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Lake Anna Lake Report fore July 2014 by Chris Craft

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Lake Anna Lake Report fore July 2014 by Chris Craft

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CCBASSN GUIDE SERVICE is offering an EARLY BIRD TOP WATER TRIP for the months of June, July and August on Monday, Thursday and Friday only . These trips will be 3 hour outings for 1 or 2 anglers and will be TOP WATER only. The rate for the EARLY BIRD TRIPS are $125!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .BASS– Most of the bass in the lake have made their move to deeper water for the summer in the Mid and Down lake regions. Look for them on deep brush piles, bridge pilings and rock piles in the middle of the day. Early and late in the day, some of them will move up to feed on the many bait fish pods in the lake, but the majority of them will stay in deep water and feed. You can catch them on crankbaits, Texas and Carolina rigged plastics and Shakey Head plastics. One of my favorite crank baits is the Luck E Strike Rick Clunn Freak. This shovel lip deep diver will get to its maximum depth faster than any other crank bait that I have thrown.This is the time of year when up lake can be great for the early top water bite. Look for fish to be around the Willow Grass and on long shallow points. Cast Damiki MTB Buzz Baits to them and hold on!!! The last week of June my clients and myself caught five fish over 5 pounds, 6 fish between 4 and 5 pounds and countless fish in the 2- 4 pound range, ALL IN 9 HOURS OF FISHING!!! Once the top water action has slowed down, start looking for the thickest Willow Grass you can find and boat docks. Start pitching 1/2oz jigs and creature baits. Fishing gets slow when the sun gets high in the sky, but it can be very rewarding!!!! Fish Tales has the only line up of Damiki Baits in the area! They have every color in the MTB Noisy Buzz Baits in both 3/8 and 1/2 ounce. The NEW AIR FROG is getting some attention from me and a few other anglers as well. This unique Buzz Frog is larger than most frogs that folks are using on the lake. It measures 4 inches long, is approx 2 inches wide and 
1 1/4 inches thick. It is about 3 inches or so wide at the paddles, what this translates to is……….. BIG BAIT = BIG FISH!!!! 

The Air Frog has a hollow body with a foam insert, so it can be fished with a twitch, twitch, pause cadence! The best hook to get the job done is the Owner 6/0 Beast hook. 

In addition to the Buzz Baits and Air Frogs, they also have the D-Pop popping bait and the Rambler walking bait. Stop on by Fish Tales and get a demo from me and see them in action for yourself. 

 

STRIPER- The Lineside’s are headed in FULL BLOWN SUMMER pattern NOW. You can find them feeding on the surface early in the morning from the 208 bridge up to Stubb’s Bridge on the Pamunkey arm and up to the Holiday Bridge on the North Anna arm. Popping baits, Walking baits and soft jerkbaits are all great choices. My favorite is a Cotton Cordell Broken Back Redfin. Just wake the bait under the surface and hold on, the strikes are usually very violent. After the morning feed is over, look for them with your electronics. Once you find the school, you can catch the by vertical jigging Toothache Spoons, Damiki Vault’s and Damiki Vortex Blade Baits.

Trolling is also in FULL SWING. Deep Diving Redfin’s with a bucktail trailer, DD22’s in Chart/Blue back and BPS LEC15’s in Chart/Blue and XXX Shad are all great trolling baits. One little trick that I do with the DD22’s and LEC15’s are to add a “FLUKE KILLER” bucktail trailer to them. The “FLUKE KILLER” is a weightless bucktail with a spinner blade in front of it.

Live Bait is also working well for the anglers wanting to fish that way. Store bought large or jumbo shiners will work but, the native bait in the lake will be a better choice if you can get up early enough and throw a cast net. Go to Stubbs Bridge, 208 bridge or Holiday Mill Bridge and hang a lantern to attract the Blue Back Herring to it. Remember, that as the water temps get warmer, the striper will “GIVE UP THE GHOST” rather quickly. Once you have your limit (20″ minimum- 4 per person) PLEASE DO NOT not continue to catch and release them. Even though they may swim off right after the release, most will dye for the stress of being caught.

CRAPPIE- The Specks are in their summer haunts at this time. Look for them under deep boat docks, around bridge pilings and brush piles. Small minnows rigged on jig heads or slip bobber’s will be your best bet to catch a cooler full of these tasty morsals.

