Jackson proved to be as tough as Lanier, if not worse. The lake had turned over, never a good sign when it first happens. In the fall, as the surface of the lake cools due to cooler days and nights, the water at the top gets heavier. Cold water is heavier than warm water down to the point where it freezes.

All summer long the water in lakes is stable, with colder water at the bottom and warmer water at the top. This creates its own problems since the lower levels don’t get fresh, oxygenated water from upper levels. There is a section of water, called the thermocline, where the water drops in temperature and oxygen starts getting low. Below the thermocline the water is much colder and has little oxygen.

Fish tend to hold in the thermocline during the summer and move more shallow to feed. This limits them some. But as the surface water cools it starts falling and the lower levels will mix with the upper levels. This lowers oxygen content through-out the water column and makes fish sluggish most of the time. And they can move to any depth, so they become more scattered.

The water usually gets murky when turnover happens. It does not look muddy but is cloudy. Jackson had been very clear lately so when people said the lake had gotten stained, and we had no rain, I knew the lake had turned over. The water temperatures confirmed it.

The Potato Creek Bassmasters had a buddy tournament at Jackson last Saturday, the day before our two day tournament, and most of them had a tough day. A couple of fishermen had pretty good days but most did not. In fact, some members of the Flint River club that fished the buddy tournament on Saturday had such a bad day they did not come back to fish on Sunday.

We had 18 members of the Spalding County Sportsman Club and the Flint River Bass Club fishing for eight hours on Sunday. There were only 27 keepers weighed in. Two members had limits but there were eight fishermen that did not weigh in a keeper. The 27 keepers weighed 34.88 pounds and almost all were spotted bass.

Kwong Yu had a good day, landing one of the limits and winning with 8.96 pounds. His 2.60 pound bass was big fish. Raymond English had the other limit and came in second with 7.99 pounds. My four keepers weighed 5.35 pounds for third and fourth was Brandon Stooksbury with three at 3.35 pounds.

By 11:30 I was very frustrated. I had not hooked a bass even though I had fished a lot of places in four hours and tried everything I could think of to try. Then, to make matters worse, I missed a bite, broke my line setting the hook a few minutes later and then missed a third bite. I was about ready to give up.

I talked to two other fishermen at about that time and they had not caught any fish either. I decided to run way up the Tussahaw and try to scratch out a keeper. The first place I stopped, on a rocky point, I got a good keeper spot on a jig and pig.

After fishing around the area for more than an hour with only one more bite, another keeper spot that hit by a dock, I ended up where I caught the first one and caught two more keepers, one on a jig and pig and one on a jig head worm. I stayed there until the end of the tournament but could not catch another fish.

The tournament year is over for all three Griffin clubs now since Potato Creek fished their December tournament yesterday. We will all start over in January so now is a good time to plan on joining a club and showing all of us how to catch bass. The Flint River Bass Club meets at Hong Kong 2 the first Tuesday each month at 7:00, Potato Creek Bassmasters meet the Monday after the first Tuesday and the Spalding County Sportsman Club meets at Panda Bear the third Tuesday each month at 7:30 PM.

Each club fishes the weekend after the meeting except when we have two and three club tournaments. Both the Sportsman Club and Flint River fish on Sunday and Potato Creek fishes their tournaments on Saturday. So you have some choices of which weekend day to fish.

We have a lot of fun in the clubs and you can learn from other members, sometimes. Most members share how they caught their fish – after the tournament is over. But that is good info for the next time. And you can get good information on boats, motors, rods, reels and fishing lures and lines from other members based on what they use.

None of the clubs have draw tournaments so you and a friend can join and fish together. If you don’t have a boat or a friend with one, you can join and we should be able to find someone in the club for you to fish with.

Last Sunday 14 members and guests of the Flint River Bass Club fished our July tournament at West Point. After 8.5 hours of casting, nobody had a limit and three people didn’t land a keeper. We weighed in 17 bass that totaled about 32 pounds.

A teenage guest of Rick Burns, Patrick Thomas, beat us all with two bass weighing 5.51 pounds and his 4.72 pound largemouth was big fish. Chuck Croft has four at 5.47 pounds for second, third was Gary Morrow with one bass weighing 3.95 pounds and my two at 3.79 pounds was good for fourth.

