Sounds like you all had a good morning while it lasted ! I had plans to go Turkey hunting , but decided not to because of the storms moving in . I didn't have a partner for Watkins Mill , or I would have fished it .
I cleaned mine and Birddog's and only had one female out of 40 fish. That 14 incher was a big male. Enjoyed meeting the folks that showed up. If you're good with a fillet knife even the 7 inchers can provide a bite or two. The fish will definitely be moving to the bank this week. I caught all mine on a blue and white tube jig. I avoided the typically good spots for the first hour or so to let the guys competing have at it. You might be surprised by the catch if you give it a go this week. The population is changing slowly. We collected more fish over 10" last year than in any year since 1991. Harvest is the key. Let's keep it up. Thanks again.
We caught 4 or 5 females, 2 were over 11". We caught them in 26ft of water about 15ft down. We didn't find them until 9:30. Some on minnows and some on brown and green tubes.
Feel the thump, hear the drag.
"GET IT IN THE BOAT"
I just ate a couple of those 7"ers along with a couple bigger ones. They all tasted the same to me. We caught all of our fish in the cove just north of the swim beach. They seemed to want minnows better than jigs Saturday. I fished from the bank the Sunday and Wednesday before the tournament and hammered them on jigs and roadrunners. The warm weather moved them from the middle of the cove Sunday to right on the bank Saturday.