Lake Center Hill Event

Well when asked about Center Hill during my practice last week I was not real sure what to reply. When I arrived I was expecting a body of water along the lines of Clarks Hill or Smith Lake. Those are big water deep, clear, and rocky. Well This lake is deep, clear and rocky but nothing like any other lake I had fished before. The lake level being down about 30 feet didnt help matters much but I can see where this lake could produce some great fish. I was starting out my pre-fish like any other tournament pre-fish I do about a month prior to the event pulling up pictures, maps and reports. Well there is some pictures of the lake and one good map but I had trouble finding any up to date or past reports. This made things alot harder to get a plan together.This is one reason I wanted to write this report. I hope it helps anyone that is headed to the lake.

I arrived on Wednesday at day break to start my first day of on water pre fishing. I decided to put in at the tournament ramp, Ragland Bottom. Make sure you have some dollars for the launch fee which is $4.00. The parking is not the best put very secure. Once in the water I noticed the lake is alot more deep and clear than I expected. I then noticed that south is not down river. If you want to go down torward the dam on this lake you have to go north. Ofcourse I went south before knowing this. If the water was up this lake would have some awesome structure to fish and lots of places for fish to hide. With it being down the only thing I noticed that would hold fish is a change in the type of bottom. I started looking for this change on the banks. Once I located places where there were two types of rock or a section of red clay on the bank I would stop and graph it to see if the lake bottom had the same type as the banks. In most every case I found it did. I also noticed the water temps were ranging from 65-72 degrees. During day one I did alot more riding and looking than fishing but found some things that I would fish later in practice. This is something I always do when on new water. Getting to know areas of the lake and the type of structure around it will help later on putting a solid pattern together.

On day two of practice I got the boat in the water and started to fish. I first went down river and stopped at a section of the lake that the river channel turned in close to the bank. I held the boat in 45 feet of water and started with a C-Rig and Watermelon Top Dog Lizard. Once finding the banks on this lake drop from dry to the core of the earth(just kidding) with no "stair step" type of break while working the rig. I then knew I was in trouble. I did find a fish on the point I found and that was what I needed. I then looked on my Navionics chip and found another point like that one and headed that way. Once there made 3 cast to the bank and boated another solid keeper fish. I then moved again and duplicated the smae pattern for 5 more fish in the same type areas. Things were coming together as planned but I still knew it was going to be a hard event. After picking up my buddy Robert that was fishing the co-angler side, I went looking for spawning fish and a secondary pattern. I found one fish on bed upriver in about 10 feet of water and duplicated the pattern I found down river that morning.

On day three we went looking for some more areas and a better pattern. Well the same thing I found worked everywhere I stopped shaking off bites on most stops. I did go to back to check on the one "bedding fish" I found and she was gone already. Just my luck my "kicker" fish was off bed or being weighed in at the tournament that was going on that day. We put the boat on the trailer and went to get ready for the partner pairing. Once there we found out the event was not going to happen on Saturday due to some really bad weather headed our way. To be honest I really wanted to fish but the tournament director made the right decision for the safety of the anglers. I have to take my hat off to him for that and he is one of the best in the business.

Saturday we spent the day hanging out and doing a few business calls and stopped at the local tackle stores trying to spread the word about some of my sponsors in the industry. Also had to have my boat fixed at the host dealer. Just a note but if you have a chance drop by a dealer and grab a spare switch for your trim. If it goes out while at an event it will cost you alot more than the price of the switch.

Sunday We checked out and launched the boat. I made the decision to stay close to the ramp areas I had found in practice and hope to stay out of the wind as much as I could. On the first stop the winds were stable and ok. I boated one fish quick on a spinnerbait(white 1/4 oz) waking it just under the surface. The fish was short but was hope of more fish to come. I worked the pocket in 30 feet of water with the blade without another bite and started back at the mouth of the pocket with the C-Rig and dropshot. As the winds got worse the C-Rig was all I could feel or get to the bottom. We both boated a couple of short fish and my co-angler lost one that we think would have measured. I then put one in the boat that was small but a start. We worked the area for another hour without another bite before moving.

I then made the choice to move around to the other areas I found. Most every area was getting slammed with high winds but we fished it as best as we could. Boat position was extreamly hard to control. I fished several areas with only a couple more missed bites and short fish before moving further down river. Once I moved to a section that the wind was only blowing around 20 I broke out the 6.8 Jackall Flick Shake and Wacky Jig Head. Many of you know that is my go to bait when I have to boat some fish. Only problem was I am used to fishing the bait near some type of structure and there was none. Well I just tossed the bait out and let it fall down the rock until it hit the bottom. I missed the first bite I got then boated another keeper. I fished the area about another hour without a bite so decided to move again closer to the ramp.

On the run back we saw a boater with motor problems. We tried to give him a jump without any luck. We then put his co-angler in the boat with us as well as a great smallbouth he had and took him to the ramp. After dropping him off we hit an area I found in practice while looking for an emergency plan. Both my co angler and I fished it hard but boated nothing before time ran out. After weigh-in I ended up in 34th place with my 2 fish and some points to make my goal of making regionals at Lay Lake.

