My Dad

I wanted to write this article as a dedication to my dad "Hilton Sims".

   Daddy was quite a fisherman as well as quite a person. If he was not fishing he was working either on something around the house or at a trailer park that he and his brothers and sisters owned that was left to them after his Mother's death some years ago.
   Dad and I fished together a good bit, mainly on Wedowee which was his favorite lake. We would fish a lot at night and during the colder months and sometimes he would go with me or me with him when it was just plain out too nasty to be on the lake. But he did not want me to go by myself, and I guess the feeling was mutual, he would worry about me or me about him. Now I don't want this story to sound like I am an only child. I have an older brother and younger sister that Daddy was always there for if any of us needed help or were in trouble and he was always offering the advice that we needed to grow into adults. Occasionally, it was with a belt and some attitude adjusting that as a man , well let's just say that I appreciate my raising more now than I did then.

   Daddy taught all three of us not to take anything that was not ours and to work hard for what you got and then take care of it, and you know as kids you don't always do what you are taught, but it will come back as you get older and you began raising your family.
   Dad and I won several buddy tournaments together , including one on Wedowee. One night when I caught 15 or so good keepers and he caught four or five, It was about 11:00 pm. and we were in the big river fishing laydown tree's.  I had cast into one of the tree's and got a bite and missed the fish.  I told daddy to throw in there at the base of it while I rigged another worm, just as I stood up he set the hook and the fish ran out of the tree and was coming to the boat.  I remember it like it was yesterday... he said " I think it is a dink"! I remember looking to my left out toward the main river, and in the bright moonlight a fish jumping what looked to be completely out of the lake and I said " is your fish on the other side of the boat" and daddy said "yeah", I told Dad to adjust his drag so the fish could run.  He said "why?", I told him "Daddy you have got the biggest bass I have ever seen on", he said "how big is it?" , I said you don't want to know, just keep your line tight and get him back over to this side of the boat, and after a couple of minutes the fish made a run back to the boat and came up right in front of Daddy.  I laid the net down under the fish and somehow caught it in mid air, as his hook and sinker went straight up in the air.  I lifted the fish into the boat and I aint kidding , I was going crazy about how big the fish was. Daddy never got excited just telling me to calm down and put that fish in the livewell.  Later that night we weighed in at 48 ramp, we had won the tournament with 5 bass that went 19 pounds, but the truth is all we needed was that fish she went 12.1.
    Daddy caught several big fish that year including a 9.1 and several over 6 pounds, he loved a jig and pig, a big worm rigged Texas or a Carolina rig, but all had to be fished very slowly.  Daddy would go home after we would fish and tell my Mother that I could catch a fish out of a mudhole in the front yard, but I fished way to fast for him, and I gotta' say he fished far to slow for me and somewhere in that mix, he found a guy that fished like he did and I found Glen Hamer, who while our styles differ still compliment each other.  Now we would swap info anywhere and anytime we fished.  I would fish his places and he fished mine and that was okay.  I often knew exactly where he was at and what he was doing and if I was struggling I could go find him and see what he had, and most times he would have a few fish and I be dad blamed if he would tell me that I needed to slow down, you are fishing to fast!
    Daddy's last tournament was on Lake Martin in March about three years ago. Lincoln Bass Club was fishing the lake and Daddy found me and said he was sick and was going home.  I did not think much of it at the time because he had felt bad for a couple of days.  I got home later that evening and went by and checked on him, which was not out of the way since I lived next door and our boats was under the same shed.  Daddy was still sick and somehow we convinced him to go to the doctor. The hospital did some tests and found a tumor on his brain the size of an orange.  From Talladega he was taken to Birmingham and surgery was done.  Daddy kept saying he just wanted to get back on the lake. We kept telling him that he would, but daddy was never able to fish again, and died on June 11. Two days before my birthday.  I won't lie to anyone, I have a hard time going to that cemetery and my eyes are filled with tears as I write this. But I know where my Dad is tonight and it is because of him that I trust Jesus Christ as my lord and savior and just as Daddy said before his surgery, for us not to worry, he knew he was in good hands.
   The moral of this story is we love the sport of fishing, but with the touch of the Lords finger we can loose that or anything in the blink of an eye.  We should use every chance we get to bring someone to Jesus and what better way than witnessing to fellow fisherman!  If you have not told your Mom or Dad that you love them, go do it.   If you have a friend that needs to be in church, go invite them. Remember Christ first loved us and proved it by letting his son die on the cross for us.  If you are not in church, well take this Sunday and go and open your hearts and mind and I promise you will have a new life that is worry free.  At that instant that you take it to the cross you will find the only way to heaven is thru Jesus!
I am not a preacher nor an expert on the Bible, I miss my Dad more than anything I can think of but I get pleasure in knowing that he is in a far greater place than we can imagine and I will see him again one day!

