Third win in a row

Gary Perkins and Dwayne Nauer made it three wins in a row at Buckeye Lake Tuesday evening, April 27, boating four bass weighing 6.48 pounds in the cold, windy conditions. Their catch included the big bass of the evening, a 3.27-pound fish.
John and Jason Harter finished second with four bass weighing 5.94 pounds. and Robin Cross and Jack Miller took third with four bass weighing 5.61 pounds.
Scott Clark paced fourth with four bass weighing 4.28 pounds and Mike Goodin as fifth with two bass weighing 3.98 pounds.
Twenty-eight anglers competed and weighed in 25 bass.

OBF Region 2 results

Matt Vermilyea of Erie Bay Bassers won the two-day Ohio Bass Federation Region 2 event at Grand Lake St. Mary's April 24 and 25 with 10 bass weighing 23.77 pounds. Close Behind was Scott Klaus of St. Mary's Bassmasters with 10 bass weighing 23.68 pounds and not far behind him as Steve Taylor of the St. Mary's club with 10 bass weighing 22.21 pounds.
Gary Shepard of Buckeye Pro Div. slipped in at fourth with nine bass weighing 20.54 pounds and Bob Flowers of Trophy Bassmasters wound up in fifth with 10 bass weighing 19.21 pounds. He would have finished fourth, but he had four dead fish.
Big bass was a 4.25-pound fish caught y Howard Jackson of Allen County Bassmasters.
Of 34 anglers competing, 26 weighed in 142 baqss, of which 135 were released alive.
For complete results, go to the Ohio Bass Federation web site.

Shell wins Cranberry event

As bad weather threatened, but never really hit, Buckeye Lake Sunday, April 25, John Shell won the opening Cranberry Marsh Bass Club tournament of the season with four bass weighing 7.66 pounds. Bob Sherwood was a close second with four bass weighing 7.21 pounds.
Randy Swihart took third with two bass tipping the scales at 6.05 pounds, including a 4.35-pound fish that took big bass honors.
Adam Richards had the only five-fish limit of the contest, weighing in at fourth place with 5.84 pounds, while Neil Butt finished fifth with three bass weighing 4.95 pounds.
Out of 33 members fishing the tournament, 23 weighed in 51 bass.
The club's next tournament is at O'Shaughnessy May 23,

Hammer wins Piedmont

Wesley Hammer won the opening Y-City Bass CLub tournament of the year, held at Piedmont April 18. Hammer had five bass weighing 8.88 pounds, including 2.19-pound fish that took big bass honors. Dave Allen of Zanesville finished second with four bass weighing 5.65 pounds and Mike King took third with four bass weighing 5.49 pounds. Mark Delancey placed fourth with four bass weighing 5.46 pounds and Stve Bullock was fifth with three fish weighing 4.04 pounds. A total of 49 bass were weighed by 22 of the 30 members fishing.
You can see the complete results by using the link to Ohio Bass Clubs, then clicking on the Y-City Bass Club logo.

More tournaments

Ran across a few more entry forms for area tournaments:
* First AMVETS Riders Chapter 4 Open Bass Tournament, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 1 at Rocky Fork State Park, East Shore ramp. entry fee $60 per boat, optional $10 big bass pot. Check-in 5:30 to 6:30 a.m. Send entries to AMVETS Riders Chapter 4, 2247 Owl Creek Road, Frankfort, Ohio 45628.
* Second annual G.M.P. Open Bass Tournament, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 8 at Lieb's Island, Buckeye Lake. Registration 5:30 to 6:30 a.m. Entry fee $50 per team, optional $10 big bass pot. 70 percent payback, proceeds to benefit G.M.P. Local 244 Welfare Committee. Send entries to GMP Local 244, 350 Hudson Ave., Newark, Ohio 43055. Phone (740) 345-9856.
* Team Bass Xtreme Open, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 2 at Pleasant Hill. Entry fee $80 in advance, $85 at the ramp. Subsequent opens will be held June 5 at O'Shaughnessy, June 20 at Alum Creek Lake and July 18 at Lake Erie, Sandusky City Ramp. You can check out the Team Bass Xtreme events at www.teambassxtreme.com. They also have a team series which has already started, but you can check it out at the same website.
* American Bass Anglers Jackson 1000, May 23 at Jackson Lake near Oak Hill. Electric tolling motors only. Entry fee $70. Preregistration meeting My 22. $1,000 guaranteed first place. For information contact ABA Ohio Area Manager Barry Davis at (614) 746-1191, by email at abaohio@aol.com or call ABA National Headquarters at (888) 203-6222.
* Gallipolis 1000, June 20 on the Ohio River at Gallipolis, also run by ABA. Same contact infrmation as the Jackson tournament. Pre-registration meeting June 19. Guaranteed $1,000 first prize.
You can check out ABA events, including the Division 93 schedule which began April 24 at Buckeye, at www.americanbass angler.com.

