It's been another long hot summer in Austin with high temperatures and
humidity making day-fishing sessions more of a test of endurance than a
fun day of fishing. Despite the summer being officially declared over,
with cooler weather and better fishing on the horizon, the day was once
again hot and humid as Lady Bird Lake hosted the inaugural Team Whoopass
Invitational Tournament of Carp Haulers (TWITCH), a 12-hour tournament,
on Saturday, September 25.
Team Whoopass, comprising Keith Melrose and Tony Cartlidge, planned and
hosted the event, inviting 4 other teams to compete. The teams consisted
of young and young-at-heart, experienced and rookie anglers, from the
USA, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the UK. Entry fees were nominal and the
payout was 100%. The primary intent was to celebrate the end of a long
hot summer by getting a group of friendly folks together for some
light-hearted banter, a bit of trash talk, and a day of friendly rivalry
fishing on the banks of Lady Bird Lake. Following the event we scheduled
a Swap Meet to enable us to trade unwanted tackle and pick up some bargains.
Seven anglers competed for the TWITCH. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen
circumstances, 3 anglers could not compete, leaving only half a Bates
brother (Steven) to represent South Africa and no Zimbabweans to compete
against two US teams and the British team. Chris Munn and Rich Langmeyer
competed as Carpe Piscis, representing the local Austin talent. These
relatively new carp anglers have recorded some notable fish in the last
couple of years, including a carp just ounces short of the magical 40lb
mark. They were the favored dark horses of the competition. A more seasoned
US representative, Dr. Neil Stern brought along another rookie, piscator
protege Carl Norris, and drove down from Dallas to compete as The Netstretchers.
Filling out the field, in more ways than one, the amply proportioned Keith
Melrose and Tony Cartlidge put aside the War of the Roses and united
Yorkshire and Lancashire respectively to fish as Team Whoopass.
Having won the previous two Austin Team Championships, half a Bates
Brother should still have been able to compete but unfortunately the fish
did not read the script. Despite some promising activity the previous
evening when pegs were being marked, and early in the morning before the
competition got started, the fish remained obstinately stoic in the face
of every conceivable bait flung at them. From boilies to particles, range
cubes and fake maize, pop-ups, wafters, bottom baits and monster maize,
pva bagged pellets and method balls, the carp resisted it all, leaving the
turtles to keep us all frustrating entertained for the morning.
Even the Netstretchers' carp shrine, replete with boilies, maize, and Nag
Champa incense sticks, failed to bring in a single fish. With the water
level having dropped around 12 inches overnight, leaving the exposed sediment
to perfume the swims, the incense was fighting a losing battle. Given the
level of the recent storms, however, there was very little damage in evidence
on the lake. We had two logs to contend with and that was really about it.
The TWITCH was treated to a visit by Chris �The Beast� Wurzzlecarper, who
brought his West Country-via-Alabama burr and a sense of humor to
helping to pass the idle morning hours as the temperature rose and prospects
grew bleak. New to Austin and hoping to see some of the famous Lady Bird Lake
monsters, The Beast left somewhat disappointed around noon. Obviously sensing
his absence, the fish seemed to relax a little and one or two even started to
chow down.
Unfortunately, the only fish that fell to anyone all fell to Team Whoopass,
with Keith Melrose getting proceedings started with a small but scrappy common
of 12lb 5oz. It wasn't a monster but it was certainly welcome, and hopes amongst
all the teams rose almost immediately. An hour later, Keith Melrose hooked into
another and this one was a lot larger. With the other teams gathered around, and
Steven Bates doing his best Forrest Gump impression to attract attention from
the joggers going by (and not at all to distract Keith from landing what was
almost certainly going to represent a major offensive on the Big Fish award),
the battle commenced. When we saw the head of the fish, the South African cries
of �Wow! He's a MONSTER!� and �Here, everyone, come look at Moby Dick!� drew a
small crowd as we struggled to remain composed enough not to lose the fish. Like
a baby on a bungee, we saw the head several times but each time it drew close
to the net it would power off again, showing why carp fishing is so addictive to
those of us who love the sport. But after twenty minutes or so, the great fish
finally slid into the net to a collective cheer from all the onlookers.
Somewhat incredulously, given the size of the fish, the scale reached just under
30lbs, and after deducting the weight of the sling, the eventual size was determined
to be 27lb 13oz. Not one of us could believe it didn't go over 30. Photographs
were quickly taken and the fish returned to the water as the remaining teams
redoubled their efforts and started casting method balls to the horizon.
Sadly, Moby Dick was a loner and things once again quietened down. The passing
cold front that momentarily dropped the temperatures back down to the low 90s
could have had a lot to do with the slow fishing but Lady Bird Lake is notoriously
temperamental so we'll never really know if it was a factor or not. The cold front
did provide a couple of welcome, if all-too-brief, cooling rain showers but, like
adding water to the sauna coals, they only seemed to ramp up the humidity. Things
were getting late, and with a team total of only 40 lbs, we all knew that Lady Bird
Lake had the potential to change everything in just a few minutes. As time dragged
on, however, things were getting desperate. They only got worse when Keith Melrose
hooked into yet another fish (of 12lb 7 oz) and Tony Cartlidge brought a late fish
of 20lb 9oz to the bank. Team Whoopass had it in the bag with a total weight of just
over 71 lbs.
Despite the disappointing day, Chris Munn, from Team Carpe Piscis, showed what it
was all about and continued fishing after the final whistle, only to be rewarded
with a beautifully plump 26lber that was just 12 minutes too late. It would have
been even bigger had Steven Bates managed to find a foothold on the weigh-sling
to tempt the needle round the dial a bit further too! Although it didn't count
towards the competition, it was celebrated by all as though it were the winning
fish and showed what the day of competition was really about�a bunch of fishing
buddies sharing time on the bank.
Given that the fishing has actually been relatively productive since the floods of
a few weeks ago, the lack of activity on the day was surprising, although the area
we were fishing had been nicknamed the Dead Zone... and so it proved. The trash was
almost non-existent, although each team took home more trash than they brought, and
the bank looked cleaner than when we arrived, a fact noted by the City of Austin
Park Rangers who came by regularly to share the banter and good humor and even to
bring us weather bulletins. What a great bunch of guys and gals they were and they
fully got into the spirit of things, laughing, joking, and wishing us all well. We
had chosen a stretch of bank where all teams were within chatting distance, emphasizing
the social nature of the competition, but which none of us had fished regularly before.
Next time, the knowledge we gained from the day will stand us in good stead for the next
venture to this section of Lady Bird Lake, and the next TWITCH stands to be a humdinger,
with all teams itching to knock the inaugural champions, and organizers, off the champions'
podium.
Blog post and lots of pics can be found here:
The TWITCH Report 
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