Late February Tournament
 

One of my clubs fished Bartlett’s Ferry last Sunday for our February
tournament. I went down on Thursday and fished for six hours and had
three bites - a keeper bass hit a rattletrap on a point but jumped and
threw it, and then I caught a 13 inch spotted bass by a dock post on a
Suddeth crankbait.

I fished one of my favorite points that is covered with brush piles and
got a thump on a Carolina rigged Senko but did not hook the fish. I rode
over the point before leaving and there were lots of suspended fish and
clouds of baitfish around it, so it looked good.

Water temps were 49 to 51 and there was a strong wind all day. Water
color was excellent - you could see a spinnerbait down about two feet.
Too stained for jerkbaits to be real good, but good for cranks and
spinnerbaits. It was hazy cloud cover all day, contrary to the weather
guessers reports.

Saturday I went by a gas station to get my daily fix of cappuccino and
ran into a guy that I know slightly. He fishes with a club here in
Griffin I am not in. His nickname is “Patches” because of his fishing
shirts - and his truck has Javelin Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Zoom Baits and
about a dozen other stickers on it. When I told him I had a tournament
at Bartlett’s Ferry the next day, he said call him that night and he
would tell me some of his spots.

That night I called John and we talked for a while. When I told him my
partner was not going to be able to fish, he asked if he could fish as
my guest and I said sure. He has a friend that has a house on
Bartlett’s Ferry and he fishes it a lot.

We were fishing Sunday from 7:30 - 3:30, a little late but there was a
54 boat buddy tournament out of the same ramp. We wanted to avoid the
mess launching at the same time and coming in at the same time - they
were fishing from 7-3. That morning worked out pretty good - I arrived
at 6:45 and most of them were already launched. I took up entry fees and
watched them take off - dreading the crowds on the lake. Bartlett’s if
a fairly small lake and I was afraid every place I would want to fish I
would have to get in line.

John and I talked and he said he wanted to fish some spots in a creek a
few miles from the launch - just past my favorite point. I suggested we
stop there first and we did. I started throwing a Fat Free Fry and John
was throwing a Bandit. On the first pass he caught two 13 inch spots -
beating me bad. When we turned to go across it again, I picked up a
Pointer jerkbait and worked it. I got a bite quick and landed a
bass the exact size I hate to catch - it just touched the 12 inch keeper
line. Since it as my first it went into the livewell with the comment
“I hope I can cull this one.”

Nothing else hit for either of us so on the next pass I threw a
Suddeth crankbait, and landed a solid 2 pound largemouth. The fish were
hitting out near the boat over about 12 feet of water so we made a
couple of passes further out, covering the water we had been sitting
over. No bites. We thought maybe we were fising under the fish, that
they were suspended shallow and were hittint the crankbaits as they came
to the surface near the boat, so we tried shallow running cranks -
again, nothign.

We also tried jig and pig and Carolina rigs in the brush piles
without a bite. We stayed on that point for about two hours and caught
no more fish, but four in the live well was not a bad start.

John wanted to go to a dock near the mouth of a cove so we went to it. A
good 2 pound largemouth hit my Fat Free Fry in some brush on the left
side of the dock and it went into the livewell. I dropped a jig with a
twin curly tail trailer by the dock, and it went to the right as it
fell. When I snatched, there was nothing there. I pitched right back and
the jig went to the left as it fell. Again, noting when I snatched.

When I reeled in I noticed both tips of the curly tail were gone. I had
dyed them chartreuse. I pitched the jig back to the same place, laid my
rod down and dug around for another trailer. When I found it and dyed
the tails, I picked up my rod and realized my line was back under the
boat. This time when I snatched there was a 13 inch spot on the hook!
It went into the livewell. I now had three good keepers and one
questionable one, but felt pretty good since it was only about 11:00 AM.

We fished on down the bank and John got another keeper spot on his
crankbait. When we got ready to leave we idled to another club member
fishing across the cove and he said he had two small keepers. Javin also
said he had talked to a couple of other club members and they had one
each. We ran up toward John’s next spot and as we idled under a bridge
another club member was fishing there. He said he had two small keepers.

