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Anglers on the front line of tournament bass fishing
Georges Blog 2012 May 12 - Hey Guys. Just finished the third ABA of the season on Chickamauga. I was excited about this one thinking if the lake fished like it has done in the past it would be alot of fun. Practiced on monday up in the river and it looked like it was going to be that way but wasnt catching em in the numbers i wanted. Had a shallow pattern going catching fish flipping, spinnerbait, buzz frog, swim jig alot of the ways I like. Thursday was my second practice day and decided since the tournament was coming out of chester frost I d check some places down lake. Worked opposum creek and found em in about the same size and numbers i had up the lake and found an area that I thought I could have to myself. Friday was spent primarily in dallas bay and again caught em doing the same stuff with the exception of the buzz frog the water was getting a little dirty from recent rains and it stopped that technique for me. Made the choice to stay down the lake and fish opposum creek and early it looked like a good choice the topwater bite worked as I caught 2 pretty quick. I got to my flipping area the bite was still there but not the size. I changed back to the topwater and had a good one eat it (4lbs) but made a real rookie mistake tried to rush it and she pulled off 6 inches from the net. My mistake and those are the toughest ones for me to recover from they get in my head and I lose a little focus. Left my primary area and move to another section of the creek and still caught fish but they were short. Another move to a bluff wall didnt produce anything so back to my primary for a last shot at it. The wind was howling by now and picked up the spinnerbait and caught a solid 3.5 pretty quick then 2 more that wouldnt measure. Ended the day disappointed more with myself than the fishing, for that lost fish both by the mistake I made and letting it get in my head. A refresher course in a lesson I already knew. I wont let it happen again. Apr. 14 - Had really been looking forward to this tournament thought the lake would be wide open. Practice started ok but not what I was expecting. Prefished for 4 days and never really could find any big fish. Had a 4 on monday flipping a tube and a 6 wednesday on a spinnerbait but was expecting the big girls to be eating like sharks. We did have a 40 degree cold front come through early in the week and the only thing I can figure is they just havent completely recovered from that, The tournament was a continuation of the practice week but I caught a lot more fish again just keepers. The 4'' inch flipping tube, a spinnerbait and a swimbait all produced fish and I caught fish all day but just like in practice no big ones. On a day when alot of people struggled. from a fishing for fun stand point I had a really good day. If i had to guess I think I probably caught 20 or 25 keepers and ended up 15 th in the tournament. Got the next ABA down here next month and we ll get another shot at it. Its a great lake with alot of big fish in it. maybe they ll be in a better mood for that one. Fired up about potentially going somewhere for a video shoot to showcase one of our favorite new baits keep and eye on the website or FB page we ll keep you posted. Mar 17-24 - Hey Guys, The new tournament season started off quick with back to back weekend events. The first on Guntersville and the second on Chickamauga to of the best lakes in the country. I ll get Chickamauga over with quick. With the lake level low and dropping daily alot of the backwater areas were very shallow or dry. The only viable pattern I found was on the main river. It was my own fault, I dodged the remaining fishable creeks thinking the fishing pressure would make that pattern to crowded. On tournament morning i went to my first spot and found the water down yet another foot or so and the carolina rig pattern i had found completely vanished. I tried to make it work and came up empty. After about 3 hrs of searching for my fish I gave up on it and ran to a major creek to try and salvage the day. I caught fish on a jig, flipping a tube and a square bill crankbait but they were all short. I want to congratulate McCoy and John for solid finishes and representing the colors.. Hope to get some payback down there in the ABA in april. Guntersville was a little more friendly. I found the fish on the second day of practice in the shallow grass flats just off the main lake. I was pitching a tube to shallow sand holes in the grass and the fish were aggressive and most were in the 3 to 5 lb range. We had quite a bit of rain prior to the event and the water colored up enough to keep me from seeing the sand holes on tournament day but I could fan cast and still get bit. The famous Guntersville crowd was in force as every area had numerous boats so that cut down on my abilty to fish some of my stuff but I put together a decent bag (15.30) and finished 14th. One fair finish and one terrible one but its march the weather is good and I cant wait to get back out there. Talk to u soon, George 2011 Sep. 13-18 - BFL on Cherokee. Hey Bass Soldiers, Just got in from my first day of practice for our final BFL qualifying tournament for this season. We re fishing Cherokee Lake and all reports were that its tough and now I can confirm that. Its very tough. High skies and high pressure.Its a september thing almost everywhere we go here in east tennessee. I believe its the toughest month of our fishing year and if you look back at previous years tournament results it ll kinda prove that out. The best thing about that is if you can catch a few fish on saturday it ll probably get you to the second day and a check so you can keep your head in the game knowing that, It was a struggle to get bit today but ended the day with 8 total fish and 4 keepers none of them worth bragging about. But its a start. I ll get after em again in the