John Buck
John's Club Report
Covering The Pensacola Hawg Hunters
2009 Season

Email: John Buck

Founded In 1975


October Tournament
Total Number Fished Tournament 19

Total Fish Caught 92
Total Dead Fish 1
Total Limits 8
Big Fish
3.12
Total Fish Weight 149.97 lbs

Total Year Standings
Total Number Fished For Year 213

Total Fish Caught 583
Total Dead Fish 14
Total Limits 43
Big Fish
6.98
Total Fish Weight 873.78 lbs

1st Place
Frank Kelly
9 Fish 14.88 lbs
2nd Place
John Buck
7 Fish 14.55 lbs
3rd Place
Dave Dyess
9 Fish 13.41 lbs
4th Place
Kevin Simmons
8 Fish 12.47 lbs

Place Name Fish Weight
1. Frank Kelly 9 14.88
2. John Buck 7 14.55
3. Dave Dyess 9 13.41
4. Kevin Simmons 8 12.47
5. Jere Jaillite 6 11.61
6. Tony Boyett 7 11.05
7. Mack Cramer 7 10.85
8. Lee Brannon 6 9.71
9. Dan Nash 6 9.09


*** Tournament Big Fish ***
Jere Jaillite
3.79 lbs


Also Fished
Donnie Lewis
Guest:
David McDaniel
Place Name Fish Weight
10. Dave Bock 4 8.47
11. Jeff Weaver 6 6.87
12. Buddy Yates 4 6.63
13. Don Jahnke 3 6.57
14. Jim Bailey Sr 3 5.14
15. Ron Bridges 3 3.47
16. Bob Hanson 2 3.17
17. Pete Potter 2 2.03

TOURNAMENT REPORT

Lay Lake
October 24-25, 2009
Lower Dam Landing

October is the tournament we look forward to the most in our club. It is our annual Fish-off tournament and is always a 2 day event.
This year we fished Lay Lake, and all had high hopes of great fishing there. Someone forgot to tell Mother Nature about the great fishing and she dumped a lot of rain on us and brought in a cold front. The water was already muddy due to rains in the northern reaches of Alabama and Georgia and the additional local rain and cold front did not help. There were a few places to be found that held clearer water but they were few and far between. We had 19 members and one guest fishing. Jim Bailey somehow talked his son-in-law to fish with him.
Hope you had a good time David, we enjoyed you fishing with us.

Mack Cramer and I drew out as partners and we elected to take his boat. Mack being the sportsman, gave me the front of the boat the entire tournament because I was in the hunt for the "Fisherman of the Year" honors. If anyone has ever fished with Mack they already know what I am saying when I say that it is always fun to fish with him, and this time was no exception. We started off in a little cove that I like, and immediately
I caught a keeper on a worm and shortly after another. We really thought we were on to something. NOT!!! The next 3 hours gave us no more bites! We left and ran back to a place where Mack likes to fish and found many shad but no bass that would bite. Near noon we worked out to a main creek body and were fishing a grassline when schooling fish came up in the middle of the channel. We motored to them and in a short time each had limits in the boat. We caught them mainly on lipless crankbaits and 300 series bandits in shad colors. This lasted for about an hour then they quit and we never really saw them again. We were happy we had a limit each given the conditions we had experienced all day.

At the scales for day one Jere Jailitte took the first day lead with a nice bag weighing 10.79 lbs. He also had the lunker for the day at 3.79 lbs.
John Buck was 2nd with a limit @ 10.42 lbs. 3rd place was Frank Kelly with a limit @9.96 lbs. In 4th was Tony Boyette with 5 fish @ 8.49 lbs.
The stage was set for a "barn-burner" finish for end of the year honors as Jere Jailitte, John Buck, and Lee Brannon were all 3 grabbing for the top spot. The top 3 places have bounced around several times this season, and it has stayed close all the way to this final tournament.

Saturday evening has become a traditional steak cook out for the Hawg Hunters. This year was terrific!! We got some great steaks from Apple Market in Pensacola. (Special thanks to you folks there for the great steaks!) Lifetime member Pete Potter offered the use of his house to host the event and it was perfect. Pete, all of us thank you for your hospitality and your efforts to make our tournament a great time for all. Also a special thank you to Dave Dyess for taking care of all the arrangements with the food etc. Dave you did a great job also.

Sunday morning we were greeted with a light frost and clear blue skies and brisk winds. Needless to say we all agreed that it would be a tough day. Ha! We were right! Mack and I ran to a grassline near deep water, and immediately he boated a nice keeper. Once again we thought we were onto something…WRONG!!! We fished all over the area for the next 4 hour without a keeper. We decide to make a last stand on the main lake and throw some deep crank baits on the bluff points. We had 2 hours left in the tournament. We started at my favorite cove and Mack immediately caught his 2nd keeper of the day. Shortly after that I caught a nice large mouth (2.96 lbs). Finally a keeper fish! As we moved down the lake to another point I managed a 2nd keeper and that was it for us. Mack and I each had 2 keepers in the boat and that was it.

At the final weigh in there were sad faces because the fishing was tough for everyone. Frank Kelly took the win with a total of 14.88 lbs to win the Fish-off! Frank found a pattern and stuck with it and made it work. Great win Frank!! John Buck took 2nd with 14.55 lbs and also won Fisherman of the Year. 3rd place went to Dave Dyess @ 13.41 lbs. 4th was Kevin Simmons @ 12.47 lbs. 5th was Jere Jailitte @ 11.61 lbs. 6th was Tony Boyette @ 11.05 lbs. 7th was Mack Cramer @ 10.85 lbs. 8th went to Lee Brannon @ 9.71 lbs. 9th went to Dan Nash @ 9.09 lbs. 10th went to Dave Bock
@ 8.47 lbs. Then lunker for Sunday was a tie with both Jim Bailey Sr. and John Buck @ 2.96 lbs.

This was probably the worst performance we have had as a club at this lake, but with the weather conditions I guess it wasn't all that bad.
No matter, we all had a fun time and enjoyed the fellowship. A special thanks again to all who helped in any way to make this weekend
a great trip for the club.

Next month starts our new tournament season so now is the time to get busy and make your plans to be there. Also remember that dues are due at the November meeting and because of holidays, both the November and December tournaments and meetings are moved forward by one week.
Check your calendars and check the website! Let's all join in and support our new eboard and the club in general as we start our new season
and try to make the new season our best ever!!


Keep Your Hooks Sharp!
John