Ramey wins fall event on Lake Wappapello

John Ramey won the Bass Busters of Southeast Missouri bass fishing tournament on Oct. 16 at Lake Wappapello.

A severe cold front made locating and catching bass very difficult. Ramey, of Cape Girardeau, used a run-and-gun approach to catch his winning bag of bass. He quickly covered high percentage fall areas and caught a few aggressive fish in each area. Ramey used Lil' Hustler Spinnerbaits and Bandit 100 series crankbaits to get the job done, both in typical Fall shad patterns. His fish were all relating to shallow wood cover in the backs of the creeks.

Mike Woods of Jackson took second place and also took big bass honors for the event. Woods spent the day using a different approach. He fished several key areas thoroughly, missing first place by a mere seven ounces. Woods also chose the backs of the creeks and shallow wood cover. He made multiple passes through his areas using Lil' Hustler Spinnerbaits and a white Southern Pro Flipping Tube. His big bass was on the tube and was relating to a dock support cable.

Both anglers reported few bites and tough conditions. The weather was sunny and cool with north winds at 15 mph. Temperature at launch were 48 degrees with a daytime high in the mid-50s. The water was 8 inches above summer pool, stained and 60 degrees.