Total Year Standings
Total Fish Caught 283
Total Dead Fish 3
Total Limits 24
Big Fish 6.27
Total Fish Weight 426.85 lbs

Tournament Results

Lake Seminole was the site for our March tournament.  We had an approaching storm front on Friday that brought  moderately strong winds  but not so much  severe weather to us as it moved  a bit north of the lake.  Even though we did not get rough weather, we did have high blue skies under a strong high pressure dome with moderate winds that made fishing tough for all.  As usual at Seminole, you could fish very clear water or stained water depending on the areas you wanted to fish.   We had moderate temps with highs near 80 and water temps near 70.  There were 23 members and 2 guests fishing.

Brian Nall and I were drawn out as partners.  We decided on a plan and we went to a place up the Hooch that I have always called the “Graveyard”.  It is full of timber and grass and water depth ranges from 6 inches to about 17 feet.  While we did not have much luck ourselves there, we did see a local catch some really nice bass.  We zeroed in on that spot and planned to be there first thing Saturday.

Saturday morning we had light winds and still had some clouds and the water was flowing strong through the channels in the graveyard.  However it was not to be our day, and after about 4 hours we had only 3 fish to show for our efforts.  We decided to go to four-foot ditch and try our chances there.  Brian managed to catch 2 keepers and I caught one and that was how our day ended with 3 keepers each.

At the scales there was only one limit and only a few fish in total, truly nothing like in the past several years. Day one results were as follows: Jeff Weaver was 1^st with 3 nice fish @11.12 lbs.  Mack Cramer was 2^nd with the only limit @8.87 lbs.  3^rd place was Tony Boyette @8.72 lbs. 4^th place was Rick Howard with 3 fish @6.72.  Big fish for the day was Ken Repine @5.91 lbs and also he took the new boo-ray side bet.  Ken that was really a beautiful fish, congratulations.  There were a lot of guys with 2-3 fish and most had from 3-5 lbs, which is a really poor showing for Seminole.

As always we had a cook out at the motel.  We had grilled hamburgers and bratwurst with all the trimmings.  Great job to all who helped in the preparation, organizing, cooking, and clean up!  I think everyone enjoyed the meal and no one left hungry. We all sat around the patio area and told lies and stories and had many good laughs.

Saturday night the cold front blew through and we were greeted with cooler temps, high blue skies, and gusty winds.  These are just about the worst possible conditions to fish Seminole.  I think everyone knew that it would be a tough day.  Brian and I changed areas and went to the fish pond drain area.  Brian caught a nice keeper early on a fluke and I had 4 blowups on a frog but no any hooked up.  We fished hard all day, and Brian only had the one and I had zero.

At the final weigh-in, we found that everyone had tough times.  Less than half the fishermen had fish and only ten guys had fish to show.  Final tournament results are:  Mack Cramer 1^st place @ 13.92 lbs.  Great job Mack under these conditions. 2^nd place was Roger Helm @ 13.53 lbs.  Roger also had lunker for Sunday with a beautiful hawg @ 6.27 lbs.  Currently this is our biggest fish for the tournament year!  3^rd place went to Jeff Weaver @ 13.22 lbs.  Guys… we gotta find a way to slow this guy down!!..Good job Jeff!  4^th place was Tony Boyette @ 8.72 lbs.  Congratulations to the top four fishermen for a good effort in such tough  conditions.

Most fish were caught on soft plastics, flukes, and frogs.  Basic colors used were junebug, green pumpkin, and watermelon seed.

Next month is another 2 day tournament. It will be at Lake Martin near Alexander City, Alabama.  Lake Martin is a great fishery and it is a beautiful lake.  It has over 750 miles of shoreline and clarity usually ranges from a slight stain (north end) to crystal clear (south end).  There are both largemouth and spotted bass in Martin as well and some world class stripers.  Make your plans now to fish and enjoy this great opportunity.  We will have another meal together on Saturday night.  We’ll be staying at the Bob White Motel, and Simi had always gone out of his way to make us welcome there.

Until next time…Keep Your Hooks Sharp!

John