Philipsburg Bassmasters 7th Tournament of 2012: Lake Raystown (September 9, 2012)

Today was my club's 7th tournament of the season and I did not have high expectations for this one.  There was a Jim's Anchorage tournament today so I knew that with my small boat, that I was not going to make a long run for the fear that someone would be in my spot after running for 30 minutes to get there.
I started out fishing up in Snyder's Run but did not have any luck.  I decided to make a run to near Seven Points and made a quick stop to a rocky point with a steep cliff near it.  That quick stop ended up being where I fished all day!   They were eating my Power Team Lures Finicky Tickler like it was candy!   That Hog Tonic scent really attracts the bass!  I caught 4 keepers off a dropshot fishing along steep banks.  Whenever I would come up on a tree I would throw a senko into it and usually get at least a nibble (darn bluegills). 

I caught my kicker fish which was only a 2.54# largemouth on a senko.  Around 12 o'clock I caught my 6th keeper on a dropshot on the point where I started and ended up culling a 12oz fish.

I ended up finishing with 7.54lbs with 5 fish.  One of my fish died so I had to take a 1/2lb penalty.  I ended up taking 1st place for the day which was really a surprise.

I can't praise Power Team lures enough for the exceptional quality of their baits.  I am happy to be on their pro-staff and their baits alone helped me win today.  I don't think I could have had the success I had using any other bait.  A couple guys in the club weighed 3 fish but no one else brought in a limit today.   Everyone reported catching fish and I had 76 degrees for water temp on this September morning.

Next tournament is September 22 in which I will not be attending.  A buddy of mine is getting married and I am in the wedding!  Should be a fun one. 

I am heading out to Colorado this coming Saturday for a nice getaway with my wife and her family.  Going to do some fly fishing out there in which I will try and post some pictures.

My next tournament I will be attending is September 29 at Curwensville Lake in which my Club is hosting.  Guaranteed 1000$ payout if you are interested please contact me!

Next club tournament I will attend is October 4 at Lake Chataqua in New York.  Should be a blast!
Tightlines!

Raystown Lake Tournament 9/13/09

I had a tournament on Raystown Lake in Huntingdon,PA on Sunday for my first ever tournament on Raystown. I used my knowledge gained from my first ever trip to Raystown (see my previous post) in order to catch a few fish. The fish weren't biting like they were a couple weeks ago when i was there but that didnt stop me from pushing and fishing hard to get a fish in the livewell. I worked a no wake zone for the first part of the morning near snyders run but to no avail... so I told my buddy Tyler that we were gonna make a run for the area right before Seven Points Marina. I told him not to let me stop until we got there.

When we got there, there was a team already fishing on the shallow point in the weeds but that was ok.. all my fish before came just down from there. So we were workin that area throwing a wacky rigged GreenPumkin Senko. after a little bit i had a real nice hit and i could see the fish take off with it.. I was pitching into about 12 feet of water that was about 10 feet infront of the boat. Well i swung and rolled the first fish. probably 30 feet down from there i swung and missed another nice one... so i hurried up and put the rod down and threw in a Watermelon Red Senko texas rigged with a 1/8 oz tungsten weight on it.. that thing no sooner hit bottom and WAM! that fish took off with it.. i set the hook and my net man netted it smooth as silk.. here is a picture of it

That ended up being the only keeper i caught all the day but i learned if you miss a fish, to not give up on it because i didnt give up and ended up with a 2.22lb Largemouth and 6th place in the club tourney...
Catch ya later

Raystown Lake 8/24-8/25/09

Hey all.
I figured I would give you a little post about my trip to Raystown Lake on August 24 and 25. I have never fished this lake before and i wanted to get a nice little camping trip in before i started grad school at Slippery Rock. So, my buddy Tyler and I decided to plan this trip.
We arrived at Raystown around 9am on monday morning. by the time we git the tent set up and the boat in the water it was around 10:30. we fished til about 6pm that night and had a blast! What an awesome lake! Tyler was fishing for panfish most of the day and he caught about 30 fish each day. The quality of the fish wasnt very good. all of the panfish he caught were dinks but still had a really good time in doing so.

I was fishing for bass all day. I started out targeting coves and wood as there is alot of both at raystown. The bass didnt seem to be sticking to the wood like i thought they would be in 79 degree water. It took me til about 2 oclock to really put a pattern on and find the bass. I started targeting bass in ~10-20ft if water in the grass. I would just pitch my 5" Watermelon Red Senko into it and bam! the bass started cooperating with me. I put about 5 or 6 fish in the boat in the matter of minutes! granted, the bass werent very big but were very fun to catch and get some great pictures of!

On day 2, we made a run up passed beer barrel bay and began targeting grass again. This time i didnt catch any fish in the grass and found they were in steep drop-offs. I caught 3 bass on a watermelon Wooly Hawgtail and a keeper greenie on a crankbait on a rocky point.

SO in all it was a very fun relaxing trip. i caught about 15 bass in 2 days in an unfamiliar fishery. so i was pleased with how i did. I would love to go back in the fall or early spring when the bass are hogged up. I caught a decent sized smallmouth too so that was another goal that i accomplished for the trip.

enjoy the pics! Catch ya later