Eufaula Results: Mar 20, 2010
Event Pictures
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Chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs weren't the
only baits that were working in the shallows of Eufaula Saturday. They
did, however, seem to be the leading prize earners, as the first day of Spring
slowly rolled in. 63 teams joined together to fish the simultaneous
tournaments of South Georgia and South Alabama.
John Cox and Keith Carson, both from Debary,
Florida, call the Florida Central Division their FOM home, but made the long
trip up to fish Eufaula. John and Keith, the 2009 FL Central Points
Champions had a rough day on their home lake this year, and hoped to finish well
at Eufaula to preserve their shot at the $10,000 Markel National Points Champs
prize. The two had also just come off of a 7th place Pro and 10th place
Co-angler finish a week earlier in the FLW Eufaula event, which Cox lead after
Day 1 with over 26 pounds.
All of that planning took a nasty turn come
Saturday morning. They were set to be boat number 21 at the blast-off, but
never got their scheduled wakeup call, until, over an hour after everyone else
left the basin, Cox stuck his 6-pounder first thing. He was very surprised
and described how she came out of the water when she grabbed the bait.
They had struggled the day before during practice, and had things going their
way with two nice fish being the first ones in the boat.
Cox said they filled the Triton up with gas and
planned to run to every spot they had caught a fish on before. Very
random, and very effective. They mainly fished spinnerbaits, and also did
a little jig flipping, to the final tune of 20.35 pounds, and 200 points towards
the Markel Prize.
John and Keith sized up the field Friday night,
and chose to enter the Alabama South tournament. That turned out to be a
very good decision for Danny and Caleb Hutchinson, leaving the 1st-place slot in
the Georgia South tournament wide open. Danny was feeling pretty good
about the way things were lining up out on the lake, and decided to double down,
entering both tournaments.
The father-and-son team had a simple game plan:
run the trolling motor all the way up into the dirt, and fish as shallow as they
could. Danny started swimming a jig, and his son Caleb tied on a
chatterbait. Danny reported not catching a bass in water deeper than 16
inches in three days, which makes sense, if you've had your MotorGuide stuck in
the dirt. The bass wrangling duo worked the knee deep water all day, and
even after losing two really good fish, sacked up 19.23#s, including their big
fish which weighed in at 5.81.
Their 19 pounds were enough to safely take first
place in the Georgia tournament, and squeezed in right behind Cox and Carson to
cash in on second in the Alabama Division. 2010 is the first season the
Hutchinson's fished with FOM, so the 1st place win is just that much sweeter.
At last count, the team had collected over $1500 dollars. and were still looking
for a few more checks.
Don Stephens and Mike Akers also had a very good
day on the lake, thanks in part to the monster that Mike caught. It would
turn out to be the biggest fish of the tournament, and weighed a whopping 7.27
pounds. They were fishing an area not too far from the marina, and Mike
was throwing his chatterbait in shallow water when it just got drilled.
Mike said that he was babbling so bad when she dropped the hammer on him that he
couldn't even tell Don to get the net, and Don said he wondered for a few
minutes if Mike's heart could take the pressure. He was still noticeably
excited about his trophy, and described the experience with a long 'sheewww".
This made back-to-back 2nd place finishes for Don
and Mike, and has brought them nearly within range for a slot in the Southeast
Regional, even after missing the first tournament. Stephens and Akers also
worked the shallows for their 17.90-pound limit, catching all of their fish in
water less than two feet deep. They filled their limit tossing
spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, but were able to cull two fish later in the day,
flipping a brush hog back up in the creek.
For tournament pictures, event highlights, and the
chance to get in touch directly with the competitors and staff of this and other
FOM tournaments, look them up on Facebook: FOM Georgia South.
FOM Sponsors: Triton Boats, Mercury, Strike
King Lure Company, Markel Marine Insurance, Abu Garcia, Power-Pole, Nester
Hosiery, Marshall’s Marine Lake City SC, Keelshield, Solar Bat, Kistler, Gary
Yamamoto Custom Baits, Berkley, Lowrance, Spot Remover, Stanley Jigs, Jacobs
Glass, Rejuvenade, Dual Pro Charger, MotorGuide, Mizmo Baits, and Keep Alive
Oxygen Infusers. And local sponsors; Masterbuilt Outdoors, Navionics, Big Bear
Rods, Highland Marina, Heath Outdoor Products, and Heat Max, and many others.
