TOURNAMENT REPORT

The Hawg Hunters fished the monthly tournament on Fish River near Foley, Alabama.  Fish River is a small coastal river that is spring fed and usually has clear waters.  We had an incoming tide for most of the day.  We had 21 members participating.  The air temps were great with a low of about 58 and high near 68, and the water temps were in the upper 50’s to low 60’s.  The water color was good with visibility about 2 feet in the lower parts and maybe 4 feet in the upper river.  Very clear waters could be found in the backs of creeks and sloughs and in the backs of grassy bays in the lower end.  It was a bit windy at times with gusts near 30 mph.  Those who stayed in the lower parts had to fight the wind for most of the day.

My partner for this tournament was Buddy Yates .  Originally, my plan was to fish the back parts of Turkey Creek.  I had pre-fished a few days earlier and found some good fish in that part of the creek on worms and jigs.  However when I drew out last in the boat line up I knew that many others would be there before I could get to my spots.  Buddy had found some fish in the upper parts of the river so we decided to make the run up river and take our chances there.

We ran up about ½ mile past the 2nd bridge about and started fishing docks.  Buddy immediately hooked up a jack fish and a couple of casts later I caught a small keeper bass.  We fished another 30 minutes just slowly working up river and Buddy caught his first keeper on a jig.  We found a small area that had a few fish and we both caught a keeper fishing the main river.   We continued fishing up river until we could not go more because of the shallow water.  We returned to the area where we had found the fish earlier and we each caught a couple of fish before the day ended.  Each of us caught several fish throughout the day but at the scales Buddy had 4 keepers and I had only 3.  The day was really enjoyable fishing with Buddy, and it was even more enjoyable that I was a not boater and did not have to fight the winds running the trolling motor.

At the scales Lee Brannon had a nice limit of 5 fish @ 8.18 lbs. to take 1st place.  Actually Lee won the tournament because of Buddy Yates.  Seems at 3:30 we get a phone call from Lee’s partner Jim Bailey telling us that Lee had used all his batteries and could not crank his engine.  Buddy being the Good Samaritan that he is, packed up everything, leaving biting fish schooling on top, and went to help his fellow Hawg Hunter, who was once again in “distress” because of battery problems.  Long story short…. Buddy got him running, and he made it to the scales on time. (Do I hear hints of a nomination?)

Mr. Consistent, Jeff Weaver came to the scales with a limit of 5 fish @ 6.34 lbs to take 2nd place.  Maybe it will be fun to watch Jeff and Lee battle for the leader spots in the standings.  3rd place went to “Battlin” Bob Jones who had 3 fish @ 5.89 lbs in the back of Jeff’s boat and he also had the lunker @ 2.48 lbs.  4th place went to the “Good Samaritan” Buddy Yates who sacrificed the last 30 minutes fishing time to go find Lee and get him going.  Buddy had 4 keepers @ 5.65 lbs.  Just one more, small 1 lb fish and he would have been 2nd place.

Most fish were caught on dark plastics and a few were found on crank baits and spinners and jigs.  I think those who went up river are the ones who had the most keepers so at least this tournament it seems the up river areas produced better than the creeks and bays down stream.

Of other interests in the tournament, it seems Ron and Billy found a new steering mechanism for their trolling motor.  I am not sure that the patent will hold up for them if they try to market it. However I think that they already have secured plenty of materials for mass production. 

Next month we will fish Lake Seminole.  This will be a 2 day tournament, and we will launch out the private landing next to Sneads Park.  There is more than ample parking and the owners keep an eye on your vehicles and trailers.  We will be staying at Seminole Lodge on Hwy 90 in Sneads.  Parking is tight there, but it is manageable.  Mack has already secured rooms, and if you plan to go up early on Thursday then you need to let him know as soon as you can.  Mack does a great job of trying to take care of our housing for 2 day tournaments, and I really appreciate his efforts.  We will have a cook out on Saturday night with the club providing hamburgers and hot dogs, with all the trimmings and chips.  For the past 8 years or so, Seminole in March has been a very good tournament.  Many of those years we have caught the lunker of the year at this tournament.  Make your plans NOW to attend the meeting on March 18, and participate in the tournament March 21 & 22.  I hope to see you all  at the meeting  and tournament.
Until next time…
Keep Your Hooks Sharp!
John