Sam Rayburn Hobie BOS: A Georgia Creek Fisherman Gets to Play on a Legendary Field

Since I was a boy I’ve bass fished and several lakes have always been held a notch above the rest. Several come to mind like Toledo Bend, Lake Lanier, Lake Seminole, Georgia’s Eufala, Champlain and Sam Rayburn.

 

Sam Rayburn….I got the chance to fish the legendary lake this past June. The Hobie BOS had it’s sixth trail stop there and I wasn’t going to miss it.

Preparation started months in advance, YouTube videos, magazine articles and some in depth map study. With a combination of the print and video media I honed in on an area that seemed to dish out a great deal of success and when I pulled up the navionics topo map I saw why. The abundance of offshore structure and contour was remarkable…still, it was a huge patch of water and I’d need actual fishing time to break it down but I was pretty sure I could find fish somewhere in that area. While looking at the maps, one place jumped off the map at me….a small feeder creek called “ Ware Branch”. I actually joked that I had the winning spot picked out because of the name alone… (My last name is Ware) and how awesome it’d be if I won it in Ware Branch.

 

Fast forward to the week prior to the official tournament practice…the lake is ten feet above summer pool and it’s being debated if it’ll be held or postponed. After a long meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers our tournament director A.J. McWhorter came back with exciting news. The tournament was a go AND we’d virtually have the normally congested lake to ourselves. While that was great news the drawback was, all the homework I’d done would have to be thrown out the window. This was going to be an even playing field because of the high water and any past knowledge of the lake would be obsolete.

 

I arrived in Broadus Texas at sunset on the Sunday prior to the tournament and drove to the main bridge across the lake. She was so high that most boats couldn’t pass underneath and water had flooded deep into the woods making for some very tasty looking fish habitat but I decided to stick with my offshore fishing plan. The areas in the eighteen to thirty foot deep range I had marked as possible spots months ago was now over forty feet deep so I did some adjustments and keyed in on areas with structure like tapering points, possible shell beds and grass that at normal pool were ten to twenty feet deep.

 

I spent the first three days on the lower end of the lake and caught large numbers of fish with a few really good ones scattered in but knew that it’d take a higher population of bigger fish to win. The last two days were spent in the original area I had planned to fish.

 The first day I probed around some islands that sat on the main channel…there was one strip of old brush I found in thirty two feet of water that I was dead set on fishing. The wind was horrendous that day and it took a while to finally get my twelve inch Texas rigged worm in the sweet spot. I pulled a three pounder out then I hooked into a giant. Although it jumped at the boat and came unbuttoned I know it would’ve been my personal best. She was a true giant and that gave me the confidence that I was doing the right thing and I certainly needed it.

Last day of practice was spent further back from the main river channel and the day started out with absolutely nothing to brag about… I got suckered into the flooded trees and spent most of the day flipping the newly flooded forest. I eventually hit open water and headed to “Ware Branch”. On Google earth the branch winds its way to the main creek channel through a huge patch of lilly pads, the navionics maps showed the winding channel being ten to fourteen feet deep and the surrounding pads sitting in six to ten feet of water….with the high water that entire area was submerged under an additional ten feet of water. No pads were visible but it definitely looked neat on my electronics. I also noticed there were a lot of submerged hydrilla beds bordering the pads. I spent a long time scanning the entire creek channel and when I reached what would have been the original mouth of the creek which was now in twenty four feet of water I also saw fish, lots of fish! I questioned myself if they were bass and my first four casts produced four bass in the one to three pound range. I had found a motherlode of bass but were there any giants mixed in? Probably around my tenth bite I locked into a big fish that I’d guess was between five and six pounds…luckily she jumped and tossed my lure. I knew I had found my spot…the same spot with my last name, the same spot I had joked about months earlier being the winning spot.

