"John's Club Report"
Covering The Pensacola Hawg Hunters
Email: John Buck


May 19, 2001


Miller's Ferry Standings
Total Fish Caught
51
Total Dead Fish
6
Total Fish Weight
77.45 lbs.
Total Year Standings
Total Fish Caught 350
Total Dead Fish 13
Total Fish Weight 506.99 lbs.

Miller's Ferry
Ellis Landing

Then month of May found the Hawg Hunters chunkin' and reelin' at Miller's Ferry on the Alabama River, near Camden, Alabama. The were about 21 "Hawgs" hunting for the bucket mouths. We found the river to be in great shape and the water color was really good. The main river got clearer the farther up you went and the creeks and lakes off the river were dingy to moderately stained. The air temp rose to the 80's and the water temp ranged from the mid 60's to about 78. Skies were partly cloudy to clear, with a weak front pushing in by the afternoon ....all in all the makings of a really nice day.

My partner for the month was none other than Pete Potter. Pete and I go back too many years to count so we both knew that we'd have a fun day. Pete went up a day early and as always, caught fish, good fish, nearly everywhere he went.
I think we need to start having our tournaments on Fridays. The fish have us patterned for Saturdays...We started out fishing buzz baits early on flats near the launch but were only able to raise a couple of small fish. Soon we were on our way to one of my "secret" spots..haha.. We fished it hard but were only able to boat one 12 inches for our efforts. From there on we just fished points up and down the main river with worms and crank baits and a few casts with a spinner. We caught many small fish but just no keepers. As mid-day neared I had 2 small keepers and Pete didn't have a keeper, but he had caught a lot of dinks. We continued with our efforts and about 1 o'clock Pete hung into a fine one that really put a pullin' on his pole. When we netted her she looked like a horse, but when reality set in at the scales she tipped 3.65 lbs. I guess we had seen so many small fish that when we saw a really good keeper, we were really fooled. As the afternoon stretched near 3 PM, we headed to a hot spot of Pete's.
We caught 8 or 9 fish there in about 20 minutes.

Back at the scales the other guys had much the same reports. A lot of fish were caught but few keepers. The fish came on a variety of lures with worms and lizards accounting for the bulk of the fish that were weighed in.
Mac Cramer ( formerly "YW"), came in with a nice limit of fish to claim first place honors with 10.15 lbs of bass. This was a nice stringer of solid 2 lb fish.. Good job Mac.......YW !! Climbing into the 2nd spot was Jack Maher with a nice stringer (out of the back of the boat) weighing 8.25 lbs. Rounding out the top three was Rich Cornelius (he won last month!) with a limit (again from the back of the boat) weighing 8.05 lbs. The lunker of the day went to Pete Potter for his 3.65 lb hawg. He enticed her to bite a junebug worm. We had a total of 51 fish weighed in with a total weight of 77.45 lbs. Like I said earlier, the fish were running small. Maybe we'll do better next month!

As the summer and extremely hot days approach keep in mind to stay hydrated when on the water. The very best thing you can drink is water and lots of it. The smart angler will start drinking extra water 1 - 2 days before the tournament. That gives you body time to fully hydrate itself. Soft drinks won't get the job done and you may find yourself in trouble if you aren't careful. Most of us are ever mindful of hypothermia in the cold weather but neglect to properly prepare for the heat. Just be careful guys and be smart.

This is also the time that we need to be mindful of carefully taking care of our catch. Try to keep the temperature cool in your live wells. Make sure that they are working properly and keep the water circulating. There are a few products on the market that will help reduce the stress on you fish. Buy some and use them. They really do work. "Catch and Release" is my favorite. I can't help but add a thought of our low water conditions in our area and how we and the fish suffered with the tremendous salt water intrusion that occurred last year in the coastal area rivers. From what I've seen lately, we may be in for another tough summer and long runs to find "good" water.

Next month our tournament will be on the Tensaw River out of
Live Oak Landing. Til next time....Keep you hooks sharp !!........

Creek Chub

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