John and I discussed the lack of boats on the lake. We had seen very few
of the 54 we expected to be everywhere. Most of the boats we saw were
in our club - we had 18 fishermen - so we decided the local guys in the
54 boat tournament were on fish somewhere else.

We fished up a bank with docks to a rocky point and John landed another
13 inch spot. At that point we decided to run to a cove near the dam
where John said there was a lot of brush piles. It was now after noon
and time was beginning to get short.

As we started around the cove with all the brush, John picked up a
Carolina rig with a Zoom lizard on it, and I threw my jig and pig. The
water here was 49 and fairly clear - about what we had seen all day.
There was no wind and it was cloudy, but no rain. We both had rain
suits out since the weather guessers said it would rain all
day, but we saw about 13 drops fall was all. We never put the rain
suits on.

John quickly caught a keeper spot on his lizard, filling his limit. He
had me down 5 to four, and one of my four was questionable. At a small
brushtop in the water right on the bank, my jig started sideways when it
hit the water and I set the hook on a solid 2.5 pound largemouth - the
best fish of the day. Since we cull biggest fish first I felt sure I
would not weigh in my little spot - they seem to shrink during the day,
and it just barely touched first thing that morning.

I told John that he had me 5 to 4 and he said I had him beat, anyway,
since I had three solid largemouth and his five spots were all small.
Almost as soon as he said that he set the hook on a 2 pound spot. Then
he hooked another one about the same size. I had switched to a Carolina
rigged lizard to cover the point we were fishing. When I netted John’s
fish and picked my rod up, I felt a tug and landed a 13 inch
keeper spot. I now had six in the livewell and definitely had five to
weigh.

John caught two more 13 inch spots and I landed a 13 inch largemouth
before we had to leave to head in to weigh in. We ended the day with 16
keepers - I had 7 and he had 9. Strange thing was John had all spots and
I had four largemouth of seven. He had two about 2 pounds each and I had
three that ran near 2 pounds to one about 2.5 pounds.

When we got to the weigh-in the cove was covered up with boats. I
managed to get my boat tied up and got the scales ready for our club,
and went to watch the 54 boat tournament weigh-in. The tournament
director told me 15 pounds was leading but they were paying 8 places,
and six pounds was in 8 th place. We watched the last few guys weigh in
and nobody had more than six pounds.

When Javin walked up with his five - he had landed three more on
crankbaits after we talked to him, guys in the big tournament thought he
would place, but he went past them to our scales. He had 6.70 pounds.
As the rest of the club weighed in, most with 1 or 2 keepers, John went
to get his fish. A guy weighed in one fish weighing 3.35 pounds and it
was big fish for the day. (I had one at 2.5 that was second biggest)
John’s five weighed 6.53 pounds, and when I put my five on the scales
they weighed 7.88. I won, Javin was second and John third - the only
three limits weighed in.

I checked the results of the bigger tournament and my weight would have
placed me 5th on my own. If John and I had put our best five together
we would have placed 3rd or 4th with 10.5 pounds or so. We did better
then I thought we would. I figured everyone would have limits as many
fish as John and I caught. We caught at least one keeper every place
we fished and caught keepers on three different crankbaits, a jerkbait,
jig and pig and two colors of Carolina rigged Zoom lizards.

We kept the spots to cook, and when I filleted one 13 inch spot both
tails of my trailer were in its stomach. That fish hit my jig three
times before I hooked it. I am real glad it was persistent! I posted a
picture of the trailer and its two missing tails on my site.

Not a bad day for a February tournament, the bass thought it was spring.
We have had a very mild winter, and right now daffodils, Japanese
Magnolias and pear trees are blooming everywhere. But that is changing.
Today it is raining and a high of 45, and lows Tuesday night are
predicted in the mid 20s. Hope it warms fast - my next
tournament is next Sunday!

As a follow-up, John just called me and said he and a buddy fished
Bartlett's yesterday. It was warm and cloudy, opposed to today's rain
and cold. They caught about 25 keepers with one going 7.5. I guess we
were a week early or a dollar early or something like that. They caught
them in the same places we fished in the tournament.

Way to go Ronnie. Good job.

I am so jealous of your soft water! The other day I must have cast
2-300 times and the lure bounced off the water every doggone time :{

Hope to see ya in TN.

