Attended the mandatory meeting at BPS Wednesday and did a little bait shopping with Pack and had a great dinner at the Fish Company there in BPS despite Pack trying to convince me that wasabi was a dessert. We ran into the Carolina boys that are tearing up FLW and BASS and shared a few jokes since mark knew them all. Casey Ashley, Brian Thrift and Andy Montgomery were part of that group and one thing I know is that they are way more country than most. Them boys take a good while to tell a story cause they talk so slow but they can all flat out fish.
Ended up getting paired with Staqcey King on Day 1 and Trea Luedke on Day 2. As they called our names Stacey came up and introduced himself and asked if I'd show him around the tackle section as he needed a few things. Ended up walking around with him and Tommy Martin a bit and was surprised to find out despite being sponsored by BPS they still had to pay for their baits. Immediately I was blown away by how nice Stacey was and how personable he was as well. He asked where I was staying and I told him Fork he told me since he was LFM I should just ride in with him which sounded great. We agreed on a time and we both head to Fork.

Day 1
I arrive about 15 minutes early at Stacey's cabin just to be safe. I realize then that he is rooming with Tommy Martin and they are kinda picking at each other like most lifelong friends do. Stacey left a rear compartment open for my lunch and gear and we load up to make the 20 minute drive to the ramp. Stacey's wife is driving and I had already made the decision to speak only when spoken to in order to respect Stacey's focus on the event. That lasted about a mile as Stacey pretty well wanted to talk the whole way. By the time we got to the ramp I felt like I had known him a long time and was really looking forward to the day in the boat with him. His wife launches us and leaves for the room. One thing that really stood out about Stacey is his class. A lot of the pro's launch their boats at the ramp and let then drift off then catch a ride to their boat with another pro. We were getting ready to head to the tournament site when he noticed someone's boat was crashing into the rocks thanks to the wind. He had me hop in that boat and get it back to the dock and secured. Just kind of a cool gesture I thought.
We get to the launch area and wait for our boat number to be called. We made small talk as well as joked with some other pros. Stacey told me a Tommy Martin story or two which were funny. He also told me his game plan on the day would be targeting shallow stickups and isolated stumps with a Texas rig plastic. He felt the docks were holding fish but it was a timing deal and would also be crowded since lake was fishing small. He just felt like finding stuff away from everyone else was what he wanted to do. He had 6 rods on the deck with 3 being Texas rigs with green pumpkin Baby Brush Hogs with 3/16oz tungsten weights and the others having a Balsa B, RC 1.5 and a double willow spinnerbait. Water temps were 82-83 degrees with winds between 10-20mph with rain throughout the day forecast.
We ended up heading north when they called his boat number and right away he started flipping and pitching the BBH. He mentioned he had a lot of good bites in one area but only set the hook on a couple. He was afraid the wind was gonna muddy it up though.
7:04AM- first cast
He primarily was pitching to any piece of cover he could find in 1-4ft of water and working very throughly as well as making a lot of casts to a single piece of cover.
7:15AM- rod bows with first fish of the day, unfortunately it was a 2lb drum
He continued working the BBH but would also mix in the spinnerbait and cranks here and there. we probably moved 2-3 times but his presentation stayed the same as well as what he was targeting.
9:00AM- first keeper of the day. A 16" chunk off an isolated stump on the BBH
You can tell that fish energized him and he is loosening up a bit.
9:10AM- Another hookset on an isolated tree and another 2lb drum
At this point he says something that stays with me. He mentions that there are bass on that same cover as the drum cause they eat the same things.
9:11AM- second keeper off the same tree as the drum. decent 15" bass.
He continues picking apart the area and being extreemely methodical. I notice Greg Hackney and Bobby Lane nearby. I also see Harley Briggs(who made the Top 30 cut) stay on a single dock for almost 2 hours until we leave. He may have stayed longer than that. We deal with heavy rains for a bit and as soon as it lets up we make a move to another spot. During this time Stacey had a few short strikes and noncommittal bites. He is relying mostly on the BBH but he will occasionally use the spinnerbait and the crankbaits. He also landed 6 non keepers all on the BBH and all on wood.
12:00- Strong hookset with the BBH but a fish just a hair too short
We stay in the area and Stacey dissects all the cover.
12:15- rod bows again but a 13" non keeper. BBH still producing.
The sun is peaking through the clouds and the wind is laying down a bit so he decides to go to his big fish area which is also his primary spot. He feels like maybe he can still scratch out a fish or two with some size despite the muddy water.
1:02PM- Stacey makes a long cast with the BBH to a single isolated tree in about 1ft of water when he sets the hook and chaos breaks out. He has a healthy 4lber tail walking and trying to get off. He starts to swing it but thinks better of it and nets it. Third keeper goes 4lbs
You can tell he is excited and ready to catch another good fish and is just as focused now as he was first thing this morning.
He continues working the area and is relying more on the crankbaits since the wind is picking back up.
1:10PM- another non keeper on the BBH.
Area is now starting to muddy up even more and he says we'll give it a few more minutes.
1:45PM- crankbait stops as he reels it near a stump, line darts off and he is fighting a good fish. He gets it to the boat and its a big hybrid
Pretty well spends the next couple of hours rotating a few spots he found in practice. This results in 4 non keepers caught on the BBH and same deal all on isolated wood.
4:00PM- day is over we check in and head back to ramp. Total tally on the day is 16 bass, 3 keepers, no lost fish, one hybrid and 2 drum.
We get back to ramp and his wife is already there and backs down ramp so we can load up and get to weigh in. Stacey ends up with 3 keepers for 8.38lbs which keeps him in the hunt for a check.
The things that really stood about Stacey were his preparation. He had everything ready to go to the point of already having his baits dipped in chartreuse and ready to use. Even his sandwiches were precut in 4 pieces to make fishing and eating at the same time possible. He had a plan and stuck with it. He never panicked or got down. He fished as hard late in the day as he did at the first cast. Also the way he totally seined an area. He would make repeated casts at targets and always worked them all the way around the cover. He always cast past his target as well and would work the bait through the strike zone. Of course he was extremely accurate on his casts and never wasted any cast. He was a model of efficiency and only ate or drank when he was changing spots. If he broke off with the BBH he would simply grab another rod instead of stopping to retie.
All in all I felt I learned a lot from him and I cannot say enough about how nice he was. I had made the decision to stay quiet and I tried to limit my movements in his boat to when he was throwing the moving baits or had the TM on high. He wanted to converse and we talked about everything under the sun. I came away knowing he was a genuinely good guy and it was a blessing to spend the day watching a legend in the sport. Another thing that stood out is how Stacey made sure to stop an angler that was about to unknowingly fish the off limits area. He was sincere in making sure the other pro did not goof up. he stopped his own fishing to get over there and let the guy know. Just another classy move in my opinion. We made an agreement to fish Fork one day soon as we were driving back from the event.