I want to give a huge thanks to John Glenn of American Bass Anglers for helping me out while at the event and the guys and gals at Time Out Sports Grill for asking us to hang out with them. We had an awesome appearance there with a great crowd. The next event in this Division is going to be on Old Hickory Lake in June. Looking forward to seeing some more new water and a better finish.

Lake Guntersvillle 4-16-10

Got out today on a trip with a great guy from Birmingham. His wife took advantage of the Christmas Gift Cards we sold and today was his trip. We had a blast with him boating fish all day. He had one over 5, pushing 6 and 19 keepers. We lost a total of 3 solid fish and one he said was bigger than the big fish he had. Also missed atleast 7 other bites that just didnt hook up.

We fished the mid-lake area while targeting open water humps and weed lines in 8 feet of water. We also had several fish in some shallow water with the boat positioned in 4 feet or less and throwing to dirt. Lake Fork "Top Dog" Lizards in Watermelon were the ticket for both numbers and size today. We rigged them on a Jackall Master Stroke rod with 20 lb Lake Fork Flourohybrid line and a 3/16 Lake Fork Tungsten weight. We also had a couple of fish on the Lake Fork Live Magic Shad and a few on the Jackall Craw.

All in all a great time on the water and lots of fish throughout the day to keep it interesting. Looking forward to a great weekend and next week is going to be just as good weather wise. We want to wish everyone fishing an event this weekend a great tournament and please be safe. There are alot of boats on the water right now. Also watch out for some stuff floating. We saw several ig logs in the water that would sure mess up a day of fishing if you hit it with the big motor. Stay safe and see you on the water.

God Bless
Phil.4:13

Fishing Lake Guntersville in the Spring

AHHHH, Lake Guntersville in April. Trees are blooming, birds are singing, and traffic on the lake. You know the fish are eating when you pull up to the ramp(any ramp on the lake) on a Wed morning and the parking lot looks like Walmart on Christmas eve. Well the fish are eating and the bigger fish are up in the shallows adding more fish to the lake everyday. During this time of year there really is not a bad place to fish on the lake if you know what to look for and how to fish it. This is one reason I am writing this article. Im going to give you a little insight on whats going on and the tactics I have been using to have some awesome days on the water.

First let's start with the pattern. In years past the spawn was coming to a close this time of year but the lake is about 3-5 weeks behind making it fish alot different that before. Grass is coming up but only in a few places. There are huge numbers coming off flats with hard bottoms near steep drops. I have had clients that have had close to 100 fish days in the last month but the size was not as great as the past. In the last week or so the size is picking upwith alot of bigger females moving up everyday to take thier place on the beds. We boated several in the last few trips that had already laid out and were ready to start thier move back to the ledges. If an angler was coming down here look for these flats and just start fishing. You will catch fish on most of them. Alot of smaller fish but there are bigger fish mixed in the groups. Also the sight fishing is picking up but the pollen is making it hard to see some fish unless your really good at sight fishing. FOr some pre-spawn fish hit the drops near the flats. One thing that will help is if you find a pocket that has a muddy bottom move. Everything I am catching is on a hard surface.

There are several baits that are working great for me right now. I am using the Jackall Cover Craw(green Pumpkin), Lake Fork Top Dog and Hyper Lizard, as well as the Jackall Giron, and Lake FOrk Live Magic Shad. Thise baits are getting the bigger bites with the plastics gaining huge numbers and a few bigger fish. One bait that I am flat smoke'n fish on is the Jackall Flick Shake or the Lake Fork Live Wack'n Worm rigged on a Jackall Wacky Jighead in 3/32. I am using that bait on a Jackall Power Inch Wacky Rod with Daiwa Steez and Lake Fork Flourohybrid Line. The Other PLastics I am using a Jackall Master Stroke Rod with Daiwa Reel Steez 7.1 reel and Lake Fork Flourohybrid 26 lb line. On the swimbaits I use the Jackall Delta Spec rod with the Daiwa Zillion Reel(4.3) and 32 lb Flourohybrid line.

If sight fishing is your thing this is the time to do it. Move to supper skinny water on flats and just go looking. Once you find a bed holding a fish then back off and start working it. I am having my best luck with the Flick Shake or Wack'n worm to catch most of the bed fish. PLEASE rememeber if you are going sight fish do everything you can to return the fish to the bed after a picture and get her back in the water ASAP. The less stress the better.

I want to thank all of our fans and those who have been a huge support to our efforts. We are having some great trips and the tournament season is going strong. We are only a few more events away from making the big goal. It is because you all of you that we are able to keep going and moving forward. WE will ALL be at the TOP together in no time flat. ROCK ON!!!

