I had the pleasure today of getting to do "A Day On The Lake" with a very good friend of mine Ken, ltbc01 on the Texas Fishing Forum.
Ken is a member of the Lake Tawakoni Bass.
I met Ken at his house Sunday morning about 6 Am, from there we headed to Purtis Creek State Park Lake.
Purtis Creek Lake is a small 349 acre lake right in the middle of Purtis Creek State park. Located in the thick forest of Eustace. The lake is surrounded by hills that let the tree's role into the lake like a blanket.
Purtis Creek Lake has been called the mini Fork on many occasions
you will see why in the photo's below.
It has a max depth of 30 feet and was impounded in 1985
Here is how Ken's DAY ON THE LAKE went.
7:00
we arrive at Purtis Creek State park and meet a great man running the TPW booth, he gives us instruction and sells us a bag of ice. We pay the required fee's for the launch ( $2 per person to enter the park and $5 for the boat launch)
7:05
We made our way to the boat ramp and there are already anglers on the lake casting away. We launch Ken's 19 foot Skeeter 190ZX with a 175 Merc XRI.
7:07
The air temp is 51 degrees and water temp is 64 degrees, we head to the North End of the lake, theres a slight foggy haze along the middle timber of the lake that will later lift as the winds blow in.
7:05
Ken finds a main lake point, looks around and states, hey it all looks great, so why not here.
7:08
He starts the day off with a YUM Dinger flipping it to shallow cover along the side of a main lake pint heading to the back of a cove.
7:10
He looks around and states he doesn't see any bed fish
7:12
man theres some great looking spot on this lake he claims.
7:16 He pulls out a watermelon ZOOM 7" fluke with a 8/0 hook. Looks at his Lowrance x96 and starts casting in 3 feet of water to about 1 foot of water. 66 degrees is the water temp.
7:18
Still no bite, I though for sure I would have on by now he states, while cast up to the bank and running the fluke through some grass patches.
7:25
Grabs his rod with a Lake Fork Tackle Live Magic Shad rigged up, it's a 4.5" Albino Shad color with a 5/0 LFT weighted hook, He moves to a drop of from 3 to 5.5 feet of water and starts casting down the bank.
7:28
We spook a bird and as he flies away we see a bass stir up water in a shallow wind blown bank and run off. Way to go he tells the bird
7:29
He tells me how once the sun comes up, we should see some bedding
bass.
7:32
Positions his boat on the 5 foot side of the 3 to 5 foot drop off and start running the Live Magic Shad across and down the drop.
7:34
These are great looking baits he states as he's keeps chunking and winding.
7:39
After a long cast down the drop off, Ken jerks the rod and says those nice three words " I GOT ONE ", The fish puts up a great fight and after a short battle he's landed his first fish of the day a 2.6 lb bass 
7:41
Well the skunk smell is gone now he tells me.
7:45
After seeing a fish move around the bank he goes back to the Yum Dinger, casting into the shallow weed beds.
7:47
He talks about how Lake Falcon had some great sacks weighed in and I should take him down there, for A DAY ON THE LAKE.
7:48
Goes back to the Live Magic Shad
7:49
In a violent manner a bass HAMMERS the LMS and Ken returns the favor and hammers the hook set. He swings the bass in and gives me a little smile, I got them figured out now he says.
The bass weighed 2.9 lbs and fought like a beast. 
7:50
Looks to the back of the boat and laughs at me, then states " So this is why you been telling me about the Live Magic Shad, I may have to get more after this".
7:51
Another bass hammers the Live Magic Shad, but comes unbuttoned.
7:55
He tells me that he thinks most of the fish caught will come on Main Lake points today, the last few told on the rest.
7:59
Shad keep boiling along the bank and we can see fish chasing them.
8:10
He switches to the Yum Dinger and starts to flip shallow cover again. Hoping to catch one of those fish chasing the shad.
8:17
Goes back to Live Magic Shad, and tells me how he could use this like a spinner bait and throw it all day.
8:45
After picking apart a Main Lake Point with no success, he starts the Merc 175 and move back to Point he caught the first two bass.
8:50
Digs through a storage box and pulls out a purple Baby Brush Hogs
He rigs it with a 1/8 bullet weight and a 2/0 hook.
8:51
He starts cast to a under water brush pile he's found.
8:55
I should get to set the hook soon he says.
9:00
Puts on a Watermelon Candy Baby Brush Hog, and starts back casting at the brush pile.
9:05
He tells me that that is his go to bait and has a lot of faith in the set up.
9:15
While talking to me, gets quite and perks up, WHACK sets the hook on BASS #3, he plays it and gets it in. A 1.1 lb bass.
Man these little guys fight he states. 
9:18
Well those are not 10 lb'ers but they will work he says smirking.
9:20
Rod bends over and I think he has a nice one, wait it's a brush pile, He played it very well though. LOL
9:21
Thats ok he follows that up with a NICE....See pick below,
9:23
Wind has really pick up, ( Blowing 15-20 mph best we can guess ). We should move across the lake to fish less wind he states
9:26
He continues to slowly pull the brush hog over flooded timber and brush piles. With no success.
9:30
Says he needs more pounds and wants to move across the lake.