Fishing was tough for us but the West Georgia Bass Club, a buddy tournament trail out of LaGrange, had a tournament the same day. They had about 180 boats in the tournament and there were many teams with good catches. It took five bass weighing 17 pounds to win and at least 11 teams had more than 12 pounds.

I started fishing between the railroad bridge and Highway 109 bridge. They took off at about 6:20 AM and I saw only about ten boats headed down the lake. I stayed in that area all day and I guess that was a mistake. Most everybody in the West Georgia club went up the river. Maybe that is where I should have headed.

I started in the dark fishing a spinner bait on rocks but never got a bite. At 6:30 I was fishing a buzz bait and hooked a keeper, and it fell off as I tried to lift it into the boat. That gave me hope I could catch some fish on topwater but I never got another bite on top.

After the sun got over the trees I switched to a jig head worm and fished some rocks in about eight feet of water. I missed one bite but a little later, at 7:30 I hooked and landed a keeper spotted bass. At least I had one in the live well and would not zero.

I fished that place hard and a couple of more without catching anything then I ran to a rock pile where I caught seven or eight spotted bass a month ago. I fished it for 30 minutes without a bite, then just as I was about to leave, hooked and landed a bass that was close to three pounds. That fired me up and I stayed there for two more hours – without getting another bite.

With less than two hours to fish I hit several more spots but never caught another fish. It was a long, tough day for me and everyone else in the club. I thought my three pounder might have a shot at big fish but there were two others bigger than mine. Just my luck.

Saturday night is the July Sportsman Club tournament at Sinclair. The tournament will run, or ran by the time you read this, from 5:00 PM to 1:00 AM. I hope the fish will bite better at night. At least the weather will be much more bearable.

Each month I write a “Map of the Month” article for Georgia Outdoor News. In these articles I go to a lake with a local expert and we discuss the patterns for bass fishing that will work during the month. Then we mark 10 spots on a lake map where you can fish those patterns, and describe how to fish each spot in detail.

On a Sunday a few years ago the Flint River Bass Club had a tournament at Lake Allatoona. Although I have done several “Map of the Month” articles there over the years, I have never fished out of my boat there and never fished a tournament on that lake. I did not have a chance to go up and explore the lake and try to find some fish before the tournament.

I pulled out a copy of my article on Allatoona in August, 2002 with David and Pansy Millsaps. I read it Saturday night and rigged baits they suggested. On Sunday morning I headed to hole number 1 in the article and started fishing as instructed. I quickly caught a 14 inch spotted bass on a tube jig on a boat ramp.

I kept fishing that spot and caught a two pound spotted bass on a Carolina rig. I felt pretty good with two keepers in the boat on the first place and I had nine more to fish. As I idled to the second spot I read the instructions again – fish around the point with a jig and pig, then throw a crankbait before leaving.

After fishing around the point twice, first with the jig and then with a Carolina rig, I had gotten no bites, so I started to leave. I remembered about throwing the crankbait so I picked up a rod with one tied on and hooked a good fish on the first cast. It was a 3.65 pound spotted bass and turned out to be the big bass of the day.

When I headed up to hole number 3 skiers has churned the lake up pretty bad. I fished it and caught a short bass but no keepers. It was rough fishing in the waves, and the sun was getting hot. When I headed to hole number 4 I had to idle under a bridge and the shade felt good, so I stopped and fished there.

I quickly got a hit on a small jig and pig and landed another two pound spotted bass. About 30 minutes later I caught another solid keeper on the jig and pig. That gave me my limit. I fished one more spot from the article but caught nothing there before heading to the weigh-in.

We had 14 members fishing the tournament and my five bass weighing 10.8 pounds gave me first. The 3.65 pound spot was big fish for the tournament. Bobby Ferris had a five fish limit weighing 5.12 pounds for second, Don Schafer had 4.92 pounds for third and Kwong Yu came in fourth with 4.78 pounds.

In the tournament three members caught five fish limits but there were six people without a keeper. We landed 26 bass weighing 33.61 pounds and there was only one largemouth weighed in.

For many years Lake Allatoona has been called the “Dead Sea” because it was so hard to catch a bass there. The population of spotted bass has increased over the past few years, and now some decent catches come out of Allatoona. I was real lucky to have the article I wrote three years ago help me out in my first tournament there. That information really helped.

Another tournament fishing the same places didn’t work as well.

On a Sunday a few years ago eight members and guests of the Spalding County Sportsman Club fished our September tournament at Lake Allatoona. Three of the members managed to land five fish limits and there were two members that did not catch a keeper bass.

