John Buck 		John's Club Report
Covering The Pensacola Hawg Hunters
2011 Season

 Email: John Buck
Founded In 1975
March Tournament
Total Fish Caught 110
Total Dead Fish 0
Total Limits 15
Big Fish 6.96
Total Fish Weight 251.51 lbs

Total Year Standings
Total Fish Caught 306
Total Dead Fish 0
Total Limits 33
Big Fish 6.96
Total Fish Weight 528.87 lbs

*** Tournament Big Fish ***
Ron Bridges
6.96 lbs

Lake Seminole
Seminole Lodge
*** Big Fish Of The Year ***
Ron Bridges
6.96 lbs
1st Place
Ron Bridges
10 Fish 27.47 lbs		 2nd Place
Buddy Yates
9 Fish 24.43 lbs		 3rd Place
Lee Brannon
8 Fish 23.66 lbs		 4th Place
Dave Dyess
10 Fish 23.27 lbs

Place Name Fish Weight
1. Ron Bridges 10 27.47
2. Buddy Yates 9 24.43
3. Lee Brannon 8 23.66
4. Dave Dyess 10 23.27
5. Jeff Weaver 10 21.43
6. John Buck 10 20.99
7. Brian Nall 10 18.58
8. Mack Cramer 10 18.52

Tournament Results

Also Fished
Bill Myrick

Guest
Andy Gunn - Steve Meadows
Eddy Franzone - Neil Springstead

Place Name Fish Weight
9. Bob Jones 7 18.43
10. Dan Nash 8 12.81
11. Roger Helms 3 10.33
12. Pete Potter 3 8.97
13. Jere Jaillite 4 8.80
14. Don Jahnke 3 7.01
15. Dave Bock 5 6.81

TOURNAMENT REPORT

Lake Seminole
 March 19-20, 2011
 		Seminole Lodge

Lake Seminole was the site for our March tournament. We launched from Seminole Lodge in Sneads, Fl. The weather was really nice with low temps in the mid to upper 50's in the mornings and highs reaching near 83 in the afternoons. Water level was about normal and color ranged from good stain to very clear depending on where you chose to fish. We had 17 members and 3 guests fishing this event. We also had a special treat to have a couple of guys we have not seen in a while fish with us, Pete Potter and Neil Springstead. We also ran into a former member John Gasperak who was up from the Lakeland area. He was fishing in a federation tournament that launched at the same site as us.

My partner for the weekend was Ron Bridges. We fished his boat, and we decided to get a head start on places to check out so we went up on Thursday. We fished areas up the Flint side on Thursday and found a pretty good bite, but they would not hit any kind of moving bait for us. We caught good fish by "dead sticking" flukes and really slow fishing plastic worms. On Friday we fished the Hooch side and found a good bite there also on the same pattern as on Thursday. We never found a concentration of fish but we were able to get good bites moving up the grassy banks and fishing grass along the edge and also in the reed clumps near the bank. Even though our bite was not concentrated in a specific area, it was steady. We kept the boat in less than 3 feet of water and fished very shallow. Our water was clear but not clear enough to see any beds.

On Saturday we found a good bite like I mentioned before, and we each had a limit by mid-morning. Ron caught the first 4 keepers then, I caught the next 4 keepers. After that we just caught them randomly. Neither of us had any big fish but they were good solid tournament fish. Each of us had our lines broken on fish but we never saw them so who knows what they were. Most importantly, both of us really had a great time fishing together, telling tales, lies, and good stories, and catching fish of course!

At the day 1 weigh-in, there were stories of all sorts. The best story of the day was a guest Andy Gunn. Andy brought a 15 lb plus bag to the scales, including a nice 5.6 lb fish to take the lunker pot. Taking 1st place for day one was Lee Brannon with 5 fish @ 14.96. 2nd place was Jeff Weaver with 5 fish @ 13.30. 3rd place was Dave Dyess with 5 fish @ 13.20. The 4th slot was taken by John Buck with 5 fish @ 11.72. My partner Ron had 5 fish @ 8.27.

Saturday night we had a terrific evening with a great fish fry. We all sat around and jokes and lied and enjoyed a great evening of fun together. A very special "Thank You" goes to Carolyn Myrick. She made a great dish of cookies which we devoured for our dessert. Also thanks and kudos for a job well done to Dave and Lee and any of the others who helped to prepare the food and made all the arrangements etc.

As Sunday morning arrived we were all ready to go find the fish again. Ron and I decided just to return to our same area and try the same thing again because it did work well the day before. We both felt that we had more fish there and that we could catch some good fish maybe. Hahaha no "maybe" about it Ron showed me how to catch the good ones. We started the morning and right away Ron caught a nice fish maybe 4lbs, on a Bang-o-lure. Then I caught a decent keeper on a worm. Near mid morning a heavy fog bank blew in and the temp dropped about 8 degrees and chilled us good, but it also made the fish bite. Almost immediately I caught a nice 2 ½ lb keeper. About 10 minutes later Ron hooked up with a nice 5 lb plus and we thought maybe we had something going. On the next cast Ron missed the hit but threw back and got the bite again. He brought in a 6.96 lb. beauty. We each had limits to take to the scales but my limit paled in comparison to his. Ron's 2nd day total was 19.2 lbs. And when combined with the day one weight, it was enough to give him the win. He certainly won lunker the second day but more importantly he won the "booray".

At the final weigh-in it was Ron Bridges with a total weight of 27.47 who won first place. Great job Ron!!! Second place went to Buddy Yates @ 24.43 lbs. Buddy made a really good charge on Sunday with a nice bag. 3rd Place was Lee Brannon @ 23.66 lbs. 4th place went to Dave Dyess @ 23.27lbs. Most fish were caught on worms and flukes. A few were snagged on rattle traps and spinners. Ron and I fished junebug worms, (mag 2, and trick), and bang-o-lures. All in all it was a great weekend and we had no mishaps that I am aware of. We really had a lot of fun with the cook out and fellowship.

We had 3 guests fishing Andy Gun, Eddie Franzone, and Steve Meadows. Guys we really enjoyed having you with us and I hope you enjoyed your trip, and will consider joining our club. For everyone's info…our next meeting will be APRIL 13. It is early due to the Easter holiday the following week. Our next tournament is another 2 day trip. This time it will be at Lake Jordan in Wetumpka, Al. This lake is not so big as Seminole but it is a great spotted bass fishery. I hope everyone will make plans to attend the meeting and fish the tournament. Until next time…

Keep your hooks sharp!!
John