Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tournaments shaping up

Some more tournament information for next spring is already coming in.
First, Robin Cross will begin the Tuesday evening tournaments at Buckeye Lake on April 12. they will begin at 5:30 p.m. out of the North Shore ramp, with registration at 5 p.m. As in 2010, cost will be $10 per person, free for anglers 15 and under. If you have questions, contact Robin Cross at rccrossbass@yahoo.com or call him at 740-438-2782.
Robin has also scheduled an open tournament at Buckeye on May 21. Hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the entry fee is $100 per team in advance or $120 at the ramp. Again, contact Robin at the above address or e-mail and I'm sure entry forms will be at local bait and tackle shops.
I earlier reported the tentative club schedules for Southern Ohio Bassmasters and Cranberry Marsh Bass Club. As usual, some changes are in the works. I'll wait to report the club schedules when they are completed, but I will note now that the Chuck Murrey Memorial sponsored by the Southern Ohio Club will be on May 8 instead of May 15

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Ending and beginning

November has been a disappointing end to the 2010 fishing season for me. I've only been out three times this month, despite the reasonably good weather, and caught only one fish -- a nice white bass on the Muskingum River Nov. 13. A trip to Rush Creek Nov. 10 with Lindsey produced nothing for either of us, although I had a couple bites. My results Nov. 7 at Dillon have already been chronicled.
It's possible I may get out again, but I'm not counting on it.
But November os also a time to get ready for next year, as clubs and circuits begin setting their tournament schedules for next season.
Cranberry Marsh Bass Club met Thursday evening to approve its 2011 schedule, which has been increased to eight tournaments. I don 't know if they made any changes, but their tentative schedule was:
April 17 -- Buckeye Lake
May 1 -- Pleasant Hill
May 15 -- Alum Creek
June 12 -- Dillon
June 26 -- Alum Creek
July 17 -- O'Shaughnessy
Aug. 14. -- Muskingum River Riverside
Sept. 4 -- Delaware
Sept. 24-25 -- Classic (to be determined)
The annual Pete Taylor Open will be on May 7.
Cranberry was also to elect officers Thursday, but I haven't heard who was elected.

Southern Ohio Bassmaster met Sunday to set a schedule. Pending permit approval, the 10 regular tournaments will be:
April 23 -- Burr Oak
May 1 -- Piedmont
May 14 -- Buckeye
May 22 -- Delaware
June 18 -- Charles Mill
June 26 -- Pleasant Hill
July 9 -- Ohio River Powhaten Point
Aug. 21 -- Muskingum River Fairgrounds Ramp (below McConnelsville)
Sept. 10 -- Dillon
Oct. 2 -- Tappan
Oct. 15 and 16 -- Classic (to be determined)
The Chuck Murrey Memorial Open is tentatively being move up to May 15 at Dillon.
Southern Ohio's next meeting wil be in late January, when we get permits back, and to elect officers.

Both clubs have an interesting proposal on the table. That is, at the end of the season, to allow members to deduct one tournament from their results. In the case of Cranberry, that would mean a the end of the season, point totals would be based on the members' top seven results. For SOuthern Ohio, it would mean counting nine tournaments.
The main practical result would be that a member could miss one tournament and not have it hurt him at the end of the year. Over the course of a year, a lot of things can happen to cause someone to miss a tournament.
On the other hand, it could make some differences in the final standings, but how much? I don't think it would have helped me in this season's standings, but I can envision situations where it could.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Two bass win at Dillon

