There was not enough light for me to see how to use the snap to connect the top water bait to my line when Jackson and I started fishing Saturday morning. We started in the same place where we have had luck starting off before but this morning with the cool North breeze the fish were not as active, receptive, or hungry, call it what you want , as the last time, when one bit on the first cast. We finally convinced one into half way biting by just sucking down the bait. No others could be enticed to bite so down the lake we went. We became nervous because of the inactivity but thank goodness the skunk had been scared off early by the first fish. The old standby DT-6 produced another fish out of a tightly packed line of trees and a couple of small schooling fish. Jackson was using a 1 ounce Rattletrap that was sliver with a blue back that caught a small bass maybe only twice its size. Shows you how large a fish a small bass will eat. He has had great luck on Lake Enterprise with that bait, especially by throwing it close to the flooded cypress limbs and ripping it loose. Last week he had a 5-11 take it off of the limb it was hung on when he was shaking the bait. This morning the fish were not that hungry as we went to some known hangouts of the small schooling fish and could not get any participation. The lake is absolutely full of bass of the last years spawn. The future for Lake Enterprise really looks good with all the young fish which were due to the high water and good spawning conditions. The water is still high so maybe there was a good spawn this year too. As we continued down the lake, we picked up one here and there on a variety of baits but mostly small. In desperation we trolled down the lake dragging a Yozuri just to see if we could find a school of small ones with hopes the big ones might be nearby. That has worked in the past but not today. It was 10:30 and we determined to make last ditch effort at a spot where there has been some luck in the past. I put on a DT-10 because in watching the depth finder I had noticed the fish of all stripes were showing up a couple of feet deeper than earlier, 8 feet instead of 6. Right off the bat in the new place, Jackson hung one that he declared was a big fish, and after fighting it for a few seconds, the fish came unglued, causing much consternation. Shortly there after the DT-10 connected on a 4-7 that did make it to the boat. After that, in pretty rapid succession, a 3-12, 4-14 and other smaller fish bit and were caught. Now we were having fun. But then consternation struck again. I had a bite on the DT-10 and couldn’t make much progress getting the fish in. I think that in its fight, the fish had the line around an underwater stump. I felt the fish come unpinned and then I was hung and had to go get it. Luckily it pulled loose from the other side and I got the bait back. I was nervous because I had just lost a DT-10 on another one of the snags that I could not get loose, even with the drop down lure retriever on a rope. When we could get no more bites we left to let the place rest but not being able to wait too long we soon came back. The place had rejuvenated somewhat and there were some bites but they did not hook up very well and almost all came loose before they were landed. It was obvious that the bite was almost over and when there were no more we headed to the ramp. We ended up with 25 bass and a FOD of 4-14. A fun fishing day that ended at about 1:15.

During the high water a large pecan tree floated up to block the place where I usually launch the Garhole boat. Earlier this week I surveyed the situation and chose another spot which may be better than the old one, in that I can drive the Jeep right up to the boat. With a few hours work cleaning out the vines and small bushes and moving the rack that the boat sits on the place was ready for the boat. Mickey and I took care of that this morning early and by 7:00 we were fishing. Of course the first bait out of mickey’s bag was a Chrome Crazy Shad which struck pretty quickly. I used a Phillips Cripple Killer which is similar to the Crazy Shad in that it has props on both ends. The fish were not just blasting the bait, more like just sucking it down. When we left home there was rain on the radar that looked rather ominous so the weather was cloudy which made the topwater bite last longer, as a matter of fact until noon. It was a great lesson for me in topwater fishing. Mickey is the master of that Crazy Shad. Just make it do a little chirp, chirp just like a fish in trouble and then the strike. The water has great visibility and is perfect for that Crazy Shad calling the bass up from deeper to hit it. I tried a wacky worm on some missed strikes but the bream made that all but impossible. They would vibrate on the worm and then run out to the side. If you set he hook there went your worm. The bream were floating everywhere making me wish for a fly rod. Going to take one next time. Jig pole and an ice chest too. Getting tired of turkey and chicken in the lock down. Back to fishing. The fish bit all morning but better early with lots of hit and misses but lots of catches too. Only one fish just blasted the bait. Just before we quit we broke out some worms for me and a tube from Mickey to catch a few. We caught 25 bass with a FOD of 3 3/4. A fun day of catching bass on top. Great to get back in the Garhole.

EDIT: For some inexplicable reason they are back . I am going to add some more.

