[bassfinder]

The second stop on the Fishers of Men Central Texas Trail will take us to Lake Buchanan on February 28, 2009. The spawn should be heating up, and Big Buch’s big bass will be on the minds of every team flipping, pitching and cranking this 22,000 acre-lake.

Recap of the First Stop – Lake Stillhouse Hollow
Coming off a big win on Lake Stillhouse Hollow, was the team of John Guerra and Paul Stokes of Temple, Texas. They brought an impressive 26.62 pounds to the scales, including the big bass of the day, weighing in at 9.37 pounds. Finishing second with 18.89 pounds and a 6.21 kicker was Chris Clements of Cedar Park, and Charles Gerhart of Salado, Texas. Taking third place was the Texas Boat World fishing team of Ronnie Trower of Harker Heights and Jeff Pritruca of Copperas Cove. They managed a limit weighing 16.42 pounds with a 6.28 pounds large mouth bass to finish there great day on a windy lake. Dave Titus and Bill Shellnut of Copperas Cove had second place big bass of the day with a 7.94 pound large mouth. Great job to all of you! Leading the Youth/Adult category after the first event is the team of Glyn and Joseph Kennedy of Round Rock, Texas.  The Male/Female team of Earl and Leisha Loggians are back on top in their category as well.

Weigh-in and Boat Check Information for Lake Buchanan
We are excited to be back at Hi-Line Lake Resort. They will be the official lodging for FOM and weigh-in site. They are located at 1106 Hi-Line Drive in Tow, Texas; (325) 379-1065, www.hilinelakeresort.com

With the low lake conditions, their ramp is not in the water and it is suggested that you use Paradise Point or the Burnet County Ramp. Neither is far from the resort, where we will do the live well, safety check, and release boats at safe light Saturday morning.

Pre-Tournament Meeting Information
The Pre-Tournament Meeting will be held Friday, February 27, 2009, starting at 6:00 PM Hosted by The Highlander Restaurant in Burnet, Texas at 401 Buchanan Drive. The phone number for directions is (512) 756-7401.

Registrations will be accepted at the following locations until Wednesday February 25, 2009, 6:00 PM:

Sportsman’s Warehouse-3202 S. I H 35 - Suite 500
Round Rock, TX 78664 (512) 218-8880
Fish Finders Marine-1101 N. Industrial Blvd.
Round Rock, Texas  78681 (512) 248-8348
Texas Boat World – 303 W. Central Texas Expwy,
Harker Heights, TX 76548 (254) 966-9151
The Highlander Restaurant - 401 Buchanan Drive
Burnet, TX 78611 (512) 756-7401

You can also register online with a credit card at www.fomcentex.com

Any mailed in entrees must be post marked by February 20th 2009

Late registration will be at the pre-tournament meeting starting at 6:00PM. Please note there will be a $25.00 late fee.
Don’t forget you can “WIN MORE MONEY in a qualifying Triton from Texas Boat World!  http://www.fomcentex.com/texas_boat_world_promo.htm
There is also some big cash for Qualifying Nitro Owners too. More Details to come. https://www.fishingtourrewards.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.Nitro
You can contact Cliff Brown at Texas Boat World for details. Texas Boat World is now an Official Nitro Dealer.  Call Cliff at (254) 699-9151 or online at www.texasboatworld.com

We want recognize our LOCAL sponsors and ask that you give them an opportunity to earn your business: We have links to them at www.fomcentex.com. Texas Boat World, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Hill Country Bible Church NW, Geneva Tackle, Georgetown Shirt Company, Kistler Outdoors, Animal Customs, American Rodsmiths, Rudy’s Country Store and Bar-B-Q, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Kinami Baits, Sebile Lures, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Smart Shield Sun Protection, Sure Life Products, The Highlander Restaurant
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fine companies that make Fishers of Men possible; Triton Boats, Mercury, Strike King Lure Company, Markel Marine Insurance, Solar Bat, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Power-Pole, Kistler, Berkley, Keelshield,

 

[Ranger_R77]

With the low lake conditions, their ramp is not in the water and it is suggested that you use Paradise Point or the Burnet County Ramp. Neither is far from the resort, where we will do the live well, safety check, and release boats at safe light Saturday morning

With the lake nearly 15 feet low, this would be a good time to invest in a good lake map and/or fishfinder/GPS with lake maps builtin.

