Lancaster County Hawg Hunters Thursday Night Tournament

Hello Folks,

I got the text from Josh around noon yesterday asking me if I would like to fish with him in the Lancaster County Hawg Hunters Thursday Night Tournament. We had fished in the very first one back in June, 2010 and took fourth place.

Josh's usual partner backed out on him and he needed someone to be his teammate. So, I told him I would do it.

We met at the Burger King in Columbia, Pa. at 4:15 p.m. for a strategy supper meeting... LOL! I told him what I thought, "Fast water, Big Fish, Win Tournament!"

We both agreed that we need to find a decent water flow and that would mean finding some moving water below ledges. What we weren't sure of was what lures to toss at the smallies. I had checked with several fishing buddies who I can rely on and they almost unanimously selected the fluke as their Number 1 lure of choice.

I have three crankbait rods and three spinning reels that I carry with me at all times. The three crankbait rods had the following lures tied on... spinnerbait, crankbait, and lipless crankbait. The three spinning reels had tied on... A Winco Custom Lure G & W Krinkle Worm, A Tube, and a Winco Custom Lures River Darter Sr.


The tournament launches out of the lower ramp at Long Level, Pa. We arrived at the ramp around 5:10 p.m. and prepped the boat for launching. Josh backed the rig to the access and I took control of the boat. It's a pretty smooth operation, normally. There was a good chop with white caps on the main lake last night. But I've handled a jet rig for well over 20 years now and can pretty much take control of such a situation. Bouncing all over the place, I cautiously maneuvered the jet rig and picked Josh up at the upriver dock. He took control of the rig and we were set for the traditional 5:30 p.m. blast off.

We got beat up a bit as we headed up river to our fishing hole. The closer we got to the "rock garden" the better the water situation. The NW winds tend to be blocked by the western hillside.

The water was quite clear and had a beautiful green stain to it. The water temperature was in the low 80's. The air temp on my truck thermometer as I drove into Columbia, Pa. was 93 degrees!!

Well, we fished our first area for about an hour without a single hit and decided to move downriver to another one of our favorite spots. Once there, I was able to hook into a 15 1/8th inch smallie that weighed in a 1 lb. 7 oz... Little, but important. The smallie took a 3/8th oz. spinnerbait that I slow rolled on the bottom behind a well-defined ledge.

Weigh-in was at 8:30 p.m. The winning boat only brought in two bass... One LM and one smallie. The weight was a bit over 4 lbs.

We ended up in 5th place and won a bottle of fuel stabilizer for our efforts. Josh had received a bottle of the same stabilizer last week and offered me this one. Thanks, Josh!

Susquehanna Fishing Tackle helps sponsor these Thursday night tournaments and last night was "SFT Night." George Acord from SFT cooked burgers for all participants and had nice cold drinks available. He also brought along some raffle prizes.

Josh won tow rolls of braided line worth close to $50 and I took home a nice SFT visor worth $13... Cool!

A big thanks to SFT for all they do for the anglers in this area and providing such a great time after last night's tournament.

I'll be heading out on the water with my buddy, Dell Jackson, tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. Dell is taking off for the North Branch of the Susquehanna River next week and we wanted to be sure to get on the water one more time before his departure.

Take Care,
Dad