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It's a tough thought to imagine three days at any lake being any less than a fun time but this trip was truly excellent. I mean it really set the bar. During the Barnett Bash, Snubby's had extended a generous offer to come up and crank one of the big four corp lakes during the summer and our schedulers finally clicked. When I told my wife of my plans, she surprised me by booking three nights at Hugh White on Grenada. She made the decision for us as Joel and I were torn between which lake we were going to fish. Them women and their intuitions, right?! The only catch was that I could fish the mornings from sun-up until the kids woke up and got restless and then I had kid duties until the afternoon or I could fish until 2ish and then watch the girls all evening while my wife read her book.... hardly a catch if you ask me!
Friday night was fun, my wife was unpacking and the little'uns were restless from the car ride so I dug some spray paint cans from the back of my truck and rounded up all of my old abused crank baits from my bass days and told them to go at it. The had a ball painting cranks! Anything to get them interested in the sport, right? Looking at picking up an airbrush set now since we had such a good time. Nothing like a little family craft night and maybe my wife won't bemoan my upcoming crank purchases as much.
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Saturday morning, Snubbys graciously picked me up from my cabin and we were at the ramp for sun-up. No Rees, he didn't get lost this time, he only took half a dozen wrong turns! Hahaha. We pooled the most recent knowledge from Rees, Mo' Money, and a few other guys on here as well as a few other locals and set up our game plan. We set our eight rods at staggered intervals and depths and cranked all morning. Our efforts rewarded us with 10 fine Grenada lake slabs in the boat. Never had to measure a one of them. We went 10 for 10 on keepers with the majority being 13.75" to 14.5" and with two going around 16" I believe. The fishing seemed to be traveling in tighter schools as we would have down periods then a flurry of activity. Setting up a pattern was a bust. We pulled both deep and shallow water and caught fish in both areas all throughout the water column. I had a ball fishing with ole Joel and recommend anyone to take him up on an offer to go fishing. There was never a dull moment and the conversation was at times hysterical, enlightening, knowledgeable, and entertaining! We probably could have picked up a few more if we focused on fishing as much as we did laughing. It was a great day and a great lesson in cranking. I think we counted no more than twelve boats all day. It was the busiest the lake ever was for the trip. Attachment 270389Attachment 270390Attachment 270391
Saturday, I fished the morning again. It was cool and foggy after all the rains of the previous evenings. Changed tactics and switched to spider rigging naked jigs. Working some contours near the dam resulted in two keepers and a survey of this years spawn with a hand full of 4-6" fish. The fish seemed too spread out for a slow approach and I neglected to side scan for any structure so I set out my pst's and 2oz weights and power trolled along contour lines. Stroll'r's were the hot ticket and netted another four keepers before I headed to the ramp at 10 for kid duties. The afternoon saw us touring the civil war forts, hiking, and spending the afternoon at the beach. Attachment 270396Attachment 270397
Monday, I fished the afternoon. After a big breakfast and some more crafts with the girls I got the family packed up and saw them off as I tore off to the ramp before their tail lights disappeared over the next hill. By 1:30 I had lines in the water and the first fish in the boat by 2. There's no other way to express it other it was just flat out plain hot! The water temp had risen into the low to mid nineties from being in the mid eighties the fist two days and I guess this got the fish in line, too. Trolling cranks with my big motor and a bucket trailing behind had me at an even 1.7-2.1 depending on the breeze. I found them all in deep water suspended 6-12' down. It was the proper way to end a trip on Grenada. 15 in the cooler by 5:00 and off the lake just as the afternoon breeze began to build. Most of the fish were 12.5-14.5 inches but with three at 15.75-16". The fish were still spread out but actives. Other than one double, I averaged one fish every twenty minutes or so. No real pattern, did find one drain that I picked up four fish off of but most were just trolling open water near some contour relief. Some just came from the middle of nowhere. Just had to be willing to keep moving around. I never saw more than 10 boats on the lake and the average wind speed was less than 3mph I would guess. What a blessing this weekend was. I love my Ross Barnett but this is another fine lake, too. I'll be back up here again. That is for sure. Attachment 270392Attachment 270393Attachment 270394Attachment 270395
No minners were harmed all weekend!
Other than the five dozen that didn't survive the trip to the lake from B's in Gore Springs.
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