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 14:02:42 -0500, Ronnie Garrison
sent into the ether:

One of my clubs fished Bartlett’s Ferry last Sunday for our February
tournament. I went down on Thursday and fished for six hours and had
three bites - a keeper bass hit a rattletrap on a point but jumped and
threw it, and then I caught a 13 inch spotted bass by a dock post on a
Suddeth crankbait.

I fished one of my favorite points that is covered with brush piles and
got a thump on a Carolina rigged Senko but did not hook the fish. I rode
over the point before leaving and there were lots of suspended fish and
clouds of baitfish around it, so it looked good.

Water temps were 49 to 51 and there was a strong wind all day. Water
color was excellent - you could see a spinnerbait down about two feet.
Too stained for jerkbaits to be real good, but good for cranks and
spinnerbaits. It was hazy cloud cover all day, contrary to the weather
guessers reports.

Saturday I went by a gas station to get my daily fix of cappuccino and
ran into a guy that I know slightly. He fishes with a club here in
Griffin I am not in. His nickname is “Patches� because of his fishing
shirts - and his truck has Javelin Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Zoom Baits and
about a dozen other stickers on it. When I told him I had a tournament
at Bartlett’s Ferry the next day, he said call him that night and he
would tell me some of his spots.

That night I called John and we talked for a while. When I told him my
partner was not going to be able to fish, he asked if he could fish as
my guest and I said sure. He has a friend that has a house on
Bartlett’s Ferry and he fishes it a lot.

We were fishing Sunday from 7:30 - 3:30, a little late but there was a
54 boat buddy tournament out of the same ramp. We wanted to avoid the
mess launching at the same time and coming in at the same time - they
were fishing from 7-3. That morning worked out pretty good - I arrived
at 6:45 and most of them were already launched. I took up entry fees and
watched them take off - dreading the crowds on the lake. Bartlett’s if
a fairly small lake and I was afraid every place I would want to fish I
would have to get in line.

John and I talked and he said he wanted to fish some spots in a creek a
few miles from the launch - just past my favorite point. I suggested we
stop there first and we did. I started throwing a Fat Free Fry and John
was throwing a Bandit. On the first pass he caught two 13 inch spots -
beating me bad. When we turned to go across it again, I picked up a
Pointer jerkbait and worked it. I got a bite quick and landed a
bass the exact size I hate to catch - it just touched the 12 inch keeper
line. Since it as my first it went into the livewell with the comment
“I hope I can cull this one.�

Nothing else hit for either of us so on the next pass I threw a
Suddeth crankbait, and landed a solid 2 pound largemouth. The fish were
hitting out near the boat over about 12 feet of water so we made a
couple of passes further out, covering the water we had been sitting
over. No bites. We thought maybe we were fising under the fish, that
they were suspended shallow and were hittint the crankbaits as they came
to the surface near the boat, so we tried shallow running cranks -
again, nothign.

We also tried jig and pig and Carolina rigs in the brush piles
without a bite. We stayed on that point for about two hours and caught
no more fish, but four in the live well was not a bad start.

John wanted to go to a dock near the mouth of a cove so we went to it. A
good 2 pound largemouth hit my Fat Free Fry in some brush on the left
side of the dock and it went into the livewell. I dropped a jig with a
twin curly tail trailer by the dock, and it went to the right as it
fell. When I snatched, there was nothing there. I pitched right back and
the jig went to the left as it fell. Again, noting when I snatched.

When I reeled in I noticed both tips of the curly tail were gone. I had
dyed them chartreuse. I pitched the jig back to the same place, laid my
rod down and dug around for another trailer. When I found it and dyed
the tails, I picked up my rod and realized my line was back under the
boat. This time when I snatched there was a 13 inch spot on the hook!
It went into the livewell. I now had three good keepers and one
questionable one, but felt pretty good since it was only about 11:00 AM.

We fished on down the bank and John got another keeper spot on his
crankbait. When we got ready to leave we idled to another club member
fishing across the cove and he said he had two small keepers. Javin also
said he had talked to a couple of other club members and they had one
each. We ran up toward John’s next spot and as we idled under a bridge
another club member was fishing there. He said he had two small keepers.