Donnie Sims

Logan Martin 2002-2003

by Donnie Sims

I live on Logan Martin and get to fish quite a bit year round, I am not as good on the lake as some but do have a few places that produce some good spotted bass at times on a variety of baits.
I really like the lake from late September to late spring and catch fish with several small baits. In late summer We will take the spotsticker jighead and skip under the docks or piers and pick up numbers of fish.
In October we start what is phrased as a "Milk Run" hitting 12 or 13 places as fast as we can and will stay on a place as long as it produces, for example , we start on some select ridges and rock ledges with the jighead and worm and work one side of the river and then cross over, we then fish several rock piles in various depths, and then we move to flats with small crankbaits, spinnerbaits and sometimes a buzzbait.
In December to late February we fish the same ledges but slow down and really work the areas good and these places produce our biggest spots of the year and normally we will get 3 to 5 spots over 5 pounds in this time frame and most all the fish come on the jighead light line and finesse worm, we do not limit ourselves to only one bait, we still use spinnerbaits , rattletraps and small crankbaits and they produce also in this time of year.
March is probably the most tricky, at times the fish are stacked on flats and bigger fish can be taken on blades, traps and the crankbaits, but there are some days that they get close to the dropoffs and the light tackle works on these fish and can make a slow day seem real good when you bust a few of those 3 pounders.
I think a fisherman can add a few tools to his arsenal of baits and although he does not use them all the time it is still valuable when it can be used, We would never insult our fellow anglers by saying the jighead and worm is the best way to catch bass but we would rather tell you it is just another way and when used under the correct conditions can be very productive, a fisherman may ask "what is the correct condition" and I would answer " whenever your bite is slow on your favorite baits" give this a try and see if it does for you what it has us. I will not lie to you , you will have to spend some hours fishing the small baits to develop the most productive areas and the number one item you need in fishing "Confidence".
The next time you are on the lake and the bite is slow, try a smaller bait, a slower presentation and if luck is on your side you will find another productive way to catch fish and as always if you need us, We will be on the lake!

As spring gets away and the temperatures start soaring from the 70's to the mid 80's and 90's and some of the fisherman start thinking of either night fishing or sitting around the house in the air conditioning waiting on fall time and deer season to start and others just plain struggle locating bass consistently, we would like to offer you an idea that works for us.  We go out early off the points and ledges and fish the small jighead shallow and pick up some pretty good fish , they will start out feeding in two or three feet of water and as the sun climbs they will get gradually get deeper and by about 10:30 a.m. you start wondering where the heck the bass went and that is when the fun begins. Go and locate you some docks on or off the main channell, team your spinning rod and jighead up with you favorite finesse worm and start skipping it under the shade of the docks or next to the floating ones (shaded areas of course) and you will be pleasently surprized at what you discover. There is no doubt that flipping a jig under these docks will produce fish also but for a lot less work and a bunch of fish later I have more fun with the light tackle and finesse stuff and yes you will lose some fish and my theory on that is first you gotta stick em and then lose em, so is it better to get bite and lose a fish or not get bit and never have the chance.
As it gets hotter and the bite gets less popular and the jet ski and skier starts to take over the lake give this technique a try and get a little rejuvenation in bass fishing and as always if we can help the fisherman in any way, give us a call and Good Fishing everyone!
Donnie Sims- D&G Spotsticker Baits.

Lake Harris (Wedowee), Mitchell, Jordan and Lay Lakes.