Day 2
My second day pairing was with Trea Luedke. He is a Texas angler that has fished the PAA events as well as some FLW stuff. He is a good stick in the Houston area. We talked on the phone and agreed to meet at the same ramp Stacey and I launched at. He told me he struggled on Day 1 and only had one small keeper so he was planning on fishing big and going for broke.
The morning of Day 2 arrives and I meet up with Trea. I get him launched and I park the truck. We head to the launch site and it is a windy SOB already. Winds are in the 20mph range with water temps still 82-83. The weather forecast calls for bluebird skies and windy conditions. The lake was already fishing tough so its gonna be a grind.
We are the second boat out and as soon as we make theturn out of the marina we are in a "race" with Greg Hackney on the left and Matt Herron on the right. That was kinda cool to see. We head south and start on some docks. Trea only had one rod out and it had a Texas rigged Zoom lizard but he digs out a Spro BBZ1 and starts working the docks.
7:00AM- first cast
He sticks with it for a bit and changes to working some shallow grass and stumps with the swimbait. He has one follow but no takers. We move around quite a bit mostly targeting shallow docks. He eventually switches out to a Bandit 100 crankbait and a double willow spinnerbait.
9:00AM- first keeper on the crankbait along a seawall in about 2ft of water, nice 16" keeper
We continue working docks and are moving around quite a bit. He spends the rest of the day working the crankbait mostly with the spinnerbait getting some action. He occasionally pitches the lizard but no bites.
1:45PM- rod bows, 13" non keeper on the spinnerbait near a stump
We continue doing the same but Trea mixes in working some shallow grass with the lizard.
2:00PM- strong hooket only to discover a 2lb channel cat had ate the lizard
We finish off the day working docks and Trea mentions he felt his bite was lost due to weather changing and extreme pressure in his areas. He decides to let the keeper go and skip weigh in.
3:00PM- we head back to the ramp and I back in the trailer to load up. Results on the day was 2 bass with only one keeper and a catfish
Even though Trea had a tough event he stayed posistive and I really liked the way he pushed behind docks and worked the areas that most anglers are not willing to. He just simply had one of those tournaments and it was not for lack of effort. The lake was tough and the pressure really affected a lot of the pros as most seemed to mention that on stage. If you were on the dock deal it was all about timing and if you missed those windows you were gonna struggle. trea actually probably fished more of the areas I am comfortable in and I did learn a few things about cover I had missed in those spots. He was also a blast to hang out with a friendly guy. I wish him well down the road. just like with Stacey I made another friend in this deal.

All in all I truly enjoyed being an observer though I admit it is extremely tough to just sit and watch. I reccomend everyone that wants to learn to try it at least once. I doubt I will do it again but you can never tell. I enjoyed the friendliness of all the pros and really came away with a positive opinion of the PAA. They need our help to grow so I urge you all to check them out at www.fishpaa.com


See pictures at http://s318.photobucket.com/albums/mm408/eatsleepfish911/PAA%20Tournament/

Awesome write up Mark! I don't have anything that detailed, but I may append your post with my own observations and a few stories from my two days out there as well. Thanks for taking the time!

Woke up with the crud this morning and now I can't sleep so I figured I'd pass the time with this. I made notes over the two days and tried to be detailed. Sitting down for 16hrs gives one plenty of time to take good notes...LOL

Interesting read. Thanks!

Great read Mark, you need to get Stacey to take you small mouth fishing!

Thanks for taking the time to write this up, I enjoyed the read.

Thanks Mark, interesting read.

Thanks for sharing Mark, i enjoyed reading this

Great read Mark. I felt I was there with you, good job.

Cool read Mark. You got some good pics too.

Awesome. Thanks for doing this - always love reading those journals and finding out more about how those pros approach their time on the water as well as what kind of people they really are.

Good report Mark! That woulda been cool to be on the boat with those guys. I woulda done it, but I had afternoon trips on all 3 days. It was neat to see all those big names on the lake I work and grew up on. I got to talk to many of them at Holiday Marina on their practice days. Some of those guys had some really good info to work with. It blew my mind to watch them pull into a row of docks and go straight to the 1 or 2 that are usually producers and then pass all the others by without a cast I did learn a lot even about fishing some of the spots that I regulary hit. Those guys can really disect the water.

Great read Mark, thanks.
Being an observer is something I definitely want to do some day.

Good write up Mark. Enjoyed the detail you put into it. Thanks.

Thanks for taking the notes and letting us in on them. Good and interesting. Thanks again