Today was a blast fishing with MasterDave & Doug (sorry Doug I am not sure what you go by on the forum, OPPS). It was an experience to say the least, fishing with these two guys. They were kicking, scratching, & bumping each other around all day.LOL. Today was more of a learning trip so we spent alot of the day looking around and hitting areas that will be good later on,when the fish are on other patterns. We decided to get down and catch some crappie and that we did. We ended up keeping 37 slabs. All were caught on jigs, many colors were working. Some fish came only inches from the bank. Thanks Dave & Doug for a memorable trip. I had a great time and hope you both did too.

Thanks again, it was nice meeting and fishing with you both.
Cliff

Hey Cliff, thanks again for the trip on Wed night. I had a good time and learned a few things for next time I go. When I got home my wife told me she wanted some of those fish. Guess we should have divided into two bags.
I'll probably book a trip with you when it warms up with my daughter. Had a great time.

Great Job! and these guys look familiar :)Correct me if I'm wrong.
David Garlin and Doug Langston,real contenders in the Ray Bob tourny last month. 4th place not Bad!They no whats up! Nice Job there Cliff.

PS. Whats up with this Cliff thing and left handed people, Fish Attract?

I enjoyed the trip as well lanman71, I will be more than happy to take you and your daughter out fishing. Memories of fishing with your children can last a lifetime for you both.
Cliff

Hey Cliff your correct. Dave and Doug are very good fisherman and I really enjoyed the trip with them.

Cliff:

Doug and I had a GREAT time fishing with you. Doug's TFF name is "The Grasshopper" and I'm "The Master" and now you know why.....although Doug did try hard all day to jump in front of me to get the best spots (thus the bumping, kicking reference)! As you said, we were really trying to learn some of the when/where/how for different times and patterns on Raybob and you did a great job of giving us some great information. But as you said, it finally became time to "get after it" and we put a bunch of great fish in the boat in the afternoon. I wish we had some of your tips before we fished BigFishCliff's tourney as we might have beat Jerry and Paul! As Cliff said, some of our best fish came out of 6" - 12" of water and only an inch off the bank so you really had to maneuver your rod into some tight spots to get those big ole slabs out of there. Biggest fish was only 1.5 lbs but most were around 1 lb. We'd HIGHLY recommend Cliff Spindle for a trip as he is very knowledgeable but even more important he is a real good guy to spend a day with.

Cliff - thanks again and we'll take you up on our offer to go out and fish with you for fun sometime..... and we'll take my Lund. I might even leave the Blackberry behind next time as to try and reply to 102 email messages and catch fish became to much of a challenge for me!

Dave Garin

I echo Dave�s comments but feel compelled to set the record straight�.and provide a perspective from a more experienced, knowledgeable, refined, better educated, �.oh and lets not forget, looking partner. And I hope no one out there falls for the �ol� blackberry kept me to busy yesterday story as I (A.K.A. Grasshopper), bumped and nudged my way into the �best spots�. The bumping was usually from me trying to stay in the boat as I swung a slab in and trying to keep from falling out the boat.

On a serious note, Cliff was exactly what we were looking for. We�d asked him to focus on the �learning� aspect more than the �catching.� I have to hand it to him, he took us to spots we�d never seen and offered perspectives we�d never thought of before. He worked hard all morning trying to put us on fish in spots he probably knew wouldn�t produce�but he did it because that�s what we were looking for (things that work throughout the year, not just the spring). Finally, our greed got the best of us, and we told him we wanted to feel the �bump� Within a short time, we were on fish. Point here for all of you is that all these fish we caught, were caught after half the trip was over. I shudder to think how well we�d have done if we�d started out �catchin�

Another thing I noticed, and was impressed by, was how hard Cliff worked to give us what we wanted and make it a memorable day and the fact that, as he�d pull up to a �spot� he�d let Dave or I wrestle for the good stuff. Cliff would work the outside edges and only go in after we�d pull a few out�just to make sure we hadn�t missed anything. Aside from truly listening to what we wanted to do yesterday (learn new techniques, explore new water, and learn more about patterns and times of the year), he made sure we caught fish when we got to that point and he worked hard. This guy worked real hard to give us what we wanted!

All that said, you mix in the fact that he�s a nice guy and it made for a great day. Thanks!

As for the fishing itself, Dave and Cliff nailed it. Tight to the bank yesterday! Color didn�t seem to matter, nor did the presentation. If you got it in front of them, they slammed it!

Grasshopper:

Just when get close to snatching the pebble from my hand, the palm closes....but you are getting closer as you continue to learn from the Master. Yes, Cliff and I did have to grab the Grasshopper by the belt loop a few times to keep him from falling in...but trust me he wasn't "swinging fish into the boat"...he was standing out on the front point of the boat straddling the TM trying to get the advantage over Cliff and I.

Not sure how many weeks are left in the spawn at Raybob so if anyone was interested in getting out with Cliff for some shallow water fishing...you'll need to get out soon! Water temps had cooled back to the 63 - 66 deg range and after this cold front it is hard to say what the fish are going to do. Raybob still needs another 6' of water but that last rain helped out some.

Way to go guys! Ray Roberts is on my learning list as well.

Sheldon:

Despite our hectic travel schedules, you and I need to make some plans to fish Raybob together this Spring. Did you get that new side imaging depth finder yet? Lets try to find a day in early May to get out. Since Doug and are in the the top 5 in points,(imagine that) we may try to fish a few more of the BigFishCliff Tournaments this year.

Dave

Wow...great catch...

Ray Roberts has whipped me every chace she's gotten. Where did you guys fish to have such a good day? General area/depth/bait?(No specifics of course, but general guidlines would be helpful)

Thanks in advance.

Hey Dave just remember when we go out on a non working trip my gloves come off too, no more Mr. Nice Guy.LOL I will let you know when the fish are on the willow that grasshopper re-arranged for me.LOL and anytime you want to find me out on the water just follow the trail of crappie nibblets.

Thanks to both of you for all the compliments, It means a lot to me that you got out of trip what you was wanting.
Cliff

roots , roots and more roots, 6" to 3' with most any color of jig.