Total Year Standings
Total Fish Caught 661
Total Dead Fish 12
Total Limits 48
Big Fish 6.27
Total Fish Weight 979.03 lbs

Tournament Results

The October tournament was held on Lay Lake near Clanton, Alabama.  This tournament was also our annual “Fish-Off” tournament.  The water was clear and a bit high on Saturday and then about a foot lower on Sunday.  We had “blue bird” skies and moderate winds and temperatures each day.   The water temperature was about 72.  Each morning we were greeted with thick fog which burned off as the morning temperature rose.

 I drew out with Dave Bock for this tournament and we decided to go up a day early to scout and hopefully find fish.  We did not have much success in our search, but we did find a few fish feeding on shad in Paint Creek.  

 We arrived at our starting place only to find that the shad were not there like the previous day.  I threw a worm while Dave threw a crank bait.  After I put the second fish in the boat Dave switched to a worm also.  I managed 3 fish there and then it was a long dry spell before either of us caught another fish. We were fishing secondary points in the creek along grass edges.  I think now that maybe we should have been fishing main lake points or just inside the cove mouths.  As the day wore on, we both caught a couple of more fish.  At the scales Dave had 3 and I had 4.  We were both very disappointed in our productivity.

 There was one guy who was not disappointed with his productivity.  Jeff Weaver gave us all a lesson in fishing after a cold front and brought a nice limit to the scales that weighed 8.64 lbs.  He just showed us how to truly secure the “Fisherman of the Year” honor .   Mack Cramer showed us that Jeff was not the only one who could catch a fish as he brought in a nice limit also to hold 2nd place with 8.26 lbs.  Taking the 3^rd slot for day 1 was Marc Churchwell with a limit for 7.6 lbs.  4th place for day one was Lee Brannon with 4 fish @ 7.33 lbs.  Lunker for the first day went to Brian Nall @ 3.64 lbs.  The rest of the guys fishing were grouped pretty tight behind these and the only thing “sewed up” on day one was Jeff with “Fisherman of the Year”.    Lee Brannon won the golf ball draw on Day one.   

 We held our annual “President’s Dinner” after the fishing day, and it was really great.  The steaks were delicious, and all the trimmings and baked potatoes were outstanding.  Many “cudos and thank you’s“ are in order.  A special THANK YOU goes to Jere’s better half JULIE for pre-baking the potatoes for us so all we had to do was heat them in micro waves and on the grill.  Thanks to Jere for taking the responsibility to pick up all the groceries and getting the steaks and for all the extra effort he put in cleaning the grill and basically organizing the entire affair.   Marc not only showed his fishing abilities this tournament but he did a great job cooking the steaks.  There were several others who pitched in and helped in many things and also very special thanks to those who took part in the clean up afterward.  These types of activities are just a few of the things that make our group fun and special. 

 Day 2 of the tournament greeted us with cool temps and fog again.  Dave and I returned to the area where we found fish the day before but we only managed one small fish on a C-rig.  Eventually later in the morning we left that area and headed to a favorite cove of mine.  We found fish on basically one point at the mouth and put 6 (3 each)fish in the boat on worms.  That ended our day as we ran out of time.

At the final weigh in, Jeff Weaver showed up and really humbled the rest of us with another nice limit @12.62 lbs. (total 21.32)This gave him the tournament win in addition to “Fisherman of the Year”.  Congratulations Jeff!!   Lee Brannon showed up with a nice stringer also @ 11.7 lbs and this gave him 2^nd place overall in the tournament(total  19.03).  3^rd place went to Marc Churchwellwith 7.21 lbs (total 14.81).  4^th place was Don Jahnke @ 10.44 lbs (total 13.76).  Lunker went to Thom Labelle @ 4.4lbs.   Terry Smith duplicated Lee Brannon's efforts and won the golf ball draw on Sunday.

 The four places listed above are the same in the fish-off tournament places 5-10 are listed below.

5^th John Buck (10.95), 6^thJereJailitte (10.90), 7^th Brian Nall (10.65), 8^th Dave Dyes (10.55),  9^th Mack Cramer (10.02), & 10^th Dave Bock (9.85).  Congratulation guys for finishing in the top ten places for this tournament.

 Our “Top Six fishermen this year are: 1^st Jeff Weaver, 2^nd Mack Cramer, 3r Buddy Yates, 4^th Rich Howard, 5^th Lee Brannon, and 6^thJereJaillite.  Congratulation guys…well done!!!!

November will start our new tournament year and this is the perfect time to get on board for a fresh start.  Make your plans to attend the meeting and the tournament.  It will be out of Cliff’s landing on the Tensaw River.  Both the meeting and the tournament will be a week earlier than usual because of the Thanksgiving holidays.  Be sure to check your schedule for this.  Also make your plans to attend our awards banquet in December.  Last year we had over 35 people in attendance, and we had a great time.  I will have to miss this tournament because I will be in Nebraska looking for Bambi, but for sure I will be back in December. 

 Before I close off here, I want to say to ALL the members in the Hawg Hunters Bass Club, “Thank YOU” for all each of you do to help make this a fun group to be a part of making good friends as well as  enjoying  socializing as well as fishing.   Thank YOU is also in order to Jim Bailey for his continuing efforts  in making our  website  “first class” and for Dave Bock in his efforts and work to keep our site  “tops”.   Also…  “Thank YOU” to the members of the E-Board for your efforts to keep things on keel and running smooth.  You guys did a great job this past year and I am confident that this years e-board will do a great job also.

 Until next time….Keep your hooks sharp!

John