Sunday - 2/17/08 - Day 48

Lake Sinclair

Flint River Bass Club February tournament

Cloudy and windy most of day. Water temp 59 to 62 in areas warmed some
by the steam plant. A little current in the river from pumpback at
Oconee, it seemed, and near the steam plant from the intake there.
Water pretty stained, you could see a crank bait down six to ten
inches. Air pretty warm - storms headed our way.

We started at 7:30 and I ran to a grassy bank where the fish sometimes
feed. Although the grass is brown and dead the shad still feed in it
and the bass often follow. I had heard people were catching a lot of
small bass.

Started throwing a spinner bait then switched to a lipless bait. No
hits so tried a # 5 Shadrap and almost immediately caught a bass. Said
no way it would measure but it just barely touched. Put it in live
well since it was the first of the day. The fish hit in front of a
dock with brush around it in a shallow sandy pocket.

Next tried the bridge riprap, working several baits with the current
but no bites. Three other boats were fishing it so did not stay long.

Next stop a dock Barry recommended to me. I had fished with Barry at
Jackson on Wednesday doing an article. He guides on Jackson, Sinclair
and Oconee. No bites around the dock. Threw the Shadrap around the
sandy shallow cove working toward another dock with brush. Caught a
keeper - all of 12.25 inches long. At least it was not questionable.
Nothing hit around the brush.

Ran up the river a little ways to a rocky point. Partner got a 11 inch
bass on a Shadrap. Nothing else. Hit a grassy point a little further
up - nothing. Went across to a cove I like and fished in to it and
found another boat already fishing it.

Next ran downstream to a small creek with several brushy docks.
Nothing around them but near the back on a sandy bank I got a third
small keeper - about 12.5 inches. Three in the boat at 10:30 - one per
hour so far, very slow.

Fished several more places in the next two hours and got one more bare
keeper, touched but was just 12 inches long. Four in the boat, maybe.
Also got a short fish.

At about 12:30 we went back to the dock where Barry suggested. Nothing
hit under it but got a keeper out of some brush off the end of it with
a jig head worm. Big fish - all of 13 inches! Had a limit if the
little ones measured . Fished around the pocket but nothing hit there
or the next brushy dock. Jumped back across to the dock and pitched
the jig head worm to the pontoon boat tied up - jig hit right beside
the pontoon after pitching under the dock. Realized the jig had not
hit bottom - a fish was running off with it. Set the hook and landed
my biggest for the day - solid 14 inch, 1.5 pound lunker! Definitely
had my limit, it culled the little one.

Out on the end of the dock got another 13 inch bass on the jig head.
Culled the other one I was really worried about. Then lost one by the
other side of the pontoon, set the hook and it came flying by, came
off the hook, hit the boat and went back into the water.

Worked on down that bank and got a 13 inch keeper. Culled another fish
that was close. Circled back to the good dock and got my 9th keeper
off the end of it. No real close fish now but no size, either. Partner
was going crazy - he could not get bit. I had given him a jig head and
worm just like I was using. Then I noticed he was using braid. I had
12 pound Pline Fluorocarbon line on my outfit. Told him I did not use
braid, even in water this stained. He said it did not matter. He is 18
and knows it all. When I pointed out I had nine keepers to his 0 he
said it was just luck.

I started casting out to the middle of the cove, hoping to pick up a
bigger fish and letting him cast to the places I had caught fish. No
bites. With 10 minutes left he said he wanted to fish a dock past were
we had stopped each time so I idled to it. Brush in front of dock and
I let him cast to it. After he made a couple of casts I threw way off
to to the side of the dock - and got my tenth keeper. It did not cull
anything.

At weigh-in one guy had a 7.5 he said hit on his first cast that
morning on a Shadrap. He also had four more he said he got on a jig
head - his five at 11.8 was first. Second went to a guy with just
three bass but he had a 4.3 and another one close to 3 and one bare
keeper - 7.78. Third was five at 6.85 and my five weighed 6.7 for
fourth.

I had caught ten keepers and culled down to five and that is all the
weight I could get. Still not sure where the decent fish were hiding.

We had 5 limits and three zeroes. 15 fishermen had 45 bass that
weighed about 60 pounds.

The threatening rain and thunder started while we were driving home.

Ronnie

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