Sunday, March 24, 11 members of the Spalding County Sportman Club fished our March tournament at Lake Oconee. After casting eight hours, from 7:30 AM until 3:30 PM, we brought 27 keeper bass to the scales weighing about 48 pounds. There was one five-fish limit and everyone caught at least one keeper.

I managed to scratch out a win with four weighing 7.54 pounds, Raymond English with the only limit was second with 7.34 pounds and Wayne Teal placed third with four at 7.19 pounds. Niles Murray, Raymond’s partner, came in fourth with two keepers for 5.71 pounds and had big fish with a nice 3.47 pounder.

It was a tough day. I had mixed hopes since the BFL there the day before had been won with five bass weighing 21 pounds 11 ounces so I knew the big fish would bite – for some. But it took only 10 pounds 11 ounces to get a check in 24th place. That is a low weight for a check for those guys, so I knew it would be tough for fishermen like me.

I started casting a spinnerbait and crankbait to a rocky point at the mouth of a big cove. Prespawn bass should be feeding on places like that. With the full moon last week, I thought they should be on that pattern, but the 57-degree water temperature discouraged me.

The area I fished was much clearer than I expected. I could not get a bite on moving baits, even though I tried off and on all day. But about 300 yards down the bank, in a small dip, I got my first keeper on a shaky head worm at 8:00.

After trying a variety of things, I went to a brush pile on a big, shallow point I found last year. After a few minutes I caught my second keeper at 10:00 on a Texas rig. Although I fished the brush and others around it for an hour, I didn’t get another bite.

Since the sun was high and the water should be warming, I went to some smaller spawning coves. I caught several 13-inch bass but no keepers. Going between two pockets I cast a shaky head in front of the boat, just to keep my worm wet. That cast resulted in my third keeper at 11:00.

After trying some more things, I went back to the brush. It is about 100 yards off the point and a danger marker is about 50 yards off the bank. I would position my boat about 100 feet from the marker to cast toward it, the brush was about half way to it.

Although I caught my biggest keeper that at 1:00, I could not fish it. Several skidoos and big boats illegally ran between me and the marker, right over the brush and well within the 100-foot law. Either the drivers were too stupid to know the law, were inconsiderate slobs, or both.

I went to a big, calm cove and fished shallow, hoping to find one more keeper. I caught several more short bass but never got my limit.

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