2015 Unofficial Road Trip (Also Known As The Baked Potato Classic)

Things I learned

1. “We don’t get many of Y’all down here!” is how I was greeted at Bass Pro (Shreveport) when I bought my license. That sentiment repeated itself over and over again down here. J

2. Clear water is relative. What the guys described as clear water to me was stained. One thing we could agree on was muddy water. J

3. Watermelon Red works in “stained” water. I could barely see it when the lure was in the water BUT when push came to shove that was the color to use. Confirmed with one trip to Toledo Tackle where all the good Watermelon Red baits were plain off the shelf.

4. Never order decaf in the South. They looked at me like if I had my head cut off. LOL

5. Weight was a key to my catches. When flipping and pitching I tend to go heavy. Drop it hard and fast for reaction bites. That scared more fish than I can imagine. Dropping down considerably for me (1/4oz) was the key to getting some bites. A subtle fall with a nice soak was got their attention.

6. Switched to fluorocarbon – get more bites. On day 1 Bighead was fishing with fluoro, I was using braid. Over time we were puzzled why I wasn’t getting bit. We worked over the setups one section at a time. First the weight, second the lure and finally the line. Once I got to the line I started getting bit. In that water clarity we were both convinced that line color wouldn’t make a difference. FWIW it did to us.

7. Never order a baked potato past 7pm.

8. When looking for tackle stop by any gas station. They got their priorities straight down there! Shout out to Toledo Tackle which puts any of my Albany shops to shame.

9. There are gators in Toledo Bend. Did not know that.

10. There are Alligator Gar in Toledo Bend. Tried catching a few to no avail.

11. Travel rods are a GREAT way to save money when flying. Carried 2 3-piece rods on and bagged and tagged 2 two-piece rods which counted as standard luggage as opposed to oversize.

12. Shooting through weeds around a cypress tree to catch bass is FUN AS HELL.

13. Riding over a submerged stump rattles the unexpected.

14. Riding down “boat lanes” and seeing a marker WAY off course also tends to make you pucker just a bit.

15. Who knew … “boat lanes” We don’t have these on Lake Champlain. J

16. No matter how much tackle you bring you will ALWAYS not bring the lure they were biting on. Uhm … lizards.

17. Boudin Balls are delicious!

I'm in Md and I took a trip to Rayburn almost 3yrs ago. Spent 8 days in a camp ground 100 yards away from our boat slip. My experiences were very similiar to yours.

Watermelon red

Gators

Fluoro

Gar

Boudain 'fricking amazing'

Too much tackle

And a few others