Lake Level– Full Pool

Water Temps
Dike 3- 84-88 degrees
Mid lake- 83-86 degrees
Up Lake- 84-88 degrees

Clarity
Down Lake-  Clear
Mid Lake- Mostly Clear
Up Lake- Moderate Stain

 

 


Chris Craft
CCBASSN Guide Service
www.ccbassnlakeanna.blogspot.com
[email protected]
540-894-6195
540-895-5770
540-895-5900 ext5

TEAM LEW’S PRO STAFF
www.lews.com

NORTH ANNA BAIT COMPANY PRO STAFF
www.northannabaitco.com

PAYCHECK BAITS PRO STAFF
www.paycheckbaits.com

BULLDOG CUSTOM RODS PRO STAFF
www.bulldogrods.com

ARSON JIG’S PRO STAFF
www.arsonjigs.com

IZORLINE INTERNATIONAL PRO STAFF
www.izorline.com                                        

EYE SURRENDER PRO STAFF
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This Weekends Weather for July4th – July 6th, 2014

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This Weekends Weather for July4th – July 6th, 2014

 

Weather Provided by Weather Underground

Get outside and enjoy the weekend.

 

Lake Anna

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Smith Mountain Lake

Screen Shot 2014-07-04 at 11.22.22 AMClarksville VA – Buggs Island

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Double Fluke Rig (How To) By Gene Jensen

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Double Fluke Rig (How To) By Gene Jensen

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Take a listen as Gene shows us how to tie the Double Fluke Rig. A great tip for beginners as well as those who have been fishing for a long time

The Most Interesting Men In The World … Choose A Rod Well Traveled – St. Croix Rods

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The Most Interesting Men In The World … Choose A Rod Well Traveled – St. Croix Rods

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The Most Interesting Men In The World … Choose A Rod Well Traveled

St. Croix Rod succeeds in building the world’s finest travel rod: Legend Trek

Park Falls, WI (July 2, 2014) – Long before TV’s white-bearded cerveza pitchman became a pop culture icon, auteur-anglers Ernest Hemingway and Zane Grey were The Most Interesting Men In The World.

And, if Hemingway and Grey were alive today, fishing and arm-wrestling their way around the globe, St. Croix’s NEW Legend Trek Series travel rods would perfectly complement their rucksacks filled with half-emptied bottles of Château Mouton-Rothschild, Romeo y Julieta cigars, Moleskin diaries and Montblanc pens.

It’s no stretch to imagine “Papa” leaning over a Bimini bar: “I don’t always travel to fish, but when I do, I carry my own St. Croix Legend Trek.”

Truth is, retailer rod racks are overrun with technique-specific rods of all size, shape, description and price point. Yet, good luck finding a travel rod that so fully and completely excites you, it becomes the very impetus for travel. Not to say that you have to travel to fish them. Our guess is you’ll use the Trek every chance you get.

Simply, St. Croix’s Legend Trek is the finest travel rod ever built—exactly the combination of artistry, form and function that – until now – discriminating fresh and saltwater anglers have only imagined. 

For starters, the St. Croix Legend Trek fishes like a one-piece rod, thanks largely to slim-profile ferrules that not only reduce weight but add loads of strength where and when it matters – like standing in the surf and launching baits into Neptune’s big guns.   

“We challenged our team to build the very best travel rod we could make,” said St. Croix Vice President of Brand Management, Jeff Schluter. “We combined all of our most sophisticated technologies and materials and brought them into the travel rod product category with the intent to build the rod every serious traveling angler has been asking for.”

Schluter continues: “What emerged in Legend Trek is a rod series that is stronger, lighter and more sensitive than rods built with standard tapers and resins. They’re built on high-modulus/high-strain SCIV graphite blanks using our Integrated Poly Curve® (IPC®) tooling and proprietary Fortified Resin System (FRS) technologies, so they represent the very best of what we can do. Each rod is further strengthened with Advanced Reinforcing Technology™ (ART™) throughout the blank. All said and done, Legend Trek is a showcase of what we can do in a category that presents a lot of challenges.”

The components are similarly high-end and 100% saltwater proof, including Kigan® Master Hand Zero Tangle guides with ultra-hard zirconia rings and titanium frames, as well the wind checks and handle trim pieces. And all thread wraps are expertly sealed with two coats of Flex Coat slow-cure finish for beauty and longevity. The Legend Trek models also feature super-grade cork handles and premium Fuji® reel seats with exclusive E-finish hoods.

Choose from eight 3-piece spinning and casting rods ranging from 7 to 7-½ feet in length, all of which pack down to 32” or less. The included rugged carrying case with handle and divided polypropylene liner is short enough to strap to backpacks, fit into a duffle bag, or even hand-carry through TSA checkpoints as a hassle-free carry on.

The St. Croix Legend Trek features a 15-year transferable warranty backed by St. Croix Superstar Service. Retail prices range from $460 – $530.

