2009 Regional

[dashaver63]

Yep, you guessed it, the regional for the Michigan Division next year is back at Fort Madison. Thats according to the FLW website. I enjoyed my trip there last year. I'm thinking I might just try to fish 4 (not Cheboygan) next year to try to qualify to get back there.

[Jighead]

 

That's great news!  Call me crazy, but I really enjoy fishing there.    I haven't done well come tournament days, but I welcome the chance to try it again.  It's one of those rare places that leaves me wanting to fish it more rather than go home at the end of a bad tournament.  I can't wait to get back there.

It will be interesting to see how much the flooding this year changed the log jams and downed trees in the Burlington area.  I'm sure things will look a little different next time around.

[skeeterman190]

Ive never seen the place in my life and have no knowledge about it but im fishing the whole BFL circut next year so im gonna look into it. but i feel alot better about my chances there then the reports i heard from Cherokee. I knew those guys were in for a surprise! I had talked to a guy and he told me that lake would be 20' low! My good friend TCOOK informed me i was right. I heard about all the painful days down there, resevoirs are a bummer!!Come on river fishing and big bucketheads shallow im already pumped!!!-skeeterman- (they should have a regional up our way.BURT MULLET. Heck id go with Vermillion or something like that!)yeah its cold but man do the fish bite!

[Stretch MFD]

I would rather go back to Cherokee than go back to the Ole Miss.  Cherokee was challanging, but I really enjoyed myself down there.  I might even go back next year just for a fun trip.

Larry

[skeeterman190]

 I wasnt there so i cant speak too much but i was informed everyday what was going on! im sure its a good fishery!  ill take the ole miss anyday over what i heard! I was told i could prolly catch fish there but??  It sounded tough! I think with fresh vegetation and some kinda pattern(other then bluff banks w/buzzbaits and floating docks) we could all compete.-skeeterman-

[tubejig]

I got to pre-fish with the hopes competing. I wasn't on a ton of fish but thought I could put together about 10 pounds a day were I was fishing. On the day of the meeting I went out in the morning to check a few more spots and blew my power head. It was beautiful place to fish and the people in Tennessee were very nice, but it was a long drive for a free Ranger hat. I guess I'm happy to have made it considering something went wrong motor wise for me at every tournament this year. To hear we're going back to Fort Madison next year kind of stinks. I would love to be going to Kentucky Lake or some place like that. I also wish we went some place other than the same old big water over and over. Looks like I'm going to need all winter to fix my stuff. Looking forward for deer hunting and then spring!!! Take care!

Jeremy

[Dan]

I have a Cherokee Lake article just about ready to post on my teardropbass.com website. I'm out in Lake Tahoe. I flew in yesterday to visit my son. I don't have my laptop but am using his PC. Hopefully, he can get my files I brought off my iPod so that I can edit the article and post it while I'm here. I printed a paper copy of the article and edited it on the plane so it's pretty close to going up.
As you'll read in the article I probably won't fish another regional. The cost/reward ratio is just too steep. You should have a week to prefish and then you're shaking the dice. Spending all that money to travel is just not cost effective for me. I'm thinking more of cutting my tournament activities way back. I have a truck camper I bought just so I could pull my boat and fish some waters I've always wanted to fish. I am going to do more fun fishing that way next year.
With all the fabled bass water around why come up with Regional Lakes like Cherokee and Fort Madison which aren't totally obscure lakes, but they're not in the top ten bass lakes that people talk about. What's wrong with Kentucky Lake, Dale Hollow, Wheeler, Guntersvilee, Pickwick, Erie, Thousand Islands, and the list could go on. I see there are those who like Ft. Madison, but again if I'm going to spend considerable dollars, and then hope to draw a good boater, I'd at least like to be on some fabled bass waters. If I were younger and had the dream of becoming a tournament angler maybe Ft. Madison would be a test. I'm not and it isn't. Just my opinion and it doesn't count for much.

[dashaver63]

The thing about Fort Madison that I really liked was that it was some of the best frog fishing I have ever had. The down side to it was that once you get out of the main river channel, you have about 3 or 4 feet of water, and that stretches for hundreds of yards, if not more. No real shore cover with deep water adjacent that would hold any kinds of numbers, accept for the biggest pad field I have ever seen. I just have to wander how the flooding this past summer there affected it.

[Flippin222]

It's hard saying what will happen with the flooding. I mean the river floods out every year, but not quite like this past year.

I have been told that the year after the flood of '93 the fishing was terrible and it took several years to begin to make a comeback.

[skeeterman190]

 Well lets hope that isnt the case in 09 after the flood. the fish are there somewhere! they dont just dissapear. well sometimes i think they do! pad fields huh?? sounds like frog Nirvana. Dan i completely understand what your saying. me myself i am a young angler(25) and have dreams of never going to my job ever again..(if i had one right now!) its a long tough road to go down but it is possible! money is the ruler of all-skeeterman-

[Jighead]

It's hard saying what will happen with the flooding. I mean the river floods out every year, but not quite like this past year.

I have been told that the year after the flood of '93 the fishing was terrible and it took several years to begin to make a comeback.

The nice thing about next year is that the Elite's and the Stren will be there in '09 and should do a good job of re-stocking the Fort Madison area