John Buck 		John's Club Report
Covering The Pensacola Hawg Hunters
2007 Season

 Email: John Buck
Founded In 1975

Yellow River
Total Fish Caught 15
Total Dead Fish 0
Total Limits 0
Big Fish 1.98
Total Fish Weight 17.90 lbs

 Total Year Standings
Total Fish Caught 280
Total Dead Fish 10
Total Limits 23
Big Fish 4.28
 Total Fish Weight 388.46 lbs

Place
Name
Fish
Weight
1. Pete Potter 3 4.16
2. Lee Brannon 2 2.87
3. Kevin Simmons 3 2.58
4. Jim Bailey Sr 2 2.29
5. Frank Kelly 1 1.53
Big Fish Winner
Lee Brannon
1.98lbs		 *** Tournament Winner ***
Pete Potter
3 Fish - 4.16lbs

Place
Name
Fish
Weight
6. Charles Cetti 1 1.40
7. Jere Jaillite 1 1.29
8. Tony Boyett 1 .93
9. Mack Cramer 1 .85

Also Fished
John Buck - Dave Dyes -- Dewayne Kembro
Glenn Kittrell - Danny Wright - Dan Nash
Ron Fairbanks - Marc Churchwell
Bill Myrick (Guest)

PENSACOLA HAWG HUNTERS
TOURNAMENT REPORT
JUNE 23, 2007
HOT! HOT! HOT! That’s not talking about good fishing, but it does accurately describe the conditions the Hawg Hunters faced for the June tournament. It was held out of Lindsey’s launch on the Yellow River. With extreme low water conditions and extreme heat, all of the local small river systems are tough to fish. There is little water flow and the extreme low levels make for hazardous boating conditions as one heads upriver and as one tries to navigate the sandbars in the lower ends. Water color was pretty good in both the Yellow and the Blackwater and water surface temps ranged from the mid 80’s to near 90 in places. On the good side, we had had a couple of good rains earlier in the week and hopes were high that this would make a positive impact on the local river systems.

My plan for the day was to fish a couple of small feeder creeks in the Blackwater early and then go to the Yellow and fish the bends a little ways upstream. Top waters early and then going to pitching and flipping later was my strategy. My partner for the day was Glenn Kittrell.
We discussed my ideas and came up with a plan. We just had to make it work.

We started out in a small tidal creek where I had found fish earlier in the week. The fish were in the deeper edges and on any cover (sunken logs etc. in the middle of the creek). On about the first cast Glenn hooked up with a short fish on a top water, and a couple of casts later I got a roll on a Bang’O Lure. Follow up casts with a variety of lures produced nothing. After the initial action (3 minutes), we went an hour without so much as a bite. We went to several other creeks in the lower end of the river and only caught a few shorts. We then tried the main river on ledges without a bite and then left to fish the lower end of Weaver Creek on the Yellow river. We caught several small fish there on worms (junebug).
We just couldn’t get the keeper bite today.

At the scales we found the other guys had similar results with only half of the members bringing a fish to the scales. All I can really say for this tournament is one word “PITTIFULL”. Maybe things will pick up in July and August when it really gets hot and when the rivers are at their lowest flow for the year! Pete Potter waved his “magic fishing pole” and snagged the winning bag with a whopping total of 3 fish for 4.16 lbs. I am wondering if he related to Harry Potter, the wizard because he always seems to have a little magic and brings in the fish! Lee Brannon (formerly Sandbar Lee) took 2nd with 2 fish @ 2.87 lbs and the lunker @ 1.98 lbs. The 3rd slot went to “El Presidente” Kevin Simmons with 3 fish @ 2.58 lbs. And, Mr. “Hook 1” himself, Jim Bailey Sr. took 4th with 2 fish for 2.29 lbs. My hat is off to all who even managed a keeper this day.
Almost all of the fish were caught on worms and soft plastics in dark colors, junebug, black, green pumpkin, etc.

Remember the stress on livewell fish in the extreme heat is tough so it’s important to take as much care with the fish you catch as possible. Three things I prepared for to help keep the fish in the livewell in good shape were to run the aerator continuously, use “Catch and Release”, and to drop frozen water bottles in occasionally to help keep the water temp cooler. Knowing the conditions and how tough they can be this time of the year,
I didn’t expect to have a livewell full but as sportsmen we should all try to do our best to keep our catch healthy and well
whether it’s one fish or a limit.

Keeping fish in good shape during these hot times is only half of the prep one should take. Drink plenty of fluids in the days prior to the tournament and continue to drink plenty of cool fluids during the tournament day. Dress for the heat, and do what it takes to keep yourself from getting a heat stroke. Thank goodness for a 2:00 PM weigh-in.

Next month we get the chance to try our luck on the Escambia River out of Smith’s Landing. I sure hope that we’ll have better results than we did this month. Remember that it’s an early weigh-in (2:00 PM) and make your plans to attend the meeting and the tournament.


“Til next time….Keep Your Hooks Sharp!

Creek Chub