Buckeye report

Buckeye Lake is not my favorite fishing destination, even though it is the closest Central Ohio lake to my home.

It has a well-earned reputation as a good bass lake (maybe not what it once was, but still quite good), and it regularly produces good catches of crappie, bluegill, saugeye, catfish and "wipers" (white bass/striped bass hybrids). In fact, for the last week, the wipers have been on a feeding binge and anglers have been flocking to he lake to enjoy it. When I launched my boat Thursday afternoon, I counted 10 boats working the area between Cranberry Marsh and the south shore.

But I wasn't there to catch wipers, as much fun as that can be. I was after largemouth.

The week before I visited the lake and found bass in several shallow-water locations that told me the bass were definitely moving into spawning areas and if the weather held, they might even start fanning beds. It's early yet, but the water was already 65 degrees in some areas.

Unfortunately, the cold front that moved through last Friday and Saturday knocked my plans for Sunday's club tournament for a loop. I only had a few hits all day and only one was clearly a keeper, which I lost beside the boat.

When the weather turned nice again this week, I found myself with some time available Thursday, so I decided the try the lake once more. I could have written off Buckeye and gone to Dillon or maybe Rush Creek, but I was convinced I should be able to find some active bass on Senko-type baits or spinnerbaits.

I also heard the lake was becoming unusually clear, and I had to see it for myself.

It was unusually clear, especially in the west end of the lake, so I headed east from the north shore ramp. First stop was the marsh and I could see logs and root structures I had never seen before. But no bass, so I headed into Maple Bay, figuring it was warmed up to what it was te week before and was probably a bit more discolored than the main lake.

In fact, I found warmer water, up to 66 degrees.

I didn't load the boat, but I did catch a couple 13-inch bass, one on a spinnerbait and one on a hand-poured Senko-type worm, and several small fish. I also caught (on the Senko) a crappie that for I minute thought might be a Fish Ohio qualifier, but it proved to be about an inch short.

Having only about an hour left before sunset, I made a quick run down to Heron Bay, but it only produced one small bass on a crankbait before I had to head for the ramp.

Not a great afternoon on the water, but enough to restore a bit of my confidence in the lake so I'll be more willing to spend some time there despite all the boat traffic and the feeling that I'm always fishing in someone's back yard. With money tight and gas prices climbing, fishing close to home is a bonus.

Spotting a pair of osprey and a drake wood duck also helped, and watching the nesting geese, which often seem to be squabbling over territory or mates added some entertainment.

Tough evening at Buckeye

The fishing was tough at Buckeye Lake Tuesday evening as the bass apparently hadn't recovered yet from the weekend cold front.. Although 48 anglers entered the weekly contest, only 11 bass were weighed in.

Dwayne Nauer and Gary Perkins took top honors with two bass weighing 3.55 pounds. They also took big bass honors with a 2.06-pound fish.

Bill and Ben Englefield finished second with two bass weighing 3.08 pounds, Buck Miller finished third with two bass weighing 2.97 pounds, Tim and Brian Magers placed fourtgh with two bass weighing 2.03 pounds, and Dave Mockus and Mike Moore were fifth with a 1.48-pound bass.

Miler and Young top Burr Oak

Only 17 teams showed up for the Perry County Anglers' 28th Burr Oak Open Bass Tournament Sunday, April 19 . They only weighed in 21 bass, but at Burr Oak you're fishing for 15-inch bass.

A pair of local anglers, Howard Miller and Bob Young, took first with three fish weighing 8.68 pounds, while Jim Foster of Gallipolis (formerly of Newark) and Tom Price (I'm not sure if he's from Licking County or the Gallipolis area. I'll have to check) finished second with two bass weighing 7.71 pounds.

