First let me apoligise for the bad mistakes I made last week at the 10th Bassmaster Classic that I was able to attend in Shreveport and Bossier City, La.

But with 22,000 people in the arena hollering and flash bulbs going off, some papers didn’t get the column until up in the day on Monday, again I apoligise.

The Fishermen For the Hungry Tournement on Feb. 28 is past tense now. High winds were blowing and did they blow. First place went to Shane Bush and Craig Reynolds, who had 24.68 pounds, their Big Fish was 6.44 pounds. Chad Prough and Gene Prough came in second with 19.98 pounds. Third place went to Al Cleghorn and Clint Meeks with 18.26 pounds of bass. The rain held off until the weigh-in started, then it started to blow and rain at the same time. Our rain gauge sed 2 1/2 inches. Our neighbors sed 3 inches total. Sunday morning it sleeted about five minutes and there was snow in Enterprise, Ala., lite snow in Macon and some in Dothan.

Sunday morning before daylite, the rockin chairs were all rockin, the overhead fans were turning and getting gusts of very high winds. At one time it blew a trash can across in front of the store here at Wingate’s Lunker Lodge, over the fig tree and into the water.  We got no tornado around us but there was damage done on Frank Brown Road off 97 near the Florida line.

We ran down the story of shockin the big Flat Heads on the Statilia River. The fish had traces of mercury and were hauled off to the land fill and dumped in. Over 32,000 pounds of fish.

Last Tuesday over 230 crappie was taken here at Wingate’s Landing, mostly on minnows but some on Jigs.  The wind is sed to be the one thing that determines whether you catch fish or not. Bass are on beds in many areas. So are the talapia that is as big as the old dining room here. They will take a piece of cut up pond worn and tip their hook with it and use a heavy pole and line. Jerk him straight up and in the boat.

Wingate’s Fishing Report

March 1, 2009

Lake surface temp: 61Lake level: 6 inches downClarity: Some clear, some cloudyFlint: Cloudy to muddyChattahoochee: Cloudy and fastSpring Creek: Cloudy to muddyReport provided by: Jack Wingate