Hi-Line Resort is located on the West side of the lake, towards Tow. The Paradise Boat ramp is the best on the lake, but parking is limited. This boat ramp was the last one remaining the last time, Lake Buchanan got real low. So there is plent of water. It is a couple miles by land from Hi-Line Resort.

Burnet County Boat Ramp is on the East side of the lake. It too has limited parking. Loading and unloading, can be tricky if you do not have a keel guard. There a lot of shallow rocks under the water, along the bank. This ramp is the best to reach mid and lower end in a hurry. There is not problem with underwater trees, rocks, etc until you get on the upper end of the lake IMO. If boating from Burnet County ramp,  Hi-Line Marine is a long ways by car. By boat, it is a 20-minute run. I should say, be very carefull and stay in the river channel marked on the GPS or buoys. Never try and run fast outside them, unless you know where your at..

I would not make a big deal about this, except everytime I am out there I here that someone has hit something...Even my friend Brooks, who is out there today...hit twice in he boat....and he fishes every week!

Be Carefull and Safe....

Robert


HI-LINE RESORT:
http://www.hilinelakeresort.com/

PARADISE POINT BOAT RAMP:
http://www.rickransom.com/maps.htm

BURNET COUNTY BOAT RAMP:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/buchanan/access.phtml


LCRA ONLINE BUCHANAN MAP:
ZOOM IN....once you download this PDF file.
http://www.hilinelakeresort.com/

 

[Ranger_R77]

I hope the weather is calm in the morning you'all!

Good Luck!


Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. North northwest wind between 5 and 15 mph.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49. North wind 5 to 15 mph becoming east.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to between 15 and 20 mph

NOAA DIFFERENCES HAVE AMONG THE MODELS IN TIMING
OF COLD FRONTS EXPECTED FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, ALTHOUGH THEY WERE MUCH LESS IN THE CURRENT RUNS THAN IN PREVIOUS RUNS. OUR TIMING REFLECTS AN AVERAGE OF THE MODELS. AN UPPER TROUGH TRAVERSING THE PLAINS STATES FRIDAY WILL DRAG A WEAK COLD FRONT INTO NORTHERN PARTS OF THE AREA LATE FRIDAY MAKING FOR A SLIGHTLY COOLER DAY
THERE. THE FRONT STALLS FRIDAY NIGHT AWAITING THE PASSAGE OF ANOTHER UPPER TROUGH SATURDAY. THIS WILL SEND A STRONGER COLD FRONT THROUGH THE AREA SATURDAY.

Sunrise Times for Saturday Feb. 28th, 2009:

Twi A: 5:40am
Twi N: 6:08am
Twi: 6:36am
Sunrise: 7:00am
Sunset: 6:30pm
Twi: 6:54pm
Twi N: 7:22pm
Twi A: 7:50pm
Moonrise: 8:43am
Moonset: 10:23pm


SunriseSunset.com
Definitions


Civil Twilight
Civil twilight is defined when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon. This is the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient, under good weather conditions, for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished; at the beginning of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible under good atmospheric conditions in the absence of moonlight or other illumination. In the morning before the beginning of civil twilight and in the evening after the end of civil twilight, artificial illumination is normally required to carry on ordinary outdoor activities.

Nautical Twilight
Nautical twilight is defined when the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon. At the beginning or end of nautical twilight, under good atmospheric conditions and in the absence of other illumination, general outlines of ground objects may be distinguishable, but detailed outdoor operations are not possible, and the horizon is indistinct.

Astronomical Twilight
Astronomical twilight is defined when the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon. Before the beginning of astronomical twilight in the morning and after the end of astronomical twilight in the evening the sun does not contribute to sky illumination; for a considerable interval after the beginning of morning twilight and before the end of evening twilight, sky illumination is so faint that it is practically imperceptible

 

[Ranger_R77]

Current Lake Buchanan Saturday forecast, as of Thursday at 9pm....

Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 86. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 48. Windy, with a north northeast wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to between 20 and 25 mph. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. Windy, with a north northwest wind between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph


[highlight]LATE FRIDAY NIGHT TO EARLY SATURDAY MORNING...A STRONG AND FAST MOVING COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS...BRINGING STRONG NORTH WINDS...CONTINUED VERY DRY CONDITIONS...AND DAYTIME HIGHS SATURDAY 20 TO 25 DEGREES COOLER THAN FRIDAYS HIGHS. NORTH WINDS OF 20 TO 35 MPH...WITH GUSTS NEAR 40 TO 45 MPH IS POSSIBLE IN WAKE OF THE COLD FRONT SATURDAY.[/highlight]

 

[Robby Crabb]

Sounds like it will be an ocean out there, everyone be careful

 

[JUSTINFISHER]

Especially if you will be running towards the dam. It gets really shallow in the middle of the lake in some places.