Ab Reed and Doug Bolyard of the Crooksville area placed third with three fish weighing 7.07 pounds; Jim Swingle and Craig Brannon, also from the Crooksville area, took fourth place and big bass honors with a 6.44-pound bass and Joe Hanning and Bryan Sabo were fifth with a 4.35-pound bass

Of the 2 bass, 20 were released alive.

The low turnout at Burr Oak raises a question. I know the weather probably discouraged some anglers, but the turnout for many opens has been down in recent years. The economy hasn't helped, but I think this started before gas prices and unemployment climbed.

Back when I regularly fished this tournament in the early '80s, it would fill soon after the fliers went out. The same with the May open my club, Southern Ohio Bassmasters, held on Dillon. We held that tournament for 30 years, but entries dropped into the low twenties and we decided last year to try one on Seneca. We received no advance entries and canceled it. We decided not to hold one in May this year, but we will still run our benefit tournament in September.

What' the problem? Are there too many opens and circuits? Is it the economy? Is it the economy? or is it something else? Let me know what you think.

Woodrow wins club opener

Eric Woodrow of Duncan Falls won the Southern Ohio Bassmasters 2009 Anger of the Year Title by a wide margin. He started the club's 2010 schedule without missing a beat, grabbing a comfortable victory on Buckeye Lake Sunday.

Woodrow was the only member out of 30 fishing to bring a 5-fish limit to the scales. His 7 pounds, 3.6 ounces gave him a better than 2-pound margin over Mike Baughman of Crooksville, who had 3 fish weighing 5 pounds, 2.8 ounces. Mike's catch included the big bass of the tournament, a 3-pound, 2.2-ounce fish.

Kenny Fulks of Nashport finished third with three bass weighing 5 pounds, 1 ounce; Chris Lighthizer of Zanesville took fourth with three bass weighing 4 pounds, 7.6 ounces and Tom Sherfey of Zanesville was fifth with three bass weighing 3 pounds, 14 ounces.

Of the 30 members fishing, 18 weighed in a total of 40 bass.

A second night of cold weather, clear skies in the morning and a brisk wind put the bass in a more uncooperative mood than they had been even the day before, when anglers in the Buckeye Open had impressive numbers despite the cold front that blew in Friday.

Buckeye Lake Open

Saturday, April 17, dawned cold and windy, certainly a disappointment after the beautiful weather of the last few days, but the 66 teams entered in the Buckeye Lake Open, hosted by Buckeye Outdoors Marine and the NBAA Ohio Central Division Weekend Challenge still found plenty of cooperative bass.

When the weigh-in was over, 170 bass had been brought to the scales in the Buckeye Outdoors parking lot in Hebron, including 20 five-fish limits. The top five teams all had limits.

Topping the field and taking home the $2,300 check for first place was the team of Jeff Arledge and Mark Good with 12.93 pounds. They also took big bass honors with a 4.3-pound fish.

In second through fourth were Ron Riggs and Phil Kellogg with 11.09 pounds, Gary Kelley and Shane Quinlan with 9.92 pounds, Todd Hahn and Scott Clark with 9.67 pounds and Charlie and Clint Gray with 9.57 pounds.

Anglers were typically close-mouthed about where and how they caught their fish, but it was apparent from the number of 12- to 14-inch fish brought in, that the bigger fish haven't generally moved into the shallows yet, or else the cold front had more of an effect on them than on the smaller fish. Water temperatures at mid-week were in the mid-60s (I found 64 and 65 degrees at most places I visited), certainly warm enough to give bass the urge to start spawning, or at least move into spawning areas.

I have a club tournment at Buckeye Sunday, so we'll see what effect another cold night has on the fish.

I expect the full results will be published on the NBAA website, so check there if you want to see where your friends finished.

Tournaments

Here's a few tournaments and circuits I've run across. I hesitate to run phone numbers of contacts, but entry forms can usually be found at area bait and tackle shops.

