I just returned last night from fishing Lake Lanier and Lake Hartwell for 3 days  with long time friend Tim White.  Monday we had 29 degrees and thick fog when we got to the lake. The hand rails-walk ways and docks were ice covered and the fog didn’t lift for 2 1/2 hours. The other two days it began to warm up but we battled the cold front mile high blue bird sky’s except for a couple hours  Wednesday. Over the 3 days we caught and released 47 Spots and Largemouth. (all about like what you see above)  We didn’t have any “Big” fish with our largest Spot weighing 3lbs 6oz  and found out very quickly atleast for us that they WOULD NOT hit a swim bait-crank bait-spinner bait-jerk bait-grubs- soft plastic minnow type baits-spoons-blade bait- tail spinners or Umbrella Rigs. We had a brief top water bite Monday using Rapala Skitter Walks and a Rapala X Rap Prop www.rapala.com  but after that everything had to be slow and easy.  So we slowed down and used baits like  the 1/4oz Green Pumpkin Terminator Jig–  3/16th VMC Standup Jig  Heads rigged with a  3 1/2 inch Green Pumpkin Trigger X Hodad .  All in all I had another great time fishing with Tim and water that I don’t get to be on very often.  Hopefully I will do this again in the Spring-I’m still looking for that 6lb Lanier Spot.  Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

I will be booking a few late November-December-January and February  light tackle “LIVE BAIT GUIDE TRIPS” on Tim’s Ford and Normandy.  These trips will be Monday through Friday only. For details contact me at rickm@dtccom.net or on my cell phone 615-308-9936.

Live baits trips on these 2 lakes can be fantastic- If you interested give me a call and we will talk.  Rick

Yesterday and last night here in Tennessee was crazy with some very bad weather. Heavy rains, winds and even a funnel cloud or two moved across our state from one side to the other. When I got up this morning at 3:30am it was till pouring but I got the boat ready and at 5:15am headed to Tim’s. I spent the first 1 1/2hrs sitting in the parking lot at the ramp with the rains getting harder than they were when I got up. Finally there was  a little break in the rain so I put in and for the first couple hours didn’t have bite one. The lake was white capping and the heavy rains would come and go.  I kept changing baits and finally got 5 bites on the 4 inch Trigger X Watermelon Red Swimming Grub www.triggerx.com rigged on a 1/4 ounce  VMC Dater Head Jig www.vmchooks.com When the fish are deeper (15′ & down)  I like to fish these Wide tailed Trigger X grubs on a 1/4 or 3/8 VMC Dater Head because it keeps a great  balanced horizontal profile when you are swimming  them in deeper water. The width of the tails puts off a great vibration even when your cranking slowly like I was today. I threw these on 6lb test Sufix Mono www.sufix.com and a 7′ med AllPro APX Spinning Rods www.allprorods.com. When the weather changed and the high pressure moved in it was all over.  These fish came out of a entirely different end of the lake than the ones that I had last week. 70  degree rising water —–be interesting in the next few days. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

I had a great 5 hours on Tim’s this morning. I put in just before day light and ran to my first spot and stayed there for 2 1/2 hours. I caught 6 Smallmouth and 1 Largemouth in that area on the Rapala Skitter Walk www.rapala.com  and the Rapala #5 Scatter Rap Crank in the Disco Shad color.  When I would get a blow up and miss  on the Skitter Walk I would immediately toss the Scatter Rap in the direction I thought they were headed and if I got close they would nail it. This bait runs 6′ to 8′ deep on 10lb test and a long cast but of course I throw it on 6lb Sufix Mono www.sufix.com so it will run a little deeper. The Largemouth and Smallmouth that I’m holding I caught on the Skitter Walk at the same time-that’s twice on Tim’s this year that has happened-makes your heart pump a little faster. When the top water action died I headed directly to the same bay that I have been catching some nice White Bass in on a Krocodile  Spoon www.luhrjensen.com .  I finished my day with 30 or more White Bass/Small Hybrid’s mix and the huge Flat Head Cat Fish that gobbled the spoon just like the 3 did in almost the same area a couple week ago.  Once again here’s the kicker  I caught all the White Bass/Hybrids and the Flat Head on Sufix 4lb Test Mono and a AllPro 7′ Med/Light Rod www.allprorods.com. All the Sufix Line that I have tried has been fantastic. The tensile and knot strength even in the lighter lines is superior in my estimation. The G2 precision Winding process that Sufix uses makes the line come off the spool smooth as silk. All 3 baits that I used today are available in your local sporting goods stores-check them out. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