I set out checking similar creek mouths in the area but none had fish and as I was passing “Ol Ware Branch “ temptation got the best of me and I had to make another cast in it. I pulled out my big Texas rigged worm and buried the hook in it to minimize my chances of actually hooking anything and made a cast into what I’d determined to be the “juice”. I could feel the worm coming through the grass and pads then I felt that “thump” we bass fishermen live to feel. I didn’t set the hook, I just kept tension on it and she rocketed straight for the surface, jumped and spit my worm. That fish was atleast six pounds and without a doubt I had my spot. When I say spot, I’m talking and area the size of a tennis court.

That night I spoke with my mom and she asked if I had found a honey hole…I answered yes, we got a kick out of the name of the little creek channel and before I hung up I told her “Mom, if those fish stay there, I’m gonna be hard to beat”. I prayed that night for consistent weather and water conditions and thanked him for planting the seed in me to fish.

 

Day one: I launched and reached the spot with only minutes until official lines in. Within an hour I had a limit and the rest of the day until eleven thirty was me culling little by little to reach an 86” limit. I didn’t have any 4G so I couldn’t submit my fish but my wife stayed in contact with me….I’d catch a fish and send her the measurements via text message…she finally told me around eleven thirty, “You need a kicker, one really good fish and you’ll take the lead”. Shortly after that a rain shower with some wind blew through and I tossed a black and blue Picasso Shockblade Pro out over those deep submerged pads and it got absolutely hammered. After a really good fight I landed my kicker, 22.50” in all her glory. When you catch a significant fish like that AND it puts you in the lead at a tournament stacked with hammers…you yell, NO…YOU LET OUT A YAWL!!!...and that’s exactly what I did. I finished day 1 with 93.75” and in the lead.

 

I had to leave thirty minutes early from that spot, load up, drive fifteen miles to the top of a hill where there was sufficient 4G service and upload my 5 biggest fish into the TourneyX app. I’ve felt pressure to catch up in a big tournament but never this type of pressure. I had to maintain and I was pretty sure there were enough fish left to keep it up. The calls and texts I received that night were humbling but I knew I still had a lot of work to do.

 

Day two: I made it to my area right at lines in but they weren’t liking my texas rigged 7” finesse worm that had caught 90% of my day 1 fish but a big texas rigged 10” "U" tail did the trick, I caught a lot of fish on that worm and a few more on a 4.25” skinny dipper on an owner flashy swimmer, I just couldn’t get a big bite, all of the fish were between 15 and 17 inches. My mind kept telling me to load up and hit that brushpile I had hooked the monster on in practice but my gut wouldn’t let me leave fish to find fish. I beat the hell out of that area and then some but it just wasn’t meant to be. On the way back to my launch I reflected on the day and smiled….I had fished 100 percent clean, I caught what bit and didn’t lose anything that would’ve helped me climb the leaderboard. I had sent my fish measurements periodically to my wife throughout the day but I had no idea where I stood or exactly what my total was. I made it to the top of the hill and entered my 5 biggest bass to TourneyX then called my wife. She said I should be in 2nd if no one upgraded after the lines out deadline. Note: they turn off the leaderboard at 2pm on day 2 to build anticipation for the awards ceremony.

 

I stopped in Zavalla Texas to grab a BBQ sandwich and unwind when I got the text from Hobie stating I was in the top 10 and was invited to the awards ceremony. That text was music to my ears and I eagerly drove to the weigh in. I parked at the tournament location, got out and was walking across the parking lot when I saw a woman with two teenage boys….”Lord that woman looks just like Meredith Henderson “ I thought, then I saw Clint….my buddy and his family had made a detour from their trip to the Bassmaster Classic being held in Fort Worth to our awards ceremony. You don’t know how happy that made me, that’s one of the happiest moments I’ve had while fishing these tournament trails.

 

I went over my day with Clint and his boys and told him I guessed I was below 4th place….even though my wife was adamant that I was in 2nd.

