As you can see, I am in a terrible slump...only got about a dozen of these this morning and I cannot get out of this 12-14 inch rut...starting to think I am simply catching the same 2-3 fish over and over.





NOW for the one that got away...this area has produced quite a few REAL DEAL 5-6 pounders this year, 2 of which were weighed (by someone else) on a certified scale this summer.

As I am getting my share of these average Joes, I spot some SERIOUS Shad busting activity on the opposite bank...about 45 feet away or so...stop to look and WOW, this is a beast...the head is HUGE and tail fins look about 1/2 the size of the fish I am catching.

Soooo, I quickly spring to action, whip the backcast and suddenly, my arm goes to noodle, the cork becomes sponge and the rod turns into a primitive club of some sort and of course the lline drops behind me into the weeds getting tangled....

Keeping one eye on the activley feeding beast I get resituated only to overpower the next cast....the tip of the rod jets off at light speed, leaving the line to badly lag behind and suddenly shoot up and drop down about 15 feet from intended target...no worries, I quickly roll cast into the brim of my hat, over react and slap the line out in front of me 4-5 feet out.

Suddenly, I realize...whoa, QUIT it...reel up and go home and I swear that Smallie stuck a fin out and video taped me flailing about like a fool...I gues that is how he got so big!