11 of 20 today on NAJ. We caught everything on 2 spots. Started out with 7 right at daylight then the remained by noon. Ronnie and I both use Sufix mono and braid of different weights on all our rods-it is very rare that we have our lines broken-and normally when we do it’s because we didn’t stop to retie. Even when fishing grass Sufix holds up time and time again. www.sufix.com.  Needle Sharp VMC Wide Gap 3/0 on the soft plastics www.vmchooks.com  Thanks for visiting my site Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

Billy, Braxton and I made a unfortunate quick trip to Chickamauga this morning. Let me explain. We had been at the lake for a couple hours and Billy got a call that Frieda his wife had been taken to the emergency room in McMinnville so we loaded out and headed back. For those of you that believe in prayer I would ask that you do so for the family-she is a very sick lady. We had 9 total with 5 pictured above all but 2 on a drop shot. I was using. I was using Sufix 20/9 Hi Vis Yellow braid and a Sufix 6lb Fluorocarbon leader www.sufix.com a VMC #2 Spinshot Drop Shot Hook and VMC 3/8oz Tungsten Drop Shot Ball Weight  www.vmchook.com This is a great Drop Shot set up. The braid cast like  dream the spin shot is needle sharp and the tungsten weight give you a better feel for structure and light bites. Hope we get to go back soon-but even more for Billy, Frieda and the family. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

2 of the blurry pictures are of Ronnie holding 4 that we caught Monday Morning on Normandy. The other 4 are fish I caught yesterday on Center Hill. My trips are short (3 hour or so) during this hot weather-every since I had a heat stroke several years ago I just don’t push it. Yesterday I had 9 all together-Some on my old reliable favorite Rapala Skitter Walk and others on the New Rapala Rip Stop. I want to talk a little about this new bait it comes in 14 forage-matching color patterns. There are 2 sizes #9 which runs 3-4 feet deep and has 2 VMC trebles the “New” size is a #12 which is a 1/2oz bait which is twice as heavy as the original and runs 4-5 feet deep and has three sticky-sharp No. 5 VMC treble hooks, rather than two. The Rip Stop has a tail design that creates a fast ripping hard stopping flashing swim bait action. When you stop this bait it “shimmies or quivers” before it comes to rest and then the head of the bait begins to lift. You can fish this bait like a jerk bait-a wind and cast, a twitch bait-Yesterday it was keep it moving at a steady pace then stop for a couple seconds . When I picked back up the retrieve is when they nailed it. Check them out at your favorite tackle store or on www.rapala.com AS always I spool nothing but Sufix mono and braid-best on the market hands down. Thanks for visiting my site. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

Just got back from vacation so I fished Normandy yesterday from daylight until 10:30am. Can you say HOT!  Trolled for Walleye for3 hours with no luck. Switched over to Crappie using a White  VMC 1/8oz Curl Tail Spinner Bait and caught the 2  11 inch crappie you see above off of the 1st log I fished then 20 logs later zero. You might not beware that VMC has a great line of Pan Fish lures-you might want to check them out at www.rapala.com them click on VMC.  Switched over to bass and had the 4lb 9oz Largemouth and the 2 smaaaaaal spots on soft plastics and  vmc wide gap 3/0 worm hook www.vmchooks.com. I was using  4lb Sufix  Clear Blue Pro Mix on my Crappie Rod and 10lb Pro Mix on the bass rods I used today. By then it was just to hot for me another 100 degree day-so I loaded out and headed home. Not really much to talk about but I thought I would share what I did yesterday. Rick

The headless guy is Ronnie Wooten-the terrible photographer  is me. Ronnie and I had either 12 or 13  Largemouth/Spot mix on Normandy this morning on soft plastics rigged on a VMC finesse weedless jig. We had to hunt for them this morning-it was 10:00am when we finally found them-perseverance perseverance.  I know I sound like a broken record but if you are into finesse fishing like I am you will appreciate the quality of these VMC Weedless Jigs. They work extremely well through all types of cover and are extremely sharp which is a VMC trademark. If you haven’t tried them pick up a pack or two of different weights and you will be very pleased.  www.vmchookscom  We both use Sufix Mono, Fluorocarbon  and Braid www.sufix.com strongest small diameter lines on the market today and always my choice. Thank you for visiting my site-besure to check out www.rapala.com where you can view all the products by brand. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

Ronnie and I fished Normandy this morning from daylight until 9:30 and had 15 Largemouth/Spot combination. No big’ns but a lot of fun. Everything was on soft plastics.  Ronnie was using Sufix 8lb mono while I was using a combination Of Sufix Performance 20/6 Braid with a 8lb Sufix 100% Fluorocarbon leader. www.sufix.com and a VMC 3/0 Wide Gap Hook. www.vmchooks.com  More maybe in a couple days. VBS this week at the church and I’m the cook! Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

Ronnie and I had 14 Largemouth/Spot mix on Normandy this morning on a Rapala DT6 Caribbean Shad www.rapala.com and soft plastics on a VMC finesse weedless jig. These VMC jigs work extremely well through all types of cover and are extremely sharp which is a VMC trademark. If you haven’t tried them pick up a pack or two of different weights and you will be very pleased.  www.vmchookscom  We both use Sufix Mono and Braid www.sufix.com strongest small diameter lines on the market today and always my choice. Back home by 10:30am Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

Ken and I fished from daylight until 10:30am this morning and caught 13 Shell Crackers and a bunch of Blue Gill (all released) Ken had his personal best with a chunk that measured 12 inches-all the others were in the 10 to 11 inch range. Sufix 4lb Test Mono www.sufix.com and the same VMC Long Shank Light Wire Hook that I used the other day. www.vmchooks.com (see 5-23 post)  Lot’s of fun…Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

Ronnie and I only fished 3 hours this morning on Tim’s and had the 4 pictured above. Both of us use Sufix mono-I think Ronnie was using 10lb nd I was using 8lb—I said it before and I will say it again-Sufix is bar none the best line I have ever had on a reel. It is smooth as silk and unbelievably strong for the small diameter. If you haven’t tried it your missing out. www.sufix.com  Thanks for visiting my site. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

Good friend and pan fish specialist Mike Dial and I fished the Hill this morning for Shell Crackers and had   fantastic time. We both limited out with 20 apiece (40 TTL) plus some decent Blue Gill as well. Largest was right at 12inches and we had multiple Shell Crakers  in the 10 to 11 inch range as well. Ultra light gear 4lb test Clear Blue Sufix Pro Mix Mono www.sufix.com and a VMC Long Shank 9146   #8 Aberdeen Hook www.vmchooks.com  and a night crawler. To say we had a blast falls way short. Mike and I are going to do it again soon. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com