Blue Ridge Bassmasters fished the 1rst tourney of the year yesterday out of Loyston Point on Norris Lake. 1rst place took 10.01 to win followed by 2nd place of 5.30...15 boats and about 28 fisherman... needless to say it was tough... conditions couldn`t be much worse for ultra clear water...cold front , blue bird skies,just enough wind to limit some techniques..water temps 44-48....I had one peckerhead run into my bait and hook himself in the side early and finally got my only bite at 2:20 on rootbeer Flat Max Bandit..3.21 lbs good for 6th place...Iwas betting my partner it was a drum the way he was acting ,really lethargic....big fish was 4.o1 largemouth....this tourney was supposed to be feb 18 but was postponed because of freezing rain and ice and snow before start time...probably would have had better weights then but not worth the risk on the crooked hilly roads leading to launch ramps. Next tourney march 18 on Loudon-Tellico...and interesting note ,we had 8 new members sign up who are deaf..creating as you might guess some challenges..one pair came in 3rd and the smile on their faces was all the communication needed for that !! They seem to be a fun bunch really charged up to compete and it should make for some fun times ahead !!
Norris Lake bass fishing has been on the up swing for the last few years, we had several 3 lb smallmouth brought in and the largemouth are getting bigger in spite of a large spot population.
oh yeah , for you striper fisherman(rockfish) there were quite few striper people fishing upstream in the clinch river, 3-4 miles up from Hickory Star boat dock....lots of gulls in area...used to be one of the best lakes for big stripers... a few years back a lot of 50lb plus caught every year ...you don`t hear of them that big the last few years ...but still some big`uns in there...only requirement is if you catch them you have to take `em home and eat `umemoToast