White beard and savoir-faire not included.

Flow-rite Remote Drain Plug for Boats by: Terry Brown

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Flow-rite Remote Drain Plug for Boats by: Terry Brown

Flow-rite Remote Drain Plug for Boats

by: Terry Brown

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Remembering the drain plug can be a big deal, in particular, if you live where laws mandate removing it when trailering or if your boat takes on water very fast with it removed. Both can be even more crucial in cold water conditions. Being able to get to the plug with today’s high performance boat hulls and larger outboards can be a real bugger as it is normally tucked deep under the transom. Just about every boater at one time or another has forgotten to put the plug in and it can be difficult to get to quickly after launching.

Click Here To Read More

 

2014 Forrest Wood Cup Field Announced – FLW Communications

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2014 Forrest Wood Cup Field Announced – FLW Communications

2014 Forrest Wood Cup Field Announced

The 2014 Forrest Wood Cup field is set. Forty-five anglers will duel on Lake Murray in August for the $500,000 top prize.
 
 
No more bubbles. No more wondering. And for 45 anglers, no more worrying about whether they’ll get an invitation to the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray presented by Walmart and hosted by Capital City/Lake Murray Country.With the conclusion of the Walmart FLW Tour season at Kentucky Lake as well as the Angler of the Year race, all the Cup slots are now filled.The top 35 pros from the AOY race get invited to the Cup; however, Andy Morgan (2013 Tour AOY), Randall Tharp (2013 Cup champion) and Dan Morehead (2013 Rayovac FLW Series Central Division AOY) double-qualified this season. So FLW extended three additional invitations to the 36th- through 38th-place pros. The lucky anglers who gained access via the extra slots are Alabama pro Barry Wilson, local favorite Anthony Gagliardi and Castrol pro Philip Jarabeck.

In addition to Tour qualifiers, Cup spots go to the 2013 Rayovac FLW Series AOYs in each of five divisions, the Walmart BFL All-American champ, the FLW College Fishing national champion and The Bass Federation national champion.

The first angler out of the Cup this season is Luke Clausen, who finished 39th in AOY points. Other noteworthy anglers who barely missed making the Cup are former Rookie of the Year front-runner Shane Lehew (40th), 2007 Cup champ Scott Suggs (42nd), 2009 Cup champ Greg Hackney (45th) and deep-water expert Troy Morrow (43rd).

This year’s field includes five former Cup champions and six Angler of the Year winners. Gagliardi and Casey Ashley are the only in-state qualifiers, while Tennessee leads all states with eight qualifiers.

To see the full list of boater and co-angler qualifiers, with links to their angler profiles, click here. 

Here’s the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup pro roster.

 

2014 Walmart FLW Tour

Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C.

Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C.

Stetson Blaylock, Benton, Ark.         

Scott Canterbury, Springville, Ala.

Jason Christie, Park Hill, Okla.

Ramie Colson Jr., Cadiz, Ky.

Robbie Dodson, Harrison, Ark.

David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va.

Brent Ehrler, Redlands Calif.

Shinichi Fukae, Palestine, Texas

Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C.

Matt Greenblatt, Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Randy Haynes, Counce, Tenn.

Matt Herren, Ashville, Ala.

Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz.

Charlie Ingram, Centerville, Tenn.

Philip Jarabeck, Lynchburg, Va.

Steve Kennedy, Auburn, Ala.

Brad Knight, Wartburg, Tenn.

Jason Lambert, Pickwick Dam, Tenn.

Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif.

Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla.

Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis.

Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn.

Richard Peek, Centre, Ala.

Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark.     

Shad Schenck, Waynetown, Ind.

Spencer Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark.     

Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis.

Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn.   

Austin Terry, San Angelo, Texas

Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C.

Jacob Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind.

Barry Wilson, Birmingham, Ala.

Michael Wooley, Collierville, Tenn.

 

2013 Angler of the Year

Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn.

 

2013 Forrest Wood Cup Champion

Randall Tharp, Port Saint Joe, Fla.

 

2013 Rayovac FLW Series Division AOYs

Tony Davis, Williston, Fla.

Stephen Johnston, Hemphill, Texas

Jeff Michels, Lakehead, Calif.

Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky.

Joseph Wood, Westport, Mass.

 

2014 Walmart Bass Fishing League All-American Champion

Marcus Sykora, Osage Beach, Mo.

 

2014 FLW College Fishing National Champion

Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn.

