West Point Tournament - May 18

Sunday - May 18 - Day 122- six days missed

West Point Lake - May 18 - Spalding County Sportsman Club and Flint
River Bass Club concurrent tournaments - 6:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Partly cloudy morning with increasing winds, by noon clear skies and
15 mph winds, water temps 69 to 72 degrees

When we took off my partner and I ran to Southern Harbor Marina to the
riprap at its mouth. I almost turned away when I saw boat lights on it
but got close enough to see they were about 100 yards from the point
and moving away from it.

Stopped well off the rocks and threw my popper half way to them to get
that first cast out of the way - the superstitions thread here made me
not want to catch a bass on my first cast. Also got my line wet.

Next cast I threw right to the rocks and on the second “bloop” got a
hit from a strong fish. It dug down hard and I figured it was a hybrid
but when it got close to the boat in the clear water I could see it
was a big spot. My partner netted it - one in the boat at 6:36 - good
start.

About four casts later got another hit and put a 14 inch spot in the
boat - two in the live well at 6:40.

Worked around the riprap and a boat came in and started fishing ahead
of me on the back side so I turned and went back over the area I had
caught the two. Fished back and forth and on the fifth pass or so my
partner got a keeper largemouth on a Senko.

Met up with the other boat and they said they were fishing a club
tournament, too. Said there had been some bass on the rocks here
yesterday but they had not got a bite. We talked about the BFL from
yesterday but they did not know what it took..I said I figured a
thousand bass had been released here yesterday.

We fished all kinds of baits on the rocks. I finally got a 11 inch
spot on a drop shot at about 8:00. We then idled in to the back of the
marina and fished the rocks there. Near the gas dock we saw activity,
turtles and fins in the water. My partner got excited but I told him
it was probably carp, I thought they fed the fish there.

He threw under the walkway and got hit and hooked a huge carp. It gave
him all the fight he could handle - got it to the boat and I refused
to net it - told him I did not want it in the boat, just unhook it in
the water. He messed around with it but it made a run and broke his
line.

The marina manager came out to watch and talk with us. He said it took
only 11 pounds to the win the BFL and that a lot of local guys zeroed.
Took only 5 pounds to get a check out of 140 boats. Said the guys were
begging the tournament director to let them go earlier, that no fish
would be caught after 7 AM.

Kinda wished he had not told me - put me in a bad attitude for the
rest of the day. We tried everything I could think of - backs of
creeks, riprap, windblown points and banks, rocks, clay, brush. Not a
hit.

With about an hour left I ran to a roadbed in the back of a creek and
threw to a brush pile on it and got a hit. Hooked what looked like a
13 inch bass on a jig head worm but lost it. Would have been a keeper
if it was a spot but not if it was a largemouth - could not tell.
Partner caught two small bass on a Texas rigged lizard - both under 11
inches long.

We worked that road and brush till quitting time but no more hits.

At weigh-in I found out everyone had a tough day. One guy, a guest in
the Flint River club, had four fish weighing 7 pounds and won that
club. He caught them on a jerk bait and Trick worms. Another guest in
that club had a 5 pounder and took big fish and second place.

My two spots took third at 4.51 pounds. Fourth in that club was 3 at
3.34. There were 2 zeroes out of 12 fishermen.

In the other club I won and my 3.44 pound spot was big fish. Second
was 2.87,. Third 2.67 and fourth was 2.45. There were 5 zeroes out of
14 fishermen.

No idea why it was so tough. Maybe the fish were in that post spawn
funk, I think a lot of bass spawned late due to the cooler than normal
spring.

Ronnie, thanks for the read! I think my little lake here is also having
a late spawn...last year at this time I was wearing them out, now I have
to really work to catch 3 or 4 a day. But....there are better days
ahead!

John B