morning, I aint outta ideas yet. I ll keep you posted...a quick recap for day 2 on cherokee. Long Long Long day still hot i think 6 fish all day with 2 keepers its not much fun. The worst part is I ve found a couple places where some very nice fish (2 to 4 lbs) are breaking regularly but I have sat on those spots for several hours and cant get em to eat anything they wont bite while their breaking and I cant catch em after they sound But we ve got a big weather change coming so I ve still got a pretty good feeling hoping their attitude will change and they ll eat something I m throwing....practice day 3 on Cherokee was completely different weather wise. We went from sunny and 90 yesterday to rainy and 68 early with temps slipping to 62 by 5 this afternoon. As an added bonus had a little mechanical difficulty this morning loosing one of the wheel hub seals on my trailer didnt trash my bearings but still spent a little quality time with the trailer on the jack. The fishing was pretty good early. The baitfish were everywhere and the bass were crackin em. Caught some on top had a few on spinnerbaits and cranks. After the last 2 days it was alot of fun for a little while. Then came the rain which drove the bait down and the bite slowed down. Can catch a few on the shaky head but if you tell anybody I said that I ll swear it was a jig. Gonna give em about half a day or so tomorrow see if this weather change helps my bite or makes me start from scratch saturday. It sure hasnt been much fun up here this week but in a strange twisted kinda way I m still looking forward to saturday. Cant really explain it other than its almost tourney time and thats what I do. I dig it...the tournament didnt turn out the way I wanted. I didnt get a keeper in the boat and didnt make up the ground I needed to advance to Smith Mountain lake. The fishing was miserable all week and didnt change any on saturday. I had my opportunities. Lost 3 fish that would have kept. The last one hurt the most cause it was about 2.5 lbs and he fell off as I tried to boat flip him on a jig. I m irritated about it but on a jig I m gonna boat flip that fish 99.9% of the time. Done it thousands of times. I guess the lesson there is when the fishing is that miserably I should have let my co-angler take a swipe at it with the net. That fish would have gotten my to Smith Mountain. Big shout out to John for a great year and a great tournament at Cherokee. Good luck at Smith Mountain..Later Guys............George Jun. 5 - Hey Guys, It was a great week on Chickamauga, caught fish every time I was up the tennessee river. Found a pattern and a school of fish that could have won it. Was very confident thought it was gonna be awesome and now I m stunned. I didnt catch a fish. What?? I said I didnt catch a fish. Its to soon after the tournament and I havent even worked out a good excuse yet. I was catching fish on a Jig, big worm, top water and a rattle bait but they were just gone. I have never been this disappointed in a tournament result ever. So you can figure I m a tad bit sore right now. I ll talk to ya ll soon when the bruises heal up a bit...George Jun 3 - Hey guys, Practice for the Chickamauga tournament wrapped up today. Its been a good couple weeks. I ve been on the lake 6 or 7 times and had alot of fun.Everything from the swim jig to a 10'' worm. The record high temps have been a pain and relocating the fish with the surface temps everywhere from low 70's to low 80's has been a challenge but still when you find them they re chewing pretty good. Dont forget to check out the footage of the swim jig trip with McCoy we had a blast and caught em pretty good. I dont know how saturday will turn out but looking forward to it..Later,,,,,,,George May 8 - It almost has to happens. Tournament day they just dont bite like they do during the week. Its not a mystery its pre tournament practice, Chances are if your catchin em in practice alot of other people are too. South holston is a great lake when they re biting I mean its actually awesome (ask Kona) but all the pressure and a two and a half hour fog delay made saturdays fishing day a lot different for me. I stayed with the finesse worm and jig. I threw the swimbait a litttle but didnt have much confidence in it. First fish came about 10 minutes in and it was a largemouth on the jig. Switched to the finesse worm and could not get bit on either of the first two stops. Made the move down lake alternating between the jig and worm. Caught 2 nice smallmouth pitchin to laydowns with the jig and I m thinkin here we go but cant keep the bite going. Move back up the lake and pick the worm back up finally get bit on it and boat a 4 lb smallie. With about 15 minutes of fishing time left i catch a squeeker to give me 5. Even though it was tougher I still have to say that is an awesome little lake I ll make it a regular trip in the spring whether we have a tournament there or not. Ended up with 14 lbs good enough for 17 th and got a small check. I want to congratulate my friend Chuck Wells for winning the tournament on the coangler side and Jon for his finish but he can tell you about it on his blog. Really looking forward to Chickamauga it should be alot of fun..........later Guys May 4- Hey guys day one on South holston. This lake has been smokin for like 3 months but we had a strong cold front come through last night. Droppped the daytime hi like 30 degrees and believe me that hurt this morning I didnt bring enough clothes after 85 yesterday my teeth were chatterin this a.m. Just knew the bite would be gone.............WRONG. Dude no kidding smallmouths are crazy. Fished with my dad and a friend of mine and we stroked em. Around 40, probably 25 of em keepers. cold windy didnt matter an all around good day. Ran into Jon and Kona just after Kona had smoked a 4.5 lber he was geeked. It was great to finally meet one of the west side crew. Standard Holston stuff on the techniques finesse worm and swimbait. Gonna