As we started the tournament, leaving by assigned numbers, it seemed that about half of the boats went up river and the others went down river. My partner for this month was Lee Brannon. Lee in known in our group for his patience and methodical approach to fishing. We were fishing from his boat and the first area he wanted to try was a creek down river, so, off we went. Before we had gone a mile the rain started getting harder, and as we proceeded the "rocks" of water began to pound us. We arrived at the creek and started fishing earnestly and continued for at least an hour with only one strike on my buzz bait. Soon we were off to another creek and this time we both missed what appeared to be keeper fish on a tree top with plastic worms. From then on for the rest of the day it was a few small non-keepers or literally no bites at all. Lee did manage one small 12 inch
"green trout" before the day was done. For me, well, it was just one of those days *$%^^$%*#$%*&* !!!!!!

Around 11:45 we were both cold as temps fell thoughout the day, and having been in the rain non-stop, all morning we were damp to say the least. Thank goodness for Gortex rain suits, they really do work well!!!! Lee and I decided to head up river and try a spot or two above the launch site, knowing that on the way we would pass a little cafe/bar which would be warm and would allow us at least a few minutes to dry out. We stopped for about 15 minutes to get a cup of hot coffee and found about 5 other members doing the same thing. We went back out and fished another 3 ½ hours and only got a couple of hits but no fish.

Back at the weigh-in several guys had found pay dirt. Brian Metcalf jumped into a solid win with a nice limit of 5 bass weighing 11.20 lbs. Brian kicked butt and took names last year and it looks like he’s started it all over again this year!!!!! In second place was Stacy Blackburn with 3 fish weighing 5.25 lbs. Rounding out the top 3 was Mitch Gardner with 3 fish for 3.90 lbs. Brian Metcalf had the lunker at 3.55 lbs.

From the tales and stories at the scales, it appears that most fish were caught in up river areas. They were caught on a variety of lures but most seemed to bite best on crankbaits and jigs fished on wood and points. Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention this.....We had one member who thought he was "Pistol Pete" and didn’t accurately measure one of his fish. That little faux pas cost him his big fish plus the short one.
Even with this penalty Rich Cornelius managed to take 4th place. Maybe Santa will bring him a "Golden Rule" for Crhistmas....
Jim Bailey Sr picked a wonderful day to introduce his new space shuttle oops....
I meant to say rocket boat to the club. I’m sure his partner enjoyed the rain as they gently cruised the river at WARP 3. Really, it’s a beautiful rig Jim. Congratulations!!!!

Our next tournament is on the Escambia River out of Swamphouse Landing.
The tournament will be on Saturday December 16th. The monthly meeting will be on Wednesday, the 13th. Note that these dates are a week earlier than usual due to Christmas weekend. Remember to not take the cold temps lightly. Hypothermia is always a danger in colder weather.

Take care and keep your hooks sharp.

Creek Chub