What an awesome day on Toledo Bend for team Bugalou as we fished the first high school state qualifier of the 2021-2022 season.
After an hour-long chilly boat ride, we arrived to our first spot for the day. We had 2 fish in the boat by 8:30am for around 4lbs and had already been chased by a family of wasp after Bug’s bait went into the trees. Of course, we were watching the clock minute by minute ready for 9:00 snack break. It gives us time to recharge and regain focus. Above that, we just like snacks.
Within 30 mins after snack break, we had our 3rd fish in the boat. We were so excited to be on Toledo Bend in September, which is a month we have never fished here and have already caught 3 fish. Then it happened….
Hours went by without getting a bite. We were hot and had lost the bite. By this time, we just needed a timeout, so we sat down for lunch. We knew our game was off by this point and as our captain says, we were just downright grumpy. Yes, it’s not always peaches and cream in the boat. But we never feel pressure during a tournament. UNTIL THIS ONE.
If you haven’t had a chance to read the September edition of Bassin in the boot, take a moment to read our story. It’s who we are and we are ok if we don’t catch a fish. We just enjoy it and like to have fun. With our article coming out the same week as the first State Qualifier, we knew we HAD to catch and couldn’t bomb this tournament.
Team BugaLou Championship Qualified
Recounting Their Time On Toledo Bend
October 2021, Volume 130
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The pressure was on and that’s not how we normally fish. Our captain told us that we absolutely had to leave by 2:30 so we gave it everything we had. Our State Director Tommy Abbott wrote an article a few years ago about never giving up until the very end and our parents have taught us to finish what you start. So that is just what we were going to do.
We had started to get bites here and there but we were having trouble with getting our hook sets right. We caught a couple non keepers and by 2:15, we had gotten our 4th fish in the boat. The clock was really ticking and we knew our rods had to be up, boat picked up and us ready to head back soon. Our captain allowed us to have a few extra casts and at 2:33 We reeled in #5.
Good News - we didn’t bomb the tournament.
Great News - we placed 12th out of 153 boats in the first High School State Qualifer of the season.
Best News Ever - we have now qualified to fish the 2022 High School State Championship.
All our fish were caught on black and blue creature baits.
We cannot thank enough the Lord above for keeping us safe on the water, our parents, family, supporters, our CHS fishing team members, LA High School Bass Nation and our awesome sponsor Shongaloo Outdoors. We could not do it without you.
Thank you Mawmaw Daphne for the surprise banner. We love it!
Thank you Captain Philip Lemmler for keeping us safe on the water and spending quality time with us.
Please like and share our page to follow along in our journey.
#teambugalou, #shongaloooutdoors,
#preauxtectyourbank, #2hearts5fis
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