SKITTER WALK–SKITTER WALK–SKITTER WALK that says it all for Ronnie and I today…www.rapala.com 832 Sufix Braid www.sufix and a AllPro 7′ M/H Apx Rod  Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

This has been a very interesting week.  I have already posted Monday and Tuesdays reports so I’ll start on Wednesday. I went to Tim’s and put in at Turkey Creek at daylight. I caught 5 very short Spots off the first point I stopped at on a Long John then in the next 4 hours had 4 bites on a Green Pumpkin Terminator Jig www.terminator.com rigged with a Trigger X Green Pumpkin Twin Tail Grub www.triggerx.com and that was it for the day. On Thursday I fished out of Ronnie ‘s boat and it was dead-let me repeat dead. I fished Tim’s this morning (top 7 pictures) I had one Smallmouth early on a Rapala Skitter Walk www.rapala.com and then at least for me everything died. I went into a cove that normally holds a lot of bait and White Bass-they were there  and it was on. I keep bragging about how good Sufix Line is and here I go again. I like to use a 7’ M/L All Pro APX spinning rod www.allprorods.com rigged with  4lb test line and a 3/16 ounce Live Image Holo Luhr-Jensen Krocodile Spoon (pictured above) www.luhrjesen.com  for these white bass when the bait is really grouped up. I caught at least 50 White Bass all about like the one 3 rows down far left picture. Most of these fish came out of 25-30 feet on water and was an absolute blast on light line. THEN in the matter of 30 minutes I caught the 3 Flat Head Cat Fish pictured above on the same Sufix 4lb Test and the Krocodile Spoon. If you have your drag set right and in open water like I was today you can put some very big fish in the boat on 4lb test. Through the years on Tim’s it’s hard to tell how many big Rock Fish and Hybrids-Smallmouth and Largemouth has been put in my boat on Sufix 6lb test…The line is fantastic-the week didn’t turn out the way I had hoped for but yet 5 good days on the water with friends like Bill and Ronnie pictured above .  Done for the week. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

Ronnie and I fished Normandy this morning and had several  but no “Big” fish.  Everything came of on a Rapala Skitter Walk www.rapala.com  I actually had 4 more Spots about the same size (nothing to brag about) but the batteries in my camera died and there you go.  A lot of fun to say the least. Water temp is down another 2 degrees on the surface and I think the lake was still falling a little.  I’m on vacation this week so I hope to be able to give you several more posts as we go along.  If you have any questions I will be happy to help if I can. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

I met Ronnie Wooten at the ramp at daylight and fished until 11:30am. All the fish above caught by Ronnie and I was on the Rapala Skitter Walk  www.rapala.com with the exception of 1.  Water temp was 78 this morning and the lake has come down several feet over the past week to 10 days.  If you visit my site much  you well know that I throw my top water on Sufix Braid and Ronnie used 10lb Sufix Mono www.sufix.com.  It is going to get better and better. I’m off all next week so unless something happens I should be able to give you several reports. Thanks for visiting my site. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com

I spent 3 1/2 hours on Normandy this morning and put 5 in the boat that you see pictured above. I know that there are more top water baits that I could throw but why?  The Rapala Skitter Walk www.rapala.com just keeps producing for me over and over again, and It will for you as well if you will tie one on. Water temp is still 81 degrees and hopefully will drop “A LITTLE” this week end with the colder air coming down from Canada. Although nothing can change water temps either up or down better  than rain. We are always looking for those cold fall/early winter rains and then those warm spring/early summer rains….endless cycle! I want to focus for a minute on the bottom right hand picture. That’s the Skitter Walk that I was throwing this morning and as you can see I have it rigged with 2 Single Hooks. These are the new VMC ILS Inline Single Hooks www.vmchooks.com that you should be seeing on the shelves soon.  They come in 1/0 all the way to 7/0 and have a X Wide Gap—X Strong–and actually recommended for larger lures “BUT” the 1/0 works fantastic on the Skitter Walk.  Let me warn you these are NEEEEEDLE Sharp and may be the answer to the what do I do now with a flopping bass in my net problem.  I netted all but 1 of these fish and no hook in the net………HEY!!!!!!! 832 Sufix Braid www.suffix.com and a AllPro APX 7’m/h Spinning  Rod www.allprorods.com……Just love that top water. Rick McFerrin www.tennesseebassguides.com