 

A.J. called 4th place….it wasn’t me. That meant I was top 3 AND qualified for the Hobie Tournament of Champions to be held at Georgia’s Lake Eufala later in November. He called Caleb Helbig at 3rd place and wow what a feeling I had. Sure enough, Amber was spot on, Bryan Scarberry had one hell of a day to take the lead and I was happy to take 2nd, a good chunk of change, a cool trophy and a chance to compete in the Tournament of Champions, the most prestigious championship in kayak fishing.

 

I’ve been traveling and fishing these tournaments since 2014, I’ve learned an enormous amount about fishing, people, regional cuisine, where to camp, where not to camp, alligators, other critters and the differences in fun fishing and competition fishing. There’s similarities but there’s also huge differences. Up until this day I had only earned one national win and a 4th place in another national tournament but I never gave up and I won’t. If someone is on the fence about entering a national tournament, don’t be intimidated by what you think you’re going up against. Pay your entry and get busy on your homework. I doubt you’ll be as lucky as I was with the 2nd best spot of the tournament bearing your last name but you’ll be surprised how after a few tournaments under your belt, you’ll feel the groove and everything will slow down, allow you to grasp it then prepare you for success. 

 

I’ve always just been a creek chub fisherman from Silver Creek Georgia but that JUST might be all I need to be. We’ll see how that works out at the Hobie BOS on Toledo Bend in February 2022. Until then stay tuned….

 

Thank God for Little Plastic Boats!

MAVERICK

mav·er·ick  (măv′ər-ĭk, măv′rĭk)
n.
1. A person who shows independence of thought and action, especially by refusing to adhere to the policies of a group to which he or she belongs.

Kayak fishing...seems like a vanilla activity. Probably reserved as a stepping stone for a person on their way to buying a bass boat or a cool Hells Bay skiff. Truth is, most Kayak Anglers I know hate a motor and would sell a motor boat if given one.

This is more than a sport or a hobby. Just going fishing is boring to most of 'em. It's the added challenge of fighting the wind, strategically maneuvering so your drift gets you on the exact line to fish an area. It's feeling the water as it sprays in your face at every paddle stroke. It's the challenge of handling a paddle with four fishing rods and 6 boxes of tackle from a fixed position in a space the size of a love seat...all while making a cast every few seconds. The challenge, the cold, the complete exposure to the elements...the drive to catch that fish makes them what they are...Mavericks...It's more than a hobby.

       
   For Those About to Rock...

I feared getting old when I was a young boy. Reading the newspaper, napping and cutting grass was not what I looked forward to doing, then there was the dread of croaking. I said I’d never grow up and I believe, so far, I’ve been pretty successful
I have always been an imaginative soul, never bored and always had something to occupy my mind. Whether it be fishing, hunting, exploring, music, surfing and the list goes on (yes, I live in the foothills of the Appalacians and I’ve owned three different surfboards) I have always had fun or knew what I needed to have fun. As a teenager I took a left turn and turned to alcohol on many occasions to have fun which eventually caught up to me about 12 years ago with a not so fun period of my life. Hey, I like hotdogs and orange koolaid but I’d rather partake in said meal at my house…not the big house.

So, now I’m almost 50. I’m getting old and the fear I had about aging was to much surprise...a hoax. My imagination is still there but my interests are not as broad. I only kayak fish and I’m still a music junkie. I’m 49 and still love rock music as loud as my car stereo will go and I fish a lot. I work a part time 60 hour a week job at the local paper mill that pays the bills and a full time job with no pay…fishing. I don’t read the news paper and I pay the kid next door to cut the grass.

When you hear that getting old is a bad thing, I call bull$##t. I have more fun now than I ever had in my teens or twenties and my recipe is a combination of that imagination, passion, some how keeping a working amount of that childhood innocence and an overly patient wife, which I am blessed to have.

We only have so many heartbeats in the old ticker and my plan is to be doing what I love and not what I loathe when that last one finishes.

