Is this any way to practice for a tournament?

[Ronnie Garrison]

Went to Oconee today to get ready for tomorrow’s club tournament. I
went late,
arriving at about 9:30 - mainly wanted to check out some old deep holes
to see if
fish were on them and also try a pattern I was told worked - topwater in
the standing
timber during the middle of the day.

The parking lot was crowded by parked trucks and trailers but no one was
launching. I got my boat ready then pulled around and backed in. While
I was
doing this a guy arrived in a truck pulling and empty trailer and he
backed down the
other ramp and stopped. As I got out and unhooked my boat, he turned his
truck off,
got out and stood beside it.

I got my boat to the dock, tied up and went back to the truck. The guy
next to me
was looking out over the lake - I asked if he was hoping someone would
ride by and
want to take their boat out. He said he was supposed to pick up his
buddy at 10 - it
was 9:45 now. I wonder if he would have backed down and blocked the ramp if
there had been people waiting to launch? Glad there weren’t - I parked,
got in my
boat and left. Never did see a boat headed toward the ramp.

First stop was some standing timber in 40 feet of water. I threw a
Pop-R some and
there were some fish breaking but did not get hit. Fished a buzzbait
and drug a
worm on a light lead thru some of the branches, too, but no takers.
Even when I hit
right were the fish were breaking on top nothing hit my Pop-R.

Went down to the dam and rode a favorite point - it has some brush out on a
breakline in 22 feet of water, and I got a 7-7 there a few years ago in
July jigging a
spoon in a club tournament. Lots of baitfish and looked like fish around
the brush,
so I marked it on the GPS and left. No need to bother them today.

Checked another point and again found fish around the brush in 22 feet
of water.
This point has fooled me in the past - have caught more catfish here
than bass, so
had to try it. I put out a marker and backed off and threw a Carolina
rig. Drug it thru
the brush a few times but nothing.

Switched to a Mag 2 worm Texas rigged and bounced it in the brush. It
got mushy
and when I set the hook I felt weight - then nothing. Reeled in half a
worm - the
tail was torn off ragged - catfish maybe?

Put on a new worm, threw back and felt the mushy feel again. This time
when I set
the hook it was solid and the fish started fighting. It stayed down so
I thought it
might be a Charlie fish or a mudfish, but was happy to see a 3.5 pound
largemouth
come to the top. I released it fast, lots of boats around and that
binocular pattern is
pretty bad on Oconee.

Left that point and ran up to the sanding timber I had been told about.
Spent about
1.5 hours fishing topwater, big cranks, spinnerbaits and worms in it and
the points in
it. Nothing. Not a bite.

Gave that up and started riding points. Found about four more with brush
and what
looks like fish on it in 20 to 22 feet - hope that pays off tomorrow.
Ran up to the
docks where I plan to start - where I got four keepers two weeks ago -
just to make
sure the mud from all the rain had not reached it. The river is still
pretty clear a few
miles above that spot so it should be fine tomorrow morning.

Checked a few more points but thunder ran me off the lake at about 3:30.
Now I am
wondering what else I should have done to get ready for tomorrow. Won’t
have
time for a lot - fishing from 6 to 2. Figure on hitting docks and
shallow cover for
about three hours then hit as many deep brush piles as I can from 9 to
2. I will be
on the one where I caught the 3.5 today at 10:30 and stay for an hour or
so since
that is about the time it hit today. Hope it is still hungry!

Water temps were 83 on the surface and water is fairly clear - can see a
spinnerbait
down over 2 feet. There was not much breeze today and it was partly cloudy.
Tomorrow is supposed to be rain and wind all day - at least it will be
cooler!

[Bass_Mr.]