9:35
While idling down lake threw some pretty thick timber, he hits a stump and tells me he's just doing a stump check.
9:43
He locates a cove with little wind and begins to work it very carefully with his Watermelon Candy Baby Brush.
9:45
The wind is really blowing and Ken can't get the angle he wants to fish the point so he heads down the bank to the back of the cove.
9:47
Ken sets the hook into a NICE STUMP but can't get it up to the boat, I let him slide on the jokes since it;s windy and rough right now.
9:55
Still casting and trying to figure out the back of the coves, he gets out a Coke and takes a few drinks, I know there here but there not biting like on the points he stated.
10:10
After no luck in the cove he fires up motor and heads across the lake, he points the area he caught his fish and tells me we might have to go back over there.
10:12
After idling though a stump field and bumping a few along the way, Ken laughs and says I'm glad this is a idle only lake.
10:17
After moving down the lake to another main lake point, He drop trolling motor and begins to battle the wind.
10:18
He starts throwing a Live Magic Shad in 3 feet of water, and has to put his seat back on the front deck, After almost falling in. I can't let that happen, you'll have those pics all over the net he tells me.
10:25
Works watermelon candy Baby Brush Hog along timber in 4 feet of water.
10:35
After having a dry spell with no fish he tells me it's time to move to another main lake point and locate more fish.
10:38
we make sure to strap everything down well and head out to what now has become WHITE CAPS on the main lake.
10:50
We make it to a point that is semi protected from the wind.
10:51
Ken tells me he know there should be bass in 3 to 4 feet of water along the point, he just has to get them to bite. He grabs his go to bait ( Watermelon Candy Baby Brush Hog )
10:55
He flips around a tree and WHACK, after pulling the bass from around a tree he lands BASS # 4, although some what small it perks up Ken and gets him back into strike mode. the bass weighed
1.0 lb on the dot. Small, but a fish he claims. 
10:56
He has to dig out another brush hog and get it prettied up since the last bass tore it up badly.
10:57
Tells me how the Purtis Creek Bass really put up a fight, and he really wants one more, to scratch out a limit. On a day like today thats would be tough I told him.
10:58
Ken starts to lower the rod tip and I know whats next. WHAM he sets the hook and lands a nice???????CRAPPIE?????????
Wrong FLAVOR he states as I snap a pick and laugh. well you almost had a limit.
11:01
After multiple cast and fish on a brush pile, Ken ties off to a tree and tells me he can rest from the wind and fish with us tied up.
11:05
He hangs up on the brush pile and pulls it free as he does a BASS inhales the Brush Hog and Ken swings the small fish in the boat.
It's small he says, do I even need to weigh it, he ask.
Oh yeah I tell him and get your pick made. The fish weighed .7 lbs but hey it's a limit. [img]
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm246/mrbass24/024-1.jpg[/img]
Ken your a great buddy, but you can't hold that BASS close enough to the camera.
11:06
He cast to same spot and starts to tell e he need to cull that one fish, no sooner did he finish, when he hammers a BASS out of the brush pile, after a short small fight he lands another small BASS .8 lbs, YES I get to get cull the .07 he states as he laughs. [img]
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm246/mrbass24/025.jpg[/img]
11:10
I start giving him a hard time, telling him theres no pressure to cull the .08, but I hate to have to add that as his fifth keeper.
11:20
The bite has slowed down again and he works the Brush Pile very carefully, to well really as he hangs up and breaks off.
11:21
He reties another brush hog, and assures me he will get one more
of some size
11:23
we notice a couple of guys in a canoe going down the lake, not to smart he tells me look at them in those waves, about that time they ran straight into a tree, he laughs and says see.
11:25
As the wind keeps growing, he unties from the tree and moves across cove where it's a little calmer.
11:28
Still throwing the Baby Brush hog, he tells me I got to cull that .08 lber, If i could get one 5 in the boat I would be doing great.
11:29
He sets up along the bank in 3 feet of water, I know there here, right depth, cover and main lake point. I should get atleast one from this spot.
11:32
With the wind rocking us all day I can tell Ken it's getting aggravated and wants that one more keeper bad.
11:38
After working a few trees in the 3 feet of water, he feels a thump. Ken sets the hook and sticks a nice BASS, the fish makes one run and Ken gets him out of the timber, he gets the bass in and it better than what he's been catching. A 2.3 lb beauty, very fat chunk, great Lake Fork Bass he states.
[img]
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm246/mrbass24/027.jpg[/img]
11:40
He gives a sigh of relieve and adjust his baby brush hog. Smiles and gets back to casting along the tree lined bank
11:43
Told you I would get that one more he states.
11:45
After a day of battling the wind and other anglers stacked up on the non wind banks we decide to call it a day and go home to the families.
Ken fish today
(#1) 2.6 lbs
(#2) 2.9 lbs
(#3) 1.1 lbs
(#4) 1.0 lbs
(#5) .7 lbs
(#6) .8 lbs
(#7) 2.3 lbs
Five fish stringer weight 9.9 lbs
Ken really was put to the TEST today, the wind was crazy and there were a lot of boaters on the lake today.
Great job Ken and good limit considering the day thrown at you.
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