Bass Tournament Reports April 2005

March 26: R&R, Oconee

It took 15.09 pounds to make it in the top 10 and get a check at R&R’s Oconee tournament last weekend.

“There were some strong sacks brought in,” said Russ Ferguson, tournament director for R&R.

First place and $4,000 went to the team of Benny Lanning of Covington and Rick Hollingsworth of Dallas.

“We were fishing from Hwy 44 to I-20,” said Benny.

The team fished chartreuse/white spinnerbaits all the way back in the pockets on shallow wood cover. Their five-fish limit went 20.24 pounds.

Benny Lanning (left) of Covington and Rick Hollingsworth (right) of Dallas won last weekend’s R&R tournament on Oconee. Tournament Directors Russ and Rhonda Ferguson present the $4,000 first-place check.

Kim Carver of Milledgeville and Montie Walters of Warner Robins took second place with a sack that weighed 18.29 pounds.

“They said they were pitching Zoom lizards around two-foot deep wood cover in Sugar Creek,” said Russ.

They also had big fish — a 7 1/2-pounder. For second place and big fish, the team walked away with $2,500.

Shawn Malcom of Monroe and James Scott from Greensboro ended up with a third-place finish. They took home $1,150.

“They threw spinnerbaits and jigs in the backs of the mid-lake pockets where wind and shad were present,” said Russ.

Fourth place went to the father-and-son team of Charlie and Chris Baldwin of Fairburn. With 17.31 pounds, they won $800.

“We fished spinnerbaits, and even caught some on Trick Worms,” said Charlie.

Water temperatures finally made it into the 60s, and the fish have moved shallow. Anglers said there were fish on the bed, but they were hard to see because the water was stained.

March 20: Bassmaster, Sinclair

Walter Green pulled off a win during Bassmaster’s second Georgia Division event — this one on March 20 at Sinclair.

“I caught my fish on 3/8-oz. Terminator spinnerbait and a Senko,” said Walter. “I fished the mid lake and then went up the Little River. The fish were on main-lake, hard-clay banks and seawalls. They were also on docks. I caught most of my fish in four feet of water or less.”

Walter’s five-fish limit went 14-lbs., 14-ozs. — a pretty low weight to win a 130-boat tournament.

“The bite’s been tough on Sinclair,” said Walter. “It’s been getting pounded. They had the BFL here the week before, and they had the Sinclair Team Trail Saturday. It’s not that big of a lake, and it just gets pounded to death.”

Walter’s biggest fish was over five pounds.

“I caught the 5.04 about 1:30, and I really felt like I needed another four or five to win, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out I won,” said Walter.

For the win, Walter pocketed $4,402. He’s ranked No. 1 in the Georgia Division.

Second place went to Jerry McClure of Covington. He weighed in 14-lbs., 5-ozs. and took home $2,201.

“I was fishing soft plastics and crankbaits in the middle part of the lake,” said Jerry.

Jerry said the fish were just inside the mouths of the creeks, and the water temperature was in the mid 50s.

Jerry’s second-place finish, along with a fifth-place finish in the March 12 BFL Bulldog event at Sinclair, pushed him to the top of GON‘s Individual Power Rankings.

March 20: HD Marine, West Point

Rob Boswell of Winder and Tim Hoskins of Gainesville won a new Skeeter SX190 bass boat at the HD Marine tournament on West Point. They had a five-fish limit that weighed 22.70 pounds, good enough for a first-place finish in the March 20 event.

Gary Dennis (left) and William Dennis (center) accept plaques from Lee Dodgen with HD Marine after the team won the HD tournament at Oconee.

“We started at the south end and worked our way up,” said Rob. “We didn’t have one area or place we caught ’em all. We just covered a lot of water.”

Rob and Tim started fishing in main-lake blowdowns with a 3/8-oz. chartreuse spinnerbait with gold double willowleaf blades.

“We got the feeling most of the bigger ones had just moved up,” said Rob. “Most of the water was between 53 and 56 degrees, and the whole lake was pretty dingy.”

Rob said they only caught eight fish all day.

“We had three fish right at six pounds,” said Rob. “One hit a spinnerbait, one hit a jig and one hit a Shad Rap.”

In the afternoon they moved half-way back in the pockets and threw Rat-L-Traps and Shad Raps.

Second place and a G3 duck boat went to Kenny Carroll and Scott Cooper, both of Opelika, Ala. They caught a limit that went 21.13 pounds.

Paul Mandall of Fayetteville and Larry Burress finished third with 21.13 pounds. They split $2,500.

March 13: Valley, Sinclair

Chad Wilson of Gordon and Jim Windham of Bonaire started not to even fish the latest Valley event at Sinclair.

“The weather wasn’t supposed to be that great, but Chad said it’s our time to be on fish so I said,  said Jim. “The other three came off a 3/8-oz. C&C Custom Lures spinnerbait.”

Jim said these fish were on wood and way back in the pockets.

Second place went to Sinclair locals Tony Waters and Will Sizer, both of Milledgeville. With 16.72 pounds making up a limit, they won $563.

Bobby and Leon Montgomery from Warner Robins finished third with a five-fish limit that went 15.32 pounds. They won $350.

March 12: Fishers of Men, Hartwell

Thirty-eight teams fished the Hartwell Fishers of Men tournament on a windy March 12.

The South Carolina team of Carl Pless and Kevin Vickery brought in a five-fish limit weighing 15.36 pounds. According to the tournament director, they used jerkbaits in shallow, clear water, and it resulted in a first-place check of $972.80.

Jeff Fletcher of Clayton and David Steele of Tocooa placed second with five fish that went 15.14 pounds. The team used spinnerbaits and jigs in two feet of stained, 46-degree water. They pocketed $709.70.

Third place and $523.10 went to the team of Terry Robertson of Loganville and Robbie Sowash of Flowery Branch. Their limit weighed 14.54 pounds, and it came off plastics and a Shad Rap in shallow, stained water.

February 27: HD, Oconee

Crankbaits and spinnerbaits accounted for the winning catches at the first HD Marine tournament of the season. Despite rainy, raw weather on Lake Oconee February 27, it took more than 20 pounds to win.

Darren Taylor took big fish with this 8.11-lb. largemouth. The lunker hit a Little Earl crankbait.

The team of Gary Dennis and William Stone topped the field of 150 boats with five fish that weighed 20.62 pounds. According to William, they caught their fish on mid-lake banks on natural- and citrus-shad-colored Shad Raps.

“We were fishing windblown, steep banks, and they had to have a little shelf on them,” he said. “They also had to have deep water nearby.”

Gary and William culled their winning five from only seven bass.

The first-place prize was a 2005 Skeeter SX-190 powered by a Yamaha 150.

Steve Lee and Eric Perkins placed second with a limit that weighed 20.42 pounds. Eric said it was one of his best days ever on Oconee. “We had a limit by 8:30 and culled from about three limits,” he said.

He and Steve threw Shad Raps and Rat-L-Traps on shallow wood and rocks in the mid-lake above the Hwy 44 bridge. Their three best fish, however, hit a spinnerbait.

The second-place prize was a G-3 camouflage boat and a 50 hp Yamaha motor.

Deon and Andy Cannon took the show position with a limit that weighed 19.92 pounds. They said they caught fish on crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

They won a check for $2,500 for the third-place finish.

Darren Taylor of Watkinsville won big-fish honors with a 8.11-lb. bass.