It would be true to say that we fish Logan Martin and Martin most of the time but we do fish other lakes at the time of the year that produce fish for us on the finesse stuff, I wanted to give you folks a rundown on where and when we fish these lakes and hopefully give you a few ideas.
On Lake Harris in December and on thru April you can take a small crawdaddy jig and trailer or a jighead and finesse worm and hit the deep points from 48 bridge down to hunter bottoms and a few places in fox creek and catch a bunch of spotted bass, most will be in the slot but you will have days that you will pick up 8 to 10 fish over 16 inches. This lake is mainly fished when I just flat want to go sit and look at turkey and deer on the banks and not here or see a boat for hours and you can do this on Harris during the colder months.
On Mitchell in Late December I fish small 1/8 0z hair jigs and tiny craws and also a 3/16 oz crawdaddy jig and trailer and fish the main river points where the dead grass ends and maybe a few rock lay ,it seems like those heavy weight spots are just laying there waiting for an easy meal and the small jigs and finesse worms do real well in catching a lot of 3 to 4 pound fish and occasionally a 5 or 6 pound largemouth.
I do not go to Jordan that much but the upriver points and eddy's and ledges seem to always produce for us with the jighead and worm, the spots on this lake are so powerful and some unreal stringers are brought in all winter long, I am by no means a master on this lake , I do however enjoy going and getting a couple of those footballs that I will bet a 2 pound spot on Jordan could pull a 3 pound smallmouth up the creek.
We do fish Lay quite a bit, it is near Glen's home and only 45 minutes for me, we start fishing it in May and do the topwater stuff early and then find a few points and fish the jigheads and worms for the many spots in the lake, We will fish the river ledges and rock piles all over the lake, we do not claim to have the big fish figured out here, we just know how to catch a bunch of the average size spots on the light line and spinning tackle and that makes our day. The points seem to be the key where the grass stops and you have a few rock and almost always there are a few spots around.
We do not wish to offend any of our fellow anglers, We choose to finesse fish with small worms and other baits and do not intend to be so bold or foolish that we insult the fisherman intelligence but merely want to provide the angler with another way to catch fish, we sincerely hope that you enjoy the post and articles we provide and welcome any input or advice from the angler , we hope to see you on the lake and you get bet if you ask us, we will give you a straight up answer and how, when and where we are catching fish! God Bless and Good Fishing!

B.A.S.S Southern Open
Lake Martin

On November 21, 2002 the Bassmasters held the third and final tournament on Lake Martin and gave the anglers the final chance to qualify for the Bassmasters classic to be held in 2003 in Louisiana. The top 5 points leaders at the end of competition on Friday would earn a birth into the prestigious tournament.
The conditions on Lake martin would greet the anglers with a variety of weather changes as well as falling water to make the event a tough one for many who searched the lake for keeper bass  The first day had cloud cover giving way to sunshine. Day two would have winds gusting to 20 mph and temps that did not make it out of the 40s and blue sky's. Day three would start with temps around 28 and climb into the 50s with a light variable wind.
Glen Hamer my partner and friend with D&G Spotsticker, fishing the co-angler side came into lake martin in 60 place overall and would need a good showing to improve upon the overall rankings and crack the top 25 and have the opportunity to fish next year on the pro division in the opens. Glen drew Butch Tucker the first day and they made a run down river.  Glen was able to put together a 5 fish limit that weighed 5.10 and clued Butch into the finesse style fishing with the Spotsticker jighead and Butch was able to get three keepers. Later at the weigh in Butch talked to his son Jay Tucker also fishing the pro side and got him some of the 3/16oz jigheads. Kyle Mabrey who finished second last year in this tournament  used the Spotsticker in that tournament to help him get a check. He used it again, and though the fish were not of the quality as the previous year it was still a limit and had him in position to climb the ladder.
Jay Tucker and Kyle Mabrey would both bring in limits today with the help of the Spotsticker and would position themselves to make the cut and guarantee a check at the end of competition. Jay gave his second day co-angler partner Peter Barello from New York a few Spotstickers and after being in 144th and a zero on day one had 5 fish that weighed 7.2 and moved him into the top 50 and the right to fish day three. Glen would Boat two fish at 2.7 and lost a couple of fish that would have certainly moved him up in the standings but it was enough to keep him in the top 25 and let him fish on day three.
Day three started and the competitors had cold temps early with light winds. Jay and Kyle would both have limits and co-angler Pete Barello would catch three keepers while Glen would Spotsticker 2 more solid spots.
The event would end with Coby Carden of Shelby, Al winning the tournament on the pro side and Wayne Isaac on the co-angler side taking the championship. Similar to last year, the Sposticker baits were well represented by Jay Tucker from Moultrie,Ga. Who finished 14th and Kyle Mabrey from Mccalla, Al with a finish of 19th on the pro side and Pete Barello cashed a check in 18th with Glen Hamer in 22nd place on the co -angler side.
We would like to thank all of the fisherman that used our baits and congratulate them on their finish in the Martin open , we will also mention that Jay finished the year in 23rd overall Kyle ranked 34th.  Glen Hamer finished in 27th and Peter Barello in 72nd on the co-angler side.
As we continue to fish and learn new styles and techniques we here at D&G Spotsticker hope that you will open your mind to not THE WAY TO CATCH FISH,but rather JUST ANOTHER WAY TO CATCH FISH!

