| I'M On A Roll! The Morning Hours | |
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Spalding County Sportsman Club Tournament
Bartletts Ferry, GA (Lake Harding)
June 23, 2001 - 13 members fishing
Sunny, cold front came thru during night and dropped temp 15 degrees from night before. 62 at 6 am, 85 at 2 pm. Surface temp 80 on lake, 75 up river. River stained, lake clear. Light breeze out of north west
3:15 AM - What is that god-awful noise? OH - its my favorite song on the radio - this is WAY too early to get up - even to go fishing! Get up, get dressed, drink a half pot of coffee fast and put another pot and a half in thermos. Hook up boat, fill ice chest.
4:00 AM - head to lake - 90 mile drive - should be there by 5:30 - gives me 30 minutes to launch boat. No partner today - he had not recovered from the Southern Regional, I guess. Stop for cappuchino - coffee not strong enough!
5:30 AM - right on time - pay entry fee, collect cumulative big fish pot from everybody, launch boat, lie about what I found Friday in practice. Fog looks bad - may not be able to run the 3 miles to first spot.
6:00 AM - takeoff in almost safe light - fog is not too bad, but bad enough that I duck into nearby pocket with shallow point that has a grass bed on in and usually holds early fish. Start throwing buzzbait - where is that grass - gone! wonder what happened. Run buzzbait by log in two feet of water on point 30 feet off bank. If one is going to be on this point will be here - nothing! Run Secret Weapon spinnerbait down log - like the way it runs, but no takers. Try white Trick Worm - they liked it Friday - still nothing!
6:20 - Fog thins a little - take a chance and run to where I wanted to start. Little pocket right off river channel - lots of wood washed in, some grass and a couple of docks. This place ALWAYS holds early fish. Start with buzzbait - something slaps at it. Reel in and drop Trick Worm where it hit, let is sink a little - line twitches and moves off, set the hook! Good fight from a bass 11 and 15/16 inches long - back he goes. Not the start I hoped for! Work on around pocket, mixing up buzzbai, Secret Weapon, trick worm and Baby Brush Hog. See a couple of bream run with the trick worm but the worm never disappears - realize water lots clearer than up river where I caught fish on white trick worm Friday.
6:45 - On down to big main lake point with rocks and grass - work buzzbait and trick worm all around end of point - nothing. I always catch fish here - where are they. Don’t like seeing worm all the way back to boat, down 2 feet or so. Water lots more clear than expected. Switch to watermelon seed trick worm - dye tail chartreuse - can’t see worm, but maybe that is what they want.
7:00 start down bank into cove - nice grassbed here - fish just do not seem active. Try letting trick worm sink all the way to bottom at edge of grass in two feet of water - watch line close! About third cast doing this, letting it sink with no action, line twitches - set the hook! Solid 2 pound fish fights good but comes to boat quickly. Got one in the livewell - can relax now, broke the ice. Took an hour. Start fishing trick worm real slow.
7:15 - coffee takes effect - cast Trick worm to edge of grass - put fishing rod under arm, unzip and start to recycle coffee. Line starts moving off! Grab fishing rod, set the hook - good fish! Almost pee on self fighting fish, getting net and landing it. Will go close to 3 pounds. Not a bad start. Cast out and finish what bass interrupted. Maybe that is the pattern - the slow falling worm and the sound of running water turns them on. Not sure how many times I can do that, especially when coffee runs out or lake gets crowded!
7:30 throw trick worm to dock surrounded by grass - let is sink, tighten up, weight on line, set the hook! 13 inch bass has swallowed the worm to his gouzle. Work it out as carefully as possible, but he is bleeding bad. 3 down, 2 to go with 6.5 hours left to fish.
7:30 - 10:30 - work every grassbed I can find going into coves with buzzbait and trick worm. Catch about six throwbacks from 6 to 11 inches long. All but one hit trickworm while sinking. Skidoos arrive at 8:00 - why do they allow those noisy things on lake!
I'm On A Roll - Page 2 - The Rest of the Day
