Sondra Rankin's Blogspot
Lake Norman, Charlotte, NC Tournament
Sondra Rankin

Hello to everybody!!

I have just ONE thing to say about Lake Norman!!! I LOVE IT! Charlotte, NC is the most beautiful city thus far I have visited. The fans, the people, the BASS, all were just spectacular!

I arrived in North Carolina the day before registration. I was unable to visit the area in advance to practice, so literally, on derby day was the first day I'd seen the water. I'm very careful when selecting minimal tackle and gear for an event but for this one, I had my guns loaded. Since I didn't practice, I believe I'd rigged up every "go to" bait I owned; shaky head, Carolina rig, crankbait, spinner, pop r, buzzbait, etc. Would you believe I never let my shaky head down all day?

I fished with Luke Clausen on day one. What a phenomenal angler! Every non boater wants a draw like this. However, sometimes it can be bittersweet. When you fish behind an angler of this caliber, sometimes it can be to your disadvantage. In other words, they leave you little room to sack 'em up in the back! On the sweet side of it, they tend to make excellent decisions and generally, are "around fish." Even in these times, however, to watch and learn is far worth it. Their casting ability is like that of a machine. Their focus is always dead on. They miss not a beat with every cast, every move, every choice made. These are the people I look to, these are the anglers I follow.

Luke was primarily targeting big fish around docks presenting about a six inch swimbait. Luke's bite was few in between, but the quality this bait was producing was that of which my "shaky head" was not. :) Speaking of, my shaky head was my one and only bait on this gorgeous lake. I was throwing a 1/8 ounce brown Spot Remover Jig Head with a Berkley Power Bait Shaky Head Worm, seven inch. I was in a good position to use this finesse style bait behind Luke's power fishing technique. I was able to achieve bites in the "back of the boat" that were perhaps less aggressive fish, smaller fish, not necessarily looking for a big meal. The bass we were targeting were mostly post spawn fish that were coming out of the coves and resting on points under docks. These fish were exhausted. Luke would hit a dock, cast three or four times, then move to the next one. Luke's presentation bait was that of a reaction bite. It wasn't necessarily the "finesse" style I was executing, however, it would trigger them to hit by the speed of his retrieve. With little time at each location, I had literally minutes to convert bites. Each second was crucial.

After a day on the water, I was able to "shaky head" my way into a limit of bass. Luke had his, I had mine. It was a good feeling. I knew I had somewhere around ten pounds and knew Luke's limit was around the same. I had culled four times but just could never get that good kicker bite. Now remember, I had not practiced and had not done much networking beforehand to get the "scoop" on the bite. I didn't know where that weight would put me, nor was I able to stick around the weigh-in to find out. On the first day of the tournament, the Chevy Pro team, Yours Truly (me), Luke Clausen, Larry Nixon, Jimmy Houston, Dion Hibdon, David Fritts, and Kim Stricker all have to head straight to the weigh-in tank and jet to the Chevy dealership to attend Meet and Greets with the local fans. Luke and I were both in the first flight, and because of this, were the first two to weigh-in! I find about half way through the tournament that I was in the lead on the co-angler side with 11lbs 2oz.... Luke weighed in 11-6. I ended up on the first day of the tournament in the 4th place position! Needless to say, Sondra was on CLOUD NINE!

My second day draw was a semi-local native of Lake Norman. He'd actually entered his very first FLW Event on this lake and was a pleasure to fish with. He had four small fish, I weighed in with two. I had actually caught a third keeper earlier in the day on a Carolina Rig dragging a small Berkley Finesse worm, however this fish just BARELY reached the scale. After a rough day of riding in the live well, unfortunately, the fin deteriorated somewhat, which prevented me from weighing it in. This fish may have weighed a pound and a quarter which still wouldn't have helped me make the cut, but would've given me a bigger check and a few more points.

Speaking of points, this 35th position final weight of 14lbs, gained me enough points to jump up into the 75th ranking. I've been off to a bit of a rough start this season, but I'm consistently gaining height up the ladder. I definitely needed a good event to get me out of the rut. I have my confidence back that the last two tournaments stole from me. I was too close to a top ten to go back down. The high of being on top of the leaderboard, the prestige, the accomplishment....the thrive for success!

I'm counting down the days to Beaver Lake in Arkansas this month. This will be my third year on this fishery and I've always cashed checks on this lake. I've placed 15th and 75th, I believe, the past couple of years. Perhaps, this is my year to win!!! I can feel it. I'm focused. I'm ready!

Thanks for your time and remember, KEEP YOUR LINES WET! Daddy always said "hook sets are free"!

Eat, Sleep, Fish!

FISH ON FISHIN' FRIENDS!
Best Regards,
Sondra Rankin
sondrarankin.com