Good Luck out there tomorrow Ronnie!
If you can catch what you did last week there you should do just fine.
"Ronnie Garrison" > wrote in message
.. .
>
> Went to Oconee today to get ready for tomorrow’s club tournament. I went
> late,
> arriving at about 9:30 - mainly wanted to check out some old deep holes to
> see if
> fish were on them and also try a pattern I was told worked - topwater in
> the standing
> timber during the middle of the day.
>
> The parking lot was crowded by parked trucks and trailers but no one was
> launching. I got my boat ready then pulled around and backed in. While I
> was
> doing this a guy arrived in a truck pulling and empty trailer and he
> backed down the
> other ramp and stopped. As I got out and unhooked my boat, he turned his
> truck off,
> got out and stood beside it.
>
> I got my boat to the dock, tied up and went back to the truck. The guy
> next to me
> was looking out over the lake - I asked if he was hoping someone would
> ride by and
> want to take their boat out. He said he was supposed to pick up his buddy
> at 10 - it
> was 9:45 now. I wonder if he would have backed down and blocked the ramp
> if
> there had been people waiting to launch? Glad there weren’t - I parked,
> got in my
> boat and left. Never did see a boat headed toward the ramp.
>
> First stop was some standing timber in 40 feet of water. I threw a Pop-R
> some and
> there were some fish breaking but did not get hit. Fished a buzzbait and
> drug a
> worm on a light lead thru some of the branches, too, but no takers. Even
> when I hit
> right were the fish were breaking on top nothing hit my Pop-R.
>
> Went down to the dam and rode a favorite point - it has some brush out on
> a
> breakline in 22 feet of water, and I got a 7-7 there a few years ago in
> July jigging a
> spoon in a club tournament. Lots of baitfish and looked like fish around
> the brush,
> so I marked it on the GPS and left. No need to bother them today.
>
> Checked another point and again found fish around the brush in 22 feet of
> water.
> This point has fooled me in the past - have caught more catfish here than
> bass, so
> had to try it. I put out a marker and backed off and threw a Carolina rig.
> Drug it thru
> the brush a few times but nothing.
>
> Switched to a Mag 2 worm Texas rigged and bounced it in the brush. It got
> mushy
> and when I set the hook I felt weight - then nothing. Reeled in half a
> worm - the
> tail was torn off ragged - catfish maybe?
>
> Put on a new worm, threw back and felt the mushy feel again. This time
> when I set
> the hook it was solid and the fish started fighting. It stayed down so I
> thought it
> might be a Charlie fish or a mudfish, but was happy to see a 3.5 pound
> largemouth
> come to the top. I released it fast, lots of boats around and that
> binocular pattern is
> pretty bad on Oconee.
>
> Left that point and ran up to the sanding timber I had been told about.
> Spent about
> 1.5 hours fishing topwater, big cranks, spinnerbaits and worms in it and
> the points in
> it. Nothing. Not a bite.
>
> Gave that up and started riding points. Found about four more with brush
> and what
> looks like fish on it in 20 to 22 feet - hope that pays off tomorrow. Ran
> up to the
> docks where I plan to start - where I got four keepers two weeks ago -
> just to make
> sure the mud from all the rain had not reached it. The river is still
> pretty clear a few
> miles above that spot so it should be fine tomorrow morning.
>
> Checked a few more points but thunder ran me off the lake at about 3:30.
> Now I am
> wondering what else I should have done to get ready for tomorrow. Won’t
> have
> time for a lot - fishing from 6 to 2. Figure on hitting docks and shallow
> cover for
> about three hours then hit as many deep brush piles as I can from 9 to 2.
> I will be
> on the one where I caught the 3.5 today at 10:30 and stay for an hour or
> so since
> that is about the time it hit today. Hope it is still hungry!
>
> Water temps were 83 on the surface and water is fairly clear - can see a
> spinnerbait
> down over 2 feet. There was not much breeze today and it was partly
> cloudy.
> Tomorrow is supposed to be rain and wind all day - at least it will be
> cooler!

