Turnout still good at Buckeye

The fishing continues to be tough in the Tuesday evening bass tournaments at Buckeye Lake, but participation is still good. Last week (Aug. 17), 28 anglers showed up and this week (Aug. 24), 30 anglers participated.
This week, Dave Mocks and Fran Tippton won with two fish that weighed 4.75 pounds and took big bass honors with a 3.69-pound fish. Shaun Magers and Dana Moran finished second with two bass that weighed 3.01 pounds.
Joey dams ad Jim Kughn placed third with two bass that weighed 2.24 pounds, Doug Bennett and Dave Hinerman took fourth with a 2.08-pound fish and Ty Nauer and Rod Stufflebean were fifth with a 1.58-pound fish.
On Aug. 17, Randy Swihart and Bob Conaway took first with two bass that weighed 2.88 pounds, while Scott Clark was a close second with two fish that weighed 2.54 pounds.
Mike Gitting finished third and took big bass honors with a 2.01-pound fish, Chuck and Ryan Davis placed fourth with a 1.64-pound bass and Wayne and Dusty Baker were fifth with a 1.15-pound fish.
The action may be slow at Buckeye, but the turnout's still good. I think organizer Robin Cross is probably right when he says the 100 percent payback is attractive. I have heard a couple anglers comment that they prefer tournaments where the fishing is tough for everyone because they know they can get in the money with only a couple bass. On the other hand, if everyone is catching fish, they know they have to have a "kicker" as part of a limit catch to hope to get in the money.
Frankly, the bass fishing has been tough at most area lakes, not just Buckeye, although I expect it to start turning around soon. However, I've heard the rivers are a different story. I haven't been to any of the smallmouth spots I like, but I've heard the spotted bass were hitting on the Muskingum Rver at the Rokeby Lock pool (Gaysport) last week and I expect the rest of the river is producing similar activity.
If anyone has any reports, let me know at seoangler@gmail.com