John Buck
John's Club Report
Covering The Pensacola Hawg Hunters
2007 Season

Email: John Buck

Founded In 1975

Lay Lake
Total Fish Caught 103
Total Dead Fish 3
Total Limits 13
Big Fish
3.62
Total Fish Weight 155.66 lbs

Total Year Standings
Total Fish Caught 480
Total Dead Fish 18
Total Limits 41
Big Fish
4.68
Total Fish Weight 684.12 lbs
Place Name Fish Weight
1. John Buck 10 16.26
2. Jere Jaillite 10 14.92
3. Mack Cramer 10 13.73
4. Jeff Weaver 10 13.64
5. Kevin Simmons 8 12.77
6. Lee Brannon 8 12.26
7. Pete Potter 7 12.10
8. Dave Dyess 7 10.80

Big Fish Winner

Glenn Kittrell
3.62lbs

*** Tournament Winner ***
John Buck
10 Fish - 16.26lbs
Place Name Fish Weight
9. Jim Bailey Sr 8 10.10
10. Frank Kelly 6 9.90
11. Marc Churchwell 6 9.68
12. Glenn Kittrell 5 9.18
13. Dan Nash 3 3.99
14. Ken Repine 3 3.43
15. Ron Fairbanks 2 2.90

Big Fish Of The Year
Mack Cramer
4.68lbs

PENSACOLA HAWG HUNTERS
TOURNAMENT REPORT
OCTOBER 20/21, 2007


October is our annual club "Fish-Off" tournament as well as our reglular monthly tournament. It is always a 2 day event, this year it was held at Lay Lake, near Clanton, Alabama. Two days before the tournament the area had torrential rains which carried over to the day before the start of the tournament. This in turn produced cooler temps (about 20 degrees cooler in the mornings) as well as "Blue Bird" skies, not exactly what fishermen wish for. The surface temps were 75-76 and the water color was clear to moderately stained depending on where you fished. We launched from a public ramp near the dam with 15 Hawg Hunters seeking a winning bag.

Glen Kittrell and I drew out as partners. We talked briefly about a plan after the meeting but discussed it in detail on the ride up. Because of work schedules neither of us could pre-fish for the tournament. On Saturday morning we were met with brisk 43 degree temp and light winds.
We concentrated on standing timber in 18-23 feet of water near drops that fell to 40 or more feet. We started out with top water baits and tried several varieties and never got so much as a roll. We then switched to crank baits and spinners with the same results. About 8:30 I switched to a Spotsticker jig head and a gourd green hand poured finesse worm. Within the hour I had 5 keepers in the boat. The fish weren't hitting hard but rather very subtly picking the worm up so you only felt pressure. That's when you had to set the hook. All of the fish were spots. When the bite slowed we left and went to the main river to fish ledges in the same depth range. The water in the main lake had more color to it so I switched to a green pumpkin hand pour and culled six more.

My partner still didn't have a fish, but he was trying very hard to get the bite. He had never fished this type of rig and was just not comfortable with it. That soon changed however as we moved to a rock face near a creek mouth and he said, "I think I've got a bite". He set the hook on a 3.69 lb largemouth. It turned out to be the big fish for the day! Way to go partner!
Once he got the feel he was able to catch several more fish but only one more keeper.

At the day1 weigh in we found several guys with limits. Pete Potter was in 1st and Jere Jailite was in 2nd. Marc Churchwell, Dave Dyess, Mack Cramer, Jeff Weaver, Kevin Simmons, and myself all had limits and were all within striking distance to grab the win on day 2. The guys who were in the running for "Fisherman of the Year" honors were all chasing Pete Potter who had the lead for day one. Mac Cramer and Lee Brannon both came in with decent bags but fell short to Pete. No one really had a safe lead on the tournament or their place in the "Top Six".

Saturday night Pete and Vi Potter invited all of us over to their new home in Clanton to have a steak cook out. They were the perfect hosts, and we all had a great time and too much food. Vi fixed dessert and surprised us all at the end with her famous homemade brownies and ice cream.
On behalf of the entire club I wish to extend our special "Thank You" for sharing your home for the evening. Pete and Vi recently moved to Clanton, but he continued to fish the rest of the season with us. Congratulations also go to Pete as he was recently voted into "Lifetime" Membership in the Hawg Hunters.

Day 2 brought a slight change in temps. It was only 45 instead of 43 at the blast off. Actually we had a rather ooze-off start because of the extremely heavy fog that covered the lake. After idling for what seemed like an eternity, Glen and I found our starting place. (Thank you Lord for the GPS!)
He started throwing a pop-r, and I threw a prop bait. Soon Glen had a nice 1½ lb spot in the boat. I switched to a chug bug thinking that a larger bait might get a bigger bite, and soon Glen had a 2 ½ lb spot in the boat, and I still hadn't gotten a hit. Not to show my dumbness, I switched to a pop-r and quickly put 3 nice fish in the boat. One turned out to be big fish for the 2nd day, a 3.24 lb spot. When the sun got up we lost our top water bite and I switched to the spotsticker. However, the fish didn't want it this way and after about 45 minutes without a bite switched to a T-rig with 3/16 weight and a hand-poured green pumpkin finesse worm. Luckily I soon had a limit in the boat. Glen caught several more fish but was only able to get one more keeper and wound up with four fish. His last 2 fish came on green pumpkin also (T-rig).

At the weigh in there was much eagerness to see who had what and who would wind up Fisherman of the Year. As luck would have it my little bag was enough to push me into 1st place and the win with a total of 16.24 lbs. Jere Jailite came in 2nd for the tournament with 14.92 lbs. and edged me out of 5th place for the year. Great job Jere! You and I have had a tight little race all year long. 3rd place honors went to Mack Cramer with 13.73 lbs. 4th place was grabbed by Jeff Weaver with 13.64 lbs. 5-10 are listed below.

5th Place Kevin Simmons 12.77 lbs
6th Place Lee Brannon 12.26 lbs.
7th Place Pete Potter 12.10 lbs.
8th Place Dave Dyess 10.80 lbs
9th Place Jim Bailey 10.10lbs.
10th Place Frank Kelly 9.90 lbs.

In the Fisherman of the Year race the honors went to Mac Cramer who dug out enough to take the lead away from Pete Potter (2nd place for the year) who had a tough day on Sunday. Lee Brannon finished a strong 3rd place in the club. 4th Place for the year went to Jim Bailey.
As mentioned earlier Jere Jailite took 5th and I wound up in 6th. Congratulations to the "Top Six" fishermen and to all the Hawg Hunters who participated to make this year successful. Also a special "THANK YOU" is due to the outgoing E-Board members, Kevin Simmons,
Marc Churchwell, Lee Brannon, Tony Boyette, and Dave Dyess . You guys did a great job.

Next month starts our new tournament year. Now is the time to get involved and do your part to help make it a great fishing year.
Our tournament will be out of Scott's landing (old Mizell's) on the Tensaw delta. (Look out Green Trout, here we come!)
I hope to see you at the meeting and at the tournament.


'Til next time...Keep your hooks sharp.

Creek Chub