of them disqualified because he was completely worn out from the long pedal.

While we were talking, he said, "Well...I'm here now. I might as well make one cast."

I laughed and immediately told him, "Don't cast there."

Naturally...

He cast there.

His line crossed mine, I told him he had my line instead of a fish, and after we got untangled he reeled in a 19¾-inch bass.

I just looked at him and thought, "You've got to be kidding me."

A few casts later he caught another one over 19 inches.

Five minutes earlier he was talking about taking a DQ just to avoid the paddle home. Suddenly he was right back in the tournament.

That's fishing.

Eventually Walt left, giving me one last shot at his point. I hooked what felt like another really good fish and immediately broke it off.

That one was entirely on me.

I hadn't retied my swing head leader during two days of practice or the tournament. After three straight days grinding rocks, even 17-pound fluorocarbon has its limits.

Dustin finally headed for the ramp while giving me the pep talk every fisherman needs.

"You're gonna get one."

With three minutes left, I finally did.

Unfortunately, it was another 12-incher.

When I looked at my final limit, I couldn't help but laugh. I had two fish over 20 inches...and two fish that were exactly 12 inches. That's about the strangest scorecard I've ever turned in.

Looking back, though, that's not what I'll remember about this tournament.

I'll remember how much SIKC has grown.

Walt spent the day before helping Jeremy learn how to fish offshore structure, and Jeremy put together an excellent tournament. Darren found the same winning pattern. Dustin battled back after a rough start. Multiple anglers independently discovered the same offshore bite.

Years ago, we were trying to convince people to leave the bank.

Now we're trying to figure out how to spread out because so many anglers have become versatile enough to find the same winning patterns.

That's a really good problem to have.

Sangchris is one of the biggest lakes we fish all year, yet yesterday it felt small. Not because the lake changed—but because the anglers have.

The league is making every one of us better.

That means some days your best spots won't be yours anymore.

It also means whoever wins has truly earned it.

And honestly...I wouldn't have it any other way.

- Jonathan Kessler, SIKC Director