Seneca fishing tough

Both Zanesville clubs fished Seneca Lake Sunday, July 11, and both found ity a tough nut to crack. Out of 22 members of Southern Ohio Bassmasters, nine caught a total of 12 keeper bass, while in the Y-City Bas CLub event, 27 members fished and six weighed in 10 bass.
After the recent heat wave, most reports from area lakes have been depressing. However, anglers fishing rivers, including the Scioto, Olentangy and Muskingum, have been reporting better success, so if your looking for bass action, go someplace with moving water.
I don't know why both Y-City and Southern Ohio received permits for sunday -- maybe it was because we were starting a hour apart. I thought most parks, especially Muskingum Watershed lakes, tried to avoid overcrowding, but I suppose when you think about it, the number of boats the two clubs launched Sunday was not as bad as a full open field for the lake.
In any event, Southern Ohio started at 5 a.m. (n=before dawn) and Y-City a hour later.
When Southern Ohio weighed in, Chad Lighthizer emerged as the winner with two bass weighing 6 pounds, 2.6 ounces, well head of Eric Woodrow, who had two bass weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces.
Bob Fulks took third place and big bass honor with a 4-pound, 12.2-ounce bass, Randy Brownrigg finished fourth with two bass weighing 3 pounds, 9.4 ounces and Kenny Fulks was fifth with a 3-pound, 4.4-ounce bass.
I think I had two hits all day: a small bass that hit a buzzbait before dawn and a fish that dropped a Carolina-rigged Yum Dinger before I could set the hook. A long, frustrating day, but that's nothing new for me on that lake. Southern OPHio's next regular tournament is Aug. 7 at Dillon.

Y-City results
When Y-City weighed in at 2 p.m., Wesley Hammer was the winner with three bass weighing 7.96 pounds, while Tyler Shawger was second with two bass weighing 4.71 pounds.
Mike King finished third with two fish weighing 3.71 pounds, Tom Hoffer placed fourth with a 3.7-pound fish that also took big bass honors and Ryan Boyer was fifth with a 2.93-pound bass.
Y-City's next tournament is July 25 on the Muskingum River at McConnelsville.

A note on weights
You may have noticed that with some tournaments I report the weights in pounds and ounces, and others in pounds and tenths or hundredths of pounds, I simply use whichever the organizing body uses. The scales Southern Ohio uses have the option of recording weights in either pounds and ounces plus fractions of ounces or as the decimal equivalent. We chose to report in pounds and ounces, while others have gone with the decimals. It makes no difference.
One thing that is different is the final weights, because some clubs add a bonus amount for live fish, while other deduct a penalty for dead fish. Southern Ohio, for example, deducts 8 ounces for a dead fish, while Y-City adds a 0.1 pound for a live fish. That means, for example, that Tom Hoffer's big bass at Seneca actually weighed 3.6 pounds. Cranberry Marsh Bass Club also adds a bonus for live fish. Either way, I'll report the final weight. If I know there was a dead fish, especially if it made a difference in the standings, I'll note it.