"I spent five weeks up here pre-fishing and thought I had them figured out," said Angler Bob Harkness only a few hours after his run in the Forrest Wood Cup in Pittsburgh came to a close. "They changed, fish change and once you think you have them whipped they sort of kick your butt."
Harkness, who hails from tiny Elizabeth, West Virginia was fishing among the elites of the bass world for two days and frankly holding his own. He brought three keepers to the scales on day one, but had a roaring comeback on day two with a five-fish limit that put his two-day total catch at 9-pounds for the event. It was good enough to finish 19th in the field of 70 anglers, but missed the top-10 cut by a more 2lbs. and change.
"I went down there and right off the bat lost one that was about a two-and-a half pound largemouth and that REALLY hurt,” Harkness told MetroNews. "Then I lost another smallmouth about a pound and a half and that would have been my (day one) limit right there."
Harkness spent his time in the second pool down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh. It was the last pool anglers were allowed to fish in the tournament. There’s no question he was on the winning pattern as several anglers who did land in the top ten were fishing within site of his boat, including pro Larry Nixon and local favorite David Lefebre.
During his pre-fishing, Harkness said he spent considerable time in the area and was getting 20-bites a day. He also had a good pre-fishing day on the Allegheny, but when he returned there for practice during tournament week, there was nothing left and the fish had changed significantly.
Day two of the tournament brought heavy rain and made yet another change–that actually worked in his favor. The water muddied a bit and raised six to eight inches.
"I REALLY was on the fish this (Friday) afternoon. I locked back up and the water had come up six to eight inches and I was just sticking them," said Harkness. "I was culling fish actually. My partner had one fish when we locked through and he caught four more. We were the only boat that had two guys with a limit."
Harkness was beaming with confidence as he left those banks just above the lock and dam. Confident in that if he could have made the top ten, he could have returned there Saturday and sacked a big stringer of largemouth. It was not to be however.
"I was talking to my partner and said I couldn’t wait until next year to get to fish a tour. He said, ‘I hope you’re not disappointed because this tournament is the greatest thing on earth,’" explained Harkness.
"It’s a little disappointing for me as a rookie and not knowing what to expect and maybe I took it a little for granted, but it is a big deal especially for just a little weekend angler,” Harness said.