A foggy Lake Cypress proved to be a challenge for some teams but coupled with the unseasonably warm weather, lack of rain, low water and weeds growing at an alarming rate in the lake had many teams looking for answers. As usual some figured it out and made the right decisions on were to start and what to use which resulted in more than half the teams coming to the scales with a limit of bass. The others reported catching a lot of smaller bass and the usual war mouth perch, pickerel and large mudfish to keep the day interesting. The twenty-two teams who made the trip to Lake Cypress Access Ramp were very happy to be fishing on such a nice day in the middle of winter when their relatives and friends up north and out west were experiencing such a horrendous day of freezing temperatures and icy conditions. There were some unexpected problems as Rick and Joe Jenkins experienced some engine difficulties at the ramp but they quickly fixed the problem and continued to fish the entire day. Only three of the twenty-five teams did not make it to the tournament; we hope Jack Spradling is feeling better and will be back with us soon, Don Hinman and Ken Winter will be done hunting deer soon, and our newest team of Michael and Justin Cunningham could not attend as a new family member (baby) arrived last week.
First place honors go the our President Dwayne Haga and is partner Dave Metzler who made the right decision to go to the south end of the lake and hit the mouth of the canal where they found schooling bass ready for the taking with a rattle trap and top water. Their winning weight of 16.41 pounds was capped by a 5.57 pound big bass that Dwayne caught on a home made creature bait (Stump Knocker Baits) which he was pulling thru the buggy whips and grass.
Karl Kearcher came in a close second with 15.56 pounds of Lake Cypress bass including a 5.27 big mama that narrowly lost out by only three tenths of a pound to the winner. He stayed in the lake all day and used a top water lure to record an excellent bag of bass even though he did not have the help of his partner John Dickenson.
Third place goes to Tim Iler and Larry Cruce with 13.61 pounds who found schooling bass on the south end of the lake and in Hatchneha which they caught with top water as usual. Their bag included a nice 3.55 pounder and four more two and a half pounds to round out a solid limit.
The small creel award goes to the team of Rick and Joe Jenkins for overcoming the engine problems and a tough day.
The next tournament will be at East Lake Toho and we will be launching out of the Chisholm Park Ramp on Chisholm Trail off of South Narcoossee Road as per the presidents choice so check your road maps and be there on January 29, 2017. Good Luck
Lake Conditions:
air temp: 69 to 85 degrees
water temp 70.2 to 72 degrees
wind speed south 5 to 15 mph
barometer steady 30.25
water color clear mostly