ABA-BWS Tournament on Lake Chickamuaga

Well going to a lake I have never seen is one of my favorite things to do in the tournament series. I was not disappointed when I arrived on last Wed. in Dayton, Tn at all. Although the water was down about 6 feet and alot of the things I had found while watching maps and photos were dry dirt I still felt my mental game was "spot on". I launched the Federated Auto Parts Triton at the event ramp and started riding the waters. Fisrt place I pulled into I went as far back as I could thinking with water temps in the high 60's there should be fish in the dirt. Well I was right, first cast to a stump I spotted yielded a solid keeper fish. I then shook off 3 more bites on the same type of structure. Knowing what I know now and have learned by alot of mistakes I moved to other pockets with the same look as the first. I found fish in several of them and found things that would work reguardless of the wind direction. After riding about 40 miles of the lake and it's creeks I was feeling good about my event but knew it was a pattern that could fall apart fast.

On day two of practice I decided to look for a solid secondary pattern just in case. When I walked out of the Holiday Inn I was greeted with driving rain and high winds. After putting in the water made the choice to check the water in the areas I found on Wed.. Well as expected they were very muddy and getting worse by the hour. Needless to say day two went very bad and suddenly I found my mental game gone. Not one keeper fish or bite all day with the only thing I found to be gone due to weather.

Day three, after a long talk with a couple of people I can always count on to raise my mental state back up I hit the water on the lower end of the lake. I did that knowing from alot of lakes I have traveled to in the past the lower end tends to be deeper and have clear water. I had my link and good friend, Chris Abbott put me in at the ramp and take my truck to the lower end of the lake to save some gas but at the same time lay a track on the GPS to the lower end. It was nice to have someone there that could do that. Once I picked him up I moved to an open water hump very close looking for some "release fish". Well about the third cast got a bite and set the hook on an 8 lb fish! I marked it and left. Second stop was another hump and yielded another solid 4 lb fish. I looked at the Navionics chip map I had and found several humps that looked just like the first two I hit. Each one gave me a solid keeper fish. I found humps that I knew would be protected from any winds and located near large spawning flats. I was so "stoked" by the end of the day I couldnt wait to start the event.

On tournament day I was, as always, one of the first on the ramp and in the water 2 hours before check in. My Co-Angler, Kevin Rose, showed up carrying some breakfast and his gear. He knew the best way to start the day was bringing me food.LOL I told him we had a long run and after talking and getting to know each other a little we lined up for blast off. Being boat 40 was ok but once we went through check in and blast off and hit the river we hit the fog. There were several times I had to sit down off the pad to see the front of the boat. This is not a good thing when your looking at a 30+ min ride to your first stop. We made it to our stop only to find I had found a great spot. Atleast I knew it was due to the 4 boats sitting on it when I got there. I made my way into the hump and watched a boat that was sitting on the sweet spot smoke a limit in about 15 mins.. I just kept fishing and before long had my first keeper. I then put another one in the boat as did Kevin. I then had a solid fish on that just came off right at the boat. I shook off the bad karma and kept plugging along. We made a move to my next hump to get two more short fish. The winds kinda got up so I moved acroos the river to some Islands I had found had humps off the points. I hit the first one and had my limit in less than an hour. Kevin also boated a HUGE 5+ smallmouth and his largest "brown fish" to date. We were both stoked about his catch and I got to fish solo for a sec while he calmed back down. I then culled twice and had a couple of short fish in the stop.

After about another hour I made the run to some spawning areas in search of one 5 lb bite. Once I got there I found the nights north winds had beat the pocket up and the water was just nasty. I did what I could to see some fish and just blind casted to several waypoints I had marked only to find smaller buck bass on the beds. I then made the move back to my first stop to fish the last 30 mins of my day. The big fish I had on Friday was still there somewhere and I needed it. Kevin and I put another fish in the boat his was short and mine didnt cull anything I had then time was up. I made the run back toward the ramp getting there just in time for my check in.

Once at the scales Kevin found himself in the top 5 with 2 fish that went 8.78 and I had a good limit(for a non-local) at 11.53. I knew I needed one good fish to be in a better position but once all was said and done gained alot of places in the points race(from 85th to 42nd) and only 8 points from the top 40 that will go to regionals. I still have 3 more events to go so I'm on the pace I like and feel regionals is a very reachable goal.

My best baits for the event were the Jackall Cover Craw(Green Pumpkin) and Lake Fork Top Dog Lizard. I fished both on Jackall Posion Rods(Master Stroke and Rushburn) with Daiwa Steez reels. I also used Lake Fork Flourohybid 20lb line and Lake Fork weights. I want to thank God for giving me the chance to live out my dreams, My Family and fans for all the support and well wishes, Tom Helton for all his input, Betty Stahl for the loan of the Navionics Chip(which was a huge help on getting me around the lake as well as putting together a game plan) and my Sponsors with whom I couldnt be doing this without thier support. Please be sure to support those who support us. Looking forward to another great event next week for the Central Division on Lake Center Hill. See you on the water.