Wow!!! The very first fish I put in the boat was a 5lb 12oz Smallmouth,(on the digital scale)  what a beautiful fish. I kept looking in the live well at her on and off for an hour. Another 18-19 lb  5 fish day but this time mostly on the Rapala DT6 River Shad www.rapala.com The only fish that was real aggressive was the Smallie  the others would hit the River Shad and would just swim off to the side. That’s where at least for these old eyes where the Sufix High Vis Yellow  line comes into it’s own.  Had to leave to meet my wife in Murfreesboro and I left them biting. Thanks for visiting my site Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

I had a good 6 hours on Center Hill  today. I caught and released 12 Largemouth and Spots all caught on a #7 Rapala Shad Rap River Shad pattern www.rapala.com and 6lb test Sufix High Vis Yellow Mono www.sufix.com.   I don’t’ believe that I caught a fish in more then 3 to 4feet of water at best. When I had my first 5 in the live well I stopped and took some pictures and weighted the 5. The 5 weighed 15lbs 3oz with the big fish weighing 5lb 6oz.  I released that 5 then caught 7 more with 1 Largemouth weighing 3lbs 2oz and another 3Lbs 12oz. the other 5 were all keepers as well.  No way to know exact weight but if I culled the 2 smaller Spots in the first 5 I weighed and replaced them with the 2 Largemouth I believe I would have  had 5 fish in the 18 lb plus range. 47 degree water and just right as far as I’m concerned for the crankbait. Thanks for visiting my site. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebass guides.com

What a great 6 hours with Ronnie Wooten today on Tim’s Ford. Let me start by saying other than the picture of the landing net there are NO double pictures-all separate fish we pulled back in a protected cove to take the pictures. —-Ronnie and I caught 12 total today with 7 being over the 18 inch size limit on Smallmouth. We weighed the 7 keepers and they weighed in at 18lbs 2oz on the digital scale. Everything was caught on a very small hair fly that Ronnie ties and both of us used Sufix 6lb High Vis Yellow mono. www.sufix.com  For anyone that want to “SEE” (which I always do) their line the high vis is great and doesn’t seem to bother the fish any-as a matter of fact it disappears quickly in the water. That was as simple as it gets-6lb Sufix-small hair fly. By the way Ronnie put it on me today-but I was a very good net guy.  Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

Yesterday my old friend and fishing partner for many years pasted away at his home. David Honey was a great guy, a loyal friend and a joy to be with. The Lord has allowed us to make some great memories together on the water. They are ones I won’t forget.  I’m going to miss him. Rick

Ronnie and I fished Tim’s this morning for 5 hours before the rain and snow set in. We had 5 or “MAYBE” 6 bites and the 3 chunks above was our best.  We tried to use  micro jigs like a 1/16th brown and orange but the wind was very strong and it was difficult at least for me to detect a bite. So I switched to a 1/4oz Terminator Swim Jig that I had changed the skirt to a Terminator Pumpkin Green and that made the difference for me. I was throwing the jig on Sufix 8lb test mono www.sufix.com on a m/h spinning rod. Glad I got home when I did the snow has covered the ground and the fire place feels good!  More hopefully by the end of the week  if the weather cooperates. Thanks for visiting my site. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

Good friend Ken Jenkins and I put in at Fate Sanders this morning around 8:00am left at Noon,. We had 6 bites and put 5 in the boat that weighed in at 19lbs 2oz and the big fish was 6lbs 4oz.  4 was caught on a Rapala #5  River Shad Shallow Scatter Rap in 3 feet of water or less and the big fish hit a Rapala  #7 River Shad Shad Rap in about 5 feet of water. www.rapala.com  As always I was using 6 and 8lb test Sufix Mono www.sufix.com. Man this is some great small dis. abrasion resistant strong line.   I use to fish Priest almost exclusively 20 years ago and the Rapala Shad Rap series was always dynamite on this lake and it appears that it still is today.  If you haven’t picked up this River Shad pattern you really need to this is a bait that I believe you can go to year around. Thanks for visiting my site  Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

Ronnie and I hooked up this morning for 4 hours on Normandy. They are pulling the fire out of the lake and dropped another 3-4 inches while we were there. We caught and released 10 this morning with 5 above being our best.  Rapala DT6Red Craw scored again www.rapala.com Love Those DT’s   Now for the rest of the story. Tuesday (see report) I found some fish in a very small area and caught 18-I told Ronnie where it was and he got 25 there yesterday and we had another 10 there today  (53 total) from an area no longer than 3 good long casts in distance.  Seems the air temp was dropping today as well while we were there-hand warmers came in handy.  HAPPY NEW YEAR from the McFerrin Clan to you and yours. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

9 of 18 that I had on Normandy yesterday. As you can see no big fish although I did loose a (estimated 5 + ) at the boat because I was fiddling with my landing net.  Everything was on the Rapala DT6 Red Craw www.rapala.com and Sufix 6lb Mono www.sufix.com.  No matter what lake you are fishing here in the south this winter the DT6 Red Craw will help you put more fish in the boat.  No doubt in my mind. There are times that the fish seem to want  the DT6 Demon more than the Red Craw-BUT-so far at least for me the Red Craw has been the best. This time I put in at Barton Springs .  The water is up over the concrete walk way, well past summer pool.  Color is great and maintaining the mid 50’s in temp.  Every fish I caught was right up on the bank-none more than 3-4 of water at the deepest.  Be careful running I had one stretch that I had to idle for 200 yards or more because of all the logs and trash. Happy New Year-hope to see you on the water! Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

I fished Center Hill today from 7:00am until 12:45pm and had a so so day. I caught and released 8 Spots with the 6 above being the best plus another Big Crappie, a 10lb Blue Cat and a Huge Drum-All my fish came on either a Rapala DT6 Red Craw or a DT10 Red Craw.www.rapala.com  8lb Sufix Mono www.sufix.com. Water temps still in the low 50’s and plenty of color up lake.  When the Spots hit the DT there was no doubt-and they are fat as butter balls. Thanks for visiting my site and Merry Christmas.  Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com