Volume 1 Issue 3
July 2001
WELCOME!
To another edition of your source for club news and
event coverage. With three
tournaments remaining, our tournament season is now almost over. The spring
season is the heart of our schedule and I think it was very productive for
fishing. The weather was
cooperative and the fish bit well enough to give anyone and everyone a shot to
do well.
We had a successful trip to Kerr (as usual), even though it was tough to
follow last year’s phenomenal trip. Sutton
produced two good tournaments, one of which produced 5 limits of fish, and in
both tournaments all but two or three anglers managed to bring bass to the
scales. And our last tournament at
Glasgow produced two very nice smallmouth bass weighing over 3lbs each, and a
few other above average smallies.
As you know, the point’s race is very close this year.
Almost everybody still has a shot to make the top 6, and the angler of
the year is very much up for grabs. Out
of 9 tournaments we’ve had 8 different winners, which is a good sign that we
are pretty equal as fishermen. The
competition in our club is as good as it’s ever been, and the sportsmanship
has been excellent. I hope everyone
in the club has enjoyed it as much as I have.
Andrew Albert
The annual trip to Kerr Reservoir is something that we all look forward to. It’s always a fun trip and a good time just getting together on a first class lake. Kerr gives us a great opportunity to catch lots of fish in the 2 to 4lb class and also a shot at a personal best on big bass or total weight. And after Mike and David each had their personal best total weights with 20lb+ five fish limits last year, expectations ran high for this year’s trip.
The weather before the tournament would play more of a factor than the weather during the tournament. Usually the end of April is prime time to catch bass in shallow water around the flooded bushes and timber at Kerr. But this year, a cold front the previous week had the fish stacked out on points and drop offs in deeper water. Those who arrived Wednesday & Thursday caught some of these fish on crankbaits and Carolina rigs. Randall Coleman caught his personal best, a fat 6lb14oz largemouth on a crankbait. Several other 4 and 5lb fish were caught during practice. But the bass were moving up, and the warming weather going into the weekend had most of us guessing on whether to target deep or shallow bass.
Day one of our tournament was a nice day for fishing with one exception, wind. Strong winds starting blowing early in the morning, which hampered some patterns including mine. Lorn and I had caught 12 keepers on Thursday and 18 keepers on Friday but the fish we were catching weren’t biting or had moved due to the early wind.
This totally shut down our pattern and sent us scrambling. Other complaints were that the fish being caught were small and the bite was somewhat finicky.
For Kelly Hanson, the wind seemed to help. Kelly & Joe braved the windy main lake and worked points with crankbaits. Kelly brought in the only limit of the day and held control of first place with 10lbs. His crankbait pattern held for day two and he wound up with another limit and a total of 18.81 lbs, which easily won the tournament. Mike Chestnut won the fight for second place with 7 fish weighing 13.69 lbs (including a big fish of 3.90 lbs). Close behind were David Tyler with 10.36 lbs and Jeff Moore with 10.06 lbs. Here are the top eight places for the tournament:
1st Kelly Hanson 10 fish 18.81lbs
2nd Mike Chestnut 7 fish 13.69lbs
3rd David Tyler 5 fish 10.36lbs
4th Jeff Moore 6 fish 10.06 lbs
5th Todd Harless 6 fish 9.20lbs
6th Andrew Albert 6 fish 8.23lbs
7th Joe Hanson 4 fish 6.42lbs
8th Steve Davis 4 fish 6.39lbs
For the first time in quite a few tries, we seem to have hit Sutton Lake at the right time. Conditions and water temps were prime, which probably helped things. So many times you can go there and win our tournaments with just two or three fish, but this one would take a limit to break into the top five. In fact the small keepers were biting so well, we actually had a pro-angler dilemma – whether to go after a limit or big fish.
As it turned out, the strategy of going after a limit was a good strategy because the five anglers who managed a limit finished first through fifth. Only Artie Chestnut, who has a knack for catching bigger fish, broke the four pound mark with less than a limit – he had 3 fish weighing 4.02lbs.
From the reports of the successful anglers, the finesse worm was the way to go. Sand, Red, and Purple were reportedly good colors that day. I caught the big fish for the tournament, a 2.12lb largemouth on a smoke finesse worm. That big “kicker” fish made me feel like I had a good shot to win, but unfortunately for me I was two tenths of an ounce from being right.
The man of the day was Randall Coleman, who culled out some smaller 12-inch fish with some bigger bass and won the tournament with 5.36 pounds. Randall said he caught the bigger fish while working a 6” purple worm against a rock wall with about an hour left in the tournament. He caught some of his keepers on a crankbait throughout the day but was worried about the size of a few of them. He felt a lot better after catching a few 14 & 15 inch fish. Congrats to Randall on his first win in the club.