 

2014 The Bass Federation National Champion

James Biggs, Richland Hills, Texas

 

For more information about the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray presented by Walmart and hosted by Capital City/Lake Murray Country, visit ForrestWoodCup.com

U.S. Angler’s Choice – Potomac River – Leesylvania State Park 6/29/2014 Final Results

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U.S. Angler’s Choice – Potomac River – Leesylvania State Park 6/29/2014 Final Results

Potomac Winners

1st Place Frank Poirier and Tom Leary

2nd place Potomac2nd Place Chris Stanley and Donald Green

Click Here To See Full Results

Clear skies and very light winds greeted 18 teams on the Potomac River for the 4th stop of the Richmond Marine Centers US Anglers Choice Virginia Division. With the days weather expected to be hot and sunny everyone was excited to finally have a “normal weather day” for one of our events. This time the forecast lived up to its hype it was an excellent day on the water and everyone caught fish. The Potomac River has been fished to a froth over the recent weeks, with BFL events and the recent FLW Rayovac series on the river just a few weeks ago. Not to mention fishing on a Sunday presents challenges of fishing pressure from Saturdays anglers. Most teams were able to figure out how to catch fish but only a handful got a big bite to make the difference.

In the end it was the team of Frank Poirier and Tom Leary who topped the field with a winning weight of 13.60 lbs. The team reported catching their fish on soft plastics and top water frogs. The team had a big fish that anchored their catch of 4.92 lbs that Leary caught on a frog. According to Frank, Tom told him early in the day he was going to catch a big fish on the frog and he produced. That fish along with the others netted the anglers winnings of $1,020 for their catch. Congratulations.

Finishing in second place with a winning weight of 13.25 lbs was the team of Chris Stanley and Donald Green. Chris and Don caught their fish on swim jigs in and around grass all day to secure their catch. Water depth of less than 4 feet seemed to be the key to their success. For their efforts the team took home $539.

Rounding out the top 3 was the team of Mike Hicks and Keith Lupo with 5 fish weighing in at 12.46 lbs. Hicks and Lupo caught fish throughout the day on wood cover grass and pads. Hicks stated they caught fish in plastics, crankbaits and chatterbaits for their weight. This is the teams 2nd top 3 in four events and puts them in a good position to make a run at the point’s championship for the season.

Big fish honors for the event went to the tram of Ken Pressley and Jeff Salmon. Pressley caught the big fish on a topwater frog in the pads over about 3 feet of water. The team’s big fish weighed in at 4.99 lbs and helped the team take home $180.00 for their catch.

The Virginia Division also offers the Missile Baits “Boost Award” to the team that finishes the first spot out of the money in each event. The Missile Bait “Boost Award” winning team for the Potomac River event was the team of Ken Pressley and Jeff Salmon with a total weight of 12.22 lbs. The team will receive $50.00 in Missile Baits products of their choice. Congratulations!

For the event, we had a total of 86 fish brought to the scales for a total weight of 179.94 lbs for an average of 2.09 lbs per fish. With the water temperature ranging from 81-88 degrees, the river is producing fish in post spawn summer patterns.

Richmond Marine Center’s AC Tournament Trail Virginia Division could not exist without great sponsors. We would like to thank Richmond Marine Center for logistics and organizing the set up and take down for the event. If you are looking for a new bass boat or need service on your current rig, give Ben Gibson a call, they will take great care of you and your equipment.

A big thank you goes out to Hopkins Gun and Tackle located in Mechanicsville, VA for the awesome weigh-in trailer that provided us protection during the terrible weather conditions. If you have not visited their store, make plans to do so soon. They carry everything a bass fisherman could want and need for their tournament success.

We would like to thank these other great sponsors, Missile Baits, ALX Rods, Optima Batteries, Jethro Baits, Lowrance Electronics, All Terrain Tackle, Propeller Dynamics and Sqwincher.

AC Tournament Trail National Sponsors: Legend Boats, Mercury Outboards, Motorguide, Rayjus, SolarBat, TFO Rods, Lunker Lure, Fishidy, SureLife, EGO S2 Slider and Bass Tackle Depot.

Our next event will be on James River August 9th launching from Osborne Park Landing. If you have questions about the upcoming events or the tournament trail, please feel free to give me a call. Jeff Salmon 804-221-7653

Trokar TK 130 Flipping Hook Review By Bobby Saffel

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Trokar TK 130 Flipping Hook Review By Bobby Saffel

Trokar TK 130 Flipping Hook Review By Bobby Saffel

Flipping, pitching, and punching are three techniques that are not for the faint of heart. They requires a strong reel, stout rod, big line, and a hook that can pull a small car. The Trokar TK 130 Flipping Hook is a must if you plan on being in a close quarter fight with big bass.

