KSA Classic
Things have been crazy since my last blog. My latest temporary promotion to Director has been kicking me sideways. It’s been a lot more work and hasn’t let me slow down too much. Even when I had the flu, I was going nonstop. Now, with the Secretary of Defense resigning, it’s looking like we’re going to have quite a mess to deal with too. The light at the end of the tunnel is near though because tomorrow I can finally take a bit of time to chill out. Although it has been busy, it’s not all bad. My first KSA season has wrapped up and it was a phenomenal experience.
I wrapped up my season with the Classic, which brought a 92 boat field, including another tournament organization from Korea. The event for me could be defined as a mad mess. As I mentioned before, my biggest problem in fishing over here has been the ability to find a reliable boat. Coincidentally, that problem reared its ugly head once again the first day of the Classic. After turning the key I realized that the boat wasn’t charged. It wouldn’t turn over. The only thing that did work was the trolling motor and I missed the Day 1 weigh in. I made sure to get a hold of the rental guy to get it charged for Day 2.
Day 2, my boat actually started which was music to my ears. Stopping on my first spot I caught my biggest fish on a chrome blue back lipless crankbait in the grass. It was actually a funny story. I cast my crankbait out and was picking out an overrun when I went to rip it out of the grass for the first time, the fish was already on! My bait was probably sitting in the water for nearly a minute before I even moved it. Who knows how long that fish had the bait? I dropshotted mostly on Day 2 and landed and lost a couple more fish throughout the day. Being from California, dropshotting is something we do a lot and something that I consider to be my specialty.
After weigh-ins concluded, I ended up with only a couple fish, but finished in 18th place for the Classic. All I would have needed was one of those fish I lost and I would’ve made the top 10. It was tough conditions with low temperatures at 29 degrees and only getting up to 50-51 degrees by weigh-ins. Being the final event for the season, that also meant the Angler of the Year positions were finalized and I ended up finishing the season in 7th place for AOY.
All in all, this season was a tremendous experience. It’s been a great getaway which has allowed me to keep my skills honed and learn some new techniques along the way. There are some great fisheries in Korea and a lot of them remind me of the Canyon type lakes back home in California. Although it has been a great experience, I haven’t decided for sure if I’m going to fish the KSA again. The biggest factor for me will be having a reliable boat. If I’m still in Korea next season, I’ll have to find a way to get my Nitro over here or work something out here in Korea.
Next up on the agenda will be putting together a fishing forum in February or March. There are a lot of soldier’s over here that love to fish and I’ll be getting as many of them together to talk fishing and try and find ways to get these guys out on the water here. Within ten minutes of the base there is a beautiful lake, full of fish. A local trout club runs the lake and charges a fee, but are nice enough to reduce it for any Americans looking to just fish for bass. I’m looking forward to this forum and especially this chance to wind down a bit tomorrow.