John and I discussed the lack of boats on the lake. We had seen very few
of the 54 we expected to be everywhere. Most of the boats we saw were
in our club - we had 18 fishermen - so we decided the local guys in the
54 boat tournament were on fish somewhere else.

We fished up a bank with docks to a rocky point and John landed another
13 inch spot. At that point we decided to run to a cove near the dam
where John said there was a lot of brush piles. It was now after noon
and time was beginning to get short.

As we started around the cove with all the brush, John picked up a
Carolina rig with a Zoom lizard on it, and I threw my jig and pig. The
water here was 49 and fairly clear - about what we had seen all day.
There was no wind and it was cloudy, but no rain. We both had rain
suits out since the weather guessers said it would rain all
day, but we saw about 13 drops fall was all. We never put the rain
suits on.

John quickly caught a keeper spot on his lizard, filling his limit. He
had me down 5 to four, and one of my four was questionable. At a small
brushtop in the water right on the bank, my jig started sideways when it
hit the water and I set the hook on a solid 2.5 pound largemouth - the
best fish of the day. Since we cull biggest fish first I felt sure I
would not weigh in my little spot - they seem to shrink during the day,
and it just barely touched first thing that morning.

I told John that he had me 5 to 4 and he said I had him beat, anyway,
since I had three solid largemouth and his five spots were all small.
Almost as soon as he said that he set the hook on a 2 pound spot. Then
he hooked another one about the same size. I had switched to a Carolina
rigged lizard to cover the point we were fishing. When I netted John’s
fish and picked my rod up, I felt a tug and landed a 13 inch
keeper spot. I now had six in the livewell and definitely had five to
weigh.

John caught two more 13 inch spots and I landed a 13 inch largemouth
before we had to leave to head in to weigh in. We ended the day with 16
keepers - I had 7 and he had 9. Strange thing was John had all spots and
I had four largemouth of seven. He had two about 2 pounds each and I had
three that ran near 2 pounds to one about 2.5 pounds.

When we got to the weigh-in the cove was covered up with boats. I
managed to get my boat tied up and got the scales ready for our club,
and went to watch the 54 boat tournament weigh-in. The tournament
director told me 15 pounds was leading but they were paying 8 places,
and six pounds was in 8 th place. We watched the last few guys weigh in
and nobody had more than six pounds.

When Javin walked up with his five - he had landed three more on
crankbaits after we talked to him, guys in the big tournament thought he
would place, but he went past them to our scales. He had 6.70 pounds.
As the rest of the club weighed in, most with 1 or 2 keepers, John went
to get his fish. A guy weighed in one fish weighing 3.35 pounds and it
was big fish for the day. (I had one at 2.5 that was second biggest)
John’s five weighed 6.53 pounds, and when I put my five on the scales
they weighed 7.88. I won, Javin was second and John third - the only
three limits weighed in.

I checked the results of the bigger tournament and my weight would have
placed me 5th on my own. If John and I had put our best five together
we would have placed 3rd or 4th with 10.5 pounds or so. We did better
then I thought we would. I figured everyone would have limits as many
fish as John and I caught. We caught at least one keeper every place
we fished and caught keepers on three different crankbaits, a jerkbait,
jig and pig and two colors of Carolina rigged Zoom lizards.

We kept the spots to cook, and when I filleted one 13 inch spot both
tails of my trailer were in its stomach. That fish hit my jig three
times before I hooked it. I am real glad it was persistent! I posted a
picture of the trailer and its two missing tails on my site.

Not a bad day for a February tournament, the bass thought it was spring.
We have had a very mild winter, and right now daffodils, Japanese
Magnolias and pear trees are blooming everywhere. But that is changing.
Today it is raining and a high of 45, and lows Tuesday night are
predicted in the mid 20s. Hope it warms fast - my next
tournament is next Sunday!


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Good account, Ronnie. You went through a lot more analysis and tried a lot
more lures than I usually do, and it paid off for you. Congratulations.

