Page 42 - Lady Bass Digital Magazine May 2023 Revised

LBAA FIRST TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE

LAKE PALESTINE, TEXAS

by MeLisa Rogers, Co-Angler

I have been a member of LBAA since 2020 but hadn’t fished a tournament yet. I perused
the website, kept up with the standings, jumped on the FB page when a message came
through, read the digital magazine cover to cover, so I was familiar with many of the
members through the angler profiles and articles. I intended to fish in 2022, but last year
at this time I was on oxygen recovering from Covid double pneumonia that resulted
in a 33-day hospital stay right after Christmas. I had no lung reserve and was close to
being placed on a ventilator which I would have not likely survived. But, by the Grace
of God…I MADE IT OUT! The road to recovery was a struggle and I finally came off
oxygen in September 2022.

I say all of that to say this…fast forward to December 2022. I sent in the full payment as
a co-angler for all 3 LBAA tournaments for 2023 and decided life was too short not to go
for it. After spending the majority of 2022 somewhat confined, I was ready to get some
version of my life back and was now committed to getting in some tournament fishing
and widening my social circle. Lake Palestine here we go! While a bit nervous about my physical limitations, both of my
boaters were awesome and never made me feel like I was a burden. They were very helpful, patient and such a blessing!
Special thanks to Cheryl Bowden and Leslie Anderson for 2 great days of fishing, fellowship and friendship!

It was great to be on the water again! Morning dew revved up engines, empowered
women and the spirit of healthy competition. Excitement filled the air! From take-off to
the final announcement of the tournament winners, the environment was supportive,
high energy and helpful. There was great camaraderie among everyone including mem-
bers, family, sponsors and spectators. I have to say, the exhilaration of catching any and
all fish, including an itty bitty one at 5 inches on day 1, to standing at the aerator tanks
with a limit of fish on day 2 was second to none. What a great way to re-enter my fish-
ing gig. Fishing this tournament re-ignited my love for the outdoors, sports fishing and
the desire to work harder on my physical recovery. It was a joy and privilege to meet so
many skilled women anglers with a shared passion for the sport of fishing and support-
ive spirit, not to mention totally managing their own rigs AND selfishly helping co- an-
glers like me… so awesome! So, if you are on the fence about entering a tournament,
I’ll reference the famous line from the movie Top Gun Maverick, “Don’t think, just do!”
Thank you, LBAA for helping get my life back!

42 Lady Bass Anglers Association LBAA First Tournament Experience