For those approaching the golden age... Prepare to rock. Peace and thank God for little plastic boats.

KBF Grind: S2 ep1

My fault, my failure, is not in the passions I have, but in my lack of control of them. Jack Kerouac

Thank God I have a wife that understands what makes me tick. She may not understand the big deal with kayak fishing but she knows that it is my passion and it plays a huge part in my life. I’d like to thank her from the bottom of my heart for her support. She knows me on a level that no one does and although she has shown the patience of Job towards me…I know that deep down she expects something greater to happen and with that I grind.

“Where would you rather be than right here, right now?” Marv Levy

If you didn’t know there is a national championship coming up…the Kayak Bass Fishing National Championship. I was there last year and there was no other place in the world that I’d would've rather been…none. I didn’t win it and although after finishing day one 18th out of 256, when day 2 was over I was not even close…I think I was 56th. Was I upset? No, There were some great fishermen there and if anyone thought it’d be easy they were sadly mistaken. The conditions were brutal and it affected everyone equally. Was I prepared…physically? Yes. Mentally? To an extent I was…but I know what I need to work on and that is adjustments. When to adjust and why. In saying that, it still doesn’t mean that I’ll win it this year.

 Do I think I can win it…I wouldn’t show up if I didn’t. This year, my track record with other tournaments gives zero credible evidence to back up my confidence. 12 tournaments with zero wins…if I were a major league pitcher I’d be sat down to the minors (or fired) so that’s essentially what I’ve done. I’ve gone back and looked at every tournament I entered and picked out my drawbacks. I did some very irresponsible things considering the level of competition that is in Northwest Ga. I ditched what I knew for second hand info and other times I stuck with a strategy that clearly wasn’t working out of stubbornness.

It’s a new year and I’m already grinding. I have the equipment to succeed and I am overly excited to get this season started. This year I will do the “cliché”, stick with my strengths while recognizing my weaknesses. I will say this too…a Championship is not the time to be messing around with new unproven techniques. Been there, done that.

Here’s my “not so detailed”  grind strategy.

• fish every chance I get... regardless of weather or how tired I am. The weather in the south is so  unpredictable that although the national championship is later in March  this year, it doesn’t mean that it’ll be warmer. I’ve seen it snow in April…so, I’ll take what the weather deals me and be ready to fish in cold, rainy, or icy conditions on March 31.

• work on my strengths…crank baits, swimbaits, jigs etc. I know my weaknesses within my strengths and that is a positive.

• organization- every thing from how I load my boat to how much tackle I take. Much work needed there.

• it may not be cold…it may be warm and the fish already on bed, so where can I go to fish for prespawn/spawning fish RIGHT NOW? Florida…going for a week real soon. I know it’s a far cry from Kentucky Lake but I can fish shallow water and work on some tactics that are worthless around here this time of year, plus, It’ll be warm.

• I’ll make a trip to Kentucky Lake in early March just to look around.

• in between all of that…I will fish, I know I said that already but feeling a fish bite, testing your setups i.e. line type, line weight and rods to hooksets and reading water/maps. It all helps in keeping you ready.

Again, this year…since no one has a standardized training regimen for kayak fishing tournaments…the spirit of my training will be “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” Check back for the next blog entry about my Road to the Championship. Peace

Note:This blog series is a most helpful tool for me. I'll share my thoughts , failures, successes and ideas...Just not too detailed. I then can go back and look it over and maybe one day my future grand kid may read it and think...I had one crazy ass paw paw.

Big Water Trout

In the last couple of years I’ve seen my fishing go from a finesse style with light freshwater tackle to a much heavier aggressive style. I think that the Kayak Bass tournaments that I fish have been the major reason for that. In those tournaments you have all day to catch three bass and the three largest wins. Granted, there are tournaments where I wished I would have been fishing an 1/8oz Shakey Head with a finesse worm on 6lb test but overall the heavier stuff has yielded heavier fish. This philosophy has filtered over into my trout fishing too. Instead of my old 5 ½ or 6’ ultralight set up I now use a bit heavier gear because the rivers I fish I know there are some double digit fish and I’m talking pounds not inches.

