John Buck

John's Club Report Covering The Pensacola Hawg Hunters 2008 Season Email: John Buck

Founded In 1975

Tournament Report
Tensaw River
June 21

The Hawg Hunters fished out of Upper Bryants on the Tensaw River for the June tournament. The charts called for an incoming tide for most of the day. Indeed we did have an incoming tide as the water level was down at least 2 vertical feet at the launch, and by the time we returned it had come up to normal level. Water was stained from heavy to light depending on where you were. Water temps were in the upper 80's. We had partly cloudy skies and it was HOT. We did manage to cool at the end of the day as we got drenched by a heavy downpour just before weigh in.

I am currently having some work done on my boat trailer, so went as a non-boater this month. I drew out with Ron Fairbanks. Ron got a new Ranger a few months back, and I was thrilled to get to fish in it, plus Ron is a good fisherman, and I felt that between the two of us we could find a few fish. We had seven boats fishing the day. Our summer tournaments end at 2:00 PM which is a great time to quit during the heat of summer on the coastal areas that we fish.

We decided to run down to an area where I had caught some fish a couple of weeks earlier. The fish I had found were holding on deeper ledges and deep cover but would readily bite if you got the bait to them. We had high hopes that they would still be there or close by. The first bank we ran to did not have fish on it. We worked it pretty hard with crank baits, worms, and jigs. I managed to pick up a keeper on a jig (home made crawfish color). After an hour or so with no other luck we went to a bank just a short distance up river. We started catching fish immediately. I managed to get a couple more on a Paca Craw (Alabama Craw), and Ron managed to get 3 keepers on a black and blue jig. The fish were holding really tight to stumps and submerged logs. Most of them were very near deep drop ledges in 3-5 feet of water. From that bank we started hitting points on the main river as we worked our way back to the launch. We caught several fish on C Rigs, and I managed to fill out my limit. We each caught several small fish throughout the day and really had a good day fishing.

It was fun to fish from the back of the boat and not have to worry about boat position so that all I had to do was concentrate on was fishing.
You can do that when you're behind someone who gives you fresh water to throw to and positions the boat so you can have good access. Ron's boat is very nice, and I really enjoyed the ride and fishing from it. All in all we had a good and pleasant day fishing together,
and I look forward to fishing with him again.

At the scales most of the guys had a fish or two to show for their efforts. We must have really looked a sorry lot as we were all drenched as most got caught in the downpour on the return to the launch and didn't have a chance to get rain gear on before it hit. There was no gradual increase in rain. Giant drops just started pelting us, and then a sudden flood ensued. It only lasted about 20 minutes but that was enough to really soak us all.
Only 2 guys had limits, Billy Myrick and John Buck. Billy took first place with 7.8 lbs and John took second with 5.5 lbs. Third place went to Jere Jailitte with 4 fish @ 4.5 lbs. Ron Fairbanks grabbed 4th with 3 fish @ 4.3lbs. The lunker award went to Billy Myrick @ 2.8 lbs. Fish were caught on a variety of lures. Worms/jigs accounted for most. Myrick said he caught all his on spinner bait, and several others caught fish on crank baits.

Our July tournament is close to home on the Escambia River. This will not only be helpful from the gasoline stand point but it also make for a short ride to and from the tournament. Make your plans to be at the meeting and fish the tournament.

Til next time….Keep Your Hooks Sharp!
John