Javin English had a limit and won with 5.55 pounds. Brent Terry fished with me and beat me out of the back of my boat with a limit weighing 5.48 pounds. I had a limit weighing 5.21 pounds for third and Jason Wheeler had two bass weighing 3.71 pounds for fourth. He also had big bass with a 2.73 pound fish.

Many members caught a lot of bass shorter than the 12 inch limit. Although Allatoona has been called the “Dead Sea” because of its tough fishing, the eight of us weighed in 20 bass, but they were small. It is still a lot of fun to catch that many bass. Alltoona seems along way away since you have to drive right through down town Atlanta, but it was only 74 miles from my house, about the same distance as Sinclair or West Point.

I caught my fish on a jig and pig and a jig head worm. Brent caught his on a Carolina rig. We caught most of them fairly shallow toward the backs of creeks.

Game Plans

Smart Prep For Tournament Success

By Dan Johnson
from The Fishing Wire

Loading up on smallmouth like these takes pre-planning and lots of scouting.

Anyone who’s fished a tournament knows there’s more to competing than simply showing up on game day and relying on sheer luck to put fish in the boat. Especially if you want to win. Serious runs up the leaderboard require a dedicated blend of research, practice and preparation.

“Given the level of competition at everything from local club tournaments to larger regional events, you really have to do your homework,” says veteran bass tournament angler Scott Bonnema. Following are his thoughts on gearing up for success.

Discovery Phase

When fishing new waters, research is a great ally in the quest for victory. “It’s all about identifying where catchable fish will be during the tournament,” says Bonnema. Fortunately, a variety of sources offer intel.

Naturally, the internet is an amazing tool. Everything from angler forums and fishing reports to Google Earth and state fisheries departments can provide insight into specific fisheries. Tournament results from events held on the lake you’ll be fishing-especially during the same time of year-can also be golden. “Websites like ClassicBass.com, which post results and tournament news, can give you an idea of top locations and presentations, along with what kind of weight it may take to do well in an event on that body of water,” says Bonnema.

On-Site Recon

Bonnema is a big believer in on-the-water reconnaissance, and credits extensive scouting for his recent top-five finish and big-bass honors at the recent Sturgeon Bay Open, which saw 150 teams battle on Wisconsin’s legendary Sturgeon Bay.

“I arrived two weeks ahead of the tournament, and also fished a Cabela’s North American Bass Circuit event the weekend before, which gave me a great idea of where and how to fish during the Open,” he explains.

Pinpoint boat positioning is critical to properly fishing prime lies. Often, this is impossible in crowded “community” holes.

He cautions, though, that early recon must be tempered if you expect the fish to move between then and the tournament. “When fishing partner Mark Fisher and I started breaking down Sturgeon Bay, the water was cold and most of the bass were still in deep water,” he says. “We knew that warming water would bring them in by game day, so we focused on areas we thought would hold fish during competition.”

Given the likelihood that waves of sag-bellied smallmouths would swarm the shallows once water temperatures warmed, that meant looking for fast-warming bays with ample depths in the 2- to 6-foot range. “We focused on large bays that allowed the fish to be in seven or eight spots instead of one or two, which gave us better odds of being able to fish at least one of the areas properly,” he noted.

Which brings up a key point in Bonnema’s pre-game planning. Knowing that 150 tournament boats and countless recreational anglers would descend upon the bay’s prime lies, he focused on spots that could handle the pressure, while providing an opportunity to thoroughly fish productive areas. “Boat positioning is critical,” he explains. “So we ruled out small spots that could only be effectively fished by one or two boats.”

To find potential hot zones, Bonnema cruised the shallows, both visually scanning with polarized glasses and using the side-imaging feature on his Humminbird 1199ci HD SI sonar-chartplotter combo to pinpoint and map prime structure. “We looked for anything that would attract bass or funnel their movements, such as subtle depth changes of six to 12 inches, or the edge where a line of rocks transitioned to sand,” he says. “Such spots may vary by species and from lake to lake, but there will always be key features that concentrate whatever fish you’re after. Finding them before the tournament is critical.”

Mapping is a matter of marking points of interest with icons that enable instant recall, even months or years after the initial scouting run. “Take time to choose symbols and names that mean something, and will help you remember what the waypoint is for,” he says. “For example, I use a Red Cross medical symbol to mark hotspots where I can ‘get healthy’ in a hurry if I’m struggling in a tournament. I also use small symbols for boat position, and larger icons for structure.”

