Ronnie Garrison
Well-known member
The Spalding County Sportsman Club fished West Point Lake Sunday, September
24. We had 17 entries and started at 6:30 AM - pretty dark - and fished to 3:00
PM. Morning was warm, mid 70s with clouds and some wind out of the south.
Water temperatures were right at 79 degrees everywhere I fished and the water was
clear - you could see a white spinnerbait down over two feet.
I ran down to near the dam to a rocky point I like to fish first thing. First pass with a
spinnerbait, nothing. Picked up a big Fat Free Shad crankbait and got a 13 inch spot
on first few casts - one in the livewell at 6:50. It hit on the windy side of the point.
Keeper size is 12 inches for spots and 14 for largemouth on West Point in our
tournament.
Went around the point with the crankbait but nothing . Getting a little lighter now so
I picked up a buzzbait and made a pass. Nothing. Next pass with Carolina rigged
Little Dead Ringer in watermelon with chartreuse tail. Missed one hit.
Decided to run down the riprap at the mouth of Southern Harbor Marina - they had
a tournament yesterday. Got close and saw two boats already there so went back up
to some rocky points my partner wanted to fish.
Fished three of his points and he got one short largemouth. It was 8:45 now and I
ran back to the first point. Got a keeper spot on one of first few casts with the
Carolina rigged Ringer, then another a few minutes later. Three in the livewell at
9:00 - and we both caught several short spots.
Worked that point for another hour catching throwbacks then got another keeper at
10:00 - four in the livewell. Suddenly the wind changed and it started pouring rain -
wind shifted from south to west. Rained some for about two hours then the wind
died completely and the sun came out. No keepers and just one or two short spots
after the wind changed.
At 12:30 we hit a brushpile and some blowdowns in a creek. Nothing. Ran to the
point where my partner got a short largemouth earlier and fished it. No bites on the
rocks. A blowdown in the water looked good and I pitched a 5” Red Shad Senko to
it. Line moved off and I set the hook on a 15.5 inch largemouth. Had my limit but
not much weight. All hit in less than five feet of water although we tried deeper.
We fished a couple more points then, on one, when I put the tolling motor in the
water the boat did not move. Got a bad feeling, pulled it up and sure ‘nough, no
prop. Big wad of line on the shaft - guess it messed it up. Knew I had a spare in the
locker but doubted if it had a new pin and nut - but it did. We were fishing again in
a few minutes.
Nothing hit until we pulled up on a hump with 20 minutes left to fish. Partner kept
getting hits real shallow on some rocks, then landed a 10 inch spot. That was it.
As I got the scales ready I heard one member say he figured everyone had a limit.
Guessed I would not do too good. He had five spots weighing 7.37 and won.
Another guy had five with a 3.03 spot and got second and big fish with 7.25. My
five weighed 6.88 - 2.5 pound largemouth and four one pound spots. Got third. Not
as bad as expected.
We had four limits, three zeroes. Several people had just one bass. Pretty tough day
for us although with the storms we expected it to be good.
Was very hot - low 90s - when I headed home.
24. We had 17 entries and started at 6:30 AM - pretty dark - and fished to 3:00
PM. Morning was warm, mid 70s with clouds and some wind out of the south.
Water temperatures were right at 79 degrees everywhere I fished and the water was
clear - you could see a white spinnerbait down over two feet.
I ran down to near the dam to a rocky point I like to fish first thing. First pass with a
spinnerbait, nothing. Picked up a big Fat Free Shad crankbait and got a 13 inch spot
on first few casts - one in the livewell at 6:50. It hit on the windy side of the point.
Keeper size is 12 inches for spots and 14 for largemouth on West Point in our
tournament.
Went around the point with the crankbait but nothing . Getting a little lighter now so
I picked up a buzzbait and made a pass. Nothing. Next pass with Carolina rigged
Little Dead Ringer in watermelon with chartreuse tail. Missed one hit.
Decided to run down the riprap at the mouth of Southern Harbor Marina - they had
a tournament yesterday. Got close and saw two boats already there so went back up
to some rocky points my partner wanted to fish.
Fished three of his points and he got one short largemouth. It was 8:45 now and I
ran back to the first point. Got a keeper spot on one of first few casts with the
Carolina rigged Ringer, then another a few minutes later. Three in the livewell at
9:00 - and we both caught several short spots.
Worked that point for another hour catching throwbacks then got another keeper at
10:00 - four in the livewell. Suddenly the wind changed and it started pouring rain -
wind shifted from south to west. Rained some for about two hours then the wind
died completely and the sun came out. No keepers and just one or two short spots
after the wind changed.
At 12:30 we hit a brushpile and some blowdowns in a creek. Nothing. Ran to the
point where my partner got a short largemouth earlier and fished it. No bites on the
rocks. A blowdown in the water looked good and I pitched a 5” Red Shad Senko to
it. Line moved off and I set the hook on a 15.5 inch largemouth. Had my limit but
not much weight. All hit in less than five feet of water although we tried deeper.
We fished a couple more points then, on one, when I put the tolling motor in the
water the boat did not move. Got a bad feeling, pulled it up and sure ‘nough, no
prop. Big wad of line on the shaft - guess it messed it up. Knew I had a spare in the
locker but doubted if it had a new pin and nut - but it did. We were fishing again in
a few minutes.
Nothing hit until we pulled up on a hump with 20 minutes left to fish. Partner kept
getting hits real shallow on some rocks, then landed a 10 inch spot. That was it.
As I got the scales ready I heard one member say he figured everyone had a limit.
Guessed I would not do too good. He had five spots weighing 7.37 and won.
Another guy had five with a 3.03 spot and got second and big fish with 7.25. My
five weighed 6.88 - 2.5 pound largemouth and four one pound spots. Got third. Not
as bad as expected.
We had four limits, three zeroes. Several people had just one bass. Pretty tough day
for us although with the storms we expected it to be good.
Was very hot - low 90s - when I headed home.