 

[Ranger_R77]

GOOD LUCK AND BE SAFE. WATCH OUT FOR THOSE SHALLOW AREAS AND TREES IN ROUGH CONDITIONS.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 58. Windy, with a north northwest wind between 20 and 30 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.

Tonight: Clear, with a low around 30. North northwest wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to between 5 and 10 mph. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph


URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
[highlight]138 PM CST FRI FEB 27 2009[/highlight]

138 PM CST FRI FEB 27 2009

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
138 PM CST FRI FEB 27 2009

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 6 PM CST SATURDAY...

.A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND MOVE SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS TONIGHT. A RE-ENFORCING SURGE OF COLD HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE AREA ON SATURDAY. NORTHERLY WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED ON SATURDAY. WINDS WILL SLOWLY DECREASE SATURDAY EVENING.

 

[Ranger_R77]

UPdate to the latest weather conditions on Lake Buchanan today.



At 2:53pm winds N 21 G 28 Fair and Breezy

At 1:53pm NW 22 G 36 Fair and Breezy

At 12:53pm N 25 G 33 Fair and Breezy

At 11:53am N 22 G 37 Fair and Breezy

At 10:53am N 22 G 33 Fair and Breezy

At 09:53am N 22 G 32 Fair and Breezy

At 08:53am N 18 G 31 Fair

At 07:53am N 12 G 22 Fair

At 06:53am N 12 G 23 Fair

At 05:53 N 12 G 21 Fair

 

[Ben_S]

I hope everyone comes out ok

 

[vinceismyhero]

Anyone know what it took to win? Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this but I personally think it was stupid to not postpone this tournament.

 

[Bryan Thompson]

I think it was about 22 pounds to win.

Really no reason to postpone, we were allowed to trailer, and the lake wasn't that bad. It was a little wet, but take your time and be prepared and there was no reason you couldn't fish out there today. It really was no where near the worst conditions most have endured.

 

[518SVX]

Tough conditions on Buchanan for FOM but Jeff's rule change to take off at 7a from any ramp and last cast at 2:30p so you could trailer to weigh in was a BIG help. I'm sure it prevented more than one potential accident. The wind was brutal but fortunately the temp was bearable. I fished solo since Shakeyheadworm was unable to make it. I managed a few bites but nothing I could take to the scales. I definitely need to spend more time on Buchanan. Would love to hear how the winning team caught their 22 lbs! I can tell you where they DIDNT fish! ha

 

[vinceismyhero]

25-35 mph north winds with gusts over 40 on a lake that runs north and south with very little north bank to get out of the wind is just plain retarded. That lake is really dangerous right now without the wind. To me it is a no brainer...safety first. I just hope nobody tore up their boat or got hurt. I think FOM really dropped the ball on this one

 

[cma521]

i do not see how they dropped the ball. they let you trailer. most will not do that if it had stayed a numbered take off, i would say they could have done better, but they gave everybody an equal oppt to catch fish. i have fished a lot of tourneys where the conditioned sucked as bad and worse than today and having to run 20 miles to where i located fish. to me it is part of tourney fishing.

 

[Andy Nuyen]

It was a little breezy out there for sure, but conditions were not that bad if you had common sense.  Jeff and crew did a great job with the trailering adjustment and made it fair for everyone.  

Just like last year the weather came in and blew out a lot of spots, we managed to squeeze in one practice day last Sunday and found a good bite down near the dam (emphasis on the word "a").  With the wind blowing out of the north we decided to not make the run for our 3.5 pound dam pattern and save that fish for next year...y'all better watch out!

A couple of the TTZ guys practiced Friday and I can tell you Buch can be a great place to fish, even for anglers not too familiar with the lake.  I think both teams had 19-21 lbs with the big fish right at 7 lbs.  I also heard there was a 10 lber caught yesterday during practice as well.

Congrats to those in the money, some good sacks brought in despite the weather. See y'all on LBJ.

