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This 6th event for the ECRC saw the largest field since the season kick off and with teams reporting good catches during pre-fishing, the anticipation was high. At take off it was obvious that every team had a plan, with boats scattering from West to East to nearly straight South. Either dodging rain storms, grinding through rain or watching (or ignoring) the lightning was the rule of the day for the 27 teams working the Panama City waterways. During the days prior, several teams reported catches of up to 30 fish a day, with several fish in the 'target' range over 24". But, as many teams would soon find out, the fish had other ideas this day. Even some of the local teams were finding their fish either very picky Saturday. The fish seemed to be where they were supposed to be, but the incoming weather or the dropping barometric , or the typical Saturday lock-jaw or whichever excuse your team prefers, it seemed to come into play this day. Jimenez/Smith reported angling their school of fish to pull a 29 then a 28 and futilely chasing the large school of fish with nothing but lock jaw to show for it. Curtis and I managed to see and estimated 50 tailers, with only one even showing moderate interest. Most teams reported similar reactions to their offerings at fish that seemed hungry enough to eat walnuts just a few days ago. But local knowledge and a well initiated plan proved vital for Snapp/Adams, who not only took home top honors with a fantastic weight of over 12 pounds, before a penalty for a deceased fish, they also took home top honors for largest single fish at 6.7 pounds. Next largest single fish was boated by Clark/Spikes at 6.06 pounds helping them into 3rd place, just under Madison/Phillips with their 11.64 pound aggregate. Overall fish average was around 4 pounds, with only a handful of fish over 5 pounds weighed. The trout bite seemed to be written on the same page. There were a lot of dinks reported, but most teams missed the mark. That mark was set by Lipscomb/Heard at 26 ¾". Early this year, that fish should have weighed nearly 7 pounds, but in July she weighs just under 5. Withstanding her girth, she was still plenty enough for 1st place. Second place trout honors went to Rice/Lovejoy with a 23 ¼" fish. As is the case, not a lot of teams honor-up with their bait of choice, but a quick survey of rigged rods revealed a lot of gold spoons out there. Sometimes the simplest technique is what turns 'em on. Special thanks to Boon Docks restaurant who not only hosted the event and supplied hot treats, also provided a gift certificate to our winning team. Thank you to No Doubt fish rules for honoring every team with a new fish rule, and Connor's Jigs for the latest in crab jigs. I swear I saw guys trading jigs in the parking lot, like baseball cards. Thank you to the other club sponsors: The Ships Chandler, Guideline Sunglasses, and Stick-It-Anchor Pins for supplying our winners with the great donations. Hopefully everyone has the proper ECRC headgear now, and will show it off proudly. If you missed out, or need a spare, contact ECRC while supplies last. Our next event will be held at Hog Town Bayou on August 29th. Feel free to contact the ECRC Staff for further information. We'll see you then!!! |