Sunday - June 6, 2010 - Day 134 - 23 days missed

Lake West Point - Flint River Bass Club June tournament
Fished 6 AM to 3 PM, water 80 to 82, sun came up then got cloudy until
about 11, then sunny and very hot rest of day. Calm morning with a
good breeze in the afternoon.

Could not decide which way to go - had been told the pockets upriver
were holding fish hitting topwater but I have done good downriver the
past few tournaments. Decided to stick with what I know rather than
what I have been told.

Ran down to a rocky main lake point and went around it with
chatterbait - still pretty low light. Partner threw several baits.
Came back around it with a Rico popper - neither of us had a hit. I
was throwing a Tennessee Shad Rico on ten pound test line in the open
water on the points.

Went to the point where I got 8 hits on 8 casts and put a limit in the
boat on topwater six weeks ago. It is back in a creek and I figured
the fish had moved out. Wrong. As the sun came up I got a nice 2.5
pound spot on a Rico then a 1.5 pounder. A few minutes later got a
1.5 pounder to the boat and it jumped right at the net and threw my
plug. That deflated me. 6:45 and two in the livewell and one got off!

We worked everything in that area I knew for over two hours with no
hits from keepers - caught a few short fish. Decided to make a big
move at 8:30 and ran up to a roadbed above the two bridges. Worked it
with a variety of baits with no hits.

At about 9:00 I decided to work into the short cove with a top water
bait. I picked up a different rod with a different color Rico -
crappie color, I think - and heavier 15 pound test line for the cover
in the cove. We were sitting in about 10 feet of water throwing to a
bank with overhanging bushes -water a little stained from boat waves
and 82 degrees. A fish sucked my Rico under and I thought it was a
little fish till my rod bowed good - managed to land a solid 2.5 pound
fat largemouth. Three in the livewell at 9:20. A few casts later the
water exploded under my Rico and I landed another good 2.5 pound
largemouth. My partner said he needed a Rico - he had ordered some
but they were to be delivered on Monday. He had tried a bunch of
baits, including a Pop-R. I gave him the rod with the Tennessee Shad
Rico on it.

We fished around that pocket with no more keepers. Ran across to a
similar pocket and near the back got a decent 1.5 pound spot on the
Rico. 10:15 and a limit - I figured about 9 to 10 pounds.

We fished another pocket then ran to a small creek that usually holds
fish. I worked a big worm and Senko, hoping for a kicker fish, while
my partner threw the Rico. He had one suck it under but missed it. I
had just reeled in my Senko and I automatically cast to where the
fish hit, and one took off with it. I landed a 13 inch spot - wish I
had not cast to it, it did not help me but would have been a keeper
for my partner.

On the next point on a Carolina rigged Baby Brush Hog I got another
spot, about 14 inches long and maybe as big or bitter than my smallest
so I put it in the live well to cull later. Fish looked bigger than I
remembered in the livewell but water makes them look bigger. A minute
later my partner landed a keeper spot on a Carolina rig. Finally had a
keeper at noon.

We worked that cove and then a couple of main river points, hoping the
water would have started moving but there was no current even though
they were supposed to generate at 1 PM. At 2:15 we went back to the
roadbed where I had caught my two largemouth - figured there might be
a school holding on the roadbed. Partner got another 13 inch spot on
the roadbed but nothing hit my big worm. I did get another short fish
on the popper as time ran out.

When I opened my livewell to cull the smallest spot, I got a shock.
The aerator on my side had quit working and all my fish were dead. It
had stopped some time between noon when I checked and 3. Partners was
still working so we did not realize mine had quit.

At the weigh-in I was surprised. I had the only limit and won with
10.48 pounds. Second was 10.05 with four fish and he had big fish at
4.82 - all on Flukes. Third was four at 6.27 and fourth was 4 at
5.33. There were 5 zeros out of the 14 in the tournament.

Tough day!

Ronnie

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