Well I'm a local and I cant even remember how many stumps I have hit. It has gotten a lot harder to navigate since the trees we use to mark the way have broken off. Just last Tuesday I ran right through a tree top.

I was out there fishing a few years back when the Elites were out there. Saw one of them running from north of St James Hump right down the middle of Isle Dubois all the way up to the 922 bridge at full throttle. I was thinking they just don't know how stupid they are, or, they got it insured so to hell with it, I've got fish to catch, I'm not idling.

isle du bois scares the heck out of me at full pool or a hair higher to this day.

yea, I had to go tow my dad in once back around 2006 back to Buck from there, he knocked a hole in his boat just north of Big Bass Point, he saw the water coming in and just turned and beached it, he was too scared to drive it back, I kept telling him it wouldn't sink, but no he didn't believe me. I had to drive from work back to Weatherford to get my boat, then haul tail up there, and then once I got there he finally just idled back to buck, he just needed assurance if it sank id be there to pick him up.

Ray Bob is far from "easy" to run.... Like said idle only after you get past wolf island, I used to feel pretty comfortable running that lake 3-4 years ago when I fished it frequently but its always changing with water levels. That lake is not a good lake to try and run at full pool or little above pool as that puts some of the big stumps in the danger zone for knocking a hole in your boat.

I would say the theme on this post is pretty clear...idle if you don't know. I've been running it for years and still use this train of thought. Right now, its deceptive on what's ok to run and what's not.

Especially the cut that is all the way over to the right as you go North where you basically run through a forest across the little point in about 3 foot or less. Did that the first time with Greg Reedy and had to pull the shorts out of my rear when we stopped up past 922. I live on the lake and have been fishing it 25 years or so and still idle many areas out there. There are lots and lots of huge stumps broken off under the water, H braces and fence posts, concrete house foundations, pond dams, rock piles, etc... If you pass the telephone poles at the opening to any part of the lake, be careful and go slow! Not trying to keep anyone from fishing anywhere BTW, I regularly and freely share info and that comment was silly!

Just don't follow me. I don't know how to run it and never seem to make the same run twice.

Fished this lake for 20+ years either in my boat or with a friend. I can't remember a time when I was idling through an area that I thought was clear and didn't hit a stump... or the ole "you think we are clear" gun it and hit a stump immediately... NEVER take it for granted or you or your boat will be damaged!

Great Post...

How many do you have so far this year from RR? I've already heard of a couple locals adding extra holes to their hulls.

Google Earth is a great way to see how many trees are really in Roberts. If you set the timeline back to 1/18/2014 the lake was about 6 or 8 feet low. The lake must have been calm that day and there are very few reflections. If you zoom in you can see the standing timber which is mostly hidden at full pool. Most of you may already do this but I have also found it very useful to use the Placemarks on Google Earth to create my own waypoints and transfer them to my electronics. This gives me a great head start on a lake I am unfamiliar with but will still be very useful even if I have fished a lake for years.

At least 10. Half locals

Only stump Ive ever hit on ray roberts in 11 years was done idling and it paid Chris at classics mortgage for about 4 months lol.