We are just about two weeks from our first tournament of the year. I can already feel the cold of the morning launch chilling me to the bone, and the tug of an early morning bite. The end of February always has the potential to produce heavy limits of fish as the bass begin to feed up from their winter slumber, but the biggest catalyst in this concoction of anglers and bass will be nature itself. February could potentially present us with a taste of Spring or remind us of the harsh reality, that it’s still Winter.

Typically during the month of February, the water temperature on Cherokee Lake will fall somewhere between the mid 40’s and 50 degree mark. Last year the February Cherokee tournament, was won by the team of Ron Poss and Steve Legg. The team of Poss and Legg kept the entire field in check by bringing 5 fish each to the scales. Ron and Steve’s 10 fish weighed in at 23.8 lbs., a dominating 12 lb. advantage over the 11 lb., 2nd place team, of Nave and Nave.

Only 3 limits of fish were brought to the scales for the 2013 tournament and the majority of anglers brought 1 or 2 fish to weigh-in. Most anglers reported catching their fish on slow moving baits, such as small jigs or worms, with a few caught on crankbaits and jerkbaits.

Look for the team of Ron Poss and Steve Legg to be the odds on favorite again this year. With their knowledge of the reservoir and previous results, they will be tough to beat. We will likely be greeted by cold temperatures, so start praying now for a nice warming trend during the week of the tournament.