Due to the software being old and outdated, Harley’s Photos no longer is viewable. Son Harley has saved them but as of now they aren’t viewable. I am sorry but he is working on the problem.

Jackson and I went to Lake Enterprise this morning at first light in an effort to do a little topwater fishing. We started in some cypress trees in the middle of the lake near the landing in 15 feet of water because we had caught some there before. My first cast was with a Cripple Killer near a cypress with a limb in the water because the lake is high. After a few crazy shad type twitched a bass came up and sucked the bait down. Catching one on the first cast is usually a bad omen for the days fishing. Not today. We caught 18, fishing until 2:00. Caught them on a couple of varieties of topwaters, a couple of varieties of lipless crankbaits, a DT-6, a swimbait ,and a wacky worm that caught the FOD. Probably forgot a bait we caught them on. A most pleasant day to be fishing.

Mickey and I went to Ferguson just after noon Sunday. Our first task was to adjust the trim tab on Mickeys motor because his boat had been pulling to one side. Easily done but you have to know which direction. The last time in his boat we adjusted when we returned to the ramp but did not try it out. Mickey tried it out first thing and it was pulling more than before. We mulled the problem over and decided to call Mark for advice since he deals with nautical issues for a living. He even told us which socket size to use. He said if it pulls to the right move the trim tab to the right. We followed his instructions and problem solved. Then we went fishing. In one spot the water was too high and in another we caught nothing but the rocky bank looked good so we fished on. Mickey collected one with a DT-10 and we thought we were on to something but the bank ran out. Too bad because the wind was blowing pretty hard and this spot was on the lee side of a barge fleet. We left for another place to fish and went to the location where I fished the last time. The water was about a foot lower and that was enough to cool that spot off a little. I had been catching fish there around bushes in 5 feet of water. I did manage to catch one out in the open on a DT-6 but no more bites there. We tried hard to find the fish but could not. We left that area and tried a couple more spots with no luck. The clouds were gathering but we decided to try one last spot where Mickey caught the first fish. As we were finishing there it started to sprinkle. We had been watching that rain but thought it was going to miss us. We were wrong and it followed us to the ramp. We got pretty wet but not completely soaked. That didn’t ruin the day however because we had shared a lot of laughs. We caught 2, each about 2 1/2 pounds. Thinking on the way home about the lake falling with a little more momentum, I had a brainstorm and came up with another spot we should have tried that will be good for a few more feet down. Hope springs eternal.

This afternoon rain was forecast for late so I made a break for the lake, pulling out of the driveway at 3:01. I wanted to visit five specific places but was not sure I had enough time. I started in the place the farthest from the waterfront. The first one was small and in a dozen casts I knew to move on. The next spot was where I caught a few the other day on a DT-6 but today nothing was doing so after a couple of bushes I put on a worm and tried them again. A three pound fish came out of the first one. As I continued with the worm and the fish continued to bite. It was funny because, even in a spot with plenty of cover, I could only catch one fish. As time passed I noticed the sky getting dark in the South. I checked the radar and the rain was coming and at a pretty good clip. There was a long ride back to the waterfront so after trying one more little clump of brush, I hooked up and headed back. Got back to the waterfront at 6:04. I caught 6 bass, three in the 3 pound range, and a FOD of 4 -11 in about two hours of fishing. A good trip but I was disappointed I didn’t get to fish those other spots. Hal called me on the way home and had only caught one at Beaverdam but went to the Flower Lake borrow pits and caught two 5 pounders. He snatched the fat out of the fire.

