By Marty Dixon
At least in my case, the fishing is slowly but surely getting a little better of late. My brother and I fished both nights of the tournaments this past week. We stunk it up Tuesday but managed to be just out of the money with a fourth-place finish on Wednesday.
On Wednesday we had landed one fish with 45 minutes left in the tournament. Butch then came up big with a nice three-pounder to gives us a bit of hope. With 15 minutes left. I missed a nice fish on the frog beside a stump. I managed to be around behind the stump and could not get the hook in it.
With only eight minutes left, I managed to talk a decent-sized spot into biting the frog by a weed patch. This time I was able to put the fish in the boat, so we actually weighed in. As usual, however, I feel like the big one got away by that old stump. In two weeks’ time, Butch and I managed to lose two good fish by that stump. Last week, Butch had a nice one on his line before his spinnerbait broke in half. All he reeled in was a set of blades.
We also were able to put a few in the boat flipping a creature bait. One was a little over four pounds. We just have not been able to get the big bite flipping when we need it. We actually had an uneventful week while fishing. Other than still struggling to get any good fish, nothing major messed with my chi this week. I will say that I’ve not fished any in the mornings. It’s mostly been in the late afternoon and sometimes during the heat of the day.
I would like to mention that Butch and I have our YouTube channel up and going, called bass junky 256.We’re still experimenting with it and the camera equipment. There are a few clips posted but we are working to get better at it. Click on the link and subscribe and give us like or leave a comment of what you would like to see on the site. We hope to get better at it as we go along.
I did have some of my usual not so good luck this past week. While fishing in an area way up a creek in some super shallow water, my trolling motor tried to keel over on me. The area reminded me of the movie Deliverance, and I was glad I didn’t hear any banjo music.
The motor was operational, but the water was so shallow in that area that I could have used it. After suffering a minor meltdown and shouting profanities at the trolling motor, I sat on the deck of the boat to collect my thoughts and figure out how I was going to get out of there.
I eventually remembered that there was a fuse leading from my trolling motor to the battery. So, I removed the fuse and jumped the wire to the battery. Of course, the wire would no longer reach the battery or fit on the terminal.
The Sand Mountain in me began to flare up, but I soon was able to yank enough of the wire to reach the battery and pinch the connector under another wire to get power. Fortunately, I was able to continue fishing until I could purchase a new one from Browns Outboard the next day.
The moral of the story? There is no moral – this stuff constantly happens to me for some reason. Again, I’m just glad there was no banjo music in the background.
Tuesday’s tournament results: first place went to Will and Jamon with 7.56 pounds; second place went to Moss and Lee with 6.71 pounds also big fish of 3.07 pounds; third place went to Joseph and James with 6.56 pounds.
Wednesday tournament results: first place went to Lucas and Michael with 8.57 pounds; second place went to Will and Jamon with 8.11pounds and big fish of 4.35 pounds; third place went to Joe and Joe with 7.74 pounds.
The classic for the Tuesday and Wednesday night tournaments will be September 29 and 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. Entry fee is $100 per boat. You must have fished 10 tournaments to qualify.
Tight lines and see you on the water.
Marty Dixon is a 1982 Sardis High School graduate and retired high school educator and coach. He was head coach of the Gadsden State women’s basketball team from 2015 to 2019. He and his wife Texann live in Gadsden. He can be contacted at fishn4funin02@yahoo.com and the Neely Henry Bass Fishing page on Facebook.
