Ronnie and I fished Normandy this morning and had 10 Crappie that weighed in at 11lbs 11oz. We both use 6lb  Sufix High Vis Yellow www.sufix.com which helps tremendously when the bite is light.  Unless you have used 6lb Sufix you have no idea how strong this line is-which is handy of course when you are fishing the trees with exposed hooks. Ronnie was throwing a small bug on a 1/32  ounce head and I went the traditional way with a float-small split shot VMC Bait Keeper Hooks www.vmchooks.com and a small minnow.  We caught them any where from 20 feet deep to 5 feet deep—just had to keep looking.  Smallmouth Monday Lord willing. Thanks for visiting my site. Rick www.tennesseebassguides.com  ****Note*** Normandy ramps are getting very  if’y-be careful-hopefully the rain we are suppose to get will happen this time.

I started out below the dam yesterday at 7:00am. The generation was much  less than what was posted on the Corp web site, and you know what that means. I fished all the way to the blue bridge and had 6 short Spots. I loaded out at 12:30 and put in above at 1:00pm and fished until 3:30 so I had to hustle. Long story short I pulled up on one point and quickly caught 7 Largemouth on a Rapala River Shad DT6 www.rapala.com. They would absolutely  “Hammer” the River Shad.  I was throwing RS today on 8lb test Sufix Pro Mix www.sufix.com . Water below the dam seemed to be clearer the closer to the blue bridge with water temps of 63 to 65. Up in the lake I had more wind and the water temp was about the same. I’m sure someone is wondering “Why didn’t he throw a fog?”  2 reasons-I only had 2 hours and fishing the frog is slower than hitting and running with the DT 6 River Shad & I left my VMC Walking Frog www.vmchooks.com  box sitting on my work bench in my basement. For you Frog Enthusiasts check the VMC Frog out. It’s 3 inches long weighs 11/16th of and ounce, equipped with the VMC  widest hook gap available-the body compresses easily-life like round rubber legs and walks the dog straight out of the package. Comes in 8 colors to meet every situation. Thanks for visiting my site and for the Lord getting me  to and from the lake one more time. Rick www.tennesseebassguides.com

Not much to talk about from yesterdays trip. I haven’t been on Normandy in weeks-Ronnie has kept me posted on how tough it has been, but for a change of scenery I thought I would give it a shot. I put in at Barton Springs at 9:00am -The lake is almost at winter pool and they pulled another 4 inches out yesterday while I was there. No problem getting in 2 wide at Barton Springs but only 1 wide up lake.  Water temp is 66-68 and  great color. We need some rain badly to add fresh oxygen and the lake has yet to turn over.  I fished from Barton Springs to the second bridge and had 5 bites in 5 hours. The 2 short  Largemouth and 2 Spots was it. I caught 2 on a Rapala DT6 Live River Shad and 2 on the New Rapala Shad Dancer Live River Shad. www.rapala.com Once again the Shad Dancer is going to be a great bait this winter-it’s a  silent  and has a hard thumping sweeping tail action and is smaller than the DT6.  The Shad Dancer comes in 16 colors dives 7′ to 10′ on 10lb test lines-I throw it on Sufix 6lb Pro Mix  and it will flat get down past that on a long cast www.sufix.com  It also has 2 #6 Ultra Sharp VMC Treble Hooks-is 2 inches in length and weighs 1/4 ounce.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

What you see is the best of what I have done on Tim’s in the last 2 days. It continues to be tough  but the fish I have caught have been good ones. Ken and I fished together today I started out with a Hybrid (dark picture-no flash)  Then ken caught the Largemouth and Smallmouth on a swim bait. Then ZERO all the way from the state park ramp to the rip rap at the end of Lost creek. The other 2 pictures are 2 smallmouth I caught back to back up in the river yesterday then ZERO—-If you look closely there was no wind and very few fish chasing anything. I don’t think I have had a bite after 8am either day.  Just a side note-Ken was a big Sufix Clear Blue Pro Mix fan-www.sufix.com and was glad that it’s back on the shelves-Folks Sufix Pro Mix is fantastic-small dia-stronger than strong and tough as nails. If you haven’t tried it you need to-you won’t be sorry I promise.  I may wait until the 1st of next week to go again-I will up date you when I do. Thanks Rick www.tennesseebassguides.com

