Gary Paris and I fished one of the tourneys on Lake Welsh Saturday and it was a fantastic day all around. Despite a bunch of folks out there it was friendly right from the early morning and everyone seemed to be very respectful. We had 42 bass and a 5 bass limit for 21.80lbs. Fishing was great all day. Not many days anywhere where you cull a 4.02 fish with a 4.10. I saw lots of fish released healthy and the game warden was there making sure everyone played by the rules. Another team in our tourney had 20+lbs with a 5lb big bass.
Of course we fished close to people all day but whether it was a guy and his young son flipping grass by us or the guy catching his last keeper near the intake at 2:30, everyone was just having a good time. Hard not to in mid-December when air & water temps are 70!

An odd note to a bass tournament. I was looking at TPWD webpage a day or two before the tourney to get my wife directions to the ramp and I went to looking around on the page, which did beat working of course. I saw that the lake record catfish was under 3lbs. Gary and I actually talked about how we should come back one day and see if we could catch a lake record. Well at about 10am Gary threw up to a little deep point and set the hook. After 10seconds of no splashing and me holding the net with the anticipation of a kid at Christmas we realized this was no ordinary bass. But it sure would have been a lake record!
Like I said it was a heck of a great time. 40 plus bass, win a little money, fish in jeans in December not bad all in all.

David Combs Fanning

Congrats!

Thanks Shaun. I want to clarify we had 21.60 lbs not .80

Great sack guys!

I have to agree when you say everyone was having a good time even thought it was crowded. Fished Welsh in last Sat. "just show up" tourney and this last Friday for fun. Even though it was full on both trips all the anglers you came in contact with in the parking lot and CR road, at the single ramp ( which is not the best) and on the water were all a pleasure to meet. That's the way it should be....

Man it's nice to hear about guys fishing in close quarters and getting along. Seems to be a rare thing today.

Congrats on the great day guys!!!

We saw the father and his son fishing the grass at the north end. They worked it hard most of the day and it was fun watching them high five after catching fish. It's a beating after hours of constantly raising the TM up and down to get the grass off.

Congrats Dave and Gary!

Congrats

Sounds like a great trip. I need to get out there pretty soon. I guess that I'm pretty lucky because this is how my trips to the lake usually work out. Sure, I've been cut off, but there are so many places that fish live.

That'll make some sammiches!
Welsh has been fishing great this winter.
Always amazes me why people get so bent up about all the boats out there when it continues to hold up to the pressure and kick out solid fish regularly. Congrats on your fun day!

how busy is Welsh typically on a saturday/sun?

Might make a run sometime this winter. Is there usually a tourney every weekend?

Look for the other Welsh thread from Saturday. Busy is an understatement. 3-4 tourneys there Saturday. 1 ramp. Sounds like everyone played nice though. Good luck.

Welsh is always busy from what I have seen. I live a long way from lake and Have been there 6 times since my first trip 7 years ago. Saturday was second time in three years and really it fished well. There is always a tourney but normally small, tons of boats at discharge and north end. I am guilty of only going for tournies myself, of 6 days on lake that have ever fished 5 of them have been for a tourney. But I like the action.
If I was going to have fun and catch fish I would simply unload the boat, tie on your favorite spinnerbait/chatterbait and start fishing. I'm no expert on the place but there isn't a bank line that doesn't have fish Dec.-Fish. fish long enough and you will find what everyone is fishing and you will see them.
But a word of caution of the 5 or 6 times on the water two of them were slick, bright days. Trust me it was not the same place. Once my partner and I loaded up at 1pm and assumed we were worst fishermen on lake and when we got to ramp we had to wait in line to leave! The tourney that day took 1 fish to win.
I'm sure the locals know much more but bluebird skies & Welsh have not worked for me.
Good luck out there. Does seem like a place where people respect the small space. You know how it is, on Welsh and Cypress people just wave and move on, give em 100k acres and they run into your boat in Veach, 6-mile and
Eisenhower State Park.

Gary and I had a great day the other day too. I had him on big fish until the end of the day (which I never do) when he nabbed a 7 and 1/4.

Lot's of fun for sure.

Lake Welsh is a blast. Glad y'all had fun and won the derby.

You should have abandoned the tourney and taken that catfish in for proper certification.