TW_Staff
05-29-2009, 10:53 AM
The biggest victory of Jim Milson's career occurred in a tournament that he almost had to bow out of.
Two days before last week's Amistad Texas Stren, the 58-year-old flew home to Odessa from Del Rio on a friend's private plane when word came that his ailing mother-in-law might not make it through the night. Her condition stabilized that evening, however, and improved the following day, and he was back at the lake for the final few hours of practice.
He was away from the lake for just about 24 hours (from 1 p.m. on Tuesday until the same time Wednesday). He decided on his way back to use what little practice time remained probing much deeper water.
He found what he was looking for in the Rio Grande Arm, in the vicinity of a couple of submerged Islands. The area, about a half-mile square, contained several ridges and drains.
"That day I found (the fish) in 35 feet of water," he said. "On my first cast I caught a 6 1/2-pounder and on my second cast I caught a 3 1/2."
Those fish moved around a bit during the tournament, but they never lost their fondness for a 7-inch Yamamoto Senko. If anything, they were too ravenous for it – he had three fish die on him during the tournament, all of which had taken the bait far down the gullet.
“I never saw where I was fishing other than on my electronics,” he said. “My Lowrance sonar with Navionics chip was dead on. I was following contour lines the whole way.”
"I'd had 2 real good days and things were going my way," he said.
The final day didn't unfold quite so smoothly. He broke off a good fish right off the bat and lost another just a couple of casts later. When he moved a short distance to try a secondary ridge, a couple of locals moved into his honey hole and remained all day.
"I went over and told them what I was doing and asked them if there was anything I could do to convince them to leave. Their answer wasn't just no, but hell no."
That refusal might have been a blessing, as he was able to locate a fresh batch of fish about 200 yards away. He had a chance to put together a sack that would've rivaled the ones of the first 2 days, but he lost a quality bite on his final cast and had another fish die in the well.
"That last one got into a bush and got off and I thought I'd lost the tournament right there. I really thought Russell Cecil would beat me."
“The wait is over,” a jubilant Milson said onstage at the final weigh-in. “I’ve never been so excited. This is the most wonderful fishing day of my life.”
“I love this sport. It’s what my dad and I did. I did well in my 30s and 40s, and then things went south. I had to take care of my business and my dad died. When I came back I couldn’t find the groove.”
“But this year I learned that I was caught in coves. I wanted fish to come to me instead of going to the fish. I told myself, ‘It’s time to go to the fish,’ and to do that I had to lose sight of land. That was a valuable lesson I learned at Rayburn and Falcon. This time I felt I was going to put it together. I even told some friends I would win this.”
Winning Gear:
Senko gear: 7' medium-action Fenwick HMG (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=FHMGC) rod, Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris signature series casting reel (6.4:1 ratio), 17-pound P-Line Halo (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PLHF) fluorocarbon line, 6/0 Bass Pro Shops XPS wide-gap hook, 3/16-ounce Tru-Tungsten bullet weight (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TTBW), Texas-rigged 7" Yamamoto Senko (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=YAS) (watermelon/red flake).
He said long casts were critical. "I had to strip line off the reel to get it down to those deep fish. If I didn't, the bait would swing quite a ways back toward me."
Most fish wouldn't let go once they'd taken the bait. "They'd hold those Senkos for as long as you wanted them to."
Performance edge – "My Lowrance GPS and Navionics chips. They were dead-on and I was able to follow the contour lines and anticipate what would be coming up. They showed the depth and the breaklines just perfectly."
TW Staff
Two days before last week's Amistad Texas Stren, the 58-year-old flew home to Odessa from Del Rio on a friend's private plane when word came that his ailing mother-in-law might not make it through the night. Her condition stabilized that evening, however, and improved the following day, and he was back at the lake for the final few hours of practice.
He was away from the lake for just about 24 hours (from 1 p.m. on Tuesday until the same time Wednesday). He decided on his way back to use what little practice time remained probing much deeper water.
He found what he was looking for in the Rio Grande Arm, in the vicinity of a couple of submerged Islands. The area, about a half-mile square, contained several ridges and drains.
"That day I found (the fish) in 35 feet of water," he said. "On my first cast I caught a 6 1/2-pounder and on my second cast I caught a 3 1/2."
Those fish moved around a bit during the tournament, but they never lost their fondness for a 7-inch Yamamoto Senko. If anything, they were too ravenous for it – he had three fish die on him during the tournament, all of which had taken the bait far down the gullet.
“I never saw where I was fishing other than on my electronics,” he said. “My Lowrance sonar with Navionics chip was dead on. I was following contour lines the whole way.”
"I'd had 2 real good days and things were going my way," he said.
The final day didn't unfold quite so smoothly. He broke off a good fish right off the bat and lost another just a couple of casts later. When he moved a short distance to try a secondary ridge, a couple of locals moved into his honey hole and remained all day.
"I went over and told them what I was doing and asked them if there was anything I could do to convince them to leave. Their answer wasn't just no, but hell no."
That refusal might have been a blessing, as he was able to locate a fresh batch of fish about 200 yards away. He had a chance to put together a sack that would've rivaled the ones of the first 2 days, but he lost a quality bite on his final cast and had another fish die in the well.
"That last one got into a bush and got off and I thought I'd lost the tournament right there. I really thought Russell Cecil would beat me."
“The wait is over,” a jubilant Milson said onstage at the final weigh-in. “I’ve never been so excited. This is the most wonderful fishing day of my life.”
“I love this sport. It’s what my dad and I did. I did well in my 30s and 40s, and then things went south. I had to take care of my business and my dad died. When I came back I couldn’t find the groove.”
“But this year I learned that I was caught in coves. I wanted fish to come to me instead of going to the fish. I told myself, ‘It’s time to go to the fish,’ and to do that I had to lose sight of land. That was a valuable lesson I learned at Rayburn and Falcon. This time I felt I was going to put it together. I even told some friends I would win this.”
Winning Gear:
Senko gear: 7' medium-action Fenwick HMG (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=FHMGC) rod, Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris signature series casting reel (6.4:1 ratio), 17-pound P-Line Halo (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PLHF) fluorocarbon line, 6/0 Bass Pro Shops XPS wide-gap hook, 3/16-ounce Tru-Tungsten bullet weight (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TTBW), Texas-rigged 7" Yamamoto Senko (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=YAS) (watermelon/red flake).
He said long casts were critical. "I had to strip line off the reel to get it down to those deep fish. If I didn't, the bait would swing quite a ways back toward me."
Most fish wouldn't let go once they'd taken the bait. "They'd hold those Senkos for as long as you wanted them to."
Performance edge – "My Lowrance GPS and Navionics chips. They were dead-on and I was able to follow the contour lines and anticipate what would be coming up. They showed the depth and the breaklines just perfectly."
TW Staff