Last Saturday catching bass at Sinclair was very “hit and miss” for the 21 members of the Potato Creek Bassmasters in our January tournament.  In 7.5 hours we landed 35 12-inch keeper bass weighing about 58 pounds.  There were two limits and seven people did not land a keeper.  

    Shay Smith won with five weighing 14.50 pounds and Mitch Cardell came in second with five at 12.68 pounds.  Tom Tanner had three weighing 7.65 pounds for third and Frank Anderson had one fish for fourth, but it was the right one and was also big fish at 5.65 pounds.

    There were three largemouth weighing more than five pounds each, and two more between 4.5 and five pounds weighed in.

    I thought I started my day right with a good 1.75-pound keeper on my second cast with a crankbait, but my next bite came seven hours later, on the same crankbait in a similar place as the first one.  I tried just about everything I could think to do except make a long run to clear water.  The wind was howling, and I just did not want to beat myself to pieces in the waves. And it waw cold!

    We put in up Little River at Dennis Station and the water was extremely muddy.  Downstream, if you went up the Oconee River it got a little clearer and a decent color to fish, if you could get out of the wind.  After the tournament I heard the creeks at the dam were the clearest water on the lake, as is usual this time of year, and where I should have gone, I think.

Even with just two fish I felt pretty good as the first five people weighed in. Nobody had more than three, and I hoped I might place. When Mitchell put a 5.05 pounder on the scales, then added a 4.9 pounder, my hopes sank. Then Shay showed up at the scales. 

I did place – eighth with two at 3.62 pounds!

We are fishing Sinclair this Sunday in the Spalding County club.  I hope the wind isn’t bad and I can go to clear water!