"Cane Pole" U.S. Championships This Weekend

[Johnny wilkins]

Bank Fishing Championships

Anglers from around the country are gathering in North Central Indiana in Fort Wayne, IN to fish for team U.S.A. in what amounts to the U.S. Cane Pole championships. 

While there are special rules set aside for this event, the primary method will be the use of specialized, modern cane poles. These carbon-wrapped hollow poles are equipped with a shock-absorbing elastic chord which comes out of the tip of the pole when a big fish is hooked. Because they are made of carbon, these poles will run between 40 - 42 feet in length and the anglers will be landing fish by shipping in the pole and battling fish to the net. 

 This weekend, the first heat starts at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday at 16000 Roth Rd. in Grabill, IN. Anglers from the forum who wish to come out, observe and assist me are more than welcome to visit prior to and after the heats. You can contact me at 630-235-2162 to arrange to meet at the venue. This will be a great spectator sport for all fishermen and I encourage you to make the drive to see this- a collection of the best pole anglers in the country, battling it out. 

 The schedule is Registration 7 a.m. with a draw for spots at 7:30 a.m.. Setup will begin shortly after that and the first fishing whistle will sound at 9:30 a.m. EST. The first heat ends at 12:30 p.m. where all fish will be weighed in behind each of the anglers.This is a shot of the river site for the 2010 World Championships in Spain. This is also the exact equipment you can expect to see in action in this weekend's U.S. Qualifier. Long poles and anglers spaced out on the bank next to each other. We will have about double the room between anglers as is being shown here. This shot is obviously a local club match in Spain where they have a tighter setup.

A second heat will be fished Saturday starting at 4:30 with the final heat of the weekend being fished at 7:30 on Sunday morning to determine the top anglers in the U.S. and also help select the U.S. Team.

The team will be made up of 7 anglers who will travel to battle 40 - 45 other countries on their turf, with their fish. This is a very tall task. From this weekend's qualifier only 4 anglers will be selected to travel with that team as the captain selects an angler. 5 will fish the two heats for the World Championships.

My best finish at the World Championships was a 9th place in my section of some 43 anglers in Portugal. The competition level is so high, I can't describe it other than to say you have never fished 1/2 lb. test on a size 24 hook with a 42 foot pole. I hope this gives you a glimpse of what we are up against - it's mind-bending.

I will have updates from the first day's results Saturday night and will update you here at BigBlueGill.com and hope to have some good pictures to show. As for competing- I will go and give it my best shot. This is a strange lake to me, I have never fished it and I will have one day to practice and prepare my rigs for the Saturday battle. I will have a short chance to regroup and revise my tackle, an evening session and the Sunday. I will do my best and will need some luck of the draw.

I am already fishing behind the 8-ball as my local dealer was supposed to have a new long pole in stock. He had sold that unit when I went in to purchase it. This leaves me with an old stick which is very heavy. Maybe I can sneak into the top 3 and upgrade my equipment later. For all of us with old fishing equipment- I fish for us.

I could use help carrying gear etc. this weekend and for anyone that volunteers, I can provide you with a whole set of (new prototype) bluegill floats for assisting me as a thank you. Do give me a call if you are available to help or just to stop by and say hello. If you can assist me- GREAT, I will take it as it will be hot and just a little help can go a long way.

Once the competition setup period has ended - I won't be able to discuss anything much. At this point, you might assist me by running the bank and getting details on how other competitors around me are doing in my section. That little bit of knowledge could turn the tide in my favor.

My relatives live around Fort Wayne so I will have support. Most likely you will just be able to enjoy the spectacle and the fishing. I can talk to you between 12:45 and 1:45 and we may go to a local lunch place during the 4-hour break. I also will be available to talk in the evening after the evening session for a short period and would appreciate assistance during that time packing up. To close- I hope that for Saturday night's session end, that I find myself "in-the-hunt". 

I have been very busy with my club, launching my new fishing tackle and representing a ground bait attractant company this Spring. Sorry I haven't stopped by for more updates but I thought this very exciting news might create a Big BlueGill.com buzzz this weekend.

Catch you on Saturday for the late-night update...

Johnny

[Johnny wilkins]

Will do. Truth is the fish were biting so well, I might be going after them with some heavier spin-cast gear (ie 4 lb. leader 6 lb. main line) much, much heavier than I usually compete on.
If during practice (this morning), they will take the heavier line at a good rate, I will go for it to try and reduce my fighting time.