[RichZ]

Ronnie Garrison wrote:
>
> I got my boat to the dock, tied up and went back to the truck. The guy
> next to me
> was looking out over the lake - I asked if he was hoping someone would
> ride by and
> want to take their boat out. He said he was supposed to pick up his
> buddy at 10 - it
> was 9:45 now. I wonder if he would have backed down and blocked the ramp if
> there had been people waiting to launch? Glad there weren’t - I parked,
> got in my
> boat and left. Never did see a boat headed toward the ramp.
>

I fished a little place yesterday for a half day. There's only one house
and an exclusive prep school on this lake that are accessible by road.
Other than that, a couple cabins that you have to boat your way into,
that are at the other end of the pond from the boat ramp. Only one other
boat came out, and he was electric only. About 10AM, I heard a motor
roaring from the far end of the lake, which took me by surprise, because
I hadn't heard anyone else come out with a gas motor. Eventually a
little 11 foot aluminum semiV with an ancient one lunger, complete with
'hors hoe' tank comes by, headed to the boat ramp. The guy gets there,
turns around, and goes back up the lake to the cabin he came from. An
hour later, I'm fishing my way to the boat ramp and there's now a
minivan parked across the ramp. 3 elderly folks (by elderly, I mean even
older than me) are unloading stuff from it onto the dock at the ramp.
Groceries, suitcases, lawn chairs, coolers, a propane tank, etc. The
completely fill the dock with this stuff by the time I get there. The
oldest coot asks if I've seen anyone headed this way. "An hour ago," I
tell him. "But he left." Now they start blowing the horn. "Excuse, me,
but could you move your van so I can use the ramp?"

Then, after a few minutes of jawboning with each other, all 3 of them
got in the van and drove away, leaving all their gear on the dock. I can
only assume that they were going up the road to a spot directly across
from the cabin to blow their horn some more. I wonder how m uch of their
stuff was still there when they cam back.

On another note... You don't need practice! I was just going fishing
today, but came upon an open team tournament at the lake I was going to
fish. What the hey, let's fish it! So we did. 5 fish per boat limit. We
ozmoed a limit in 30 minutes out of a deep (17 foot) cabbage bed, then
spent the rest of the day drop shotting, caught 20 some odd fish and
culled out 3 of the first limit in the process. Ended up with 18.6
pounds. 2nd place had 13.3.

[Dan, danl, danny boy, Redbeard, actually Greybeard]

On Sun, 10 Jul 2005 17:59:31 -0400, RichZ
> sent into the ether:

>>>Ronnie Garrison wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I got my boat to the dock, tied up and went back to the truck. The guy
>>>> next to me
>>>> was looking out over the lake - I asked if he was hoping someone would
>>>> ride by and
>>>> want to take their boat out. He said he was supposed to pick up his
>>>> buddy at 10 - it
>>>> was 9:45 now. I wonder if he would have backed down and blocked the ramp if
>>>> there had been people waiting to launch? Glad there weren’t - I parked,
>>>> got in my
>>>> boat and left. Never did see a boat headed toward the ramp.
>>>>
>>>
>>>I fished a little place yesterday for a half day. There's only one house
>>>and an exclusive prep school on this lake that are accessible by road.
>>>Other than that, a couple cabins that you have to boat your way into,
>>>that are at the other end of the pond from the boat ramp. Only one other
>>>boat came out, and he was electric only. About 10AM, I heard a motor
>>>roaring from the far end of the lake, which took me by surprise, because
>>>I hadn't heard anyone else come out with a gas motor. Eventually a
>>>little 11 foot aluminum semiV with an ancient one lunger, complete with
>>>'hors hoe' tank comes by, headed to the boat ramp. The guy gets there,
>>>turns around, and goes back up the lake to the cabin he came from. An
>>>hour later, I'm fishing my way to the boat ramp and there's now a
>>>minivan parked across the ramp. 3 elderly folks (by elderly, I mean even
>>>older than me) are unloading stuff from it onto the dock at the ramp.
>>>Groceries, suitcases, lawn chairs, coolers, a propane tank, etc. The
>>>completely fill the dock with this stuff by the time I get there. The
>>>oldest coot asks if I've seen anyone headed this way. "An hour ago," I
>>>tell him. "But he left." Now they start blowing the horn. "Excuse, me,
>>>but could you move your van so I can use the ramp?"
>>>
>>>Then, after a few minutes of jawboning with each other, all 3 of them
>>>got in the van and drove away, leaving all their gear on the dock. I can
>>>only assume that they were going up the road to a spot directly across
>>>from the cabin to blow their horn some more. I wonder how m uch of their
>>> stuff was still there when they cam back.
>>>
>>>On another note... You don't need practice! I was just going fishing
>>>today, but came upon an open team tournament at the lake I was going to
>>>fish. What the hey, let's fish it! So we did. 5 fish per boat limit. We
>>>ozmoed a limit in 30 minutes out of a deep (17 foot) cabbage bed, then
>>>spent the rest of the day drop shotting, caught 20 some odd fish and
>>>culled out 3 of the first limit in the process. Ended up with 18.6
>>>pounds. 2nd place had 13.3.


