66 replies to this topic

[louis]

I thought with the atc around the corner, we could all throw down some pictures and stories from past events to get ready. I have been lucky to be at 2 atc's 2005, and 2006. i had the time of my life at both! here are some highlights.

in 2005 i went with my buddy donnie. it was our first big team tournament ever and we were very nervous. but when we arrived everyone was so nice and friendly. we stayed up way too late at the corn boil telling stories with tons of cag members we knew from this forum, but had never met before. zach was there getting people excited to win the growing side pot...



day one came and we drew what seemed like a great peg by the baseball feilds. by mid afternoon it was hot! both the fishing and the weather. coming from the northeast, we were used to cold weather. we both wore pants and sweated all day. no umbrella, no shade in our swim. can you tell??



we caught alot of fish and found that we were somewhere in the top 10 back at the hotel. we were psyched!

day 2 started off great. jim collins and josef settel were right next to us. it wasrefreshing after being kind of alone the day before. we chatted all morning while josef and jim BOTH landed a 30+ carp.



soon after donnie got a wicked run. he fought it for a while and it was still far, far away. the fish rolled on top too far to really see it, but we were sure that it was a 40+... it turned out to be a lot bigger than 40, but it was a buffalo.



here is is next to jim's 30+ carp:



since it was so hot the day before, we decided to wear shorts today. we didnt even bring sweatshirts. guess what? it was very cold. and it rained a lot! we kept on cathing though



donnie later caught his pb carp! what a day for him!!



by the end of the day we knew we were close to the top. we ended up in 2nd. i was bewildered. the dinner and party that night was so fun. i'll never forget it!





one of my greatest experiences with the club!

[Mario Kok]

one of my greatest experiences with the club!

No need for sarcasm now Louis...

Edited by Keith, 11 January 2008 - 12:42 PM.

[louis]

i forget the joke.. but i think scott said if somebody brought him a thong that he would wear it. boy was that a zinger!! !!!

[louis]

wow soctt, i have done well at that baseball spot. in fact thats the first peg i ever pulled at the atc, where donnie got sunburned.

anyway, here is another one from me.. the atc 2006!

this year i fished the event with Phil GB, VA chairman, and well known golden ball juggler. Our peg on day one was down by the dam. it was a brand new swim, never fished before as the hole was just recently cut through the bamboo



we were excited to be in deep water near the potential for big fish.. but we only caught 1 fish. it came on my rod, but i only placed it where phil had seen a fish top.. so it was a good team effort..

the following day we also thought our peg would be awesome. it was at the mouth of barton springs. the cool water coming into the warm lake should be a great place for fish to gather, right? well a few hours into the tournament, it became clear that there was a canoe rental joint a few hundred yards up the stream. they were pouring out all day. but we still tried our best till the end. i really doubt that anyone had this many boats in front of them. all types of canoes and kayaks... we got over it and started making fun byhalfway through the day...





tournaments are won by a combination of things. the peg is important, but so is your startegy, and your persevierance. for example keith and i won the nationals in 2005 from a peg that the previous years competitors gave up and quit early in... phil and i did not give up. eventually phil waded our into the water as far as he could and realized we had been fishing on a 3' deep plateau all day, and it went out as far as we could cast. we had assumed it was much deeper because it did seem to drop at the edge. and continued to for as far as my smart cast would read.. so we decided to wade out across the plateau as far as we could and cast from there, then bring our rods back. there was a shelf on the other side that was a pretty good structure. it had to be 150-200 yards from our pods. what was the result? catching a bunch of fish! riht through the boats. it was hilarious to say the least.





i forgot how many fish we caught, but it was enough to finish from the back of the pack to around 7th place. we never turned in our card though so the final standings were moot. we still felt as if we had conquered our own personal struggle which is really the greatest challenge of all to me.

ps... i did not mention that my rod fell off my pod into the water, hooked my other rod with the handle, and 2 of my rods went in deep off the side of the plateau... i went in over my chest waders trying to find them and phil went in over his saving me. it was really funny.



that with this image illustrates that plateau, these pictures are taken from about the same vantage point:





i'll post pictures from the following event, the 2006 texas carp challenge and some other austin trips too when i can dig them up... why not add yours???

[Big Carphuna]

Here's a few of many of mine...
1. My dad, in 2005 ATC, with "Ina" her first time out at 41+lbs. ATC Big Fish '05 and still dad's PB.
2. Day 1 of the 2006 ATC, hectic! Me with my largest ATC fish ever and largest ever in a tournament, and my 6th largest carp ever from Town at over 38lbs.
3. Dad 1 wasn't complete without my dad's 40+lber! These last 2 fish anchored the ATC's highest 1-day total of near 410lbs! Just one of those days that go so well. One of my fondest fishing memories ever!!
While the fish were special, they were just part of our memories. But, they tend to get all the camera time!

4. Trophy time! Pinnacle of the overall experiences I've had on this amazing water!

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Edited by Big Carphuna, 11 January 2008 - 01:11 AM.

[Neil Stern]

yep,
that one was a cool event.....Jackie and I tried to throw great parties, and when the Lake cooperated you can't beat the ATC !!!

Spectacular fish......
here's Radu with another one,,,,,
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[TimJC]

Here are the only ones I have on my work PC. These pictures are from my partner Dick Laubscher from the 2007 ATC. I caught two fish on the second day of the tournament in the infamous "dead zone" across from the old hotel.

Our swim on day 1 produced zero. Karl and Keith were at the peg next to us and blanked as well. On day two they drew our peg and decided to fish elsewhere instead of blank a second day on an adjacent swim.
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Here I am fighting my first fish on day two just after the competition begin. Notice how dark it is still. There a fish splashing when we first arrived so I made sure to have one rod ready to go in the water when it was time. I didn't even turn on my alarm while I was mixing method and getting situated, so the clicker was my only notification.
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Releasing my first fish on 18 pounds and change. Note the shirt I bought the night before at the Rockfish Grill.
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My second and last fish came while packing up and resting before the end of the tournament. I was sitting in my chair facing away from the water and listening to my iPod when I heard the faint sound of my alarm going off. This fish was 22 something and came on a peach boilie from Red Demon, hence the shirt.
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And the release shot.
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[David Moore]

From way back in '02..

I'll let Scotty give the details since remembers this stuff(even though he wasn't there) better than I do

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[David Moore]

Some More

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[Big Carphuna]

No problem, Dave..
All at the innaugural ATC, 2002!
1. Narda's PB 31-10 common.
2. Pete Dawson's 35+.
3. Richard's mirror brace, 28+ (Pearl) and 25+.
4. Richard's memorable 42-4 & 38+ brace!
5. Still the official largest CAG Event carp of 45-11.
6. Tim Boyle's then PB of 36+.
7. Carlie Scott with his true "team fish", the second ever Town 40+ @ 41-10.
8. Garry Gillis' 31+.
9-10-11. Keith with his "poached mirror, brace of 20's, and an awsome 40-2.