Solid pre-tournament scouting helped Bonnema bag big-bass honors at the 2014 Sturgeon Bay Open with this 8.29-pound smallmouth.

When charting a choice piece of cover or structure, Bonnema advises highlighting both the area you expect to hold fish, as well as where you should position your boat to work the spot. “In clear, shallow water, long casts can be key, so keep your boat as far from the fish as possible,” he adds. “Humminbird’s side-imaging makes it easy to mark waypoints on structure 60 to 100 feet from the boat, without ever driving over the fish.”

Lure Selection

While some anglers pare down tournament tackle to a handful of rods, reels and baits needed for a few pet presentations, Bonnema brings a complete arsenal on the road. “I’m not saying you need to spend a fortune on tackle,” he says. “But, you’re already spending hundreds of dollars on gas, food and lodging. You don’t want to lose because you don’t have the right size or color spinnerbait.”

At Sturgeon Bay, for example, Bonnema and Fisher dialed in a very specific combination of rod, reel, line and lure to fool the system’s biggest bass-including the monstrous 8.29-pound bronzeback Bonnema landed during competition, and another 8-pound behemoth taken during practice.

“After much experimentation and tweaking, we found that light-green, 3½- and 4 ½-inch, paddle-tail Trigger X Slop Hopper produced better fish than standard grub bodies,” he says. The softbait was threaded on a 3/16-ounce VMC Darter Head Jig. “Having the line tie stick straight up on the jig head was key, because we were moving it very slowly, barely ticking the tops of the rocks,” he says.

A 7-foot, medium-light Team Lew’s spinning outfit engendered long casts and solid hooksets, while transmitting details on bottom ticks and subtle takes alike. Bonnema spooled with 10-pound Sufix 832 superbraid mainline and added a 5-foot, 7-pound Sufix Invisiline leader for added stealth. “Swapping out any one of these components completely changed the presentation and resulted in fewer big fish,” he adds.

As a final tip to budding tournament competitors, Bonnema recommends building a game plan with multiple fallback strategies. “After figuring out the best locations and right equipment, put together a few ‘Plan B’ options to allow for wind and weather changes, fishing pressure and other factors that cut shut down your main program,” he says. “That way, you won’t be scrambling when the bite changes on game day.”

In 2004 Ronnie Gregory showed me around Lake Eufaula before the Top Six Tournament and the places and patterns he put me on helped me place 7th.

On a Friday in August the next year Ronnie and I went to West Point. He fishes there a lot, and he helped me get ready for a Flint River club tournament we were fishing on Sunday. Ronnie’s knowledge of the lake was impressive, and he took me to some spots that I never fished before, even though I have been fishing that lake since it was built.

In five hours of fishing from 6:30 AM until 11:30 AM we landed five keeper bass and several under the legal size. Ronnie started the day right with one weighing about 4.5 pounds and it was the only largemouth keeper. The others were all spotted bass.

Most of the fish hit in brush down about 12 feet deep and I hope that pattern holds up for the tournament today. We are fishing until 3:00 PM and Ronnie showed me some places he says the bass bite better after noon. We did not catch anything there but I will try them. That is detailed knowledge of a lake when you can predict what time the bass will probably hit.

Then on Sunday 20 members and guests fished the Flint River August tournament at West Point Lake. Fishing was very tough and there were only 28 keepers weighing 47.13 pounds brought to the scales. There were eight largemouth and 20 spotted bass weighed in.

Kwong Yu won the tournament with 3 bass weighing 7.23 pounds, Tom Tanner was second with 4.66 pounds, Roger Morrow placed third with 4.41 ponds and Tony Roberts came in fourth with 4.40 pounds. Bobby Ferris had big fish with a bass weighing 4.20 pounds and placed fifth.

After Ronnie Gregory showed me some brush piles on West Point before the tournament I was fairly confident about this tournament. Ronnie and I fished for five hours and landed five keeper bass weighing about 10 pounds. Those five would have easily won the tournament, but they hit too early.

The brush piles that produced keeper fish on Thursday morning had nothing but short bass in them during the tournament. I did manage to land one barely legal spot weighing right at a pound and placed 14th. Linda fished with me and although she caught more bass than I did, all her fish were too short to weigh in.

Sometimes it seems practice before a tournament hurts rather than helps!