F3 Club tourney 3-28- Priest

Today our club had our first tourney of the year on Percy Priest. The weather forecast was sketchy at best, but by the time we launched at 6:30 am, the rain had stopped, and it was pretty much perfect weather for fishing. The fish would definitely cooperate.

We ran down lake to a major creek and fished some shallow points with a mix of chunk rock and pea gravel with crankbaits. We caught about 15 fish in the first hour and a half with one of them being a 21" pig that had already spawned. We left the first spot and hit a flat in another major creek downlake. The fishing was a bit slower, and this hole seemed to attract half of our club. We did catch 6-7 fish in there on a mix of cranks and jigs.

By now it was around 10:30, and it was time to fire the Yammyhauler and head up lake. We hit on spot around an old roadbed and landed a couple, but we did not find the mother load here.

It was now pushing 11:00, and the clock was ticking fast toward our 12:30 check-in time. We went to a transition point and flat behind a major island, and it was on. We chunked the little crankbait, and the fish were smacking it. We sat in that area for about 45 minutes and caught around 13 more fish, including a fat pre-spawn 18" largemouth. By now I had culled to a limit of around 13 lbs, but I knew I needed to catch one more good one to win the deal. We had around 30 minutes left, and we would spend our last few casts chunking and winding a rattle bait on some major flats near Four Corners. No takers, so we headed in.

Turns out I was right. If I could have culled out one fish with another 4 lb class fish, I would have won it. I finished third with just over 13 lbs. First place was almost 15 lbs and second place was just over 14 lbs. I tied for the big fish award of the day.

All in all it was a really good day with over 30 over the rail and two solid big fish.

Next, it's off the Center Hill for a Team Trail event and club tournament. I'll report back.

Tight lines,

RBK