The tackle I use is a  medium action rod with a 3000 series spinning reel spooled with 15# braid. I’ll run a rod and a half's length of 8-10# fluorocarbon. This is also the same setup I use for sea trout and redfish except I will opt for a 20# fluoro leader. The rod length is very important in this setup because I’m in a kayak. A  7’ or longer rod allows me to fight a fish with a bent rod from my right to my left without the bow of my Jackson Big Rig interfering with the line. The idea when fighting a fish from a kayak is to keep the battle directly in front of you. There are several reasons for this but safety is the key reason. When a fish gets away from the bow and you end up fighting on the port or starboard side you risk capsizing due to the fish pulling you over or your boat striking submerged objects. I also have more control over the fish when it’s off of my bow because I have more options with rod angles thus putting more torque against the fish if it decides to head off to one side or the other, allowing me to turn the boat with  “fish power” .
    The reel I use is a quality spinning reel that’s light weight and won’t wear me out from casting all day. Every major reel company offers a 3000 size reel like this. My line choice is based on the amount of line I can load into the spool, in this case, I can load almost 300 yds of 15# braid onto a Shimano Stradic 3000 reel. The braid also casts much further and is a lot more sensitive. My leader length is based on water clarity and I rarely use less than a 7’ leader but in ultra clear water I may use 15’ of fluoro just to be safe.

Thursday, I’m going down one of my favorite tailrace rivers fishing for trout. My lure choices for trout have also changed in the past few years, when I was a kid I remember seeing a guy in Cherokee NC carrying a stringer of  18-20” trout and when I asked him what they had bit, he showed me a #7 Rapala countdown. That piece of information was eye opening and made perfect sense. The rivers I fish have two main forages, blueback herring and crawfish. My lure of choice is a Lucky Craft pointer 65sp in a blueback pattern. I’d throw a bigger one but they run a bit too deep for that particular river causing a lot of hangups. Throwing the bigger lures generally won’t catch numbers of fish like an inline spinner or a chunk of power bait but a couple of years ago my buddy and I had a 21 fish day using this same plug and every fish measured 18” to 22”.

Fishing this river with a kayak requires some decent paddling skills and the ability to read fishy water and determine the easiest most efficient way to fish it. Trout are finicky so you have to be stealthy. I spend a lot of my time hugging the banks in water just deep enough to float my kayak and making long casts to deeper water. I mentioned that this is a tailrace river that I am fishing which means that I’m normally racing against the dam generation schedule. (Whatever tailrace river you’re fishing the generation schedule is usually posted on line and it is imperative that you know this information.) Don’t get roped into picking apart every single fishy looking spot, you’ll be on the water longer than you had planned and risk getting to ride the generation flow back to your take out...I like to hit the high spots, casting while drifting and fish the pools hard. In most tailrace trout fisheries you can wade a 1 mile section of river paying attention to every detail and catch the amount of fish that I do on a 7 mile float but the float usually gives an angler access to a lot more big fish water and it’s definitely a lot more fun.

Here are a few things outside of tackle that I always have on a tailrace river…
• Always wear your pfd. Always!
• You’ll need a net. Trust me, if Jesus had been a trout fisherman...he would've had a landing net.
• Use a paddle leash.
• Carry a change of clothes, water and food.
• Dress for the season… layers, waterproof clothing etc.
• fire starting kit.

Now it’s time go catch a trout that will drop everybody’s jaw. Use your common sense, check your generation schedule and know your state laws. Most of all, have fun! Peace

For the Love of the Game

The last time I was in Texas was twenty six years ago, I have some very fond memories from the lone star state and this coming week I plan make some more. On wednesday my buddy and I will be headed to the Texas/Louisiana border to fish the Kayak Bass Fishing Open on Toledo Bend Lake.