Joe
_______
"Ronnie Garrison" wrote in message
. ..
One of my clubs fished Bartlett’s Ferry last Sunday for our February
tournament. I went down on Thursday and fished for six hours and had
three bites - a keeper bass hit a rattletrap on a point but jumped and
threw it, and then I caught a 13 inch spotted bass by a dock post on a
Suddeth crankbait.

I fished one of my favorite points that is covered with brush piles and
got a thump on a Carolina rigged Senko but did not hook the fish. I rode
over the point before leaving and there were lots of suspended fish and
clouds of baitfish around it, so it looked good.

Water temps were 49 to 51 and there was a strong wind all day. Water
color was excellent - you could see a spinnerbait down about two feet.
Too stained for jerkbaits to be real good, but good for cranks and
spinnerbaits. It was hazy cloud cover all day, contrary to the weather
guessers reports.

Saturday I went by a gas station to get my daily fix of cappuccino and
ran into a guy that I know slightly. He fishes with a club here in
Griffin I am not in. His nickname is “Patches” because of his fishing
shirts - and his truck has Javelin Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Zoom Baits and
about a dozen other stickers on it. When I told him I had a tournament
at Bartlett’s Ferry the next day, he said call him that night and he
would tell me some of his spots.

That night I called John and we talked for a while. When I told him my
partner was not going to be able to fish, he asked if he could fish as
my guest and I said sure. He has a friend that has a house on
Bartlett’s Ferry and he fishes it a lot.

We were fishing Sunday from 7:30 - 3:30, a little late but there was a
54 boat buddy tournament out of the same ramp. We wanted to avoid the
mess launching at the same time and coming in at the same time - they
were fishing from 7-3. That morning worked out pretty good - I arrived
at 6:45 and most of them were already launched. I took up entry fees and
watched them take off - dreading the crowds on the lake. Bartlett’s if
a fairly small lake and I was afraid every place I would want to fish I
would have to get in line.

John and I talked and he said he wanted to fish some spots in a creek a
few miles from the launch - just past my favorite point. I suggested we
stop there first and we did. I started throwing a Fat Free Fry and John
was throwing a Bandit. On the first pass he caught two 13 inch spots -
beating me bad. When we turned to go across it again, I picked up a
Pointer jerkbait and worked it. I got a bite quick and landed a
bass the exact size I hate to catch - it just touched the 12 inch keeper
line. Since it as my first it went into the livewell with the comment
“I hope I can cull this one.”

Nothing else hit for either of us so on the next pass I threw a
Suddeth crankbait, and landed a solid 2 pound largemouth. The fish were
hitting out near the boat over about 12 feet of water so we made a
couple of passes further out, covering the water we had been sitting
over. No bites. We thought maybe we were fising under the fish, that
they were suspended shallow and were hittint the crankbaits as they came
to the surface near the boat, so we tried shallow running cranks -
again, nothign.

We also tried jig and pig and Carolina rigs in the brush piles
without a bite. We stayed on that point for about two hours and caught
no more fish, but four in the live well was not a bad start.

John wanted to go to a dock near the mouth of a cove so we went to it. A
good 2 pound largemouth hit my Fat Free Fry in some brush on the left
side of the dock and it went into the livewell. I dropped a jig with a
twin curly tail trailer by the dock, and it went to the right as it
fell. When I snatched, there was nothing there. I pitched right back and
the jig went to the left as it fell. Again, noting when I snatched.

When I reeled in I noticed both tips of the curly tail were gone. I had
dyed them chartreuse. I pitched the jig back to the same place, laid my
rod down and dug around for another trailer. When I found it and dyed
the tails, I picked up my rod and realized my line was back under the
boat. This time when I snatched there was a 13 inch spot on the hook!
It went into the livewell. I now had three good keepers and one
questionable one, but felt pretty good since it was only about 11:00 AM.

We fished on down the bank and John got another keeper spot on his
crankbait. When we got ready to leave we idled to another club member
fishing across the cove and he said he had two small keepers. Javin also
said he had talked to a couple of other club members and they had one
each. We ran up toward John’s next spot and as we idled under a bridge
another club member was fishing there. He said he had two small keepers.

John and I discussed the lack of boats on the lake. We had seen very few
of the 54 we expected to be everywhere. Most of the boats we saw were
in our club - we had 18 fishermen - so we decided the local guys in the
54 boat tournament were on fish somewhere else.

