t bend tex

I am completely out of circulation june 17-21. after that, I can probably work in a day or so around the kids/grandkids larry g

matt exactly when do you plan to be at TB? My plans now are to be there tomorrow pm and leave wednesday pm, and not be back there for about 3-4 weeks due to kids/grandkids coming in, HOWEVER, if the timing is right, we may be able to meet you there for a day or so. I'm not near the fisherman as catt, but I can tell some tall tales! and would like to see you again (is your wife coming with you) I agree with catt on the choice of accommodations. most of the operators in that area are very nice folks. there is also a few places on FM3315 that you could try if those he mentioned are not available. Larry

the floater seems to not have the leg kick of the original ribbit

I like lp reels for topwater, small spinnerbaits, small shallow cranks- I'm not impressed with my shimano when it comes to pulling even a three pounder out of the stumps and grass. the light weight sure is nice to use all day! I like rounds for deep cranking, soft baits, jigs. I like the old low ratio reels- I have a Garcia 5500c, 5000d, some 5500c's, and a favorite- a 4500c (I would like to have more of these, but it seems it has been out of production for a while). usually use mono on these. I have three old Diawa Millionaires (70's vintage), that I use for wormin' usually use braid on these Larry G

Quality time with my wife - enjoying all of God's creation- - - the sound of a biggun hitting my topwater lure after the sun is down and there is not enough light to see the lure! my least favorite - sound from the back seat " honey, I've just hung a stump with my favorite deep diving crank" ! Larry G

water quality may be poor-may need fertilization and/or ph change. I have a 5 acre pond that I raise ph and fertilize every year check with your local biologist - he should be able to help

thanks catt I'll try to check it out this week! Larry g

welcome from buna, tx

catt what's the best way to get to the creek? Can it be fished with both texas and louisiana License? larry g

my wife and I were home by 7 pm friday. A great fishing trip-one of my best- not in quantity and quality of fish, but quantity and quality of fellowship!! Our best was 4-11. We went out on our farm pond saturday evening and I caught a 6+. we didn't have a scale, rule, camera, or livewell, so we did a very conservative estimate of weight. we hope all the folks felt a warm welcome from TEXAS! hope to see all of you next year- and some more folks too.

my wife and I should be there around 6pm. we have about a 5 hour drive and will leave home right after church. should be in rv site B, driving a silver dodge dually with a truck camper. expecting a good week of fun, fellowship, and fishin- maybe some "catchin" also!

I catch, keep, and eat most legal bass from 14-18". That is the best table size - very fine table fare. I also keep all legal crappie for consumption. all this from public waters. I have a 5 acre pond and keep ANYTHING under 16". fish can over populate just like game animals just my thoughts

according to my local rag, four sharelunkers were reported in texas last weekend. a 15.54# from a private lake, a 14.47# from choke canyon lake, a 13.24# from fork, and a 15.32# from fork. spring fishin' is looking good in texas!

I don't fish with lightning about-my dad was killed by lightning!

should anyone need a bait monkey fix, there is a BPS in Bossier City (shreveport) Louisiana - not a bad drive. Also, a Texas based chain, Academy sporting goods, has locations somewhat near Fork- Be aware that all cell phone services MAY NOT be available in the rural area of the lake- Verizon does not work on some areas of my home lake! (I just dropped Verizon for that reason). I have been in spring training on Toledo Bend Lake this week- water is warming fast-bass are moving in fast- my wife and I had good catches- but no hogs- going back the first three days of next week for another fix and a little more training. see you next Sunday evening on fork!

my wife and I will furnish a dessert for each of the evening meals

interesting comments about BPS. I'll add my thoughts as a consumer and one time retailer. I have shopped BPS for many years-first by mail order, now electronic, and/or in person. I have shopped Springfield, Destin, Orlando, Katy Tx, Bossier city, and tried to shop Oklahoma City, but could not find my way thru the traffic maze to get there, so I gave up and passed on stopping there. most personal visits at BPS have been good- good employees and well stocked. The Bossier City store had excellent service on the floor, but the cashier area was understaffed and had bad long lines. I mostly do electronic ordering because the nearest store is some 150 miles away, and I have found the fill rate (that's the % of my order that was shipped) to be excellent- runs about 98% and backorders are prompt. Having spent 27 years in retailing, that is saying something because most GOOD wholesalers ship around 95%, and poor wholesalers may ship 50%. some of BPS out-of-stock issues could be caused by underestimating the demand and/or shipping issues from vendors-most likely from the far east. I owned and operated a "mom and pop" hardware store for 27 years, selling out 18 months ago. I have always believed that a business is not "put out of business" by another business, but by the actions of the business itself- there are always exceptions, i. e., general economic conditions, floods, hurricanes, etc. When I first started (in a small country town), I did well with hunting and fishing supplies along with hardware, but as the Wally Worlds moved in, I had to adapt- and I did, dropping most sporting goods, and concentrating on hardware, and as the Depots and Lowes moved in, had to adapt even more. The store grew to 20,000 sf with lots of specialty items- items that the mass merchants did not carry or carried in a limited quanity. The store is still there and growing today because it is serving the needs of the customers. All business have challenges, and while small operators can compete with service, some overhead (health care for example) is a killer. Some above posts complained about teenage employees, but most of the problems aren't because of the kids, it's because management does not train and manage the kids. In 27 years, I probably used around 100 high schoolers, most being good, some great, and some terrible- those did not last long. I can say the same about mature full time/part timers- I enjoy shopping with my local tackle stores- and most of them are specialty stores, and while may not always be as sharp on price as the megas, the service is usually outstanding- even so, the nearest to me is over 30 miles, so I do order from BPS- and Cabela. while I realize the mega stores have hurt some areas - domestic production, for example- if one considers the number of new products that have been introduced in the past 25 years, it is almost a good trade-off.

my first lessons with a TR was in '66- after the cast and worm settled, keep rod at 3 o clock, after about 30 seconds, turn the reel crank ONE turn, repeat til worm is under boat, then jig slowly several times before reeling in. most taps are very subtle, and using this slower method usually produces better than average fish. we fished this method in depths to 30'. those were the days before super "bass boats"- my first bass boat was a 14' jon, 6 hp evinrude, and a one blade (3' paddle) trol motor. not much running around-just fishing on 140,000 acre rayburn lake

darn- one of my favorite lures! my supply has been going down and I have planned to restock soon! best feature of the 'bug is that one does not have to guess if he has a bite- the bass SLAMS it. it does require lots of work to crank it all day. I have several old low ratio reels (3.8-1) that I use for these type lures. I'll just have to baby the few that I have remaining. my favorite color is a light green/shad used in summer/fall. chartruse also good then. crawfish color good in late winter/spring. largest bass on MB is 7#.

Texas bass fishin' since 1955, fishing Toledo Bend Lake since it was a pup with flooded green trees (late 60's)

I recall a quote by Kipling - I think- something like this "a woman is a woman, but a cigar is a good smoke". Maybe that should be "a woman is a woman, but but a good fishing trip will be remembered forever"

add my wife and I to the list- we have rv spot reserved at Fisherman's cove- exact dates uncertain, but most likely arrive Late sunday pm, leave saturday. someone asked about weather: I live in deep southeast Texas, I would not be surprised at 30* or 90*, 30mph north wind or 5 mph south wind, sun, clouds, fog, rain, - this is a prime season for cool fronts overriding warm air from the Gulf, therefore BE PREPARED For most anything!

Is anyone bringing wife/girl friend? I am retired and fish most anywhere I wish, but my wife loves fishing and she goes most anywhere I go