Brookville Lake in Indiana was the second stop on Cincinnati Kayak Fishing's bass fishing trail schedule. I have fished Brookville two other times, so since I didn't have time to pre-fish (I don't know how anyone ever does have the time!) I decided to just fish "history" and hit the areas that had held smallmouth in that previous tournament. Since I started fishing so late in life and most of the lakes are new to me, I don't have many of these "history" opportunities so it was really cool to be able to lean on that in picking a launch ramp and making a plan for the tournament.
But I have to stop making stupid mistakes! For our first tournament a few weeks ago I somehow GPSd myself to East Fork Lake instead of Rocky Fork Lake on tournament morning. For this Brookville tournament I really didn't want to be cold all day, so I packed a duffel with a ton of warm clothes and rain gear… and then left it at my house. Luckily, I try to keep an emergency raincoat and jacket in my car that, while not as warm as what I had forgotten, definitely saved my tournament. Unfortunately, I don’t keep “emergency pants” in my car (although I am starting to think it might be beneficial to keep a spare rainsuit in the trunk), so I had to fish in my base layer tights. When I first launched I was way back in a cove and out of the wind so it wasn't freezing cold, but soon realized that my plan for smallmouth meant I had to pedal a couple of miles down the main lake in the wind. Brrrrr! But I wasn't going to change my plan just to be comfortable, so I went for it!
My biggest focus of this tournament was to cover a lot of water and make as many casts as possible. I pedaled about 6 miles total, hooking 5 smallmouth bass but only landing 4. Everyone always has a lost fish story, right? When I got my 5th bite and tried to set the hook, the spool slipped (I guess that is how I would describe it, it just started spinning with no resistance). I think I panicked a little because in hind sight there should have been a ton of ways for me to land that fish, but instead he went under my kayak and came off. Next up on my to-do list is to google why my spool slipped and what I can do to prevent that in the future!
Another “dummy” moment for me was when I hooked my first little smallmouth and looked for my net… the net is in the car. I knew exactly where it was because I had lifted it to get my lifejacket out from under it this morning. I need to focus more! I think I would have landed that 5th bass if I had my net so that was a costly mistake. It was actually a miracle I got the other 4 in the boat after watching this footage of dangling those fish in the air... I know better than that!
All in all, I consider this tournament a success or at least a good step in the right direction. I finished 13th out of 35, I submitted 4 fish, I stuck to the plan I made while doing pre-tournament research and it actually somewhat worked, and I pushed through my fear of heading out that far on the lake alone with unfavorable conditions looming. I actually ended up feeling really comfortable and confident out there, mostly thanks to my amazing Hobie Lynx!
So a huge “thank you” to Strictly Sail & Kayak for my Lynx and for always having whatever accessory I need to fix what I broke or make improvements to my kayak setup. My most recent kayak emergency I ran to Strictly Sail for was a replacement bulb for my YakAttack Flag/Light combo... I realized it looked like water had gotten inside the light and it wouldn't work... but those lights are required by law so Strictly Sail saved the day! First they tried to help me repair the existing bulb by sanding and cleaning, but eventually I just gave up and went with a new one. Check out Strictly Sail & Kayak at their shop in Cincinnati or online here: https://www.strictlysailandkayak.com/girlgonefishing
Thanks to Cincinnati Kayak Fishing for running such a fun and welcoming trail! With the lower entry fees and the 8" size minimum (since we take a photo and immediately release a fish, we aren't restricted to the 12" state size limit for keeping bass) makes this trail such a great way for people to get into kayak bass fishing. Check them out online here or on facebook: https://cincinnatikayakfishing.com/
I really want to thank everyone who comments, likes, and subscribes for these videos... the support and encouragement, feedback of all kinds, and even (some of🤣) the advice I get in the comments and messages is really appreciated! I put a crazy amount of time into the editing to try to put out the best "movie" I can manage, and it has been such a fun challenge to try and teach myself about shooting and editing video while I film myself trying to learn to fish! So, thank you!
