On Saturday, April 9, Miami Whitewater Forest Lake was the site of the first of six 2016 Bass Series tournaments. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was not very kind to the teams that took to the water at 7 a.m. They were greeted with a low temperature of 26 degrees, 15 mph SSE wind and spitting snow.

By 1 p.m. it had only warmed to 39 degrees, but the lake was on fire! The anglers crushed it. Eighteen of the 22 teams weighed in a total of 108.47 lbs of largemouth bass. Ten bass weighed in at more than 4 lbs, and Brad Whitaker caught the biggest bass of the day, which tipped the scales at 5.59 lbs!

Jamie Rains of Cincinnati and his partner Nate Fields of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, won the tournament with a five-bass limit that weighed 15.62 lbs. They caught the fish on Chatter Baits and tubes. They collected $514.50 in Great Parks prize certificates and very nice plaques for their win. Mike Hoefker and Brian Short of Oxford, Ohio, finished second with 14.55 lbs, winning $367.50 in Great Parks prize certificates and plaques. Brad Whitaker and Brian McLucas finished third with 10.82 lbs, winning $220.50 in Great Parks’ prize certificates and plaques. Brad was also awarded a gift certificate to Hamilton Bait & Tackle for catching the biggest bass.

Congratulations to all who braved a very cold spring day and were rewarded with some awesome pre-spawn bass fishing on what is proving to be one of the top bass fisheries in southwest Ohio. For a very good chance at catching a trophy largemouth, you need to get to Miami Whitewater Forest within the next week. There will be a full moon on April 22, and the bass will no doubt be locked on beds by then.

Good luck!

Neal Ramsey, District Recreation Manager