It appears the venue and international rules will not offer much bluegill to target. It might be all small carp and channel catfish to bring home the hardware. More from the venue later today - stay tuned.

[John Sheehan]

Yes this is crazy!!!Keep me posted!

[Johnny wilkins]

Wow- the devastating! Quick update.

Session 1 - I fished horribly - wasting the 1st 3 of the 4 hours trying to catch up and switching tactics. Anglers catching fish to the left of me and to the right. Doing the math from their finishes- this spot should have yielded a 4th place to 7th place at worst for me! Good spot- bad fishing.

#1 mistake - no sunglasses ready. In the bag, I made the decision to leave them about 30 ft. from me in my setup area. It's 94 degrees out - come on people.

#2 mistake - wrong hooks. I went with a bigger hook and this KILLED me. The irony, many of my smaller hooks were much stronger and would have helped.

#3 mistake- fishing faster to catch up = losing fish. I lost many fish in the neighborhood of 8 fish before I landed one. I as so frustrated that it took me a while to figure out what was happening.

Day 1 - 1st Heat I finished back in 15th place but had a decent spot. The damage to my confidence was bad - the damage to my eyes was something I couldn't come back from. My head was swimming and I had some sun stroke which I wouldn't fully know the damage until the evening.

Day 2 - I make the decision to fish the final heat. I am sick and try everything to get myself back in the game. My spot is not good so I will have to fish my brains out. (The same brain that is swimming and killing me from the eye-headache). My stomach is bad and I gut it out - literally I only had some juice and water but even that was bubbling up. The whistle blows and I feel horrible. Fishing starts out really slowly - no fish for me in the first :45 min. but this time, not so much my fault. My neighbor on the end has caught 3 fish so I figure they are headed in to feed. I keep using ground bait and some small bits of loose spikes to try to draw fish to my spot. This is a lot of work with no fish and sick but I strike at the first take and miss. A few minutes later I hook up on a fish and fight it - now in a hurry (still in haste mode) - I lose the first fish near the net and watch it swim away in the deep, clear water! 

I lose the first 3 fish in the same manner as yesterday - all close to the net, all these fish I should not have lost- but these cheap hooks were opening up on me - I figure it out.

Switching hooks, I strike into some fish and land them all. My fishing is improving but my body is collapsing. I toughed it out and put together one of my most proud 2 hours of fishing to finish strong. From a bad spot, I take a 4th place on the day which moves me way up the rankings. The aftermath following weigh-in - I am really really sick and lose it. All the water I was trying to keep in me - everything and I am lying face down in the grass to get out of the sun. I am the last one off the venue and can't make the 1/2 - mile hike back to the tent and a big rainstorm is headed across the lake.

I buried my big umbrella in the ground and pulled some gear up under it to brace against the wind and the rain is coming down sideways. Well the lightning crashed, I gathered myself together and the rain passed my angled umbrella. Soaked, I lose any remaining water and finish packing to head back.

 

I believe this is why my update never made it up. While I fished poorly and made strategic mistakes, fishing hard and working really hard I moved way up in the standings to a 6th place overall. Not good enough to qualify for the World Championships but good enough for a top 10 finish and a place on the 2011 US team to take on Canada. 

 

Lessons learned - the most valuable items in any tackle box, boat or fishing bank are as follows - 1. sunglasses, 2. water & 3. good hooks

 

This goes for every angler - everywhere (sorry for the late updates) I plan on working a lot this year to get posts, pictures, instruction, event updates so hold me to it if I leave a post hanging!

 

 

 

[Johnny wilkins]

The devastating details are as follows: See the June 24 post - this is an excited angler who thinks he knows it all - truth is I never did the update for several reasons.

I have to say- I thought I had everything figured out from a GREAT practice session. Here is what I have figured out months later:

1. Fishing can make us dumb

2. Practice fishing NEVER equals the competition day

3. When I think I have it figured out - see the part where I said I would need to go with "heavier gear" - going stronger and heavier is the KISS of DEATH

4. Hydrate Yourself - or you end up sick after the 1st heat

5. Wear eye protection against sun reflecting off the water - or you end up sick after the 1st heat

6. Good Hooks are the Holy Grail of fishing - my hooks did me in (mostly because I chose the wrong hooks).

7. (see #3)

8. Fishing to catch up - fishing faster is dumb (see #1) I lost a lot of fish and several places because I was trying to rush fish in 

9. Don't change what is working - thinking you can improve on something can sometimes mean destroying the working portion of your fishing setup

10. There is always something to learn - especially when you think you have it figured out - go figure