By Marty Dixon/Staff Correspondent
It’s been a long week of fishing, with little rewards. I did not get any on Friday, but I cooked some crappie for my mom and dad. I broke out the fish fryer and deep-fried some crappie that Jonathon Nix provided for us. Brother Butch, who is the principal at West End High School, and his assistant principal Ron Daugherty dropped in and grabbed a quick plate on the way to the football game.
The Casting for Cancer tournament took place on Saturday. We fished all day with not much to show for it. We experienced several blow-ups on the frog early on but failed to put the hook in anything. It was as if the fish were toying with us; they would slap at it but would not eat the frog. I caught a solid fish on a chatter bait in the grass, then spun out for most of the day. Thanks to hitting a wave of one of those wake boats, I managed to lose another rod and break the trolling motor off the front of the boat. The wave came all the way across from the other side of the river, and I never saw it until it was too late and hit it at 40 mph. Needless to say I was not a happy camper, as it wound up costing me several hundred dollars in lost and torn up material, not to mention rattling my teeth and jarring my innards. I fished the rest of the day with one bolt holding in the trolling motor and running it on 20 percent. Butch managed to land another good fish flipping a jig. Saturday night was time to unwind, so went to Blackstone with friends and relaxed for a few hours.
Sunday was Grandkids Day with Fin and Anna over at the house. Fin is starting to walk, so now it is hand to hand combat when we have both kiddies. We pump them full of sugar and chocolate before sending them home.
I pretty much stayed clear of the river on Monday with all the boats. Butch got out late and ran into some fish throwing a crank bait (visit bass Junky media on You tube for details).
Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons were a big fat goose egg for me. I fished the tournament on Tuesday night and might have been better off taking that money and throwing it in the river. I was completely useless. I broke off, tangled up and backlashed like I didn’t know how to fish. I called it a day early and came in aggravated and ready to start back golfing.
As you’ll see by the tournament weights, the fishing has gone from tough to insanely tough. At least Wednesday night I saved my money and went out fishing with my wife Texann. She doesn’t fish but reads while I make an attempt. I did enjoy some live entertainment when a snake hit my popping frog. I’ve never seen anything like it before. The snake bit the frog, and I swear it looked as if it was walking on water with the frog in its mouth. I have a witness to the incident since Texann was with me. I finally talked the snake into letting go with a couple of quick yanks.
In Tuesday’s tournament (a light turnout with only 13 boats), first place went to Arnold with 2.89 pounds and second place went to Greg and Pockets with 2.22 pounds and big fish of 2.22 pounds.
In Wednesday night tournament, first place went to Will and Jamon with 5.17 pounds. Due to a tie, second and third place was combined and split between Greg and Pockets, with Jonathon splitting those two spots. Greg and Pockets hoth had 4.75 pounds. We have four more regular tournaments before the classic.
That’s all I’ve got for this week. I hope I can figure it out soon, or competitive dominoes, here I come. As I watch the Braves score their 29th run in the seventh inning, I’ll say tight lines to all and to all a good night.
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.