~ Tournament Winner ~ No Photo's Tony Boyett 5 Fish - 14.45 lbs

~ Tournament Big Fish ~ No Photo's Tony Boyett 6.00 lbs.

Also Fished
Frank Kelly, Neil Springstead

~ Miller's Ferry ~

The May tournament was held at Millers Ferry near Camden, Alabama. Due to the high water level we launched out of Roland Cooper State Park. The weather was warm, with mostly clear skies. Air temps ranged from 58 in the early mornings to near 85 during the day. The water was at flood stage and in the main river very muddy. The water temp was about 72.

We had 14 members fishing. That's pretty low for a two day tournament but I guess the high water scared off some of the others. High water yes, but if you worked in tight to the banks and flipped lizards and jigs/pigs, you could find a few fish. Finding banks was the hardest thing to do. I was unable to pre-fish but was able to get there in time to take a drive out to some areas and get a look at the water near some areas that I like to fish. What I found was water nearly over the roadway. That told me what to do. My partner Rich Cornelius and I studied a topo map of the area and we decided to fish some cuts on the main lake near the lower end because we knew they had high banks.

The morning of the tournament found us wrapped in pretty dense fog, and we decided to fish around the state park area until the fog lifted. Right away I landed a keeper on a buzz bait. Then about 20 minutes later I caught a nice spot on a crank bait. My partner caught a couple of shorts and caught a keeper on a jig. When the fog lifted we ran down stream to the cuts we selected from the topo map. I landed a third keeper and a fourth on a june bug lizard. Rich was starting to get that worried look on his face.
Then he proceeded to kick butt on a jig/pig and wound up with a nice limit.

At the weigh in there were several long faces and a few decent fish stories. Several of the guys who had really caught fish the week before couldn't find pay dirt this weekend. Brian Metcalf, as usual, came in with a limit which he caught on a spinner bait. Rich, my partner was 2nd with 5 fish and I was 3rd with 4 fish. Brian had big fish on Saturday.

Sunday rolled around with thick fog but not as bad as on Saturday. Rich and I decided to try the same game plan again, but we didn't find the same success. Each of us only managed 2 fish. Rich had 2 good fish and mine were just barely keepers. When we arrived at the scales there was a buzz in the air about Tony Boyette and big fish. The buzz turned out to be right on track as Tony weighed in a 6 lb beauty to take lunker honors. Tony ended up in 1st place with 5 fish for 14.45 lbs. Brian Metcalf took 2nd place with 8 fish totaling 13.30 lbs. Rich Cornelius was 3rd with 7 fish for 8.90 lbs. Wayne Thomley had 4 nice fish totaling 8.20 lbs. My 6 little keepers were only good enough for 5th, oh well maybe next time.

Fish were caught on a variety of lures. Several were caught on buzz baits, including Tony's 6 pounder. Spinners, cranks, soft plastics, and jig/pig were the baits that caught the most fish. Considering the flooded, muddy water conditions, it was not a bad tournament. It will be nice when the rivers get back in their banks and start to green out and clear.

As summer heat becomes a problem, don't forget to use sun screen, and wear sun shades and a hat. Also a cool towel or a "cool tie" will do wonders to refresh you during the heat of the day.
Always prepare for a hot day on the water by drinking plenty of water the day before you go out and while you are fishing.

Our next tournament is on the Alabama River at Mt. Vernon. It's located just a few miles north of the I-65 bridge on the west bank of the river. Also our June, July, and August tournaments have an early weigh in at 2:00PM.
Til next time***

Keep your hooks sharp!!!

Creek Chub