Small Baits and Trophy Spots 

Small baits, trophy spots, are not just words, it is a fact on many lakes in our country. You first need only the confidence in the small lures and second you need the proper equipment and third just the absolute want to and desire to fish this way, and you will have all that you need to stick and boat a trophy sized spotted bass.
I want to clarify what I think a trophy spot is, in many articles a Largemouth Bass is considered a trophy at  7 pounds or greater, a smallmouth at 6 pounds or greater for a spotted bass , I think 5 pounds and Larger is a monster spot, when you consider the world record spot is 10.4 almost half of what  the largemouth record is, it will put this theory in prospective.

The tackle that you need is a good 6.6 or 7 foot medium action rod with a flimsy tip for about 2 feet down the rod and it must have enough backbone to do battle with these type fish, a good spinning reel with no back up anti reverse and a quality brand of line that is not to stiff but is strong enough to defeat you quarry. You are probably asking the question why such light tackle and especially a rod so forgiving, many times you never feel the fish hit, you will lift your rod tip and the rod will begin to bow similar to being snagged on a rock or stump and then you will feel the fish surge and the flexible tip will buy you the time needed to drop down and set the hook, where a stiff rod will only have you saying an ugly word because the spot has felt you and spit out your offering.

The rod I use is custom built 7 footer ,listed on our website.
The lures that I use and prefer for big spotted bass is a small assortment, I like 1/8 0z crappie crankbaits, I change out the factory hook with a slightly larger hook, a 1/8 oz willow leaf spinnerbait, a 1/8 oz buzzbait and then my favorite way to catch these giant fish ,  a jighead and finesse worm, we call it the Spotsticker , it comes in 1/8 ,3/16 and 1/4 oz weights. My favorite and most productive is the 3/16 size, We take a finesse worm and rig it texas (Spotsticker Rig) so it is weedless and fish around all types of structure. We also have the crawdaddy jigs, which are skirted and come in 14 colors that spots, largemouth and smallmouth love, when tipped with you favorite trailer they become deadly!
The areas we look for are nothing banks, small pebbles or sand, rock bluffs, submerged rock piles, stump rows, boiling springs and submerged cedar trees, We spend our time locating these areas on the lower end of the lakes which normally have clearer water, but stained water can be very effective with the same presentation with the small baits and normally your trophy spot will come from some off colored water.
My favorite colors are gourd green, green pumpkin, kudzu, chartreuse/shad, and pumpkinseed.
This technique will work in almost any lake in the country and is not limited to spotted bass it will catch finicky largemouth or smallmouth and has been known to catch redfish on the gulf coast when tipped with big grub.
I hope we have gave you some insight and ideas on another way to catch bass and with some confidence and a few bites , I am sure that you will soon write us or even send photos of your trophy spot that you caught on a spotsticker bait.

Lakes of Choice for trophy spots, Logan Martin, Mitchell, Jordan and Lay
For Numbers of fish- Lake Harris, Lake Martin

for details or tournament info you may contact us for help, We have no sacred info.
Donnie Sims
donniesms@aol.com
dsims@spotsticker.com
Glen Hamer
ghamer@nsrw.com