Toledo Bend is not only a legendary trophy spot, it is also ranked as the top bass lake in the country by Bass Master Magazine. We'll be fishing waters that the legends like Rick Clunn and Roland Martin have fished...this one of Bass Fishing's Mecca.

 I’m hoping that the intense homework that I’ve done will pay off because the last thing I would want would be to draw a  skunk on the best lake in the nation. This lake holds water that I’m not used to fishing. Mainly, grass and vast stretches of flooded timber. My home waters are mostly clear, deep and rocky or shallow and muddy but in the past few months I have made a point to fish some grass lakes. I’ve recently been to Guntersville and Pickwick several times and on my last trip to Pickwick I felt I had made some progress fishing around grass. Some of you may say that you love grass and I have said that too especially in the waters of Northwest Georgia. We have very little aquatic vegetation and when it’s scarce, then visible grass can be a fish magnet. The grass on Pickwick and Guntersville is on a massive scale. It’s everywhere and I had a real problem figuring out where to start because it all looked good.

I ended up finding fish in areas that if you removed the grass the fish would still be drawn to it. Bait was a key and patches or edges of grass, not the huge  mats were where I found the largest concentrations of fish.
When I get on Toledo Bend early Thursday morning I will put this information to work while I try finding some quality bass. This lake will be a hefty challenge but that’s what tournament fishing is all about.

•Recognize the challenge and determine if you are up for it.

•Accept the challenge

•Prepare for it by reading every single thing you can find about the lake, study the maps, select a few areas that you feel will hold fish and seek first hand knowledge (if possible) to verify that you’re on the right ballpark, read more, map study more and tweak your style to the new lake's possible situations. I.e.; grass, timber etc.

This tournament will have the toughest competition that I’ve faced since March and win or lose I will have a great time but... my preparation isn’t to lose.  Peace

(Photos courtesy of Bass zone and FLW)

***If you enjoyed this or my other stories, give me a vote for Blog of the Year in the 2016 YakAngler's Reader's Choice Awards @ http://www.yakangler.com/choice

I am honored and humbled to find out that River Goat Kayak Adventures was nominated for the 2016 Kayak Anglers Choice Awards. If you are a fan click on the link and give it a vote. Thank you.

http://www.yakangler.com/choice

"It's only Fishing"

In May of 2005 I had a wreck that almost killed me…I came out a changed man.

I woke up to a sweet voice whispering my name. When I opened my eyes I knew something was extremely wrong, my whole body was stiff, my throat was raw and the hospital room was a dead giveaway. The voice said," hey, you had us all worried" and then asked if I knew who she was…”you’re my wife”, I said. "No, what’s my name?"said the sweet voice...I whispered ”Amber”.

 By this time I knew I was in a bad bad situation but I couldn’t remember what had happened. Amber told me that I had been in a wreck and they had induced me into a coma that had me knocked out for almost two days. My first question was if anyone else was hurt?  Then I remembered..only a tidbit but that I’d been fishing. My next question was, “Is my fly rod ok?”

Going fishing almost killed me that day and later on it would be a huge reason that I’m still alive…literally and figuratively.

After I had recovered from a fractured neck, two dislocated shoulders and a scalping that a Blackfoot warrior would be proud of, I began to reflect. I thought about just how quick life can be taken from you and it scared me to death. Not because I’d be dead but because there was so much I wanted to do…I decided to live. Another change happened and I can’t begin to understand why it happened..fears that I had were no longer there. I felt free.

I was preparing for a two week vacation to the beach by taking my kayak to a local lake where I’d paddle laps. Three laps were roughly six miles and I would do them in intervals like distance runners train. My reasoning was I would need to have the endurance for an off shore trip into the Atlantic. The second was that I figured I would end up towing my eleven year old daughter in her Kayak around the slack backwaters. While paddling my laps I couldn’t help but notice the runners along the path around the lake so I decided to try mixing my own workout up with running.

