Baldwinsville, NY. When I think of Baldwinsville I think of the hospitality and generosity of tournament director Jason Bernhardt. Jason allows us to stay in his home during our visit to New York. If you have not had the opportunity to have a visit with Jason in his home, I definitely recommend it. The setting is right across from the Seneca River and despite the ultra serene setting of his property the house itself boasts of warmth and laughter that has been shared from tournaments passed. You can not help but feel cozy and at home there.
I also think of the Seneca River. If you have not had the opportunity to wet a line at this venue I strongly urge you to add that to your "bucket list" of fishing venues. The Seneca is LOADED with carp. So loaded in fact, that at certain times during the year you can see an amass of carp gathered at the dam behind The Red Mill Inn. There are so many that it looks like they are boiling out of the water. So thick are they that it appears you could walk across them from one side of the river to the other. The Seneca can prove challenging tournament wise but to date it is still my very favorite venue. So...when they are not gathered for their own social endeavors behind the local hotel where do they go? Well, they cruise the Seneca river and more often than not if you are lucky they may have an "out of water" experience on your landing mat!
We arrived for the 2013 Fall Qualifier a week early and had a splendid time visiting with Jason as well as other anglers as they trickled in to town. Part of the fun of tournament fishing is getting to visit with the other anglers. I absolutely love how we can all sit around together tossing back a few, breaking bread together and such but on tournament day everyone has their game face on, the laughing, joking and secret sharing comes to an abrupt halt.
so.....I decided to have another look at all of the pegged areas the day before peg draw. I took my dog (Aldrich) with me so that he could meander around and work out some of his energy as well. When we arrived at peg 29 he immediately hiked a leg and watered the peg sign. I stood there dumbfounded. Could this be a sign? Has the carp hound had some kind of premonition? If so, was it good or bad and how do I determine which it is? I tried to put it in the back of my mind as we cruised the 32 pegs but I just couldn't stop thinking about it. Peg 29 moved on up to my top 5 choices for peg draw.
The evening before peg draw is always a restless one for me. Tony and I stayed up late making sure our tackle and such was ready and discussing strategy with the K1 Baits team. Aside from being uber excited about the tournament I was also pretty stoked about the new set of Delkims that Tony and Iain Sorrell had presented me with that night to replace the ones that had been stolen. When I finally fell it asleep it was after 4 am and I was due to wake up at 5....so much for a good nights rest before a tournament!
BEEP BEEP BEEP! I jump up, wild eyed and crazed looking around in the dark for the lights on my alarms. Where in tarnation is my pod and rods? What the world did I just stub my toe on, why am I barefooted and why is the ground so...fuzzy? Reality sets in... No, that is NOT a carp run, its my obtrusive alarm clock! Up and "at 'em, grab a shower, throw on some warm clothes and heading out to peg draw. If I had a lucky rabbits foot I would have rubbed the fur off of it at this point wishing for a bit of great luck at the peg draw. Peg draw is packed, carpers are everywhere. You can smell coffee and pastries in the air as everyone tries to warm up and get ready for their peg fate to be decided. By the time our names were drawn out of the bag for us to go up and choose our 2 numbered chips out of the bag I looked at my notes and noticed that my top peg choice as well as Aldrichs were still available. I am REALLY starting to think the peg watering was a premonition now. Tony reaches into the bag, he draws out peg 1. I can hardly believe it, that is my top choice peg. I reach in and draw out, you guessed it, peg 29. You have got to be kidding me.
K-1 Baits Team Stout
Bags BIG fish
& PB!