OHMC 45th Annual Summer Contest Results
The 45th annual OHMC Summer Contest was held on July 11th and 12th, 2015 at beautiful Piedmont Lake. We had 55 anglers register and a total of 40 fish caught including 9 huskies. The water temperatures ranged from 74 to 84 degrees while the air temperatures were from 60 to 84 degrees. Most participants came in on Friday or earlier and did some pre-fishing. Much of the talk on Friday evening was centered on what type of jigging would produce the winning combination. Some felt that trolling would be the best strategy, while yet others remained steadfast in their belief that a casting approach would be best.
As the sun rose on a wonderful Saturday morning, the rain from the previous evening had vacated and we were left with bluebird skies to greet us. Registration finished up by 8:00 and many persons headed over to the marina to partake in a buffet breakfast. With full bellies, the boats left the docks and there were fish in some nets within minutes. After completing the cleanup, I approached the dock where my boat was tied up and witnessed a club member fall in the water while attempting to tie up at the fuel dock. Luckily, there was also a marina employee there and soon he and I had pulled the member to safety. Having done my good deed for the day, I felt like perhaps a Karma fish might come my way. Perhaps it will, but not on this trip. I felt fortunate to be able to assist and I know if the tables had been turned that I would have been in safe hands.
We had a couple of new club members that do not have the proper motor on their watercraft to be able to fish Piedmont, but they were interested in attending the event. I coordinated with other club members and found them some seats. This type of kindness by our club members is one of the things that make me most proud to be associated with OHMC (“To promote good sportsmanship and brotherhood among men, women, and children.”). Special thanks go out to the two club members that generously took out two of our newest club members for a day on the water, OHMC Treasurer John Ringenbach and OHMC Member Sam Reichenbach. You both are truly kind gentlemen that I am fortunate to call friends.
The fishing reports on Saturday were mixed with most boats struggling for a pattern, while a couple of boats seemed to be on their game. There was talk of clothes hangers and aliens, questions about the dates on the trophies, Beagles and Dachshunds everywhere you looked, and much laughter. Jerry Rice of CrossBone Baits brought some inventory and there were quite a few other bait deals going on as well. Jerry also serves as our club grill master and as has become customary, he came in early Saturday evening, fired up the grill, and proceeded to serve up some fantastic steaks for our cookout. Members brought spring rolls, freshly cooked corn-on-the-cob, blueberry muffins, banana bread, cookies, cake, hot rigatoni, coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, and several other goodies. Yes, we ate well again!
After dinner, several boats, including myself, headed back into the darkness for a bit of night fishing. Every boat that went out that evening caught fish. The big fish for the event was caught during that time by club member Seth Ferrell. His 48.50” behemoth netted him a cool $230 side pot.
As night turned to daylight, everyone was back on the water and the fishing seemed to improve compared to the previous day. Quite a few members caught fish on Sunday, and the total number of fish reported demonstrates how great the fishing can be at Piedmont. We all assembled on Sunday afternoon for the awards, door prizes, and raffles as well as to see just how many fish the Harmons’ had caught and what type of rod and reel Anna would win this time.
Our raffle winners were as follows; Anna Land won the rod and reel; Rich Daniels won the Lure board, Paul Shepard won the 50/50 ($66), about 30 door prizes were handed out to attendees; and the Grand Prize was won by Marc Arena, owner of Red October Baits.
Our trophies were handed out to the event winners as follows:
First Place: Chad Harmon (30.50”, 31.00”, 32.00”, 33.50”, 35.25”, 37.00”, 43.00”)(60.25 Points)
Second Place: Chuck Harmon (32.50”, 33.00”, 31.00”, 43.50”)(36.00 Points);
Third Place: Rich Welk (42.00”, 43.00”)(33.00 Points)
Anglers that reported fish are as follows:
Rick Simpson (35.50”, 45.75”)(29.25 Points); Phil Cummings (38.75”, 42.00”)(28.75 Points); Fred Lederer (33.00”, 44.50”)(25.50 Points); Loryn Wyeth (37.00”, 38.00”)(23.00 Points); Seth Ferrell (48.50”)(22.50 Points); Ray Elkins (35.50”, 37.25”)(20.75 Points); Elmer McClure (31.50”, 40.00”)(19.50 Points); Carolyn Lent (34.00”, 36.00”)(18.00 Points); Jerry Rice (42.00”)(16.00 Points); Syl Trunkett (39.00”)(13.00 Points); Kevin LaRoche (38.50”)(12.50 Points); Matt Clark (38.00”)(12.00 Points); Troy Oliver (37.50”)(11.50 Points); Paul Shepard (36.00”)(10.00 Points); Jason Chamers (30.00”, 32.00”)(10.00 Points); Tim Smith (34.50”)(8.50 Points); Mike Sandridge (33.00”)(7.00 Points); Kevin Proffit (32.00”)(6.00 Points); Jenna Lederer (31.50”)(5.50 Points)
Thanks to all our trustees for everything you do to make these events go smoothly and thank you to everyone that came out to support our club.
