I think that's what every one in the Washington Co. Bass Club was asking their selves after our
Jan 13th, first tournament of the year on the Choctawhatchee River.
Over the last two years, between fish kills, which people have told me about and drought conditions,
this must have taken a toll on the Choctawhatchee River.
Because before that it wasn't any problem to catch a limit and several times the limits was in the teens. The year before the drought I weighed in my best five fish limit ever. (18.35 lbs). About 4 years ago we had tournaments their that several Bass over 6 lbs were weighed in and two were over 9 lbs.
You would have thought with 23 people fishing for 10 hours each some one could have caught more than 3.33 pounds. Opps!!... I forgot, some one did.

Jimmy Boyetts nephew was fishing with him for fun that day, and if he had been in the tournament he would have won. He brought two bass to the scales that weighed 3.92 pounds.
Lucky for Jimmy he wasn't for Jimmy Boyett won the first tournament of the year with a whopping weight of 3.33 lbs. Terry Brock was kind enough to let Marvin Stanley catch one bass out of the back of his boat and it was good enough for 2nd place and Lunker (2.90 lbs).
I had went to Pine Log Creek just knowing that I would catch at least a couple of bass. Other than the
one that broke off deep on a Carolina Rig I didn't get a bite. So about 12:00 I found myself fishing down the East River wondering how much I could get for the new Pro Craft I had just bought when here came Alan Bush. When he saw I wasn't in Pine Log Creek, he said aw #@$%, this can't be good.
When he said he had 2 bass I told him he should have stayed where he was.
After a break for sardines and hotdogs off we went.
Not listening to what I told him about going back to where he caught the two bass, he headed
into Pine Log Creek anyway. I headed back to the main river to do a little flipping in the swift water and around 3:00, still flipping the main river, I felt something I had not felt in a long time. (no, not that)......... It was a strike! When I set the hook and put that fish in the boat you would have thought it was a 10 pounder as excited as I was to get those couple of extra points. (Angler of the Year points)
At weigh-in Alan Bush still had those two bass that weighed 2.71 pounds and took 3rd.
Harlon Register took Big Jack honors with a 2.58 pounder.

I don't think with the winning weight being 3.33 lbs we will list the winning pattern or winning lures.

Jackie McClure took an early lead and may be one that's hard to beat on the coveted smallest bass of the year with a big ol .73 pounder.

WCBC already has a candidate for stupid things done during a tournament. Who do you think that could be......... Paul? Paul was nice enough to pull Keith's boat out of the water. Paul also locked Keith's keys in the truck. Do you know how much it would have cost to pay a locksmith to come to Ebro?
Oh well stuff happens. At least it wasn't like my wife, when she did it, the car was still running and she didn't realize it until it was time to go home 5 hours later. No comment, she might read this.

Until next time, GOOD FISHIN!!

Allen