Percy Priest March 20 & 22

March 20 and March 22

Well, this will be a two for one report. I launched at Percy Priest at 9 am on Thursday to check out my boat and do some pre fishing before our club tournament on Saturday. I fished square bill crankbaits, DT 6, lipless cranks and a chatterbait with no bites. I hit several spots fishing shallow to mid depths. I also fished a finesse jig with a smoke colored grub on the bluffs. The water temp was 48-53. Finally around 1:30 pm I figured out a little deal, catching a keeper on a mojo rig with a centipede. Quickly caught another and then lost one. Mmmmm. Pulled out about 3:00 pm. 

Saturday...tournament time for the Cumberland Bassmasters. My boatmate for our tourney is Omar De Jesus, an excellent fisherman. We expected a crowded lake and got one. A BFL tournament out of Fate Sanders sent out 70+ boats. There were at least 30-40 boats out of our ramp, Long Hunter but Priest is a big lake and we found places to fish. We hit a small island down lake with cranks and spinnerbaits. Omar finally picked up a nice 16 1/4" bass on a spinnerbait. Headed over to a pocket near sailboat cove where Omar picked up a couple of more keepers on a Shad Rap. I am feeling a bit neglected by now and can't buy a bite. Went to couple of more spots near Smith Springs but no dice. We then headed for my ace in the hole, the cove to the left just past the Hobson Bridge going north. I finally caught a 16 1/2" keeper on the mojo rig with a centipede. Lost a couple of more. Next spot was an island near Four Corners Marina where we found a small group of fish. I caught 3 more and Omar got another. He kept the Shad Rap working while I continued with the Centipede. We migrated to a bank of shallow rocks again near Four Corners. With only 6 minutes left and a 4 minute ride to the ramp I made one last cast and hooked my final fish to make a limit.

Tyler had asked that each of us bring in a fish or two for a group picture to cheer his grandmother who is quite ill. Tyler was in first place with 13+ pounds and also had the big fish with a 4 1/2+ bass. I finished second with 8+ pounds and Omar was first in the non-boater category. It was really a nice day on the lake.