Clark wins again

Once again, the weather was not good for the Tuesday night tournament at Buckeye, but also again, Scott Clark won the tournament. That's three in a row.
Clark had five fish that weighed 10.93 pounds, more than two pounds ahead of Mike Watson and Chad Lawson, who had five fish that weighed 8.21 pounds.
Jason Harder finished third with four fish that weighed 6.59 pounds, including the big bass of the contest at 3.13 pounds.
Tim Magers and Bob Fulks placed fourth with four bass that weighed 6.3 pounds and Shaun and Donna Magers were fifth with three bass that weighed 5.53 pounds.
Organizer Robin Cross reports that despite the poor weather so far, about 25 angkers have been showing p each week.

Southern Ohio opener

The Southern Ohio Bassmasters held their season-opener April 23 at Burr Oak with the water high and rising.  Only 21 members showed up and only eight caught keeper fish.
I guess  wasn't the only member who decided the cost of driving all they way to Burr Oak and fishing in what promised to be tough conditions, with flash flood warnings out for the weekend, just wasn't worth it. I wasn't even sure we'd be able to launch, although Kenny Fulks told me later they had no problem. However, the report from Burr Oak a day later  was that the water had come up into the parking lot ad launching had become impossible.
Mike Baughman won the tournament with two bass weighing about 5 pounds, .4 ounces, while Eric Woodrow took second place and big bass honors with a 4 pound, 13.6-ounce fish.
Kenny Fulks finished third with a 4-pound, 6.4-ounce bass, Randy Brownrigg was fourth with a 4-pound, 2.6-ounce fish and Mark Lasure placed fifth with a 3-pound, 15.6-ounce bass.
A total of 10 keeper bass were caught by nine anglers.

Advantage Angler course

Here's an interesting item for Ohio Bass Federation members about a fishing course available through the Bass Federation (TBF) website:

The Advantage Angler Program is a free 11-lesson course on fishing.

There is also a Pro Angler Course which has a 15 percent discount to Federation members, which makes the cost $40 with the discount.

There are also species-specific and specialty courses available.

Federation members must access all of gthese programs through the TBF online store on the TBF website.

You can link to the TBF site through the Ohio Bass Federation site listed at the right of this page.

Y-City at Burr Oak

April 17 was a windy day to be out fishing, but the Y-City Bass Club braved the elements at Burr Oak that day. The results were not up to Burr Oak standards, but catching anything under those conditions is an accomplishment.
The Y-City club had 28 members fish, and 11 caught a total of 12 keeper bass. Chad Lighthizer was the only angler to bring in two keepers, which weighed 6.72 pounds. His catch included the big bass of the contest, which weighed 4.62 pounds.
With one fish each, Tyler Shawger finished second with 4.33 pounds, Kenny Simpson placed third with 3.88 pounds, Mike King took fourth with 3.72 pounds and Jeff Turner was fifth with 3.45 pounds.
Although no huge fish were caught and the numbers weren't there, the smallest fish weighed 2.72 pounds, which speaks well of the quality of the bass fishing at Burr Oak.

Tuesday Buckeye results

The weather's been miserable most of the week, but 26 intrepid anglers still showed up for the Tuesday evening tournament at Buckeye.
Scott Clark won for the second week in a row, this time with five bass weighing 10.51 pounds. He also took big bass honors with a 2.55-pound fish.
Mike Goodin finished second with five fish weighing 7.9 pounds, Jason Abella and Dick Ford took third with four bass weighing 4.75 pounds, Mike Watson and Chad Lawson were fourth with three bass weighing 4.57 pounds, and Ron Groves and Brett Smith placed fifth with three fish weighing 3.99 pounds.

Shoreline work at MWCD

You may remember that last fall I ran information from Muskingum Watershed about shoreline stabilization projects at several lakes. Here's information from them on how the work went:

As spring and summer arrive at the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) reservoirs, visitors will notice that shoreline projects at many lake locations have been completed over the past few weeks.

"Nearly two miles of shoreline has been protected and restored at four reservoirs this winter after the completion of more than 20 individual stabilization projects that cost more than $1.2 million, according to Boris E. Slogar, MWCD chief engineer. 

“The shorelines have been eroding for many years and this winter the MWCD began the most ambitious program in the conservancy district’s history to protect the shorelines,” Slogar said. “Even more important, this is an ongoing program that is part of the routine maintenance of the reservoirs to ensure their continued effective performance for years to come.”

 The MWCD projects were completed at:

 Atwood Reservoir – 11 projects at $399,157

Charles Mill Reservoir – 4 projects at $201,300

Seneca Reservoir – 7 projects at $365,957

Tappan Reservoir – 4 projects at $255,795

 Some of the projects were completed by MWCD staff members and others were completed by private contractors that were awarded contracts for the work through the public bidding process.

 The MWCD also removed more than 1,000 tires, furniture and other debris from all of its reservoirs during the winter months.

 The MWCD announced last year that nearly 500 individual sites are in need of varying amounts of shoreline improvements. A team of MWCD engineering staff members has been using innovative mapping and aerial photographic technology to review the 300 total miles of shoreline at the reservoirs. The work that has been identified would cover about 24 miles worth of shoreline at the 10 MWCD lakes.

 The work is paid for through the MWCD’s funds collected from property owners in the Muskingum River Watershed who receive identified benefits from the Amendment to the Official Plan of the MWCD that calls for maintenance and rehabilitation in the system of flood-reduction and water conservation reservoirs and dams in the region. Two of the projects – one each at Seneca and Tappan reservoirs – received grant funding from the State of Ohio’s Clean Ohio Grant Fund program.

 Planning already is under way for projects for the 2011-12 winter season, with the goal of another 20 to 30 projects to be completed. Projects likely will include work at Clendening, Piedmont and Pleasant Hill reservoirs, as well as work at other reservoirs to be done by MWCD crews.

For more information about the MWCD, visit www.mwcd.org.

Tuesday Buckeye results

The weather was lousy for the first Tuesday evening tournament at Buckeye Lake April 12, but the fishing was quite good, according to organizer Robin Cross.
Scott Clark won the tournament with five bass weighing 9.43 pounds, while Ron Groves and Brett Smith took second with five bass weighing 7.38 pounds.
Robin Cross and Dave Mocuks took second with four bass that weighed 6.92 pounds and took big bass honors with a 3.31-pound fish.
Mike Watson finished fourth with three bass weighing 5.31 pounds and Randy Wilkes and Frank Tipton finished fifth with two bass weighing 2.21 pounds.

Cranberry cancels contest
Cranberry Mash Bass club was to open its tournament season Sunday at Buckeye, but high winds persuaded them to cancel the tournament.
Based on what I saw of the lake when I went out for the weigh-in Sunday afternoon, they made the right decision. I don't know when the tournament will be rescheduled for, or if if they will set another date, but I'll find out.