Toombs Lake Dawgs Reel in Top-10 Finish at Georgia Bass Nation Tournament

Courtesy of TCHS

Toombs County High School fishing team of AJ Bagby, 11th grader, and Lane Bagby, 8th grader, weighed in 12.11 pounds to secure an 8th place finish out of 130 high school fishing teams in the Georgia Bass Nation fishing tournament on Lake West Point on Saturday, November 1.

The Lake Dawgs faced tough weather conditions as the first cold front of the year cooled the lake water almost 11 degrees just days before the tournament. The majority of the fish pushed off the bank seeking warmer and more stable water out deep. The lake was also in its annual fall turnover phase. Turnover depletes the oxygen in the water and forces the bait fish and bass to seek cleaner water.

Due to the cold front, the Lake Dawgs decided to target offshore deep water bass as they are not as affected by temperature changes. “The bass that live in deeper water are less sensitive to a cold front. The bass that typically live in shallower water usually push off the banks when the water cools so quickly. We saw the weather forecast calling for 38 degree nights and elected to target fish in the deep timber. The majority of the high school teams fishing in shallow water really struggled to catch any fish. We stayed out in 30-50 feet of water and caught 75 to 80 fish in the tournament,”said AJ Bagby.

“Our key baits were the Homegrown Jigs Boujee Shad, Deps Sakamata Shad and the Burtek Tackle Primus Shad. We fished these minnow style baits on varying sizes of jigheads depending on the depth of the baitfish and time of day. We targeted timber patches that the bass were using to ambush and feed on baitfish. We caught fish all day throughout the tournament and had an absolute blast,” said Lane Bagby.

The Lake Dawgs want to give a special shoutout to some of our key sponsors. A special thanks goes out to Gordy Tire and Brake, Altamaha Bank & Trust, Lassiter Tractor, McLendon Enterprises, Altamaha EMC and McLain Farms for their support.

The Lake Dawgs next tournament is at Clarks Hill Lake on December 13.