This past weekend at Andong (May 8th and 9th) was by far my best time I’ve ever had there, fishing wise. As I was fishing the KSA Challenger Pro tournament there on Sunday, I went up there on Saturday morning to fish the practice day. As always, I caught some great bass in practice that would of got me a great result had I caught them on the tourney day!!
Here’s the biggest bass from Saturday that weighed 2.83kg / over 6lbs on my digital scale and was over 50cm, I caught her on a buzzbait early in the morning.
I caught another 7 or 8 more bass on the Saturday and all of them were 40cm or over and all of them fell for a wacky rigged senko.
I even caught a pesky Keuri on a jerkbait 
With my game plan worked out for the Sunday, I went out and caught 9 bass in the tournament, and again, all bass were over 40cm, but I couldn’t find another kicker like I got on the Saturday 
During the day, I managed to cull 2 times and weighed in 3 bass at 3,400g which was good enough to get me in 11th place overall – 1 place and 145g out of the money
Here’s some of Sunday’s smaller and culled bass, I don’t have any photos of my 3 keepers yet, I’m waiting for some photos to be posted on the KSA site.
You did good Steve! The power of the Senko cannot be denied
Sounds like you had a great weekend, Steve and I’m really glad to hear it.
Congratulations Steve, and great pics! Let me guess, wacky-rigged Senkos up in the coves along the rock walls? Also, on the main lake points at the mouths of the coves? Andong is great this time of year, always some nice bass to be caught!!! Again, congrats!!
Thanks a lot guys. Any weekend at Andong is great, but to catch a bunch of those nice Andong bass is a great bonus.
Rob, shhhhhhh! don’t tell everyone, lol.
good going steve. hope you get come up on the money next time!
I always avoided places where bass fishing tournaments were held because they leave a trail of dead fish in their wake. It’s quite repulsive. The “pro” bass fucktards like to give the impression they keep the bass alive for the weigh-in but most are half-dead. It’s just a dog-and-pony show. Nothing ruins a fishing spot more than a bass tourney.
James, the KSA guys have gotten a lot better over the years, and I’ve never seen a tournament where “most” of the fish are half-dead, either here or in the states. They’re actually pretty resilient creatures, as I’m sure you know.
To each his own I say. I’ve never fished a tournament and probably never will, but it’s not because I find it replusive; it’s because I like to fish for fishing’s sake, to relax, and I think fishing in a tournament would probably take that away from me. As long as they’re catching and releasing, being environmentally conscious and responsible, and having fun, I see no reason to hate on them.
I do believe that if you kill fish or game, you should eat it, plain and simple though.
Steve, wish I could have seen you catch that big one on a buzz bait!! I’ve never had much luck with top water baits, but I bet that was a site to see!!!
Actually Rob, when that bass hit the buzzbait I thought it was just a smaller sized bass as the bite and surface ripples were very subtle, but once she realised she was hooked I knew it was a good bass. In fact, every bass I caught over the weekend fought like a steam train!
I’ve never had any luck with top water lures at all, but that may be because if I don’t get a hit within 3 casts, I’m back to Senkos
Nomad, once you get that first top water bite, you WILL be hooked, pun very much intended!
Steve,
Those are some nice bass. I remember the first time I fished Andong (2004), I started off and stayed with a buzz bait most of the time. The Koreans I went with laughed at me and told me I would not catch anything. Several casts later I nailed one and then another and then the Koreans were asking me if I had any more. Buzzbaits work and man are they fun. Even when I fly fish out here, I use a dry hopper on top with a smaller midge (wet fly) below and man is it awesome to see the trout come up to the top to take your bait.
Great job Steve. Catchin’ big ones on Saturday and not being able to duplicate on Sunday is a way of life at Andong. What I started doing in practice was not setting the hook on bites I got, marking the area, and hitting it first on tournament morning. It works unless someone fishes in the same spot.
Thanks John. The trouble with the Challenger Pro tournaments is that there are a ton of boats fishing in a small area, so I have to be real fast to get to my spots first.