Fishing is a lot of fun. The competition of tournament fishing is a whole other beast. Fun in its own right, but a bit stressful to say the least. And I’m talking about the kind of stuff I do, local derbies with two hundred bucks on the line and a shot at two grand. That’s checkers compared to what these guys are doing.
The chess match going on out on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario is top tier competition. Decisions are everything. Period. Each move, each risk has to be carefully calculated, confidently made and boldly executed. Take Kyle Welcher for instance. He sat in 2nd place in AOY at launch this morning, 6 points back of Brandon Cobb. Welcher chose to gamble, making a massive run straight into the gnarly teeth of Lake Ontario where the bigger bass live. While he was still running to his starting spot, Cobb had already taken the lead of this event. He still sits there with 22 pounds, 7 ounces. Not quite checkmate, but dang good right out of the gate.
Another match is happening simultaneously, as brothers Chris and Cory Johnston slow play this one at the start. Venturing close to the mouth of Ontario, the Johnstons and Joey Cifuentes III are fishing in close quarters, hanging around in the limits of the protected river, poised and ready to make a push into the lake if the conditions improve slightly. This safer play has Cifuentes and Chris in 5th and 6th, Cory in 17th. Massive mental games going on right now.
