Grand Haven Offshore Challenge - Day 1
Just like any tournament the day was full of anticipation. However there's a lot more uncertainty in what we needed to catch since this was our first one of these. We had the most disadvantaged boat in the field but we're feeling confident we could catch enough to stay in the game.
The game plan was simple, catch 10 fish and then look for upgrades. We knew those first 10 were going to be small but with each of them being worth 10 points it was our best chance. Even though the points added by weight was going to be minimal. The scoring system works by 10 points per fish (up to 10) plus the total poundage.
The quicker we could catch our 10 the more likely we could dial in a back up plan and also get some upgrades. It started off hot when a diver took a bite not long after the start. We let the one guy who isn't allowed to touch the net….touch the net. Since it's about a 14 inch fish with no fight it shouldn't be a problem right? Nope same old story when he touches the net a stab and hooks in the outside of the net. Luckily the fish stayed hooked up and was lifted in the boat. The original plan of not touching the net was back in place. We started picking away at them and got to 6 when it just died. We were doing most of our work on leadcore and copper with spoons. A 100 copper setup was probably the most productive for the morning bite.
Time was ticking but fortunately we got another flurry and added 2 more kings. Then we got our first steelhead bite on a diver close to the boat. Chaos ensued as the fish was out of the water more than it was in it. I scooped it up and we just needed one more small king to go hunting. We got that bite rather quickly but a tactical error on the rod caused that one to come off right before the net scoop. That one hurt but fortunately we got another 5 minutes later. We could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
With our points in good shape we were allowed to catch 5 more for upgrades. The rest of the rods were pulled as soon as that fish hit the net and we headed offshore. We marked some activity out towards 200 feet and deployed the deep water gear. It didn't take long and we had a good mark just below where our deepest diver was fishing a flasher/fly combo. The rod went and it was obvious we had a solid king on the line. It really tried hard to get into some other lines but after a short intense battle we had an upgrade.
We probably fished that troll a bit too long before we turned back. We kicked the speed up to get back out there and as we were approaching it another diver rod went off. Steelhead this time and once again we got lucky enough to land it. We were running out of time and felt good about maybe getting another steelhead running in shallow/fast. That plan didn't work for us unfortunately but we saw another competitor snatch one. It included the fish being hooked to the net and 2 nets involved. It was a show and fun to watch! We actually cheered them on but it we didn't know it was going to have an effect at the end of the day.
We were pretty early in the weigh in but everyone seemed pretty excited about our box so that was a good thing. Regardless of where we ended up, we executed our game plan well and took advantage of the bites we got. No regrets no matter where we ended up in the standings.
At the end of day one we were in 2nd! Behind the team that landed that last minute steelhead. Obviously we were thrilled to even be in the mix given our experience level and tournament rig. We were going to have a real shot at winning the event and 7.5k if we could execute again tomorrow and get our 10 fish. We knew that it was going to be a grind based on all the pressure the fish got today. But if there were 2 bite windows again I was pretty confident we could make it happen.