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One important feature on the TK 130 is the welded eye. Most people use braided line for the three mentioned techniques and with braid, the line sizes are much smaller than the equivalent monofilament or fluorocarbon sizes. If the eye isn’t welded shut then the braided line can slip through the small gap in the eye and become costly.
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Another important feature is the bait keeper. You’re going to have a stressful day if your bait is slipping down the hook every other cast. The TK 130 has a tough mold plastic keeper on the hook. This keeps the top of the bait up at the eye hook and makes sure you get a solid hook set. I personally have yet to move the keeper from its original location on the hook shank.
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As with all the Trokar hooks, the hook point is a super sharp three sided design. The manufacturing process of these hooks is the same as in the medical field. The point also has a beefy barb that really bites. Several times there has been a need to use pliers to remove the hook from the roof of the fish’s mouth. The hook is heat treated to make the hook stronger, but not brittle. The hook will flex if need be to keep from breaking off and losing the fish. In my experience it takes a lot of force to bend these hooks.

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In today’s market, most companies charge you six or seven dollars for a pack or four or five hooks. That adds up fast. Trokar TK 130 comes in a four pack for $6.99, however, you can buy a bulk pack of 15 hooks in select sizes for $14.99. This drastically reduces the price per hook. The TK 130 comes in sizes 3/0 through 7/0 with 4/0 and 5/0 being my most commonly used sizes for beavers, craws, and brushhogs.

I hope you get a chance to wrestle big bass with these hooks. They’ve become a staple in my bass fishing arsenal and hope they become part of yours. You can purchase these hooks and other styles of Trokar hooks at Tackle Warehouse and most local tackle stores.

SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT July 2014 By Captain Dale Wilson

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SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT July 2014 By Captain Dale Wilson

SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE FISHING REPORT
July 2014
DALE WILSON’S
SML GUIDE SERVICE
PHONE NO: 540-297-5650 / 540-874-4950
www.captaindalewilson.com

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OVERVIEW: The hot days and increased boat traffic make for tough fishing conditions. Water temperature will be in the 80’s. Most species of fish will feed at night , early morning and late afternoon this month. Fishing for stripers should improve.

 

Largemouth Bass-Fishing will be fair. Best lures will be Carolina rids, crank baits, large Tevas rigged plastic worms, jigs, top water lures and shakey heads. Most largemouth bass will be caught on ledges, points, humps, brush piles and deep docks. Largemouth bass will also feed at night when the shad come shallow. Most shad will finish spawning this month. Best depths will be from the surface to 25 feet deep. Bass will continue to feed on top water this month.

Smallmouth Bass- Fishing should be fair. Best areas will be humps, ledges and main points. Best lures will be jig & pig, top water lures, hair jigs and crank baits. Best areas will be in the mid to the lower sections of the lake. Most smallmouth bass will start to feed in open water on shad this month. Cloudy days are good times to try your luck! Light line and smaller lures work best most of the time.

Striped Bass- Fishing will be good. Stripers will be caught in the mid to lower sections of the lake
and the larger creeks. Best lures will be Alabama rigs, swim baits, buck tails, and Zoom flukes fished with 1/2 to 3/4 oz. lead heads. Live bait will also be productive. The best depths will be from the surface to 50 feet deep. Try to find areas with the largest concentrations of baitfish. Night fishing will not be very productive.

Crappie-Fishing for crappie will be poor this month. They will be found 10 to 25 feet deep this month. Best areas will be in the main creeks around docks, fallen trees, and brush piles in the mid to upper parts of the lake. Small live minnows and 1 ½ to 2 inch tubes or shad shaped plastic lures fished on 1/16 to 1/8 oz. lead heads will work best to catch crappie this month. Fishing around lights at night will be productive.
TIP OF THE Month: Try fishing early morning, late afternoon and at night. Make sure you leave your running lights on at night. Please practice catch and release. Remember to always wear your life jacket and attach your kill switch. Warmer water temperatures and heavy boat traffic will make fish feed more at night this month.

Leesville Lake Tournament Trail results – June 29th 2014

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Leesville Lake Tournament Trail results – June 29th 2014

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We had 23 boats at Leesville on June 29

 1st Place-Jerry Rice/Robert Reynolds-5 fish-13.18 lbs.

 2nd Place-Tim Goff/Larry Witt-5 fish-12.92 lbs.

 3rd Place-Kenneth Sterne/Nathan Reeves-5 fish-11.82 lbs.

 4th Place-Ed Smith/Butch McMurray-5 fish-10.50 lbs.

 Big fish of the day-Gene Reed-a 6.82 lb. largemouth

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