I came up a tad short with 5.34lbs but still earned a solid 2nd place finish. My fish came on a grub and finesse worm fished on deep rock banks. Phil Bird placed 3rd by milking a certain bank with a weightless finesse worm. And honorable mention: my partner Scott Rose may have set the record for the most Rock Bass caught in a day (you’ll have to let HIM tell you his secret). Here’s the top finishers at Sutton:
2nd Andrew Albert 5 fish 5.34lbs
3rd Phil Bird 5 fish 4.55lbs
4th David Tyler 5 fish 4.32lbs
5th Todd Harless 5 fish 4.08lbs
6th Artie Chestnut 3 fish 4.02lbs
7th Mike Chestnut 4 fish 3.62lbs
8th Kelly Hanson 3 fish 2.58lbs
(Changed
from Pt. Pleasant due to flooding)
Due to flooding on the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, we were forced to change our tournament to Sutton at the last minute. We had just fished there two weeks earlier so many of the productive patterns were still consistent enough to catch some fish this time around.
But a major change was the water level. When we arrived, the lake looked to be about 2 or 3 foot high. By the time we weighed in, the lake had risen an estimated 8 feet or more. Kelly and some others stated they had fished Sutton when it was rapidly rising like that, but for me it was a memorable first. The water was back in the trees and bushes on the bank, and it almost reminded me of Kerr in the spring. The water color was also changing, from clear when we arrived to milky by the time we left.
The numbers weren’t going to be there like they were two weeks earlier, but the bigger fish were there this time. And I mean BIG. Steve and Mike reported seeing several five pounders cruising and Mike actually hooked what he called an 8 to 10 pound bass that got off right at the boat (he was solo and didn’t have a net man). And yours truly hooked and landed my biggest Sutton bass ever, a 4.95lb lunker.
My kicker fish in the first Sutton trip didn’t push me into first, but I had a good feeling this big fish might do the trick. The big one came on a 6” dead ringer flipped up on the bank in the back of a creek. I scared up 3 more keepers to finish with 7.65lbs which was plenty good enough for first place. Mike Chestnut lost the big one but did get a respectable second place out of the deal with 3.84lbs. Randall had a good day again with 3.30lbs for third place. Here’s how the standings went at the “flood tournament”:
1st Andrew Albert 4 fish 7.65lbs
2nd Mike Chestnut 3 fish 3.84lbs
3rd Randall Coleman 4 fish 3.30lbs
4th Artie Chestnut 4 fish 2.94lbs
5th Steve Davis 2 fish 2.39lbs
6th Todd Harless 2 fish 1.74lbs
7th Joe Hanson 1 fish 1.28lbs
8th Kelly Hanson 1 fish 1.18lbs
The Glasgow pool is one of my favorite river sections for three reasons: 1. It’s a close drive 2. There’s not much boat traffic 3. I like fishing for smallmouth, which dominate this pool. I also like it because it’s fairly easy to catch fish. If it has a fault, it’s that you really have to weed through the smaller bass to get to a keeper. This trip would be an exception to the rule for some.
The weather conditions were nice - warm, overcast, and not much wind. The water looked great too, not too much current and pretty clear. Most anglers caught some fish but most did not catch keepers – that’s the norm. What was out of the norm was the number of lunkers caught. And Mike Chestnut led the pack in that category.
Mike was the only one to bring three fish to the table and they were three beauties weighing 5.79lbs. He had big fish with a huge 3.47lb smallie. He nearly doubled the weight of second place Joe Hanson, who caught a fat 3.09lb smallmouth. Mike was throwing a green pumpkin tube and was fishing it a little different than most. He was letting it fall into slightly deeper water around the ends of lay-downs and working it slow in the deep water. Apparently that’s where the big ones were as two nice ones hammered his BPS tubes early in the morning. Mike later switched to a cabin creek tube and hooked the 3+ at around 11:30. Way to go Mike!!
Joe Hanson’s second place bass came on a tube bait and it wasn’t caught until 3:00. I managed third place with two fish at 2.98lbs including a 2lb smallie. Steve also had a nice fish weighing 1.83lbs. Everyone enjoyed seeing the hawg smallies weighed in. Here are the final standings:
1st Mike Chestnut 3 fish 5.79lbs
2nd Joe Hanson 1 fish 3.09lbs
3rd Andrew Albert 2 fish 2.98lbs
4th Steve Davis 1 fish 1.83lbs
5th Todd Harless 1 fish .88lbs
6th Eric Jarrett 1fish .78lbs
POINTS STANDINGS (through Glasgow tournament)
Mike Chestnut 2nd 180
Joe Hanson 3rd 175
Todd Harless 4th 165
Artie Chestnut 5th 164
Steve Davis 6th 154
David Tyler 7th 151
Kelly Hanson 8th 149
Eric Jarrett 9th 142
Randall Coleman 10th 140
Jeff Moore 11th 129
Lorn Walker 12th 126
Terry Beard 13th 95
Scott Rose 14th 72
Phil Bird 15th 59
As we all know, the total points can sometimes be deceiving since we drop our worst four finishes. If somebody has 150 points and did not fish four tournaments, they will drop 0 points at season’s end. So they are equal to one who has 190 points and blanked four tournaments because they’ll drop 40 points.