• Tuesday Night Tournaments at Buckeye Lake begin at 5:30 p.m. and last until sunset. Registration is at 5 p.m. Through April and May the events will be held out of Lieb's Island. They will move to the north shore ramp in June. $10 per person. Contact Robin Cross at rcrossbass@yahoo.com for more information. I heard it took about 9 pounds to win the first tournament April 13.
• Perry County Anglers 28th annual Burr Oak Open Bass Tournament 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. out of Dock 4. Team event, $60 in advance, $70 at the ramp. Registration begins at 5 a.m.
• 34th annual Pete Taylor Memorial Bass Tournament May 1 sponsored by Cranberry Marsh Bass Club. $10 per person (15 and younger free) with all proceeds donated to Hospice of Central Ohio. Registration begins at 5:30 a.m. and hours are 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Trophies are awarded, there are usually lots of door prizes and the winner receives a special jacket donated by Heath NAPA. There's also usually an optional big bass pot.
• Gahanna Bass Anglers 29th annual Hoover Reservoir Open Bass Tournament May 22 out of the Walnut Street ramp. Hours for the team event are 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and entry fee is $60 per team. Optional big bass pot $10 per boat.
• American Bass Anglers has a Central Ohio Division Circuit that begins April 24 at Buckeye Lake and includes contests at Alum Creek, Jackson Lake, Ohio River (Gallipolis), Delaware Reservoir, O'Shaughnessy Reservoir and Dillon Reservoir. The division championship is Aug. 28-29 at O'Shaughnessy and the national championship is Oct. 3-8 on Kentucky Lake. Visit the ABA website at www.americanbassanglers.com for complete information.
• First "Marsh Madness" Buckeye Lake Open June 5 out of the Lieb's Island ramp sponsored by Boat Boys of Newark. Entry fee is $80 per team with an optional $10 big bass pot. Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Registration begins at 5 a.m. contact Todd Thompson at todd@boatboys.com.
• Eastern Buckeye Crappie Club has already held tournaments March 27 at Clendening and April 10 at Tappan. Their next event is April 24 at Dillon, then May 8 at Piedmont. Subsequent tournaments are at West Branch, Charles Mill, Mosquito, Leesville and Seneca. For complete information, visit www.easternbuckeyecrappieclub.com.

To have an event listed here, simply send the information to my email. If you want me to list a phone number contact, please say so; otherwise I'll only run email contacts or web addresses. And please, afterwards send me the results.

Introduction

Welcome to the SEO Angler blog. I’m new to this blogging business, but I spent almost 30 years writing a weekly outdoor column in the Zanesville Times Recorder. Since leaving the newspaper, that’s one of the things I’ve missed.

Why didn’t I start this sooner? I suppose mainly because I didn’t realize how easy it was. Also, I suppose I was afraid I wouldn’t attract enough readers. Whether that is true I’ll just have to wait and see.

Anyway, those who read my column before probably know what to expect -- Club and open tournament results as I can get them (not just bass, other species as well), fishing reports, news items anglers might be interested in, fishing tips and techniques and personal fishing experiences (both success and failures).

I don’t claim to be any kind of fishing “expert,” but in some 50 years of plying Ohio waters I’ve picked up a few things that might be worth passing on. Besides, I love to talk and write about fishing almost as much as I love to fish!

I’ll be trying to develop contacts to send me tournament results and other reports, but that will take time. If you belong to a club in the Southeastern or Central Ohio areas, send me your tournament reports or other news you wish to announce at seoangler@gmail.com. If you’re running an open or circuit tournament, send it as well. If you run a bait or tackle store and you want anglers to know what’s happening in your local waters, send me a report. Personal contact information will not be divulged.

If you send me a report, be sure to include a name and a way to contact that person if I need to check something. If it’s a tournament report, give me the name of the club, open or circuit, the lake fished, names and hometowns of the top three or five finishers (whichever you prefer), the number of fish they had, total weight, big fish for the contest and the total number of fish weighed in. If the winners are willing to share information on what they used to make their catch, that will be welcome as well.

I also intend to compile a list of website links you might find useful or interesting, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers site where you can check current water levels at Corps impoundments, the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, the ODNR Division of Wildlife, the Ohio Game Fishing Community, club websites or even other blogs.

I welcome comments on material I report (there is a comment section provided), but this is not a general discussion site. OGF already provides a great forum for that. This is also not intended as competition for the Ohio Outdoor News. I’m not trying to cover all Ohio outdoor news; just to cover fishing news on a more local level. Besides, I sometimes write for OON and I don’t want that to change.

For that matter, I'm not even trying to cover all of Ohio. Most of my efforts will be concentrated on the Muskingum River watershed and lakes around Central Ohio. In other words, roughly the areas encompassed by Wildlife Districts 4 and 1 although, again, we’ll see how things develop.,