Way to go Rich!


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[Ronnie Garrison]

Guess it was no way to practice - as a matter of fact, practice may have
hurt me.

I started the tournament on a bank a local guide told me about - a
client had lost a 7
pound plus fish there earlier in the week on a topwater plug. We
stopped there a
few minutes after six and I caught a 13.5 inch throwback on a
spinnerbait on the
first pass off the rocky point at the end of the bank. Second pass I
got another 13.5
largemouth and a small hybrid on a crankbait. Next and final pass
produced another
13 inch throwback largemouth. Partner threw a buzzbait the whole time
without a
hit. I also tried Pop-R and buzzbait but did no good.

We ran up to the place I caught five keepers in the tournament two weeks
ago and
worked the seawalls and docks. Finally got a 2.5 pound keeper on a
spinnerbait on
a dock post. We kept fishing them until about 9:00 then I went to my
favorite
rockpile. Got a bunch of hits on a Mag2 worm and drop shot but could not
hook up,
then finally hooked one - a 14.5 inch keeper. We fished that area for
another 30
minutes but no more bites.

Two weeks ago I had four shallow fish before 10 and got one on a deep
point after
lunch. The day before the tournament I had caught a good 3.5 pound bass
off a deep
point at 10:45 so we decided to abandon the shallows and go deep. First
point we
stopped on my partner got a 14 inch keeper on a Carolina rig and I got a
13 inch
throwback.

We went to the point where I had caught the 3.5 the day before and
started fishing it
at 10:30. I got three short fish there - they were THAT close, but did
not touch the
14 inch line. We stayed on it for over an hour but never got a keeper.
Spent the rest
of the day - 4 hours total - fishing deep points and that first fish my
partner got was
it.

Day seemed perfect for shallow fish - heavy clouds and a fair amount of
wind. Now
I am second guessing myself - thinking I should have stayed on the docks and
rockpile all day. I placed 9th with 2 weighing 3.7 pounds - only took 5
weighing
7.2 to win, one limit out of 19 folks. Big fish was 4.2 pounds and he
took second
with 6.7 pounds, third was 4 at 6.4 pounds and fourth was 5 pounds.
Pretty tough
day for most of us - winner had fish on top and worms, second came on worms
except for big fish on crankbait and third came flipping jigs to docks.
He said he
had on two other keepers that he lost.

Maybe I guessed wrong. As Rich said, sometimes you don’t need practice.
I placed
second two weeks ago without any time on that lake in over two months.
I keep
thinking that one 3.5 pound bass would have put me close to first. But,
one more
keeper would have moved me up to about 5th.

Amazing how easy it is to guess wrong when it comes to bass fishing -
for me at
least!