Sunday was probably my last tournament of the year. I hope it won't be the last time fishing before winter.
Each year, Bub Cooksey, owner of Rayco Rent To Own and Bob Mathie, owner of Bob's outdoor supply, sponsor a little friendly pot tournament for the "regulars" that stop at Bob's for talk and coffee many mornings. This year, 10 of us participated. It was a few less than usual, but I think the cold spell that hit Friday kept some away.
The water temperature had dropped below 50 degrees, but we still managed to weigh some bass.
Shaun Majors and Bob Fulks won the contest with two bass weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces. They also had the big bass of the tournament at 2 pounds, 14 ounces.
Bub Cooksey and Rick McDonald finished second with two bass weighing 3 pounds, 14 ounces; Wayne Hanley and his daughter, Tara, were third with a 2-pound, 4-ounce bass and Tim Majors and Dana Moran were fourth with a 2-pound, 2-ounce fish.
Unfortunately, I didn't put a bass in the boat. When we started in the morning, most of the guys went into Big Run, so I headed up the lake. I eventually made my way up into the river.
Big mistake.
The water was even colder up there and there was northing going on.
I finally wound up in Big Run with about an hour or so of fishing time left and promptly lost what may have been the big bass of the tournament.
I had it on a crankbait and didn't think it was very well hooked, so I reached for the landing net, which was naturally just out of easy reach. I was trying to keep tension on the fish without horsing it, but just as I finally reached the net, it came off.
To make matters worse, a couple casts later I lost the crankbait.
Bub also gave out a special award to the angler who caught the largest fish that wasn't a largemouth or smallmouth. Tara Hanley weighed in a 3-pound, 12-ounce channel cat, but then Jerry Mosman hauled an 11-pound, 3-ounce carp out of his livewell.
"I wanted to get some kind of award," Jerry said.
Jerry won the Cranberry Marh Bass Cub Angler of the Year award this season, but I bet he'll hear more about the carp this winter than he will about the title!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

MWCD lake drawdowns

The Muskingum Watershed Conservanc District began drawing Seneca Lake down for the winter on Nov, 1. Drawdowns at five other lakes begin Nov. 15 and the last two begin Dec. 1.
a few lakes will be drawn down further than normal to allow for work over the winter. Atwood, Seneca and Tappan will be lowered 8 feet to allow for shoreline stabilization projects to take place. An ongoing shoreline stabilization project is being addressed at Pleasant Hill, which is als coming down 8 feet.
Shoreline work was also planned at Piedmont, but it has been delayed for this winter budget availability, I was told by Darrin Lautenschleger, Public Affairs Administrator for MWCD. Because of the delay, it is possible toe drawdown at Piedmont will not reach 8 feet.
The drawdown is partb of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers flood risk management operation of the system of reservoirs and dams in the Muskingum River Watershed.
The drawdowns will range from 3 to 8 feet, said Boris E. Slogar, MWCD chief engineer. A gradual return to normal summer pools will begin in February 2011 in time for the recreation season.
The depth reductions by reservoir, the amount of the reduction and the date the drawdown is expected to begin follows:

* Atwood Lake – 8 feet – Nov. 15
* Charles Mill Lake – 3 feet – Dec. 1
* Clendening Lake – 5 feet – Nov. 15
* Leesville Lake – 5 feet – Nov. 15
* Piedmont Lake – 8 feet – Nov. 15
* Pleasant Hill Lake – 6 feet – Dec. 1
* Seneca Lake – 8 feet – Nov. 1
* Tappan Lake – 8 feet – Nov. 15

The USACE owns and operates the dams and handles management of the reservoir depth levels for flood risk management. The MWCD manages 54,000 acres of the water and land located behind the dams. The USACE and MWCD work together through a partnering agreement for management of the system of reservoirs and dams for flood risk management and water conservation.
The MWCD, a political subdivision of the state, was organized in 1933 to develop and implement a plan to reduce flooding and conserve water for beneficial public uses in the Muskingum River Basin, the largest wholly contained watershed in Ohio. Since their construction, the reservoirs and dams in the MWCD region have been credited for saving more than $8 billion worth of potential property damage from flooding, according to the federal government.
For more information about the MWCD, visit www.mwcd.org.
When the lakes are down for the inter is a great time to visit and see what is actualy in those areas you were fishing this summer. The extra drawdown at some of the lakes makes it an even better opportunity to learn more about what's in there.
The lakes may be too far down, in some cases, to launch a boat, so you may not be able to see some of your favorite areas, but there's stll a lot to see and learn. Take a camera to recoprd what you can.