Ernie Heckford and Bobby Powell kicked the day off with two request. One for 5 good bites and one request for 5 in the well. No more...not less. That's the mentality of a "jig master"...Hard work but most rewarding when your request are met. Mine were not. I'm licking wounds this day. 5 bites 5 bass on the scales at 19.84 pounds to take the win. Congrats! Great sack on a tough day... Todays conditions were about .............

....were about the worse possible. Water temps from 47 to 53....A day after a cold hard rain. Air pressure rose all day and we had  full moon the night before. To me it looked like they left the weird gates open to long. The lake looked to be a bit low...Water was stained to somewhat dingy...Just looked coming back home. Gates sill open and waters is blowing out of Bruin. They sure need to plug that up like real quick!!!!

It was hard to catch bass all over the state on this day....Most early pre-spawn bass continue laying up on ledges and drops in a bit deep water. They are there..You can see them on sonar. The shad on Bruin were stacked in 18 to 25 feet holding in tight schools about 5 feet of the bottom which is what I call perfect but I could not get them to bite..Those bass were suspended deep..right over and in the shad.... A good deep water cranker would have probably found a way to catch those fish. I am not a good deep water cranker.

Those deep bass the first big wave of spawners, waiting on 56 to 60 degree water....and they are tough, if not impossible to catch on jigs. The scattered, shallow bite ruled once again and that is a GRIND IT OUT thin water pattern that has won all tournament I know of in the past month or so...Cover as much thin water as possible moving fast....but with slow a presentation...That'll work you hard. You could see it in Heckfords/Powell's faces...Wind burnt and tired....I can relate..Hard core jig/soft plastic chunking on though days to take the win means this team earned that win. Great anglers they are..Took home the $2 Grand...My hats off to yall!

Hatton and Crane placed 2nd with respectable 17.31...for $600.

Matt Ingram and Danny used the shallow ~grind it out~ pattern to take 3rd with 15.56 worth $400.....

Robert Purvis and Wayne Edwards took home 200 bucks for 4th with 12.87.

Roger and Brandon Kirby hammered out a 5th place "squeeze me in the money please" limit of 11.87 to take the final and 5th cash place for $150

Terrell Foster continues to cash in on Bruin. Foster and Herman Goodman stuck a fine pre-spawn bruiser~~~busting with eggs~~6.04 fat sow for $1000. CONGRATS! More info and more pics later...My old bones are hurting. I stuck 3 early in thin water of no size...So I did what I usually do..Swing for the fence, go picking heavy water..... Fished deep water for 4 or 5 hours. It works sometimes cause that's the way you find the mother lode...sometimes...but not for this day.....not by me....

Check this pic out...A classic it is. That's Terrell Foster with the 6.04 big bass of the day...Look at the guy's face in the background~~walking by~~~A classic "Jaw Drop" I'm framing this one! LOL! More pics later.

ic: "Headed Home"

Later