I launched on Lake Ferguson (46 feet) this morning at about 6:45 with a slight northwest wind blowing. When I left the house I thought there was no need for a jacket but the ride up the lake into the wind made me sorry I didn’t have one. I had a long ride to the upper lake and was glad when I reached my first destination. It was a sand knob that had water over it about 5 feet deep, just perfect, but nobody home. My old beat up DT-6 was first up although there were other things on my mind. I moved to a tree with bushes around it where I have had some luck in the past. Before I got there, a small fish bit the DT-6 and chased away the skunk. A few casts later the bait hung up on, I’m sure, some small ironwood bushes in about 5 feet of water. I jiggled the bait to get it off but nothing doing. As the boat got right over the bait I took my thumb and forefinger and gently pulled on the line to see if there was any give. The line broke under light pressure. There is no telling how many fish that bait had caught. I hated to see it go but I had another just like it and put it on. I caught two more fish in that spot and then left for what I wanted to be my main objective for the day. I had studied Google Maps and had found a woods road to get me back through the trees to an area next to the levee. The navigation was right and the road led exactly to the spot I had picked out but it was not the spot that I thought it was. It had some good looking territory but not much of it. There were submerged vines in about 4 feet of water. I had planned on using a top water but when I saw the situation I changed to a buzz bait. It did not take long to fish the area but a nice 3 pound fish came up and sucked the buzzer down. It didn’t blast it at all. I thought at first that it may have been a gar. Since the fish was in shallow clear water it was very black, as if it had been spray painted black. I got out my phone and saw on the map the other spot I wanted to go. Trying to navigate there, I would hit an impenetrable wall of trees, logs or ironwood bushes. I could see on the map where I wanted to go and where I was but there was no opening to get there. After spending quite a bit of time I gave up and went to the meadow. There was some beautiful moss there, just perfect for a frog but it was shallow and no fish were in it. I explored a little and then tried a spot that had saved a trip one time before. That spot was just right but I did not get a bite. Was depending on it to save the day but nothing. After that I headed for the ramp. Four bass with a 3 pound FOD.

The shad spawn occurs on the first full moon in May. It creates a feeding frenzy for the bass and starts before daylight . The shad lay their eggs by “flicking” on anything floating and when that starts the bass sense an easy chance for a meal. The water temperature needs to be over 70 degrees. This morning Jackson and I were on Lake Enterprise in the dark well before daylight listening and trying to look for any sounds of activity. The water was 70 degrees but the air was 48 and the wind was out of the North, the last two were big negatives. We launched where there was a good bit of duckweed for the eggs to be laid on. Until daylight, not much was happening, but afterward a few shad appeared and some bass appeared under the duckweed. There were some hits and misses and two bass were caught on a frog but nothing like we were hoping for. The spot was small and when we fished through it a couple of times we set off to look for something else. The lake is high because of all the rain and is “no wake only”. The water has over a 2 foot visibility and really looks good. There were a couple of strikes on a topwater prop bait back in the trees but no solid hookups. We found some small schooling fish out in the middle and caught some more. We quit about noon with 9 fish. Believe it or not, I caught mine on a DT-6.

Tillatoba Lake is a U.S. Forest Service lake in the Holly Springs National Forest and is located North of Grenada. In looking over Google Maps for a place to Turkey hunt I ran across it. It was man made with many features that made me want to fish there. Hal and I met there at 6:00 Monday morning. We out in and started catching fish reasonably soon, all small. The lake is relatively shallow with the deepest water only 8 feet that I saw on the depth finder but the online map said 10 feet. The water temp was 76 degrees.I started off using a wacky worm and it was working well until I threw a loop on the spinning reel. Brand new line so I tried to unravel it but that would not happen. After almost 30 minutes, I delicately wrapped the line around the spool for attention later and put on another spool. The second one had issues too. I could cast out all the good line and got down to the backing. The knot where the good line was tied on was the problem. Caught the line coming off the spool every time. I had yet another spool with 8 pound Stren I think, so I put it on. Looped that one too. Borrowed one from Hal finally. Spinning reel was the only way to go because the fish were out in the open in shallow water. Long casts were a must. The bass were overpopulated and small all except for one at 5 even and a couple of others.

I intended to post a photo of Hal with it but the program took a fit and would not let me do it. EDIT: Tried again and it worked. The fish were so overpopulated, we should have taken every one we caught except two and given them to the people fishing on the bank. We stayed until 2:00 when the bite was about over and had a final tally of 49.

Jackson and I launched at Cane Creek at 6:15 on a slick lake with almost no wind. The water temperature was 68 and the lily pads were just the right thickness. The fish, however, were not just right and were closer to wrong. We fished a long time before a bite and even longer before a fish. The bass would not even think about the Ribbit that I was throwing. One finally just came up and gave it a weak slap. Jackson caught one on a Swim bait and also two chain pickerels. We fished the shallow end of the lake where there had been some old catfish ponds. The levees were still apparent. We pulled up to one for lunch and put the motor down to hold us in place because now the wind was up to around 10 MPH. I caught one there with a lot of luck involved because I was asleep at the wheel when the fish hit and it basically hooked itself. We tried another spot with no luck so we departed around 2:00. We ended up with 2 fish that were about the same size, co FOD’s.