Ronnie Garrison
Well-known member
Saturday October 11 - Day 268 - Seven days missed
Lake Martin, Alabama - October 11 & 12, 2008
Three club tournament - 31 fishermen - 17 hours total fishing time - 7 - 5 and 7 - 2 Georgia time - 7 fish limit
Windy, cloudy and cool both days, water temps 75 - 76 - very clear water
Fishing alone - Jordan called in sick Thursday night. He was supposed to join me Friday afternoon.
After two frustrating practice days of fishing memories and catching a few small fish I decided to go with what Chad Miller, a local guide told me. On Thursday I got seven or eight keepers on everything from buzz baits to jig heads and on Friday I got six keepers, four of them on jig heads in one brush pile. No pattern at all.
I ran about 12 miles almost to the dam first thing in the dark, really, and stopped on the point Chad told me to throw a topwater bait. Within a few casts I missed a fish, threw back and missed another hit but kept working it and hooked a good spot. It fought hard and I managed to land it, but got it all tangled in the net. Could not find my pliers - had a tough time getting it out, was too excited I guess. Finally got it in the live well but the boat had drifted right on top of where it hit.
Kept working the point and missed another fish, then landed a 14 inch spot - it went into the hopefully cull live well side. Fished around the point and missed a total of five bites. Seven hits and only two fish. Disgusting. Was throwing a Rico popper - usually they take it better than that.
Fished back around the point and did not get a hit. Right at the end of the deeper water I decided to make one more cast and hooked a solid 2 pound largemouth - three in the live well at 8:00 AM. The whole plug was in its mouth.
Went out to another point Chad had suggested. Fish schooling on the wind blown point and I got three on top - all about 10 inches long.
Started hitting places Chad had put in the Map of the Month article last October in Kowaliga Creek. First rocky point I worked around it with topwater and nothing. Started back with a spinner bait and got slammed. Fish was all I could handle - figured it was a big cat. Got it to the boat and it was a two pound spot - strongest 2 pounder I have ever hooked! Four in the live well at 9:00.
Went to a deep bank with brush and worked topwater down it - nothing. Started back up it with a jighead and got thumped by a Christmas tree in five feet of water - solid 2 pound spot. Five at 9:15.
Out on the end of the bank I had not had another hit and decided to throw the spinner bait before leaving and got a 14 inch spot. Now had six in the live wells - four good ones and two that I wanted to cull.
Ran to a hump with brush but could not fish it effectively - too much wind. Did see one good fish follow the spinner bait but did not hit it.
Went to the next spot, a point at the mouth of a cove, and got a sickly looking 14 inch spot on the spinnerbait - limit in the boat at 10:00 but 3 needed culling.
Fished places like that for the next four hours and got several keepers but none would cull even the smallest spot. At 3:00 I decided to run back to near weigh-in in Wind Creek and hit some brush where I got my best fish in practice.
Got to the brush and first cast got a 13 inch spot where I had been catching 15 inchers - it would not cull. Worked on down that bank and cast the jig head by a log and got a solid hit - landed a 1.5 pound spot, culled one. A few feet further threw a buzz bait in a ditch by a log and landed a keeper largemouth - it was fatter than the two little spots and culled one of them.
Fished hard for the last hour trying to cull the last fish but that was it. At weigh-in most folks were shaking their heads - we had 8 limits - very low for Martin. My 7 weighed 13.62 and I got first for the day and my first spot weighed 3.18 and it was big fish. We pay back both days, six places and big fish. Second place was 12.52 - he was camping across from me and had told me he was on some good fish in brush on spinner baits, had found them Tuesday morning but had not been back. Third was 9.54 down to 8.39 for sixth.
I was excited about the second day - thought I would wear them out on top on that point, hoped I would land more that hit. Called Chad and he suggested I throw a swim bait if they were not taking topwater good so I got my Sebile Magic Swimmer ready. Had it tied on today but had not thrown it.