hunt some new water tomorrow cant wait to get back out there............George Apr. 9-Hey guys, recapping the week aint much fun when the tournament doesnt turn out the way you want it to. Thats douglas for me. I was on a good pattern had caught a good fish each day in practice but in the tournament I just couldnt find a good one. I started in maguire creek cranking shallow switched to a spinnerbait and caught 2 keepers pretty quick. It was crowded and I couldnt get on my second spot. Went to one of my jig spots and caught 2 more but they were just like the earlier ones.........Small but I m getting bit and I believe if I keep getting bit on the jig eventually I ll stick a good one....Didnt happen....Ended up culling 4 or 5 times but for ounces and I needed pounds. Ended up with what everybody calls a ''douglas limit'' 5 that weight between 6 and 8 lbs. It actually moved me up 8 spots in the overall standings but I m still disappointed but It was a good weekend for Mccoy and Mike so the soldiers showed up. I am feeling pretty good about how we worked together and shared info. Next we roll to South holston and I m really looking forward to that one......... Apr. 6 - Hello all, Today ended up being day two for Douglas. The storm that came through monday night was rough. It was clear and cold this morning and the water came up about a foot yesterday and probably came up about the same today. The water picked up alot of color back in the creeks but the temp. hasnt suffered much yet saw 57 to 64 today. Started off with the jig and got a couple good bites early 2.5 and a 5 gotta love the jig went up the lake just to look around found cleaner water but dont think that will last plus there s alot of floaters its like running a slalom in spots. Didnt get the bites up the lake that i wanted caught some small keepers on the rig ended up with around 11 or 12 lbs for the limit. Gonna get after em again tomorrow............ Apr. 4 - Hey Guys, 1st practice day on Douglas. WIND!!!!!! Blowing about 20 to 30 most of the day. Got on the water about 1230. Launched just above the dam the water is about 20 ft or so down, stained with surface temps from 54 to 58.Started out with a rattle bait and got bit pretty quick couple shorts and couple keepers. Sarted changing baits trying to get a better bite. Picked up the jig. Have I ever mentioned that I ve got a problem.........I love the jig cant help it My favorite way to catch em you may think I m goofy but I like it even better than topwater. If i ve got the jig stick 20 lb flouro 1/2 oz. Black/blue out on the deck all is right with the world!!!!! Well that aint exactly how it went today but they did bite the jig nothing big just solid 15 to 18 inch keepers and I was happy then the roof caved in, Raindrops big as half dollars and a thunderstorm squatted right on top of me and began to relieve itself. Thunder and lightening to close for comfort so back to the ramp. The storm coming throught is already causing damage back home and forcasts for 1 to 2 inches of rain over night may change it up some but if the jig bite holds I look forward to saturday. Mar. 19-Hey guys, how do i sum up the watts bar tourney........tough. I thought all week that we were just waiting on the last cold front to clear out and it would be on, not quite. I had found what i thought was a workable pattern it just didnt pan out. Caught 1 on the spinnerbait and one on the rig and thats it for the day no shorts no other bites well I did jerk bait a drum but thats been the only constant all week 4 me, trash fish on a jerk bait. I m thinking about starting the watts bar drum world chapionship tournament trail!!!!!!! I did have a cool thing happen I drew Brandon Harmon as my co-angler. Brandon was my co-angler at chickamauga last year really nice guy had a ball going fishing with him again. If you catch me out somewhere ask me about the ''body slam'' story its a hoot. They ll have to eat like sharks at douglas......already looking forward to it. Later guys, george Mar. 16-Hey all, Man you gotta love Watts Bar in March............. Its been rough. Fished with Mccoy yesterday. We went up the Tennessee cold muddy water. No joy. Only caught 2 small ones but it was still a big day cause i got my truck wrap done while we were out. It is pretty sick.... The guys at The Great American Sign Co. did a great job. They ve even posted a pic on their Facebook page, everybody of FB check it out. Fished by myself today but still kinda rough only had 4 but the sun is shining the waters warming and it could get western by saturday..Speaking of western heres a shout out to the squad on the left coast. Saw the paper for the gold soldier wrap dude its sharp!!!! Gotta get work on some tackle guys............Later, George Mar. 14- Hey guys this is George, gonna give you a quick run down of first practice day for the BFL on watts bar this coming weekend. Launched the boat around the middle of the lake. h2o was clearing up pretty good from all the rain we had last week slightly stained in the creeks and a little darker on the main. Surface temp. was from 49 to 52. Weather was heavy overcast with light to moderate winds. I took had my dad in the boat with me its always great to be able take him. Started out in a creek fishing slow threw a jig some and the rig a little nothing happening. Ran out to the main and started fishing main lake points and pockets with a medium crank. dad had the first fish 4lb smallie sweet. continued working rocky areas and caught a couple more keepers on the crank ended up back in a main creek and threw the jerk bait to finish up. not counting shorts and ''other'' ended up with 4 keepers for about 11 lbs. Now if the rain they re forecasting will give us a little break it could get good later this week. Watts Bar is a good lake give any of us a yell on the site and we ll be happy to give fishing tips and info on lakes or techniques, look forward to hearing from you.............George |
