TOURNAMENT REPORT

We fished the June tournament out of Live Oak Landing on the Tensaw River. For any who have not been to Live oak since it was re-built, you should go. It is a terrific set up with multiple boat ramps, plenty of tie-up places along the docks and great parking. We had 15 members fishing and 1 guest. John Schaeff fished with us and has indicated that he is interested in returning to fish with the Hawg Hunters. The weather was hot with blue skies most of the day. The tide was in coming most of the day with surface temps around 85. The water color was heavy stained to muddy in the main river but I think maybe in the backs of some creeks you could find cleaner water.
Frank Dodge and I drew out as partners and we decided to fish the Briar Lake area. We started out fishing around the mouth of Briar Lake and on about the 3rd cast I hooked a nice bass on a worm. It was almost 4 lbs. We continued fishing up the deeper banks, and we both caught several small fish. By 8 am I had a limit of keepers. The fish were biting great but when 8 am arrived they did shut off. Frank caught a keeper about 9 am, and after that we never caught another keeper. We both caught 5-6 small fish through the rest of the day but we never found another keeper. Most of our fish were caught of junebug worms but we did get a few others on black worms. We tried crank baits and spinner baits but never got even a bump. We had an enjoyable time fishing together and fished as much shade as we could. After about 8 am the sun got HOT! Thank goodness for cold water and Gatorade.
At the weigh in there were several guys with limits of bass. I had a limit that weighed 7.84 lbs to take first place and also I had the lunker @ 3.9 lbs. 2nd place was Mack Cramer with 5 fish @ 7.53 lbs. Michael Johnson took 3rd place with a limit @ 7.34 lbs. His partner Billy Myrick took the 4th slot with a limit @ 6.41 lbs.
Michael and Billy fished together and from the results they did find a great bite. I think they probably fished in the Miflin area. Billy said they got almost all the fish on dark worms. Mack indicated that his best bites cam with junebug worms also and he fished below Cliff’s. Most of the guys reported that the bites basically stopped after 8 am when the sun got up but Mack said he caught fish all day. Maybe by fishing lower he had more tidal movement throughout the day. Overall it was an ok tournament for June on the Tensaw River. Summer is upon us and the heat is tough and traditionally the fishing gets tough in June, July, and August. Just remember to drink plenty of water when you out on the water and for several days prior to fishing to avoid de-hydration and heat strokes.
Nest month we will fish the Perdido River out of Seminole Landing. It is a tough place to catch many but if you are lucky and patient maybe you can be able to find a few keepers. Remember July is a “short” tournament with weigh-in at 2 pm. We are also in the process of trying to get someone from the Florida Game and Fish Commission to speak for us at the meeting to go over the proposed changes in the bass fishing regulations for the state of Florida. Make your plans to be at the meeting at 7 pm on July 15 and also fish the tournament on July 18.

Until next time… Keep you hooks sharp!
John