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John's Journal... Entry 146, Day 2 KING CAT TOURNAMENT Ricky Crider's Big Fish EDITOR'S NOTE: Chester Bumgardener, 52, from Huntingdon, Tennessee, has been fishing for cats for 45 years. He and his partner Ricky Crider won the 2002 King Cat/Boatel Tournament in May on the Tennessee River's Pickwick Lake on the Mississippi/Tennessee/Alabama border. QUESTION: Ricky, what was the biggest catch you
caught today? QUESTION: Why did you think a cat would hold that
deep? QUESTION: How deep of water were you fishing?
QUESTION: What did you think when the fish bit?
Did you know had a good one? QUESTION: Did he flip your drag? QUESTION: What kind of rod and reel did you use?
QUESTION:
What brand test line did you use? QUESTION: How long did it take you to get that
big cat up? QUESTION: So he came up rather easily? QUESTION: When you catch catfish in water that
deep do they usually come up easier than when you catch them in shallow
water? QUESTION: All right, so you've got that big catfish
in the boat. Tell me about the next fish. QUESTION: And how much did that cat weigh? QUESTION: Is that the biggest cat you ever caught?
QUESTION: How big is the biggest cat you ever
caught? QUESTION:
In other words, fishing on these ledges for cats is like fishing for crappie,
right? QUESTION: Have you ever fished the spots before
that you fished today? QUESTION: Do these sites generally produce catfish?
QUESTION: So, if you have high water in the spring,
especially after a big rain and a big flood, you believe that the upper
lake is better than the tailrace lake downriver? QUESTION: What bait seemed to be the best today?
What did the fish keep biting? QUESTION: With how big a shad were you baiting?
QUESTION: Were you rigged the same way as your
partner? What do you think helped you guys catch that many big catfish?
QUESTION: Usually catfishermen or any other types
of anglers will develop a pattern over certain water depths. But you guys
caught catfish from 30- to 50-feet deep. Why do you think the fish were
that scattered in that big of water depth? QUESTION:
And they were on wood today? QUESTION: Were they holding behind the stumps?
QUESTION: Why did you win? QUESTION: During high-water conditions, will the
main lakes provide better fishing than your tailrace lakes because of
the water moving through? QUESTION: Why did you choose to fish closer to
the dam more than upriver? QUESTION: So being short on gas was the winning
strategy today? Contact Ken Freeman at the Botel, (731) 925-4787, Highway 128, Botel Road, Savannah, TN 38372 to learn more about the catfishing opportunities at Pickwick Dam. To learn more about fishing below the dam at Pickwick, contact the Hardin County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau at info@tourhardincounty.org, call 731-925-8181 or 800-552-3866, or visit www.tourhardincounty.org. Pickwick Landing State Park offers fishing, boating, hiking, camping, swimming and golf. Lodging includes the lakeside inn with over 100 rooms, cabins that sleep eight and a campground that contains 48 sites with grill and electric/water hookup at each site. A restaurant at the park offers delicious southern cuisine. Call 731-689-3135 or 800-250-8615 to learn more. TOMORROW: THE CATFISHING COUPLE
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Check back each day this week for more KING CAT TOURNAMENT ... Day 1 - Chester Bumgardener's
Winning Tactics
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