Fishing Tournament MS Delta Style
As I’ve mentioned in an earlier journal entry, one of the ways that I get my outdoors fix during the summer months is fishing some of the outstanding Delta lakes in search of game fish. Field Staffer Britt Goodman’s future in-laws, Eddie and Angie Flowers, own a nice cabin on Lake Chicot which is a Delta Oxbow lake just across the Mississippi River Bridge in Arkansas. All the field staff guys like to brag about their superior fishing skills so we arranged a MS Delta Ducks Staff fishing tournament at Lake Chicot for the weekend of June 2-3. The bragging rights were at stake.
I was teamed up with senior field staffer, Garrett Holland, and we decided to do a little pre-fishing on Friday afternoon to scout out some potential hot spots for the next morning’s duel against staffers, Britt Goodman and Jack Edmonson. We fished around some docks mixed in with cypress and experienced some late afternoon success with the biggest take weighing in at 4 lbs. We caught six solid fish, and I felt like we had a good plan for the next morning’s showdown. We met at the dock at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, settled on the rules and struck out on our fishing odessy. June is a prime month for bass fishing in Delta Lakes. Garrett and I were optimistic that we would end the day with a limit of fatties.
It was a cool Delta morning at about 58 degrees, which provided ideal temperatures for the fish to be aggressive. Garrett and I located one of our spots from the afternoon before, and as I settled in the trolling motor, Garrett hooked the first spotted bass before I could even get a cast off. It weighed about 2 lbs. We trolled along and spotted a school of bass along some rocks. I flung a top-water bait out to where the fish had been popping the surface. Gave it two jerks and boom, hooked the second morning’s fish also in the 2 lbs range. We kept throwing our worms against rocks and under docks, catching our first five fairly quickly. When working aggressive feeders, I like to cast to the top of the rocks where the fish are holding and work down the edge with short jigging motions.
We were still searching for that one big bite that I knew we were going to need. With only about 9 or 10 lbs, I wanted a 4-5 pounder to put us on top. We had enough time to get the monster bite since it was only about 8 a.m. We tied on a bigger plastic brush hog hoping to find the heavyweight. We fished hard for the next three and a half hours catching about 20 more 2 lbs fish. 11:50 a.m. arrived, and we had to go weigh in and see who the champs were. We arrived back at the dock, and the intensity started to build. And then I caught a glimpse of Britt and Jack’s fish. Their fish were smaller than ours except for one. I looked at the catch closer and knew that it was going to be tight but felt like they had it. We weighed all the fish and were separated by 1 lb with Britt and Jack winning the bragging rights. I am competitive to the core and don’t lose easily. It was a fun morning, and the MS Delta boys had a blast. I encourage you to fish some of these nice Delta lakes.
No trip to Lake Chicot is complete without a dinner in Lake Village at the Cow Pen. In 1976, the Cow Pen restaurant was created from a converted old cattle inspection station, and a Delta dining tradition was born. Our dates joined us, and Meagan, my new friend, got to meet the gang. Britt’s girlfriend, Mary, and Garett’s friend, Hilary, rounded out the party. The Cow Pen is renowned for its steaks, seafood, and Mexican and Italian dishes. We all opted for a steak and one of their great salads. We listened to a live band and did a lot of catching up. A great Delta weekend in this flatland that I call home! And Meagan just might be a keeper. She’s up to meet the Greenwood family next. Stay Tuned.
