Richard, Hal, and Harley went fishing Monday afternoon and again Tuesday morning.  We caught 38 bass in all, 19 Monday and 18 Tuesday. Very few were under 3 pounds. Richard was the FOD man both days, this one was 5 1/2 pounds on Tuesday. Most were caught on a Bass Magic 4 1/2 inch swimbait. Some Monday hit a Ribbit frog but none on Tuesday.  The fish were not concentrated and we had to fish a lot of different areas to catch the ones we did.  Most were in water 5 to 8 feet deep.This is an old photo of the Bass Magic where I tried to use a trailer hook. It destroyed the action too much and would not have worked on this trip because of all the timber. I include it to show one and how to rig it. I now rig it with a Gamakatsu  5/0 widegap hook with 1/4 oz of weight on the shank. We had great time.

Jackson and I had a good day despite the howling wind today. We caught 13 mostly on swimbaits but the FOD ( 4 lb 6 oz) fell for a Ribbit at 5:13 pm. A lot (5) of fish put the scold on me today by throwing the swimbait hook on the jump. One fish bit while my line was over a log, broke me off and then jumped to throw the bait.  I’m glad it did jump so I could see it was a tighteye.  We only had 5 less than 3 and 3 of those were 2 3/4.  A good day that could have been great if I could have kept them pinned.

I have not been fishing since 4/25 but I did not get rusty.  This morning at the break of day I was casting and this afternoon about 6:00 I caught number 20. It was a 7 pound 13 ounce bass that appeared to have spawned. At the bottom of the second picture you can see the bait that worked. It’s a Lucky Strike Bass Magic 4 1/2 inch swimbait in natural shad color. Just over half the fish today were caught on that bait.  The rest were caught on a ribbit frog.  The color of the one in the picture was not the only color used. Here is a photo of another one that was fooled by the swimbait.Of the 20, 6 were over 4 pounds with a 5 1/2 being the second largest. Only 5 were less than 3 and all but one of that 5 was 2 1/2 to 3/4.  Great quality of fish. I’m down to my last Bass Magic. Going to have to make a run to the Bass Pro before I go again which is going to be soon.

Went turkey hunting for the last couple of days where Richard Brooks gave a turkey hunting demonstration.  Look at the spurs on that beast. Season’s over, back to fishing.

Driving down the levee this morning to go to the garhole the cows on the levee were laying down.  According to some of the good old fishermen of yesteryear that was a sign that the fish weren’t biting. Their sign was right on target. I started fishing at 10 and it took until noon to catch the first fish. After I caught the first one, I went closer to the spot and looked and saw a cloud of fry. I had caught the male bass that guards the fry until they get large enough to dodge the bream.  I released him so he could continue his job. He was lucky because today I was keeping and filleting.  I had to quit at 4:30 and when quitting time got closer the bite was picking up. When I drove back down the levee the cows were standing up and eating grass. Ended up catching 7. Water temp was 70 to 77 degrees. No pictures today again but this time because there was nothing worth getting the camera out for.

Jackson and I fished today. The first time in two weeks for me. I started out with a bang when I caught a 3+ on the first cast with a 4 1/2 inch Bass Magic swimbait. We caught 3 more before things went quiet. One of those was a 5 1/4 on a Ribbit.  No pictures because I figured we’d catch some more. Wrong.

I’ve been playing hookey on the fish because of the turkeys. With good results. Still having picture trouble but you can now right click the small green box after “results” and select “view image” and the picture will show. Not quite what I want, but I’m still trying to figure out the problem. Problem solved.  HMIV did it in about a minute.

Jackson and I went fishing today in a blowing hurricane. We could only fish where it was relatively calm, not where we wanted to. Instead of using the trolling motor, in most places we had to use the auxiliary one (rope tied to a snag). Early, we had only a bite apiece but nothing to show. After we discussed leaving, Jackson said “They’re going to pull the old indian trick on us and let us catch one so we’ll stay three more hours”. About 10 minutes later it happened just as he predicted. I caught a 7 1/2 pounder on my swimbait. The fish had a large head for it’s weight and appeared to have already spawned. I didn’t believe the scales and turned them off and back on. Same weight.  We left after another unproductive hour. I have a photo but there’s a problem with the program that will not let me put one on. Caught it on a swimbait Skinny Lawyer.

Picture problem fixed here too.  It was extremely windy that day. Notice the seat tiedown between my legs is hanging at a 45 degree angle due to the wind.

My trip to turkey hunt in South Carolina was outstanding.  Good friends, plenty of turkeys, and beautiful hardwood swamps, what more could you ask for. The first photo is of Ben with a turkey we started on at daylight and he shot at 10 a.m. The next is of Nat with one that cooperated up in Williamson county. The next is of the leg of one I killed at Lavington.

Richard has invented a new knot that has come through his testing lab with flying colors, besting all the current favorites in strength.  Knowing Richard, you can be assured it was thoroughly tested before he would call it the Cheek Knot. The picture is a diagram of how to tie it. Click on it to enlarge.