Tough tournament

Have you ever been on the water and just never got it put together? Well... that's exactly what happened to me on Lake Winnebago this past week at the final FLW qualifying tournament. Although I fished some good spots and fished the pattern (casting crankbaits to shallow weeds) which ultimately the top ten used primarily to catch their fish, I was just slightly off the mark and didn't hook up. A disastrous finish kept me from the Angler of the Year title which I've been so close to many times in my career. This is the time to reflect and attempt to learn from a week of frustration. I've come to the conclusion that I was casting too shallow (3 - 5 feet) and didn't work the deeper weedlines (5-7 feet) enough. Perhaps I was bringing the lures in too fast or too slow. No matter what, I was off just a bit and the fish were not cooperative to me. Lesson learned. Bummer!
This is time to unwind and to get back into saddle (literally) and to put this tournament out of my head. It's now time to summon up positive images and to focus on the final FLW championship in Bismarck. Now, I've got to say that this was still a good tournament season as I had a 1st, a 2nd, and a 13th place finish earlier and ended up the season in 8th place overall.
Gonna take a few days off the water so I am wishing everyone a great summer of fishing. I have heard that Mille Lacs Lake and Lake Oahe are both on fire and producing some excellent walleye catches. Good fishing everyone!