 

[Kped]

25-35 mph north winds with gusts over 40 on a lake that runs north and south with very little north bank to get out of the wind is just plain retarded. That lake is really dangerous right now without the wind. To me it is a no brainer...safety first.  I just hope nobody tore up their boat or got hurt. I think FOM really dropped the ball on this one

IMO- Jeff and his crew made the right decision to allow the teams to launch where they feel comfortable and allow trailering to weigh in. It is my responsibility for my safety. I simply could not have fished it, but planned accordingly.  Jeff's decision was the safer alternative  .

Even though the lake is N to S there were areas on the main lake that were managable even in the gusts.

Navigation was not a problem, a little common sense mixed with some lake knowledge, adding a pinch of caution, you will be fine.  For peeps first time on the lake, well, I'm sure they didn't wander to far.

North end of the lake was not bad until you got to Tow (one of our areas) - that area was pretty much tore up with waves.  Turned the prefishing water color from an "off color" to chocolate milk.  Then we could see a mudline extending down the lake - looked pretty cool.  Heard the south end by the dam had some rollers (as expected) so I'm sure plenty of teams could not fish the waters they really wanted. We stayed north of Garrett Island so that's all I can personally attest for.

As btmsbass mentioned, there have been worse conditions we've fished in the past w/o cancellations/postponings.  I'm just glad there was no rain associated  ;D. Even if there was, I still would have fished it.  I prepare accordingly for each event and I don't let Robert's weather forcasts intimidate me.

64 teams showed up and fished- Congrats to all teams and props to Jeff and his crew for the decision to launch where we please and the option to trailer in.

Forresults...    
http://www.fomcentex.com/tournresults/2009/buchanan02-2009/buchanan02-2009results.pdf

http://www.fomcentex.com/

kp

 

[Ranger_R77]

I don't let Robert's weather forcasts intimidate me.

KP,
I just post the NOAA reports. I would have fished it...Just like warn those about the forecasted conditions. I fished a tounament on Fayette a couple weeks ago in 30mph. It always is good to be prepared and have another game plan. I suggested pre-fishing it, just to learn the lake hazards.

I have fished in a lot worse conditions. Glad to hear everyone used caution and were safe.

Congrats to the winners. It did not sound as bad as what the weatherman forecasted. Glad to see you fished it.  

Robert

 

[jsfengine]

As everyone Knows the weather was bad blah blah blah blah. Hats to the FOM crew in changing the rules, great job at the last minute and made the whole day alot safer for all the anglers.

As for being stupid for going and fishing if that is your opinion that is great but the other anglers and I on this website think that this is the greatest sport. I fish whenever I can and will do so for the rest of my life, so a little bit of wind is not going to stop me from doing what I love. I don't think that it would have been the right thing to postpone this T because it really wasn't that bad. FOM has safety first and always do but the good thing is that people that stay home because of a little wind give me a better shot to cut a check. So for that thanks you. ;D

As for me and my partner we had a great day, we pre-fished Fri and had a great sack and great pattern. We were so worried that the cold front and all the wind was going to change the whole thing and all we could do is hope that the fish just stay the same. The cold weather was here and so were the fish we had a limit by 8:15 and were looking for one big fish. We did not catch another fish until 1:45 and that was the one that we needed, and I think she was close to 5 lbs. All of the fish were caught on blades and cranks.

 

[Fishless-N-Austin]

Hey Vince....I think you need to re-think yourself before you go and spout off stuff like that. My partner and I were thankful for the decision that Jeff made. No one wants to see someone tear up their equipment or injure themselves. I am sure it was a no-brainer to Jeff/FOM to allow us to trailer and be honest with take off/last cast.

 

[vinceismyhero]

I don't need to re-think anything Fishless-n-Austin. I am simply voicing my opinion just like the rest of you are. If you think the wind wasn't that bad then go fishing. My personal opinion is that the lake conditions were bad enough without the wind and the weather just put it over the edge. I know there are alot of very pro-FOM guys on here and saying something negative about would probably not go over well but it is the truth. I know alot of other anglers who feel the same as I do. Jsfengine, I'm glad you caught fish...good for you. I never said anything about the fishing being bad...I caught plenty of fish myself. There are always those who are going to fish no matter the conditions and more power to you. I just think the rest of the field shouldn't have to follow suit. Remember guys, not everyone has a big boat to navigate safely.