At Lake Seminole in south Georgia, there’s a popular destination called Wingate’s Lunker Lodge.

As you enter the driveway to the lodge, there’s a sign that says “Cuz, they bit yesterday.” Then as you leave, there’s a sign that says “They’ll tear it up tomorrow.”

That’s fishing for you, especially tournament fishing.

The fish always seem to bite better the day before and after a tournament.

I hope that’s not the case for us this week.

We caught some really nice, fat pre-spawn fish while practicing for Saturday’s upcoming Crappie USA event on Logan Martin Lake near Birmingham.

Now it’s just a matter of going back and catching them on tournament day.

We caught all of our best fish on Jiffy Jigs in about 16-18 feet of water. The water temperature is still in the low 50s in most places, so I really don’t expect to catch any shallow fish. That’s just my philosophy (could certainly be wrong).

The weather forecast for Logan Martin on Saturday is perfect - a high of 62 degrees with winds in the 5-10 mph range. The forecast for Saturday’s Crappie Masters event on Reelfoot Lake also looks pretty good, even though the wind is going to be a little stronger.

I’ve been hearing decent reports from Reelfoot the past couple of days. I wouldn’t be shocked if it takes a really nice string to win that tournament.

Hopefully, I can tell you Saturday night who won both events.

Whether you’re fishing, scouting for turkeys or just enjoying the spring-like weather, have a good, safe weekend.

There are still three games to go, but the Conference USA awards are beginning to come into focus. I vote on all-conference regardless of position. In other words, the five best players belong on the first team, the second five belong on the second team, etc. Here’s how it would stack up if the season ended today.

1st team
G - Stefon Jackson, UTEP
G - Derrick Rose, Memphis
G - Robert McKiver, Houston
G - Robert Vaden, UAB
F - Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis

2nd team
G - Jermaine Taylor, UCF
G - Ben Uzoh, Tulsa
G - Mark Dorris, Marshall
F - David Gomez, Tulane
F - Joey Dorsey, Memphis

3rd team
G - Jeremy Wise, Southern Miss
G - Dave Noel, UCF
F - Dion Dowell, Houston
F - Robert Dozier, Memphis
F - Lawrence Kinnard, UAB

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Did everybody think this game started at 8? It’s strangely empty here in FedExForum for being 10 minutes to tip-off. Maybe it will fill in, but I have to think a bunch of people got the time confused because orignally I believe this game was listed as an 8 p.m. start.

Lots of subplots tonight for the Tigers. How will they bounce back from the Tennessee loss? Certainly seems like there’s a letdown with the crowd, I’m sure there will be one with the Tigers too. Who will step up to pull them through it?

By the way, Joey Dorsey has let out his braids and is going with the Ben Wallace look tonight. Looks like he’s trying anything to snap himself out of his funk. We’ll see if it works.

With a win tonight, the Tigers can clinch the C-USA championship for a third year in a row. Not surprising by any means, and I wouldn’t expect Memphis to do much celebrating aftwards. Tulsa will be a tough opponent. It’s a solid team playing much better now than it was when the teams first met on Jan. 23. Doug Wojcik does a great job scouting the Tigers and putting in a gameplan to slow down their offense. I would expect a fairly ugly game, and it will be difficult for Memphis to get to the 70s.

Strike King Lure Company, Sportsman’s Warehouse and the Memphis Grizzlies are teaming up once again to hold “Sportsman’s Night with the Memphis Grizzlies” - and this year, they’re doing it twice.

Before this Saturday’s game between the Grizzlies and the Utah Jazz, BASS Elite Series pro Mark Menendez will conduct a seminar on springtime fishing in the TDEC Green room at FedExForum. The seminar will begin at 6 p.m., and the game will tip off at 7:05.

Menendez, a pro-staff member for the Collierville-based Strike King Lure Company, is a vastly successful pro from Paducah, Ky., who specializes in fishing jerk baits.