Two miles was the longest distance I had ever ran when I started my initial lap on foot around that lake. I walked over halfway that first time but I kept pushing. I would go over there three days per week and each week I saw progress...one whole lap without stopping at first and within a couple of months I was bored with that scenery and sought a new path. Before long, I was a runner albeit a very slow runner. In six months I had lost forty pounds and had a few  5k’s under my belt. I had Steve PreFontaine quotes memorized and had set goals for my self.

What I most liked about running was that I viewed my body almost like a toy that I never knew I had. It was surprisingly a pretty darned tough toy too, I’d push it to the limits but it was always ready to go on my next run day. Every time I ran, it was a race against the old Jim. He didn’t have a chance against me and those Pre quotes…(Steve Prefontaine was the greatest American distance runner, undersized and full of determination.) He  had sayings like, “It’s a good day to die” and “somebody will have to bleed to beat me.” I needed all of the motivation I could get and after a year and a half of pushing myself to run intervals, sprints up rollercoaster hill and distances up to 16 miles all while jamming to Metallica's "Kill'em All"… I put myself up to what I considered the ultimate test…I ran my first half marathon. I had a goal that only my wife and myself knew about. That was to run the 13.1 miles in less than two hours. That’s not world class by any means but it was a time that I had never dreamed I could reach. With Amber and my sweet mother at the finish line I crossed it at 1:56:58…and like a switch, I was done. I had proved to myself that even at the age of 45 I had the drive and determination to do absolutely anything I set my sights on.

  I loved the competition of running races although I never even won my age group, I did enjoy the comraderie and seeing the passion and drive that each person put into a race. You see, most were like me, they weren’t racing anyone but themselves.

I had missed fishing and spent a lot of time in my kayak which eventually led to fishing kayak bass tournaments. I figured, what better competition am I suited for than for fishing. I’ve been obsessed with it since I was a kid and here is a chance to compete in what I truly love.

 I train just as if I was going to run a race, not with intervals (although I do paddle sprints and time paddle distances) but with the same philosophy that I used when I ran…if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball. I don’t know if anybody or if everybody trains for kayak bass tournaments, I’ve never asked, but it helps keep me motivated and adds a little flavor to it.

I still haven’t won a big tournament and with the competition I’m up against I may not ever win one but it won’t be because my heart wasn’t in it…I hear people say, “it’s only fishing.” To some it isn’t, to some of us, it’s rock and roll, it's our drug...our passion and our way of life, it is much more than "just" fishing. Peace

The best lake in the county...lil Okeechobee

When I was a kid, there was a lake that I had permission to fish that had the reputation in my thirteen year old circle of being the best lake around. Many youngsters caught their biggest bass in this lake and I'm sure there were true giants lurking in it, much bigger than those we had seen caught.

The lake was about 8-15 acres and covered in lily pads which made it very hard to land a fish. I didn't have a boat so once they wrapped in the pads it was over. The most effective way that I knew to fish it was to wade but wading meant getting leeches on you and as much as I hate leeches I still waded that lake.

With the local popularity of this lake it was guaranteed that friends would want to tag along. All I had to do was call my sunday school teacher and he usually was ok with it but he always added that they weren't allowed to fish there without being with me. I had an easy fix for this and I used the tactic several times...I'd get mom to drive a screwy route when she'd take me and a friend  over and once I could drive...I blindfolded them. They didn't want to be blindfolded but that was the only way they could go. It was a top secret spot and I was so honored to have permission to fish there.

It's been 30 years since I fished the lake that me and a few of my buddies called lil Okeechobee and today...I will fish it again out of my kayak. Who knows what the lake holds today but fish or no fish I will definitely be flooded with memories of wading that jewel and catching my first 5 pound bass and she will forever remain top secret.