Piedmont was productive

I enjoy fishing Piedmont, it has long been one of my favorite lakes in Ohio. I just wish it was a bit closer. WIth gas over $4 a gallon, driving 78 miles one way makes for an expensive day of fishing.
It didn't start off well. I was late getting away from home and made it to the ramp as the lasgt of the other club embers was heading out.
And the lake was high. I expected I would have to get my feet wet to get the boat launched, but another angler gave me a hand. I didn't get his name, but I certainly appreciated it.
The fishing started slow for me, but when I came to the flooded brush at the back of a favorite cove, I started catching bass. I had a five-fish limit in the boat by 11 or 11:30 a.m.
All of them were caught off wood in shallow water. I was pitching either black/blue flake hand-poured Senko or a black and blue beaver-type bait, both from Bob's Outdoor Supply. I tried spinnerbaits, crankbaits, a buzzbait and even a Chatterbait, but had no strikes on those.
I don't know how everyone else caught their fish, but I got the impression that most were fishing deeper and faster than I was. I did best when I fished the baits extremely slow, and then most of the bites were very soft,
After I boated my fifth fish, I didn't catch another until about 1 p.m., when I put a 15-inch smallmouth in the boat. That enabled me to cull a 12-inch bass, which turned out to be critical.
What all this is leading up to is that I won the Southern Ohio Bassmasters club tournament with a total weight of 8 pounds, 14 ounces. The fifth fish  caught was also the big bass of the contest at 2 pounds, 15 ounces.
The reason that culling that one fish was important was that Shaun Magers was right on my heels, weighing in five bass that weighed 8 pounds, 13.4 ounces.
Randy Brownrigg finished third with five bass weighing 6 pounds, 4.6 ounces; Chad Lighthizer was fourth with five fish weighing 5 pounds, 12.4 ounces, and Tom Sherfy was fifth with four bass weighing 5 pounds, 11.6 ounces.
Out of 29 club members fishing, 24 weighed in a total of 57 bass. Considering the weather lately, I don't consider that bad at all.
Our next tournament is at  Buckeye Lake May 14.
Our annual pen, now the Chuck Murrey Benefit, is Sunday, May 8, at Dillon. I just hope the lake gets back to somewhere near normal by then.
Also that weekend, the anual Pete Taylor Memorial Tournament sponsored by Cranberry Marsh Bass Club, is Saturday, May 7. You know, I'm not sure if it isout of the north shore ramp or Lieb's Island. I'll have to check on that.