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Fishing with World Series winning Phillies
Shortstop Eric Bruntlett (continued)
After
lunch Zander and Eric decided to head to the south end of the lake, to areas
where Eric was more familiar with the structure. Favoring rocky piles Eric
positioned the boat about 50 feet off the rocks and proceeded to fish with a
heavy 3/4oz. jig. Eric was unrelenting and pulled up a few more fish and it was
now seven fish to zero for the boat. On the other side of the island a pair of
anglers were pulling fish after fish using minnows. At times the minnow bite on
Clear Lake can be outstanding, and on this day the minnows were destroying lures
in terms of effectiveness. “It is just so much more satisfying catching a bass
on a lure, at least for me,” Zander said. “Isn’t it,” Eric returned quickly.
Finally Zander catches a fish with
a Norman DD22
Zander knew the jigs and
jerkbaits he was fishing just weren’t doing the trick and unless he mixed it up
quickly he would be going home with a donut as well. Knowing minnows were
getting the fish he decided to tie on a deep diving Norman DD22 in splatter bass
pattern. Cranking deep down he could feel the lip of the lure digging against
the top of the rock pile. It didn’t take long for the adjustment to pay off when
he was rewarded with a 4lb largemouth. “Now that’s what I call a healthy Clear
Lake bass,” Eric exclaimed.
Leo rejoices with a one and a half
pound fish that ends his 2009 skunk record
At the other side of the
lake Leo was hard at work, or rather he was working a dropshot rig hard.
Unfortunately all his tip shaking action had resulted in no fish and by 3:00 he
was wondering if his 2009 dry spell was going to persist. Knowing the drop shot
rig wouldn’t let him down he finally felt those oh so sweet ticks on the end of
his line and pulled up a small bass just over a pound and a half. With an
energetic howl he high-fived Cal and exclaimed “the 2009 skunk is over!”
Leo works a Megabass Vision 110 in
Ito pattern
With the pressure off Leo
decided to try and get the fish with a different technique. JIP had landed a few
with ripbaits so he decided it was time to do the same and dug out a Lucky
Craft. “Try one of these instead,” Cal said as he handed him a Megabass Vision
110 in Ito pattern. “That lure is one of Zander and my favorites,” Cal added.
Leo ripped the Ito back to the boat and within three casts he landed a nice two
and a half pound fish. “I need to pick up some of these,” Leo said. “Keep it,”
Cal responded grinning, knowing that he had inflicted yet another unsuspecting
angler on premium Japanese tackle.
Success!
Meanwhile back on the
south end after exhausting the rockpile Zander and Eric head even further south
where they marked a number of humps at the end of a long point. “Let’s crank
this edge,” Eric said as he reached back and pulled out a marker buoy. He
repositioned the boat and tossed a marker up over the end of the point and
Zander and Eric worked back and forth cranking the entire area. Zander came up
with one more largemouth and by then the sun started to set and they pulled the
buoy and headed back to the other side of the lake to meet up with the rest of
the crew.
You
would never even know that Eric is a professional baseball player who had just
helped win a World Series, as he is as easygoing and down to earth as any other
angler on the lake
Conclusion: There
were not many fish today, and with seven fish Eric led the count proving that
baseball isn’t the only thing that this World Series winning player was good at.
Zander cranked up a pair of fish, JIP ripped up two, Leo buried the skunk thanks
to a combination of drop shot and the Megabass Vision 110 and Cal….well someone had
to blank. Remaining committed to the big baits Cal rolled the dice and didn’t
come up with a Clear Lake lunker today, but that was just fine with him as he
knew that when it happens, just like it has so many times before, all those
unanswered retrieves would have been worth it. Fishing with Eric was a lot of
fun, while relaxed he approaches fishing with the same passion as he does the
game. He loves it, and like most things, if you love something you put in the
time to get good. Talking to Eric you would never even know that he is a
professional baseball player who had just helped win a World Series, as he is as
easygoing and down to earth as any other angler, and while the crew here at TT
were not Phillies fans the day before by the time we left Clear Lake we were all
fans of number 4…. Eric Bruntlett.
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