In February of 1971, 2, or 3, can’t remember the exact year,  we had a slight warm spell before a cold front. The river had a brisk fall going on, Hal and I were in one boat and I believe Mickey and Mack were in another fishing on Lake Ferguson. Hal and I went to the upper lake and were fishing with about a 15 MPH Southwest wind.  I do mean fishing with the wind as it was blowing us along. All the trolling motor did was steer. The upper lake had some trees that had fallen over and were sticking out more than the rest. We found out you could cast a hot spot across the end of the tree or down the side, let it sink, and then slowly retrieve it, and the bass would bite. We would go down the line then crank up and go back and start over again. The boat was going so fast we couldn’t pick it apart, so each time we went back there were plenty more fish to catch. This was before cellphones so we couldn’t call our buddies to tell them to come help us. You can believe we heard a little  about it too. We ended up with 27 that weighed 87 pounds after weighing each one on a Deliar and adding it up. Here is the photo that was in the Democrat.Obviously this was before catch and release.  Our ears didn’t get cold that day as we had plenty of hair to keep them warm. That night we planned another assault with two boats for the next day. We even carried a fish cooker so we could get out on the bank and cook some of our catch for lunch.  The next day the front had passed, the cold wind was out of the Northwest at 15 MPH, and very few fish were caught. I think we did catch a few to eat but not very many.  If the river falls like it is supposed to and we get the slightest warming spell you will be able to find me up there with a “Hot Spot artificial minnow” as it says in the paper clipping. Wouldn’t it be neat to go back and repeat after almost 40 years? I tried to count the fish in the picture and came up with 25, but upon close inspection, a couple of tight eyes were tucked under the biggies. It was a great day and one of the high points in my fishing career.