Second day in next post.
Lake Martin, Alabama - October 11 & 12, 2008
Three club tournament - 31 fishermen - 17 hours total fishing time - 7 - 5 and 7 - 2 Georgia time - 7 fish limit
Windy, cloudy and cool both days, water temps 75 - 76 - very clear water
Fishing alone - Jordan called in sick Thursday night. He was supposed to join me Friday afternoon.
After two frustrating practice days of fishing memories and catching a few small fish I decided to go with what Chad Miller, a local guide told me. On Thursday I got seven or eight keepers on everything from buzz baits to jig heads and on Friday I got six keepers, four of them on jig heads in one brush pile. No pattern at all.
I ran about 12 miles almost to the dam first thing in the dark, really, and stopped on the point Chad told me to throw a topwater bait. Within a few casts I missed a fish, threw back and missed another hit but kept working it and hooked a good spot. It fought hard and I managed to land it, but got it all tangled in the net. Could not find my pliers - had a tough time getting it out, was too excited I guess. Finally got it in the live well but the boat had drifted right on top of where it hit.
Kept working the point and missed another fish, then landed a 14 inch spot - it went into the hopefully cull live well side. Fished around the point and missed a total of five bites. Seven hits and only two fish. Disgusting. Was throwing a Rico popper - usually they take it better than that.
Fished back around the point and did not get a hit. Right at the end of the deeper water I decided to make one more cast and hooked a solid 2 pound largemouth - three in the live well at 8:00 AM. The whole plug was in its mouth.
Went out to another point Chad had suggested. Fish schooling on the wind blown point and I got three on top - all about 10 inches long.
Started hitting places Chad had put in the Map of the Month article last October in Kowaliga Creek. First rocky point I worked around it with topwater and nothing. Started back with a spinner bait and got slammed. Fish was all I could handle - figured it was a big cat. Got it to the boat and it was a two pound spot - strongest 2 pounder I have ever hooked! Four in the live well at 9:00.
Went to a deep bank with brush and worked topwater down it - nothing. Started back up it with a jighead and got thumped by a Christmas tree in five feet of water - solid 2 pound spot. Five at 9:15.
Out on the end of the bank I had not had another hit and decided to throw the spinner bait before leaving and got a 14 inch spot. Now had six in the live wells - four good ones and two that I wanted to cull.
Ran to a hump with brush but could not fish it effectively - too much wind. Did see one good fish follow the spinner bait but did not hit it.
Went to the next spot, a point at the mouth of a cove, and got a sickly looking 14 inch spot on the spinnerbait - limit in the boat at 10:00 but 3 needed culling.
Fished places like that for the next four hours and got several keepers but none would cull even the smallest spot. At 3:00 I decided to run back to near weigh-in in Wind Creek and hit some brush where I got my best fish in practice.
Got to the brush and first cast got a 13 inch spot where I had been catching 15 inchers - it would not cull. Worked on down that bank and cast the jig head by a log and got a solid hit - landed a 1.5 pound spot, culled one. A few feet further threw a buzz bait in a ditch by a log and landed a keeper largemouth - it was fatter than the two little spots and culled one of them.
Fished hard for the last hour trying to cull the last fish but that was it. At weigh-in most folks were shaking their heads - we had 8 limits - very low for Martin. My 7 weighed 13.62 and I got first for the day and my first spot weighed 3.18 and it was big fish. We pay back both days, six places and big fish. Second place was 12.52 - he was camping across from me and had told me he was on some good fish in brush on spinner baits, had found them Tuesday morning but had not been back. Third was 9.54 down to 8.39 for sixth.
I was excited about the second day - thought I would wear them out on top on that point, hoped I would land more that hit. Called Chad and he suggested I throw a swim bait if they were not taking topwater good so I got my Sebile Magic Swimmer ready. Had it tied on today but had not thrown it.
Second day in next post.
