Clarks Hill Elite Series

> Day 1: 5, 9-13
> Day 2: 5, 9-06
> Total - 10, 19-03 (72nd)

I'm 0 for 4 on this lake now. I always seem to catch about 9 pounds a day and in order to do well here you have to catch at least 11 or 12.

I was around a lot of fish. The area I started in was actually where Davy Hite caught his weight yesterday. I just left that spot too early, I guess. That's the thing about this lake - timing is so critical. You can pull off a opint and as your wake is hitting that point another guy can come in behind you and they'll start schooling.

Really I was just one good fish away from having a successful tournament. I worked on a 6-pounder on a bed for 2 hours yesterday and she just wouldn't bite. My partners hooked big fish both days, I just didn't get the big bites. Sometimes that's how it goes.

Today I did see a lot more herring following my bait than I did yesterday, and I think that whole deal is about to really get going. They say once the nighttime water temps hit 70 degrees that sets everything into motion, and we're getting awfully close to that mark. Things could really pick up over the next 2 days.

Practice was slow for me, but it's always been slow for me on this lake, so that's nothing new.

There are a lot of little fish on beds and you've got a few schooling, but other than that I haven't found anything of any real size working. These fish are just lazy right now, and that cold front came through and knocked them on their butts again. This afternoon things started to pick up, and we should see some better catches as the week goes on.

I think my biggest handicap on this lake is I really don't understand those blueback herring very well. I've just never really been able to key in on the patterns to catch the big ones here. Some lakes will just never jive with your style, and I think this is one of those lakes for me.