We fished up a bank with docks to a rocky point and John landed another
13 inch spot. At that point we decided to run to a cove near the dam
where John said there was a lot of brush piles. It was now after noon
and time was beginning to get short.

As we started around the cove with all the brush, John picked up a
Carolina rig with a Zoom lizard on it, and I threw my jig and pig. The
water here was 49 and fairly clear - about what we had seen all day.
There was no wind and it was cloudy, but no rain. We both had rain
suits out since the weather guessers said it would rain all
day, but we saw about 13 drops fall was all. We never put the rain
suits on.

John quickly caught a keeper spot on his lizard, filling his limit. He
had me down 5 to four, and one of my four was questionable. At a small
brushtop in the water right on the bank, my jig started sideways when it
hit the water and I set the hook on a solid 2.5 pound largemouth - the
best fish of the day. Since we cull biggest fish first I felt sure I
would not weigh in my little spot - they seem to shrink during the day,
and it just barely touched first thing that morning.

I told John that he had me 5 to 4 and he said I had him beat, anyway,
since I had three solid largemouth and his five spots were all small.
Almost as soon as he said that he set the hook on a 2 pound spot. Then
he hooked another one about the same size. I had switched to a Carolina
rigged lizard to cover the point we were fishing. When I netted John’s
fish and picked my rod up, I felt a tug and landed a 13 inch
keeper spot. I now had six in the livewell and definitely had five to
weigh.

John caught two more 13 inch spots and I landed a 13 inch largemouth
before we had to leave to head in to weigh in. We ended the day with 16
keepers - I had 7 and he had 9. Strange thing was John had all spots and
I had four largemouth of seven. He had two about 2 pounds each and I had
three that ran near 2 pounds to one about 2.5 pounds.

When we got to the weigh-in the cove was covered up with boats. I
managed to get my boat tied up and got the scales ready for our club,
and went to watch the 54 boat tournament weigh-in. The tournament
director told me 15 pounds was leading but they were paying 8 places,
and six pounds was in 8 th place. We watched the last few guys weigh in
and nobody had more than six pounds.

When Javin walked up with his five - he had landed three more on
crankbaits after we talked to him, guys in the big tournament thought he
would place, but he went past them to our scales. He had 6.70 pounds.
As the rest of the club weighed in, most with 1 or 2 keepers, John went
to get his fish. A guy weighed in one fish weighing 3.35 pounds and it
was big fish for the day. (I had one at 2.5 that was second biggest)
John’s five weighed 6.53 pounds, and when I put my five on the scales
they weighed 7.88. I won, Javin was second and John third - the only
three limits weighed in.

I checked the results of the bigger tournament and my weight would have
placed me 5th on my own. If John and I had put our best five together
we would have placed 3rd or 4th with 10.5 pounds or so. We did better
then I thought we would. I figured everyone would have limits as many
fish as John and I caught. We caught at least one keeper every place
we fished and caught keepers on three different crankbaits, a jerkbait,
jig and pig and two colors of Carolina rigged Zoom lizards.

We kept the spots to cook, and when I filleted one 13 inch spot both
tails of my trailer were in its stomach. That fish hit my jig three
times before I hooked it. I am real glad it was persistent! I posted a
picture of the trailer and its two missing tails on my site.

Not a bad day for a February tournament, the bass thought it was spring.
We have had a very mild winter, and right now daffodils, Japanese
Magnolias and pear trees are blooming everywhere. But that is changing.
Today it is raining and a high of 45, and lows Tuesday night are
predicted in the mid 20s. Hope it warms fast - my next
tournament is next Sunday!

Joe Haubenreich wrote:

Good account, Ronnie. You went through a lot more analysis and tried a lot
more lures than I usually do, and it paid off for you. Congratulations.

Joe
______
Thanks it helps to have another good fisherman in the boat putting
pressure on you. I kept going to the jig and pig trying to get a kicker
fish and it kinda worked. And I kept trying different things than John
although he was catching fish behind me.

Good job Ronnie and thanks for sharing. A good account of your time on the
water.

--
God Bless America

Josh The Bad Bear