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| FishTails |
Locals Take Top Honors at Summersville
By Chris Lawrence
If fishermen could create a perfect day to fish by picking certain conditions off a shelf and molding them into
the day, the end product would probably bear a strong resemblance to the May 12th West Virginia Bass Federation
Buddy Trail at Summersville. Atmospheric temperatures were in the 70's, heavy cloud cover loomed for the morning
launch with a strong chance of rain, the water temperatures hovered around 72, and fish were observed in and out
of the spawning beds.
However, even the best laid plans of mice and fishermen can often go astray. Despite what would appear to be ideal
fishing conditions, the lone negative was that the tournament site was the fickle waters of Summersville Lake.
On a perfect day, "bass lockjaw" can be at epidemic proportions for those who are unfamiliar with the
nuances of the Nicholas County bass. It stands to reason that locals tend to do quite well in nearly every tournament
on the water.
"You have to adapt." Says Summersville angler Brad Backus.
Backus and partner Dave Martin did adapt to bring 13lbs 4oz to the scales in the upper parking lot and take top
honors.
Some anglers grumbled about the slow bite. Others lamented being tortured by big bass that could clearly be seen
in shallow haunts.
"We found a limit of fish." Noted Morgantown's Jim Matuga, "But we simply couldn't get them to bite.
We'd raise them and they'd look at the bait without biting or they'd hit short and miss the hook."
"We had the same problem," says Martin, "When we'd raise them on something, I'd immediately toss
in a black four-inch Powerworm and catch 'em."
"I hear a lot of guys complain about how tough it is at Summersville," says Backus, "But I've fished
all over the place and we still catch as many or more fish in tournaments here than anywhereelse."
Backus says the key to success in the state's largest lake is to know what to do, what adjustment to make, and
when to do it.
"Anybody can be a good fisherman at Summersville, but you HAVE to adjust. I saw 20 to 25 guys out there fishing
a northern river pattern. I knew they weren't going to beat us because, this ISN"T a northern river."
One of those key moves that Backus normally recommends is heading up into the river. Although he didn't take his
own advice-it didn't seem to cost him.
"We caught all of our fish in Battle Run, the main lake, and up McKee's Creek. We caught fish everywhere and
we culled some. Heading to the river can be a gamble. Sometimes you can go up there and get into a pile of fish.
You'll catch 25, but only two of them will be keepers. But, if you go up there and get in the right position you
may only catch five-fish, but two of them will be four-pounders."
Years of fishing at Summersville and many shots at trial and error helped Backus and Martin know what to do.
"We caught 'em on everything, all kinds of plastics."
Most anglers found fish using flukes or lizards. A few topwater bass were also active early in the day. The patterns
however was definitely to find bedding fish and key on those bedding areas. Brian Stephenson and Rick Notthingham
worked a similar pattern to find eight-fish and take second with 11lbs 1oz.Steve Groves and Bart Backus also found
a limit of bedding bass weighting 10lbs. 14oz. Len Lanham and Bill Kennedy had another strong showing in fourth
place and Mike Menarchik and Ken Bragg rounded out the top five.
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| Winners of the May 12, 2001 WVBF Buddy Trail Summersville Tournament
Brad Backus and partner David Martin carefully prepare to bring their limit of 13lbs 4oz to the scales. |
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| These kids got an up-close view of the careful conservation efforts
practiced at the weigh-in by WVBF Conservation Director Jim Summers. 193 fish were caught during the event and
189 were released alive. |
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| WVBF angler Kevin Goff pauses at the staging tank while waiting to
weigh in his and brother Mike Goff's bag of 7 bass weighing 8-09. The team took 9th place at the Summersville event
May 12, 2001 and also won one of the $100 random drawings. |
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| WVBF angler Len Lanham shows off one of each (Largemouth and smallmouth).
Lanham and his partner took fourth place honors in the WVBF Buddy Trail Summersville Tournament May 12, 2001 with
7 bass weighing 10-08. |
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| An unidentified WVBF angler shows his nice Summersville smallmouth. |
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| WVBF Conservation Director Jim Summers releases a nice load of keepers
following a dip in the salt brine solution. This practice aids in the survival rate of tournament-caught bass following
the weigh-in at the WVBF Buddy Trail Summersville event May 12, 2001. |
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| Monte Kreps and Scott Phillips on their way to a 16th place finish
at Summersville on May 12, 2001. |
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| Many of the 69 boats entered in the WVBF Buddy Trail Tournament May
12, 2001 at Summersville Lake weighed in fish on a beautiful saturday afternoon near the Battle Run Ramp. |
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| Several WVBF fishermen wait patiently at the staging tank during the
weigh-in at the 2001 Summersville Tournament on May 12th. Buddy Trail participants are reminded that only the special
WVBF weigh-in bags are to be used to ensure healthy, live release of the bass caught. |
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