When I went to the waterfront this morning, I was expecting to see one or two trailers but there were 12 hydroblasters. They were from the Jackson area and must be prepping for a tournament this weekend. On the way to the upper end I stopped by the “number one bitin spot” broke the ice and had another jump and spit the DT-10 out. From there I proceeded to the upper lake but could not get anything going in the spots I had planned to fish. There is a copse of willow trees, now snags, in the very end of the upper lake. When those trees were alive, probably 1958, my father and I were trolling around them in a 26 foot Chris Craft that my father and 3 other men kept at the Yacht Club. My father hooked a bass that was 6 or 7 pounds and was fighting it. I was standing by with the landing net but the hook came out. Daddy didn’t make a big fuss or cuss but I could tell he was disappointed. I still remember how bad I felt for him. I went back to those snags to try to even the score. Did not even it too much as a crappie and a pound and a half bass were the best I could do with a Booyah. I left the upper lake and went to the big lake but could not make contact. Finally on the steep bank with a 17.5 Dredger I caught another crappie. Then in about 6 cast I caught 4 bass. The water was almost covered with willow leaves which really made it hard to fish. Something happened and no more bites. I even came back later after the wind had cleared most of the leaves but the fish were still gone. Got some new 1/2 oz shaky heads for the deep bite but it was not there today. Only had one bite deep (16 feet). They are made with a pointed head and seem to come through the brush better than the ones I have been using. Ended up catching 7 bass with a 2 1/2 FOD.