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

Email: John Buck

Founded In 1975


October Tournament
Total Fish Caught 116
Total Dead Fish 0
Total Limits 12
Big Fish
4.29
Total Fish Weight 171.65 lbs

Total Year Standings
Total Fish Caught 814
Total Dead Fish 25
Total Limits 87
Big Fish
6.96
Total Fish Weight 1319.90 lbs


*** Tournament Big Fish ***
Terry Smith
4.29 lbs


Apalachicola
Pine Log Landing
*** Big Fish Of The Year ***
Ron Bridges
6.96 lbs
1st Place
Don Janke
10 Fish 19.56 lbs
2nd Place
Dave Dyess
10 Fish 17.03 lbs
3rd Place
Terry Smith
7 Fish 14.29 lbs
4th Place
Roger Helm
9 Fish 13.97 lbs


Place Name Fish Weight
1. Don Janke 10 19.56
2. Dave Dyess 10 17.03
3. Terry Smith 7 14.29
4. Roger Helm 9 13.97
5. Dan Nash 9 13.41
6. John Buck 9 13.03
7. Mack Cramer 7 11.97
8. Kevin Simmons 8 9.68
9. Lee Brannon 7 9.39

Tournament Results


Also Fished:
Everyone Caught Fish!

Place Name Fish Weight
10. Jeff Weaver 6 9.09
11. Steve Meadowns 6 7.85
12. Jere Jaillite 6 6.71
13. Dave Bock 5 6.44
14. Ron Bridges 5 5.75
15.Frank Dodge44.75
16..Buddy Yates44.21
17.Tony Boyett22.46
18.Bob Jones22.10

TOURNAMENT REPORT

Apalachicola River
October 22/23, 2011
Pine Log Landing

The October tournament was held on the Apalachicola River.  We had 18 members fishing. This was a special tournament in that it was also the end of the year “fish-off” tournament.  The standings were tight in the “top six” and this tournament would determine the final places, and also the “fisherman of the year”.  We had blue bird skies and cool temps and the water temp varied from mid 60’s to around 72 depending on where you fished. Heavy rains a few days earlier made for strong currents in places and some muddy water in the main river.  Clear water could be found in many creeks and in Wimico.

Roger Helm and I drew out as partners.  We had never fished together before and both of us looked forward to a fun weekend.  Roger had been scouting there for a few days and so he had some ideas when we started practicing on Friday.  We found fish in 3 or 4 different places and we just had to decide which would be best for us. 

On Saturday we started out in the lower delta and fished some runs that were ripping with current.  We needed at least a ½ ounce sinker to get the baits down.  We managed several fish there but not what we wanted, so around 8 am we headed to our second spot.  At that time he had 3 keepers and I had 2.  We ran to a small creek off the St. Marks River and we found them stacked up really good.  The only problem was that they were mostly small.  Over the day Roger must have boated over 45 fish and I probably boated over 25.   We each culled several and had a great day fishing together.  Near the time to leave we found a bank that was stacked with 2-3 lb fish.  We knew that would be our starting place for Sunday.  We caught fish on mostly worms (junebug) with heavy weights cause the current was strong everywhere we fished.

At the Saturday weigh in Don Jahnke came in with a nice limit @ 11.21 lbs for 1st place day one, Terry Smith was 2nd with a limit @ 10.60, Mack Cramer was 3rd @ 9.57, Roger Helm was 4th @ 9.40, Dan Nash was 5th @ 8.81, John Buck was 6th @8.58, Dave Dyess was 7th @ 8.23, 8th was Lee Brannon @ 7.50, Jeff Weaver was 9th @ 7.05, and Kevin Simmons was 10th @ 5.93.  Everyone had fish to weigh in and all had a good day on the water.   The fish really bit well for all but mostly the bite was small fish.  Terry Smith brought in the lunker @4.29 lbs.  Most fish were caught on worms and spinner baits and top water lures.  The stage was set for a showdown for the fisherman of the year honors and with one day left it was still a toss up.


Back at the motel we had our annual “President’s Dinner” and as usual Dave really did it right!  We had great porterhouse steaks, baked potatoes, salad, and dessert.  Wow what a feast!!!  The steaks were really great and all ate their fill.  We had a great time sitting around together and telling lies and stories. I want to say a special “Thank You” to Dave for putting it all together again and also a special “Thank You” to everyone there because when it came time for set up and clean up EVERYONE pitched in and helped get it done.

As the sun rose on Sunday, everyone was poised to chase the bass again in hopes of that great bite we had on Saturday.  Roger and I really thought we had the ticket because we had found quality fish stacked in creek bends late Saturday afternoon.  We headed straight there only to find that overnight the creek had turned to chocolate milk and the bite was gone.  We then headed for our back up spot and we started catching fish immediately but not like the day before. We caught maybe 30 fish on Sunday and, as before, Roger caught 3 to my one.  Each of us wound up with only 4 keepers to show for our efforts.  Even though we were disappointed with the results we found we had a great time again fishing together. He really taught me several lessons in flipping the grass.

At the weigh in on Sunday there were some long faces and only a few smiles too.  Most of the guys did not do as well as the day before but several still held strong and finished well.  The second day order was as follows. Dave Dyess @ 8.80 lbs, 2nd  Don Jahnke @ 8.35 lbs, 3rd Dan Nash @ 4.60 lbs, 4th Roger Helm @ 4.57 lbs, 5th John Buck @ 4.45 lbs, 6th Dave Bock @ 4.41 lbs, 7th Steve Meadows @ 3.79 lbs, 8th Kevin Simmons @3.75 lbs, 9th Terry Smith @ 3.69 lbs, 10th Ron Bridges @3.30 lbs.  Then lunker was caught by Don Jahnke @ 2.34 lbs.  Once again most of the fish came on spinner baits, worms and top water baits. A quick look at the two days shows how much the bite stopped on the second day.

The final results for the tournament (monthly) are: 1st Place Don Jahnke @19.56 lbs, 2nd Dave Dyess 2 17.03 lbs, 3rd Terry Smith @14.29 lbs, and 4th Roger Helm @13.97 lbs.  Congratulations guys!!!


 The finals for the “Fish-Off” are as follows:
1.  Don Jahnke 19.56
2.  Dave Dyess 17.03
3.  Terry Smith 14.29
4.  Dan Nash 13.41
5.  John Buck 13.03
6.  Mack Cramer 11.97
7.  Kevin Simmons 9.6
8.  Lee Brannon 9.39
9.  Jeff Weaver 9.09
10.  Steve Meadows 7.85

After all was totaled Mack Cramer won the “Fisherman of the Year” title. Congratulations Mack of a great tournament year!!  The “top six” are as follows:
1. Mack Cramer 207 pts.
2. John Buck 204 pts.
3. Jeff Weaver 199 pts
4. Dave Dyess 198 pts.
5. Buddy Yates  184 pts.
6. Lee Brannon 180 pts.
Congratulations to the “Top Six”!

November starts our new tournament season so now is the time to get a good start.  Make your plans to attend the meeting and fish the tournament.  It will be at Millers Ferry and that is a great place for November! 

As we end the tournament season I want to say a special THANK YOU to Jim Bailey for all of his efforts to make this website available and for his efforts to make it such a good site to visit.  “Thank You” to all the out-going members of the eboard for a job well done. And of course a thanks to all the members of the Hawg Hunters Bass Club who make this such a great club!  Til next time…Keep your hooks sharp!
John