Our featured Angler for May is Mr. Bass Winner, Bobby Piner

by Peter Robbins
(Who is Pete Robbins & what else has he written?)

Bobby telling everyone how it was done

PREDICTABLY, BOBBY PINER IS MR. BASS FOR 2002

So much for prefishing.

Bobby Piner, of Region 6’s Jordan Point Bassmasters knew last November where he was going to spend the Mr. BASS tournament, held April 6 and 7 from Powhatan Resort on the Chickahominy River. Accordingly, the 32 year old angler spent the week prior to the tournament on vacation with his wife, stepson and two daughters, rather than on the river.

Piner, from nearby Chester, notes that he has "spent a lot of time on this river," and adds that had he practiced, it would have "messed me up." In fact, prior to Mr. BASS the only day he had spent on the river system this year was a one-day tournament the week before.

Other than that one day the week before, his practice consisted of consulting a tide chart. "River fish are different than any lake fish, they’re predictable," and success on the James and Chick, Piner says, depend on your ability to "set a schedule."

THE DRAW
Piner insists that his partner, John Markle, was instrumental in his victory. Although he was optimistic prior to the tournament that he might earn a check in the tournament on his home waters, Piner recognized that typically in these state level tournaments one does not always have control over the waters fished, or when you get to go to your water, and timing was everything in this event.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he drew John Markle of Region 9's Woodbridge Bass Anglers. Markle was not on anything strong, and encouraged Piner to go to his fish, even letting him drive the boat and run the trolling motor for more than his half of the day.

Markle’s generosity (some might call it good sense) was rewarded on the first day, which ended with him in first place with a four fish limit for almost thirteen pounds. On that first day, the partners landed eleven keeper fish over 2 pounds apiece. Although Piner was slightly back in 11^th place, the weights were fairly close together, and Markle encouraged his partner’ saying "either one of us can win this thing."

LOCATION AND PERSISTENCE THE KEYS
Piner and Markle spent both of their tournament days fishing various "pits" on the upper part of the James. Piner is familiar with this water – he lives within two miles of where he won the tournament. Furthermore, in the Fall of 2000, he won the Virginia Federation’s Fall Classic in the same location. Piner declined to specify which pit provided the most success, but did make clear that the pair caught fish in more than one pit.

Piner also stressed that by no means were they the only boat in their chosen fishing location: "There were boats all around us both days watching us cull." What separated them from the rest of the pack? It was his persistence and not giving up." As an example, he cites his last keeper on the second day. He made thirty or forty casts at the same spot, changing baits, changing directions, changing retrieve speeds. His second and third fish that day were much the same scenario.

DAY 2 TOUGHER, CONSISTENT SPOTS COME THROUGH
While Piner and Markle caught 11 keepers on day 1, day 2 proved to be more of a challenge. The pair landed only 5 keepers, with Piner landing 4 of them. Repaying Markle’s earlier good sportsmanship, once Piner caught his limit fish he quit fishing.

All 4 of Piner’s keepers the second day came from spots or areas where he has consistently experienced success in the past. "I just sat there until I caught each one," he says matter-of-factly. Persistence was the key, not the bait. On day 1, he had landed keepers on spinnerbaits, crankbaits, a worm and a jig. On day 2, he landed one fish on a Bass Pro Shops XPS topwater he borrowed from Markle, and the rest on a texas rigged worm. Although the fish came on several different baits, his modus operandi was to fish a spot, leave it alone for a short while, then return, and keep on doing that until the fish was safely in his livewell.

While the pits remained crowded, Piner was amazed at the great sportsmanship exhibited by his fellow competitors. Realizing that both he and his partner had a chance to do well in the tournament, other fishermen in the vicinity gave them a good deal of space, and made sure not to get in their way.

Heading back to the weigh in, Piner didn’t thin he would win, since he didn’t catch a "kicker" fish either day. When the scales stopped spinning, however, he was crowed Mr. BASS for 2002, with 2 limits cumulatively weighing 21.72 pounds.

THE STATE OF THE JAMES AND CHICKAHOMINY RIVER SYSTEMS
There has been much talk lately of the decline of the James and the Chick. Conventional thinking says that these river systems are in free fall, and tournament results seem to bear this out. Piner disagrees, though. As evidence, he points to the caliber of the fish he caught to win the Mr. BASS tournament.

"There may be fewer small fish now," Piner says, but there are still "a pile of quality fish to be caught." He blames diminishing tournament catches on the fishermen, not the ecosystem. "The river has cycles, like anything else, and people are not adapting," he says. As further evidence, he points to a local series of three hour Tuesday night tournament, which lately have taken upwards of fourteen pounds to win, with five fish for over 10 pounds usually needed to get a check.

LOOKING FORWARD
After winning the Fall Classic in October 2000, Piner qualified for the 2001 Eastern Divisional on Buggs Island. He doesn’t mince words when describing his performance in that event: "I had a poor tournament." He is quick to add, however, that the Virginia team, which won the event by approximately 50 pounds, "worked together to do a tremendous job, and that made it very enjoyable."

Piner’s recognizes that his difficulties in the Divisional were the result of his inability to slow down when the fish slowed down. He had been catching schooling fish in practice on power baits, and when a front came through it was hard to stop throwing them. The team members who had success, such as eventual tournament winner Ray Tweedy, slowed down and fished either a texas rig or a Carolina rig.

Looking forward to this September’s Divisional, Piner is happy that the tournament is on the Connecticut River. "I don’t know anything about the river," he says, "but as long as the tide goes up and down I’ll be happy." Always looking for predictability, Piner plans to get a tide chart before he gets a Connecticut River map and he’ll carefully combine the two in developing a practice plan. He half-jokingly adds that "If I can find some pits on that river I’ll be even happier."

If you would like to contact Bobby Piner, he can be reached at gobraves1@prodigy.net.