This has been a very tough fall fishing season for me and many of the folks that I know and talk with on a regular basis.  Water temps continue to be high as well as air temps.  It’s been a long time since I woke up on Oct 27th and the 5:00 am temp outside is 68 degrees and we are headed for another 80 degree day.  Enough whining-here we go.  Center Hill water temp low 70’s:  I had 2 keeper Largemouth and 6 short Spots all caught on the New Rapala River Shad/Shad Dancer casting past balls of shad. This is going to be a tremendous bait this winter.  Before you say well why didn’t you do THIS OR THAT I did no takers in the 3 creeks that I fished in 8 hours . I talked with several fishermen that I saw and it was and has been  tough on everyone-with the exception of someone running into the right pocket and the right time. Tim’s Ford Yesterday water temp 69-71: The wind was just right (at least for me) it was 15-25 plus and under normal circumstances great Terminator Spinnerbait-Rapala Crankbait late October conditions-NO-but I did have 7 short Largemouth and 1 Short Smallmouth on a Rapala Helsinki Shad Husky Jerk scattered on multiple types of structure. Everything was on the river channel-NO-action period in long pockets or creeks where you could work other soft plastics-drop shot-Carolina Rig.  I also had 1 very heavy fish on off a shallow wind swept gravel/mud  point that just pulled off after 15/20 seconds. I think everyone within 5 miles could hear me scream when it came off!  Now Positive Thoughts: WE are very close to Tim’s cranking up on a Rapala Jerk Bait Bite-Along with the 8 short fish I caught I also had that many short strikes and also 4 or 5 chases back to the boat of fish I could easily see.  Come on colder water temps. I talked with Glen our TWRA Officer twice this week and everyone that he has checked on Tim’s has been experiencing much the same.  That’s the Long & Short-The Good-Bad & Ugly.  Just had to vent-Rick www.tennesseebassguides.com

This is the deepest cold front that we have had here in middle Tennessee in months. When I put in this morning it was 52 degrees and the wind was already blowing 15mph plus-I think it had to reach 25mph today. 100mph suit felt good first thing. Water temp was still 71 degrees but will continue to fall over the week end since we are going to have lows in some areas of mid 30’s. I had 4 total Smallmouth today and like Wednesday only 2 good fish. All 4 was caught on a Blue & Silver Storm Rockin Shad Lipless Crankbait www.stormlures.com I threw everything else with zero takers.  For those of you that are familiar with the Tin Fin the Rockin Shad has the same profile but has a very strong vibration and the multi-ball chamber emits a louder rattle than other similar lipless baits. Another great feature is it dives head first when it sinks but had a side to side rockin action.  Going to get good in the next couple weeks….Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

3 of 6 Smallmouth that I caught this morning on Tim’s. Water temp at daylight was still 71-72 degrees and normal Tim’s clear. All 6 today came on a soft plastic jerk bait rigged on a VMC 3/0 Red Wide Gap hook www.vmchooks.com and 10lb Sufix Pro Mix Mono www.sufix.com  I’m glad that we brought back the Clear Blue Pro Mix-I know we had a big following on it when it was discontinued-but it’s available now-if your tackle store doesn’t carry it-ask for it—-it’s as good as it get’s.  It appears we set another HIGHT TEMP day here in middle Tennessee today-90 degrees——BUT———a good cold front with rain is coming tomorrow which will usher in cooler water and air temps—-Don’t like to wish my life away but I’ll be glad when this summer is over!!!!! Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

8 of 14 Largemouth all on Rapala Skitter V www.rapala.com  2 or 3 good fish and the rest were small.  Definitely a afternoon bite. I put in at 8am (47 degrees) and had only 1 at 1:00pm—-then I found them and caught 13  by 3:30pm.  The grass is aggravating when it come to top water BUT I couldn’t get them to hit anything else—-just clean the grass off and keep chunking…….Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com  “Love The Skitter V”

11 of 22 on NAJ today with Ronnie.  They love the new Rapala Skitter V www.rapala.com and when you could get it close “Game On” The “V” alters the action of this bait to give it a quicker cut when you snap the rod and if you give it a little slack line it glides. The Skitter V is 4 inches in length and weighs 1/2 ounce-so you can get a very long cast using Sufix Mono or Braid www.sufix.com  10 color/patterns -translucent 3D Holo Eyes—Just a fantastic  top water walk the dog bait that you need in your boat.   Thanks for visiting my site Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com