I just made it home from the Lake Hartwell FLW Tour event and finished 53rd.  I was 4 ozs away from $10,000 and that hurt a little bit.  Overall, I can’t complain.  Again, I was on basically nothing in practice and had to figure it out as I went.  On the third day of practice I caught a few fish that were suspended in the clear water.  I could have probably had around 10lbs.  I also marked some on beds and figured I could catch some of those if I had to.  Well, on day one, the wind blew 30+ right into the areas I had marked.  The water went from crystal clear to muddy and I had to completely abandon the area.  I went back toward the landing and scratched out 9lbs, good for 102nd place.  On day 2, after the reports of all the bed fishing, I decided to hunt for beds.  I caught my first fish on the bed around 9:30.  Around 10:00, I was casting a senko while I was looking for beds and caught a 3lber.  On my very next cast, I caught a 4lber on the senko. I looked up and noticed that I caught those fish on a spawning bank in the little bit deeper water.  About 11:30, I got to thinking, I wonder if the fish that I found in practice could be caught that way? Although the water had muddied up, I didn’t need to see them to fish the senko.  I ran the 10+ miles to them and caught 3 big ones before the end of the day.  That decision resulted in over 14lbs, moved me from 102 to 53 and got me $4,000. Amazing how little decisions make a world of difference.  Best thing is, I’m 41st in the standings. I’ll take it for 2 tournaments where I could not fish my strengths at all.  Two weeks of rest…I mean…work, then it’s off to the next one!  Ya’ll take care, Dearal

Thank you, Anglerschannel.com, Buckeye Lures, Snag Proof, Evinrude E-Tec, Ranger Boats, Costa Del Mar, Marshall’s Marine

www.dearalrodgers.com