SHORELINES

10 minutes. He is known for his lastminute appearances. "I don't want to be in the boat early Howell's ride is a quick one. At 5:45, he glides his boat into a pocket where he had caught several nice bass and listening to all that dock talk," he on a swimming jig in practice. He says. "I don't want to hear the other notices immediately the water level has fishermen talking about where they're fallen more than 10 inches overnight. going to fish and how they are going to He suspects his game plan for this fish. I don't want them asking me how tournament has become useless even and where I'm going to fish. before it began. "That messes with my mind. I have my game plan and I don't want to change anything at this point." After an hour of fishing, he hasn't gotten a single bite. It's time for Plan B. "The bass clear out of shallow Howell already has taken his 16 areas when the water is dropping," he fishing rods out of storage and has them explains. "They usually move out to strapped down to the boat's deck in the points in deeper water." anticipation of the upcoming high-speed Howell's hunch is correct. At 7 run. He was up until 11 p.m. the night a.m., he lands his first fish, a nice before putting new lines on his reels and 3-pound spotted bass. He then prays getting his baits ready. The day is just for it to stay cloudy for the rest of the beginning and already he is tired. day. The bass will stay on the points and hit topwater lures all day if the cloud cover remains, he explains. Over the next 90 minutes, he puts a limit of five fish in the boat. Unfortunately for Howell, none of the last four bass are as large as the first. He knows if he is to have a chance in this tournament, he must catch bigger fish. The takeoff at any tournament is He goes back to his original game plan of nerve-wracking. More than 160 boats swimming a jig in shallow water. After a wanting to get the jump on others couple of hours with no luck, he decides churn the water into a tumultuous to change his game plan again. Howell path. It makes for rough riding that takes a fast 15-mile boat run from the Pell strains already hurting bodies. City area to Logan Martin Lake Dam. Above: Photo by Billy Brown — Anglers wait at the tournament boat launch. Right: Photo by Billy Brown — Randy Howell brings 16 fishing rods for the tournament. 8 S hor el i ne s | 2013 Vol:2

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