March was certainly going out like a lion last week.

From very cold at night to wind that blew my boat and van all over the road, then rain Saturday and Sunday, the weather made fishing tough. But for the state Top Six at Lanier Monday and Tuesday the weather guessers said it would be nice. I will believe that when I see it.

Bass seem confused, moving shallow to get ready to bed then backing off when the temperature drops. But the crappie are biting good. Every report I got from West Point, Oconee, Clarks Hill, Jackson and Lanier was about big catches of good sized fish.

The wind makes crappie fishing tough, too, but you can troll or drift with the wind and catch them if the wind is not too strong. Thursday afternoon it was too strong, but by now it should be calm enough to catch your limit of those good tasting fish.

I always looked forward to this time of year when my parents were alive. We would go in our big ski boat daddy had set up for fishing, with a trolling motor on front, and tow our jon boat behind it. We would pick our favorite cove – Carp Cove, Beaver Cove, Turtle Cove or some other place we knew the crappie would be bedding, and fish all day.

Mom and dad would stay in the big boat, tied up in the bushes where the crappie were feeding, and I would get in the jon boat and fish all around the cove. They usually used shiner minnows but I tied a Hal Fly jig under a cork on my fly rod and dabbled it around button bushes. The cork seldom settled on the water surface long.

After getting three limits – 90 crappie – we would go in and set up a cleaning line. Mom and dad would scale the fish and I would gut them. I made a diagonal cut behind the head to the vent and pulled everything out with one motion. I could keep up with them.

I miss those days. It is just not the same without them.

Fishing was good for some at Oconee last Sunday. In our March tournament 21 members and guests of the Spalding County Sportsman Club brought in 72 bass weighing about 142 pounds. There were eight five-fish limits and only one member did not catch a keeper in the eight hours we fished.

Russell Prevatt had a good day, winning with five at 14.74 pounds and his 6.10 pound bass took daily and cumulative big fish honors. Raymond English also had a good day and placed second with five at 13.65 pounds, Sam Smith had a limit weighing 12.15 for third and fourth went to guest David Weitgrefe with five at 10.72 pounds.

Russell said he caught his bass on a jig and pig on rocks. Bass were also caught on spinner baits and crankbaits, mostly around rocks. The water was stained to muddy and from 57 to 64 degrees. It rained on us for about half the tournament.

I wish I had known the pattern before the tournament. I ran to Double Branches first thing, to an area where I have won a couple of tournaments in March the past few years. And within five minutes I caught a keeper on a chatter bait on a rocky point. I thought I was going to have a good day.

After an hour without a bite I was beginning to wonder.

Then a fish hit my jig and pig on a point, almost under the boat. I set the hook too hard with such a short line and broke it. That really made me feel bad.

I was fishing back in a cove and it was very quiet and peaceful. Then someone shot a turkey about 100 yards up in the woods from me. I almost jumped out of the boat! I was not in any danger but that shot was loud!

A few minutes later I had tied on another jig and pig and pitched it to some brush on a steep bank. The creek I was in was very narrow and I was only about ten feet from the bank. When my line jumped, indicating a strike, I set the hook as fast as I could, but it was not fast enough.

I got the terrible reaction of pulling loose line. The fish had run back under the boat and you can not set the hook on slack line,. I reeled as fast as I could and got the bass, a three pounder, to the top of the water right beside the boat, but it came off.

I fished a wide variety of baits in a lot of places in Double Branches until the end of the tournament but caught nothing but short bass after that. I wish I had tried different areas of the lake, but the water color and temperature were good in that creek and I have done well there in March. Also, I didn’t want to make a run in the rain.

As soon as I send this in I am headed to Lanier for the Top Six. I surely do hope I do better.

Maybe I should be going crappie fishing.+