I’m sure everyone has their own way of trying to figure out just about where they stand. At this point in the season, about the best way I know to figure out where you stand is to drop your worst three finishes. Of course there are major variables that will change these standings, in particular the last three tournaments, but it gives you an idea of how close things are right now. And as you can see, they are real close, especially after dropping points. So here are the standings if we drop everyone’s worst three tournaments:
Name
Place
Points
Andrew Albert 1st 156
Mike Chestnut 2nd 150
Joe Hanson 3rd 145
Todd Harless 4th 135
Artie Chestnut 5th 134
Jeff Moore 6th 129
Steve Davis 7th 124
David Tyler 8th 121
Randall Coleman 9th 120
Kelly Hanson 10th 119
Eric Jarrett 11th 112
Lorn Walker 12th 106
Scott Rose 13th 72
Terry Beard 14th 65
Phil Bird 15th 59
Name:
Andrew Albert
Hometown:
St. Albans, WV
Occupation:
Loan Officer at WV Federal Credit Union
Family:
Wife (Jenna) and 2 children (McKenzie & Garrett)
Club member for:
5yrs
Hobbies:
Building fishing rods, making fishing lures, hunting, hanging with family
Awards & top finishes:
Made Qualifier in 99 & 00, highest finish in club: 3rd
place
Favorite body of water:
South Branch of Potomac River, WV
If you could fish anywhere in U.S.:
Boundary Waters Area, Minnesota
Top 3 baits:
Jig & Pig, Lizard, Worm
Preferred fishing technique:
Pitching lizard or jig to wood & rock cover
Biggest bass:
6.8lb largemouth – Kerr 1997 (caught on 6” lizard)
Favorite Pro Angler:
Shaw Grigsby & Gary Klein
Best fishing experience:
I was about 14 yrs old the day I got “hooked” on bass fishing.
I was fishing with my family on South Branch of Potomac and my uncle gave
me a rebel craw to tie on. I
immediately started catching fish and caught about 50 Smallmouth that day and
have been in love with bass fishing ever since.
Worst fishing experience:
My first qualifier at Burnsville in 1999.
I went two full days without a single bite.
And neither of my partners got a bite at all.
Plus it was so foggy both mornings, we didn’t launch until 9:00.
It was the worst time fishing I ever experienced.
Tournament fishing advice:
Always keep mental notes! I
try to remember successful baits, spots, and tactics that have worked for me (or
my partners) in the past. It gives
me a starting point when I’m going fishing on a body of water that I haven’t
fished recently. (If a bait or
tactic worked 3 years ago under similar conditions, it will probably work now.) This especially seems to help on lakes more than rivers.
MEMBER
PROFILES
Name:
Terry Beard
Hometown:
Charleston, WV
Occupation:
Truck Driver
Family:
Cindy (wife) Stephanie (20) & Ericka (15)
Club member for:
1st Year (ROOKIE!!)
Hobbies:
Hunting & Snow skiing
Awards & top finishes:
None (not yet)
Favorite body of water:
Kanawha River
If you could fish anywhere in U.S.:
Florida
Top 3 baits:
Spinnerbaits, Buzzbaits, Firetiger deep diver
Preferred fishing technique:
Sight fishing & Carolina rig
Biggest bass:
3.2lbs – Montgomery Pool of Kanawha on Buzzbait
Favorite Pro Angler:
Shaw Grigsby
Best fishing experience:
Montgomery Pool – caught a boatload one time in the spring.
Great fishing!!
Worst fishing experience:
SUMMERSVILLE!!!
Tournament fishing advice:
Be patient & slow down on pressured fish.
Here are some recent
fishing reports from our club members!
Date:
7/5/01
Angler(s):
Todd & Father
Place:
Kanawha River
Report:
Fished from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Caught
about 20 bass all together on tube baits. Best
colors were pumpkin and green pumpkin. Had one keeper and Dad had 3.
Fish were biting much better than in the last few weeks.
Date:
7/6/01
Angler(s):
Andrew & Randall
Place:
Summersville Lake
Report: Got on water
around 7:30 Friday evening. Water
was clear and looked to be up over summer pool just a tad. A lot of pleasure boats were out but not many fishermen.
Only managed one fish before dark and not many after dark.
Caught a total of 8 bass and they came on about 6 different baits.
Tubes, worms and crankbaits all caught fish. Tried fishing all types of cover and all depths.
No keepers this time around but we really HOPE that changes next time!!!
Date:
7/6/01
Angler(s):
Mike & Artie
Place:
Stonewall Jackson Lake
Report:
Fished Stonewall Friday night. Caught
about 15 bass, and about 7 or 8 were keepers.
Mike caught biggest at 4.3lbs and another 2 ½ pounder.
Most came on plastic lizards. Lake
was extremely foggy which made it hard to move around much.
No huge ones but a pretty good outing overall.
Date:
7/8/01
Angler(s):
Lorn Walker
Place:
Kanawha River – S.A.
Report: Fished Toyota
Manufacturing tournament and placed 7th with three keepers.
Caught all three on a tube bait fished around the mouth of a creek in
fairly shallow water. Partner had been catching them on buzzbait but threw it all
day without a bite. Went to
Charleston but the muddy water was on its way down the river so we had to run
back down toward St. Albans.