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Dock Post 7/13/08

July 13, 2008

I finished up the season in typical 2008 Lefebre Fashion, with a 75th place. I was actually involved in a three way tie with Carl Svebek and Tracy Adams but won the tie-breaker based on the heaviest one day weight…yikers! Luck?…maybe, but I don’t think so. Being that 75th place was the last $10,000 check, I guess you could say I’m quite thrilled. Yes, I would have loved to have made the top 10, but to be honest I think me in the top 10 + the guaranteed winning fish 80 miles away = possible death by drowning or hypothermia. Sometimes our plans aren’t always the right plans. I want to share the reason why I am completely satisfied with how things turned out in Detroit and not bitter about what happened.

Day one was fairly calm as predicted by the weather forecast. I was able to get to my area in 2 hours. My partner, Jerry and I caught only 5 fish apiece and then headed back early. Jerry took over the co-angler lead and I was content in 13th place, knowing I could have caught more, but pacing myself for the next few days. I was without a doubt on the winning school of fish.

On day 2 with another calm weather forcast, I started out into the Big Lake on a beeline toward my honey hole in Ohio. The further I went, the bigger the waves became until I got several miles passed Peele Island and started spearing waves and taking on way too much water. I have had some pretty bad experiences out there on Erie in the past, and coupled with the thunderheads to the west, I really started to get a sick feeling in my gut. I started to pray that God would not only protect my partner and I, but that He would guide me and take over my thought process. I seem to pray a lot when I’m out there in the middle of the Lake in those big waves. My mind was racing with possibilities. I got within 13 miles of my area when I got the overwhelming feeling that I needed to not be stupid and turn around and not throw away $10,000… So I did just that.

My friend Clark Wendlandt had gone through quite a slump last year. His problem during that time was really nothing to do with his fishing ability at all, but as he put it, trying to do everything on his own and control every situation he encountered by himself. His slump, I guess, was a must needed lesson at that point in his life. It wasn’t until he realized that God needed to be in control of his life that the real Clark Wendlandt showed up again and started doing well in tournaments. I don’t believe that God simply takes over and you don’t have to do anything but hope its your time. I believe that he gave us our talents and wants us to achieve the desires of our hearts and we need to work hard, but at the same time know that ultimately it is He who is guiding our steps. We need to trust in Him because every time…His plan is the right plan for our situation.

After I turned around and started heading back toward Detroit I decided to stop on the east side of Peele Island and fish a couple places. I felt like I only needed to catch around 17 pounds to make the cut and I know that can happen in a hurry at Peele. But the whole time, I kept getting the overwhelming feeling to head back so I decided to listen to the voice inside my head. I ended up driving the boat for roughly 7 hours that day before I made my first cast in the river, my poor co angler. I didn’t have much time to fish, but over the years I’ve developed a bunch of confidence in how to catch largemouth in the river and had a couple of pretty good spots. I can honestly tell you that I simply let go and tried to let God guide me and I trusted that his will would be done in this tournament for me. I felt like I needed 11 pounds to have a chance at a big check.

My partner and I made it safely back to the river. I caught 9 keepers in less than an hour and literally culled up an ounce or two three times. Then with 6 minutes left, knowing I didn’t have enough to make the top 75, I culled out a 14 incher with a 2 1/2 lber and hurried up to the check in boat. I got there with 45 seconds to spare. Then on stage, I watched my weight bounce between 11-01 and 11-02 before finally settling and being called 11lbs, 2ozs by Charlie Evans….unbelievable!

I know that I didn’t win the tournament and you could argue that this was all a big coincidence or just luck, but I know that something happened out there that day that I will never forget and I will always think of it as a miracle and changing point in my life. Maybe making the cut wasn’t the best thing that could have happened to me at this tournament. Maybe I was saved from a really bad situation out there in the Lake on the weekend, I’m not sure, but I’m thankful for the way everything turned out and that God new exactly what was going on the entire time. I learned a valuable lesson in Detroit and I’m excited to start the season fresh in 2009. I’m not saying I will come out of this slump and set the world on fire next year, but I have a new outlook and now realize from this experience that it’s not all about me, someone else is holding the reins.

I just returned home from Lake Champlain, NY where I fished the first Stren Series event of 2008. I was not planning on fishing the Strens, but I changed my mind, at least to fish this first one. I only got one day of practice, but I managed to finish 15th, which felt pretty good especially after having such a dismal FLW Tour season. I had the bites to make the cut for Saturday, but lost one over 5 pounds on day 1 and day 2. Also on day 2 I did something I’ve never done before: I forgot to weigh my biggest fish, which was well over the 5lb, 2oz. lunker for the day. I remembered as I started to walk to the live release boat, but after you step off the stage, you’re done. The guys in the release boat later informed me that they checked the fish I caught on the scales after the weigh-in was over and that it was in deed bigger than 5lbs, 2ozs. Funny to them, but painful to me, especially after spending $230 per day in boat gas. I’ll never do that again!!!

The next Tour event is the Championship on Lake Murray, SC in August. I will be doing videos throughout that event to close out the year, so I will talk to you all then. Thanks for listening to my ramblings.

Dave

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