I started out just before dawn and slow cruised up lake stopping first at R31. I marked several decent schools of fish but could not entice a bite. It was still dark so may have been a little early. Then I made the rookie mistake and left fish to go find fish. Duh. I ran up to Indian Creek and motored around looking. A few scattered marks but nothing inviting. Only a few birds fluttering around. As I trolled out of Indian Creek I got a bite on the point and boated a nice 25". First fish for the family fish fry. I kept trolling the area but didn't see or catch anything else.

I went down to around R35 and marked enough scattered fish to make a few laps but caught nothing. So I kept going down lake seeing a few fish here and there up and down the water column. One or two at 25' then one or two at 30-40' then down near the bottom then up again. Just all over the place except on my hook. I got all the way to R31 when I got a scrappy 18". I was marking more fish around here so I kept trolling laps. At least 3 times I had fish on that then spit the hook and each felt big. And at least 3 times I had heavy strikes that didn't hook-up.

I finally stuck another one and boated a nice plump 27". All through this time I kept switching out lures big for little but all the fish bit the small Bombers. Interestingly enough, during the tournament last Saturday I caught 5 fish and 2 were on the bigger Bomber. Hmmmm. No more bites so after a while I ran down to Hales Ford Bridge to try Coast Guard point. I started near Bridgewter and just before Coast Guard I boated a good 23". Fish fry complete! I made several passes over CG and across the lake but no more bites. I did mark a few fish around but couldn't tempt them. But hey, it was a real nice day. Later Joel

 I headed out in the dark and started checking the area around Hales Ford Bridge and in the creeks. Didn't see anything. I slowly cruised up to Indian Creek in the dark. Slowly because there's a lot of debris floating around and a lot of it is big stuff. I started trolling near R37 and went into Indian Creek all the way to the back. Nothing but some bait and that was less than last time. The birds weren't even up and fluttering.

As I got back to the main lake I started marking more fish but nothing was biting.Trolled around there and half way to Grimes but still nothing. And then the wind blew up. Wow, what a difference. I headed back toward R35 still marking scattered fish. I made a loop there and then kept going down lake. The first fish came at 9:30 half way between R35 and R34. Just a plump 23" but the first fish of the year. Ha-lay-lu-la. I looped around that area a couple times because I was marking fish in small loose groups. I did get a big hit but it pulled off near the boat after I cleared my lines. All I got were two scales on a hook. A couple more loops got no more. So I kept going and on the second loop at R33 got the second fish. A nicer 25.5". Nothing else happened so I kept going to R31. There I met Bob R. I think he was following me. He too had marked fish but no bites. He did mention he marked fish at Coast Guard point so I kept that in mind. I started heading down lake checking a few spots here and there. I set my lines again at Bridgewater and trolled to Coast Guard. As Bob said I started marking fish. I saw a group of about 6 fish on the side imaging and steered that way. Bango. Third fish was a very nice 25". I was finally feeling good.

I took a break at Captains Quarters and said hello to Dewayne. He showed me some nice pix from his time on the Bay. I got to do that some time soon. He confirmed for me that fish should still be up the creek near/around Campers so after the break I headed that way. I started casting at the first big right turn and working the bank with a Storm Kickin' Minnow 6" in gizzard shad color. Half way to the no wake buoys I got bumped. I thought I snagged something and then was shocked when the snag started swimming away! Wow, I actually got one casting the banks. Just a 22" but also nice. I had just taken the temps at the bridge and back here the water was 50 degrees. I didn't want to quit since the weather was so great but I did. I'm ready for Saturday.
Later Joel

I finally headed out just as it was getting light. At 27 degrees, it was cold.
Just past the bridge I again saw many, many birds fluttering around so I decided to troll the area looking. I did see all the bait the birds were seeing but there were no fish chasing the bait. I trolled the mouth of Hales Ford creek and across on the other side and all the way up to R30, following the birds all the way. I maybe marked a stray fish here and there. Pooh.

So I ran up to Indian and decided to troll while I hunted for the fish. I did see a few scattered fish and even a few pairs but nothing bit. I went all the way up to the condos and still didn't see anything. Trolling on the way back out, short of the marina, I got a big, solid hit. There were big head shakes and a lot of weight there. I had just cleared the other line when the line went slack. Gone. I checked the lure and one tine on the rear hook was straightened. And these are the 2x replacements I put on all my little lures. Dang.

 I made two more passes in that area but saw nothing and got no bites. I trolled out of Indian Creek and up to Grimes and actually saw more scattered fish than in the creek. Mostly sorta deep. The water was a little off color so I started back down lake. Nothing at R35. I trolled the stretch from R34-R32-R31 with no results. I ran back to the bridge and trolled from there up past Coast Guard point, over to Yacht ClubC creek mouth, back up that side, and over across past CG point again. The water was clearer there and seemed to change around the bridge but I didn't see any difference in fish density, and also saw a lot less bait. For the heck of it I ran up Hales to Campers and cast around the banks for a bit but had no takers. Times are tough so I think I'll just try again. Later Joel