Sunday - June 20, 2010 - Day 147 - 24 days missed

Spalding County Sportsman Club Tournament
Lake Oconee - 5:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Sunny and very hot - very light breeze around noon, water clear and 87
degrees

Ran to my favorite area in the dark and started working a seawall with
a Chatterbait - still very dark. Lots of shad dimpling off bank as
it got a little lighter and a big fish hit right on the bank but
nothing on our baits.

When it got light enough I thought topwater would work i started
throwing a popper. Saw some activity on the seawall, almost like a few
shad spawning - and got a bare keeper 14 inch largemouth on the popper
at 6:05. A few casts later, following the shad down the bank, got a
good solid keeper at 6:15. Worked around a pocket and got a short
fish then another good keeper on the popper - three in the livewell at
6:30. Another short fish hit the popper as the sun came over the trees
on the far side of the lake.

Met another boat working toward us and they said they were not in
tournament and would get out of way - told them no problem. They had
about the same luck as we had. As I turned out on the point we met on
I threw a jig head worm on it and got a good keeper - four at 6:40.
Went back across the cove and worked out the seawall and missed a hit
then caught a warmouth. A few casts later missed another fish then had
one pick my Texas rigged Mag 2 worm and swim out with it - landed a
solid keeper at 7:00 and had a limit. About the same time my partner
got a keeper on a jig head.

We fished several places hard to 9:00 without any more bites. While
fishing a jig and pig in some brush on a rocky point felt a hard hit
and set the hook. Nothing moved for a second then it pulled me down
into brush. I worked back and forth for a while and the fish came out
and swam off, with me following. I was using 15 pound PLine
Fluorocarbon and knew it had to be frayed bad.

I couldn't do anything with that fish - could feel it throbbing on the
line and a heavy solid pull. Had my St Croix rod bent double. After
about 15 minutes I startd to gain some line and saw bubbles - told my
partner a sure sign of a cat. When I finally got it to the top it was
the biggest flathead I had ever hooked - My partner got a rag and I
was going to try to "lip" it but it kept shaking its head and finally
broke the line. I could have put both my fists in its mouth side by
side! Was shaking after all that!

We worked hard in the miserable heat but had not had another strike at
1:00. I stopped on a dock on the way to weigh-in and got a throwback,
then my best of the day from some brush in front of it. Got another
throwback there before we had to leave, all three on the RedBug Mag 2.

At weigh-in my five weighed 10.19 for second. First had five at 10.72
- only other limit. Third was four at 9.79 and his 5.49 was big fish.
Fourth was was three at 7.26.

Ronnie

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