Lake Lanier Bass Fishing Tournament 2007 Results

    The third annual Lake Lanier Bass Fishing Tournament was postponed one week from May 5^th until May 12^th 2007.   The tournament is normally the 1^st weekend of May, but heavy rain and thunderstorms caused the delay. 

    There were ten boats registered by the 8 PM Friday Deadline. The "all artificial lure" tournament started with high expectations at 7:30 AM Saturday.    The goal for each boat was to catch four bass over 12 inches long, one big fish and a stringer of three.  If the fish had known these rules and the fact that they would be released, they may have cooperated. 

    My partner Daron Strub caught Bass on his 1^st three casts near the Watson Wall.  Two were under the minimum length.   We fished around the point, under boathouses  in front of  the dam, up to the Silo, producing just one more small fish.  So off the third basin and up the creek we went.  We missed one keeper bass near a brush pile  and found that the weeds had overtaken the creek bank.  On the launch ramp side of the third basin,  we connected with a few more fish, but one barely over the minimum length.  We saw a school of a dozen "Lunkers" but determined them to be grass carp.

    At the channel, we met  Bob Justzi, Maggie (subbing for Mike Wiley) and Ed Justice’s two boats.  They had the same small fish story, most under the minimum, except Bob.  Bob had hooked a big one on “buzz” bait, but it danced on the water and spit the hook. He estimated it as five to six pounds.

    As there was no large bass at the high noon weigh-in, so we adjusted the prize money.  Bill Jones and son Hunters three bass were one pound and fourteen ounces.  Ed Justice and Charlie Miller’s threesome were almost the same weight.  These two teams each took home $40, the top prizes.  Daron and my stringer weighed one pound ten ounces, so we received $20.   

    Additional teams included Bob Justzi  and Maggie, Rupert and Penny Hodges, David Stone and Brandon Justice, JD Watt and Scott Hopkins, Scott Owens and Joel Wilson, Dick Locke and John Houle, plus Rappy Williams and Mark Kerhulas.   There are large bass in Lake Lanier, they just chose to not participate in the tournament.

    As they say, a “Bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work”, this was true as all had a great time.   Mark your calendars for the 1^st Saturday of May 2008 for the fourth L.L.B.F.T.          

                                            Good Fishing,   Stu Davidson

   The rules, results and photos of this and past years tournaments are the Internet, click here.

Click on a picture to enlarge it.