Bass Fishing Cowan Lake Cincinnati Kayak Fishing Tournament – Got One 18.50″ LMB!

I fished the Cincinnati Kayak Fishing Cowan Lake tournament yesterday, my first tournament back after my “family emergency leave” break from it, and it was such a good day other than not enough bass!

The last two years of tournament fishing I have put so much pressure on myself to do well that it has made me kind of unhappy in tournaments, but this pressure was all coming from me, no one else asked anything of me, and taking my recent forced break from fishing has changed things.

I am mathematically out of our trail Championship that is based on AOY points, so I don’t have to panic about placing high enough to qualify since I can’t no matter what I do, so the pressure is suddenly gone!

Yesterday I actually enjoyed myself, talked to people, and get this… learned something about fishing from the people around me! I never chatted in tournament because I was so stressed and pressured and figured everyone else was too! But yesterday I found myself around people who invited me to share a community area and the vibe was so positive that even when none of us got a bite for hours (other than Chris and his magic balls) it was still so enjoyable. I almost can’t believe I can feel this happy about a day of tournament fishing where I didn’t catch my limit!

I caught my first fish on a weightless wacky Berkley General at bank grass, my second dragging a skirted ned rig with a Berkley Meaty Chunk trailer to give it a bulkier profile while still fitting on that tiny hook slow dragging over rocks, and the third was on a weightless Berkley Flatnosed Jerk Shad on a cast that skipped perfectly under a bush into a shadow during a brief sunny break in the constant drizzle.

I didn’t realize until I typed this that I have moved over to using so much of the Berkley plastics, but I am starting to have faith in their Maxscent stuff!

Thanks to Strictly Sail & Kayak Cincinnati for my amazing Hobie Lynx kayak! My back has been bothering me and I wasn’t sure Tylenol would get me through the whole day, but the ability to stand on my Lynx and relive the pressure was key to my good day. Plus at under 50 pounds, I got it on and off my car without aggravating my back!

I’m not sure what my next tournament is since I’m staying closer to home these days and not spending every weekend on the road, but I’ll probably be somewhere local enjoying a sunrise on the water next weekend!

Thanks for supporting GirlGoneFishing! 🙂

#fishing #bassfishing #fishingtournament #tournamentfishing #kayakbassfishing #kayakfishing #hobiefishing #hobiekayak #strictlysailandkayak #strictlysailteam #womenwhofish