MOULTRIE – Colquitt County bass fishing coach Will Stuckey has sent his Packers out in plenty of less-than-ideal conditions the last three seasons, but Saturday’s weather at Lake Oconee was pretty frigid.
“When we took off down the lake, it was 30-31 degrees,” Stuckey said.
But the four of the six Packers twosomes overcame the cold and muddy water to weigh fish, including the tandem of Jake Wilkes and Joseph Johnson, who’s 10 pounds, five ounces qualified for the state tournament.
Wilkes and Johnson, who finished 17th among the 255 boats who took to the water on Saturday, join the Packer team of Jacob Brightwell and Hardin Roberts, who qualified last month at Lake Seminole.
Two more qualifying tournaments – at West Point Lake on March 18 and at Lake Hartwell on April 15 – are on the schedule before the May 20 state championship tournament at Clarks Hill Lake.
Stuckey is looking forward to taking his young fishermen to West Point.
“You usually can catch some fish there,” he said.
Also weighing fish for Colquitt County were Chaz Odum and Ethan Slocumb, who caught three fish weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces; Owen Croft and Levi Griffin, 5 pounds, 13 ounces; and Hayden Hamm and John Davis Summerlin, 1 pound, 9 ounces.
Also representing Colquitt County were the teams of Bay Ricks and Zach Faircloth and Trysten Johnson and Gage Raynor.