On March 24, fellow Elite Series pro and Strike King pro-staffer Denny Brauer (pictured), will conduct a seminar before the Grizzlies’ matchup with the Denver Nuggets. Brauer, one of the most successful anglers in the history of pro fishing, will talk specifically about fishing a jig. The seminar and tip-off times will be the same as this Saturday’s event.

Both Mark and Denny will spend the afternoon prior to their seminars visiting with patients and their families at St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the Grizzlies House.

To purchase tickets to either event, click on this link. Each participant will receive a free Grizzlies camo hat, two Strike King Lures and VIP access to the seminars.

First let me thank y’all for the kind comments. I really appreciate it.

As painful as the loss was Saturday it still wasn’t the most painful in my basketball memory. That pain (pain being relative) was January 10th, 1983. Tigers fans reached the pinnacle of college basketball for the first time in the school’s history. That night the Tigers went into Blacksburg, VA and lost to VA Tech. Five hours after the greatest feeling we experienced the pain of being knocked off the top of the pile. It hurts, a lot. It is a miserable place for a fan knowing that you are just waiting for the new poll to come out and your team will drop off the highest spot. I remember that gut wrenching feeling. We Tigers fans know what the Tennessee fans are going through. And now I can smile again.
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I talked with Cordova resident Kent Driscoll just a little bit ago.

He’s the pro-staff manager for B’n'M Poles and a member of the pro staff for War Eagle Boats. He was on his way back from the War Eagle plant in Monticello, Ark., with a brand new camouflage Predator.

He’ll be fishing the Crappie Masters tournament this weekend at Reelfoot Lake, and he’s worried he might need some arctic clothing to keep from freezing to death.

It seems to me that crappie tournaments are starting earlier every year.

This weekend’s event on Reelfoot will be the seventh - yes SEVENTH - Crappie Masters event of 2008.

Last week, they were on Logan Martin Lake near Birmingham, Ala., where local angler Harold Rich won with seven crappie that weighed 14.14 pounds. That’s better than 2 pounds per fish, and most crappie fishermen know that’s pretty strong.

Rich, who fished by himself, says he won the event by jigging brush piles with red and yellow homemade jigs. But he’s been known to play loosely with the truth when it comes to crappie fishing (doesn’t everybody?). So I wouldn’t be shocked if he used another method.

This Saturday, Crappie Masters moves to Reelfoot where Kent and most of the B’n'M crew will battle it out for a bigtime payday.

Meanwhile, I’ll be on Logan Martin, fishing the Crappie USA tournament - and hoping Harold Rich doesn’t show up.

I may get smacked on Logan Martin. But I’ll take my chances there instead of Reelfoot because I grew up near Logan Martin and I know the lake pretty well. I know for a fact I would get smacked on Reelfoot because I don’t know that lake well enough to compete with people like Kent Driscoll, Billy Blakely and Jackie VanCleave.

I’ll be practicing most of the day Friday on Logan Martin and fishing the tournament on Saturday, so hopefully I’ll have something to blog about.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Just got this reminder from the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. Thought I woud pass it along to the folks who hunt on the western side of the river.

From the AGFC:

LITTLE ROCK – The 2007-2008 Arkansas deer seasons close Feb. 29, and some die-hard hunters are still out there trying to fill their remaining tags.

A few of those die-hards are trying for the final segment of their Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Triple Trophy Award requirement by taking a deer with stick-and-string. Hunters who qualify for the Triple Trophy Award must, within a single annual deer season framework, take at least one deer by each of the three legal hunting methods – modern firearms, muzzle-loading rifle or pistol, and archery/crossbow tackle.

Certificates suitable for framing are given to qualifying hunters.

The Triple Trophy Award program has been popular with Arkansas hunters from its inception, and the number of qualifiers has slowly risen each year.

Triple Trophy Award applications can be downloaded on the agency’s website.

Applications are also available from the AGFC’s Communications office at (501) 223-6331.

Remember, the application deadline is April 10.