Though the lake is still milky to stained, we are still catching limits of 13 to 15 inch whites in the shallower water (8 to 13 fow). Catching them in deeper water will be difficult due to low visibility down deep. Hope it gets clearer over the next two weeks. I will be making more scouting trips this week and next and report on lake conditions and productive fish catching patterns. At weigh-in I am looking forward to meeting some of you whose posts and messages I have read and received on TFF over the years.

To date, none have registered for the 12 and under category. If 3 or fewer sign up, we will likely drop this category and return the registration fees.

Mr. Christian - I am about to purchase a Fish & Ski boat and even though I am a die hard tournament bass fisherman I live close to Cedar Creek and can't wait to start taking the wife, kids and 8 grandkids out to do some fishing. Been studying your technique and I am really excited to start learning it on the water and look forward to many family trips to the lake.
One thing I would like to know is if you could list the sizes and colors of the Mepps spinners you prefer so I have an idea of the one's I need to get.
Thanks, Tommy

Silver Aglia plain in sizes #4 and #2. #3 also works. Use 3/16 weight about 14 inches up the line for 2's and 3's to cast them better and to get them to the bottom faster.

Took neighbor on scouting run yesterday to see how the Wednesday rains affected fishing. We had to look for a while but found some on a main lake point in 10 fow. Caught 52 whites and a few under sized hybrids. I will continue to check fishing over the next week and report results here. Also, fish have been surface schooling along bulkheads and between docks in the Saint Annes Point area around 7 AM.

Hi Dennis. According to weatherbug, there is currently a 70% chance of rain on Saturday and 0% on Sunday. I realize that could change, but any thought to moving the tournament to Sunday if it rains?

Looks like fun and I plan on making it.

We have discussed the possibility of rescheduling but will not do it unless necessary. The most obvious reason would be if we were to get thunderstorms during the hours of the tournament. Too soon to know if that is forecast yet. A second reason is if the lake were to get so muddy no one could catch fish. They are talking about rescheduling the Lake Livingston tournament for that reason since the lake is THAT muddy now and tournament is coming up June 15. So far, even with all our rains, we are catching lots of fish. Water is milky or stained but there is visibility down to 15 fow. Yesterday I went north to scout white bass structures and caught fish at Kevin's Point in 8 to 15 fow, off the point just east of Iron Wall Hump in 7 to 15 fow and at Spillway Hump in 14 to 15 fow. Thursday a neighbor and I caught 52 whites mostly at Poll Dance Point in 8 to 15 fow. We will keep close tabs on water conditions and ensure that fish are catch-able come tournament day.

Some who can't make the tournament have expressed a desire to bid on some of the items to be auctioned. If you are interested, see the ANNOUNCEMENT thread regarding this.

Still trying to arrange getting off work to make the CC tournament. It sounds like it is going to be a great event.

There was a lot of surface schooling action today south of Crappie Island. Went out to see what they were and caught about equal numbers of short hybrids and white bass. About half the whites were 13 to 15 inches. Fifteen inch fish can win you a tournament.

your weather is getting better every report if it holds true

Dennis,

When will you guys decide if you move it to Sunday or not? I imagine there a quite a few people that would fish in rain but not in lighting. Knowing that weather can change quickly, Sunday as of right now looks like a sure bet. As people are planning on traveling to make it, it would be really beneficial to a ton of folks if we could find out before Friday night. Just my two cents.
B

I understand. Right now local stations forecast a 40 to 50 % chance of storms in Dallas on Saturday. It will depend on when in the day the storms would hit Cedar Creek Lake, which is usually an hour or so later than Dallas if they are coming in from the west. If by Thursday, thunderstorms are definitely forecast for Saturday morning, we will reschedule. It will not be on Sunday though. Probably a Saturday in June or July.

Dennis

10-4. thanks again!

B

Just registered and praying for a safe and successful event

We just registered as well. The wife and oldest boy will be with me.

All right see you and your family there, Mix

OK, Ladies and Gentlemen, I did an extensive scouting run - from the dam all the way up to Bird Islands. It is true that the farther north the more stained the water, but I was still catching fish at Sunken Island , which is just south of the Bird Islands. In fact I caught 3 tournament size fish there - in 12 fow reeling a Mepps 4 straight up slowly. I started the run at Saint Annes Drop-off . It was loaded with sandies and short hybrids in 18 to 21 fow. I saw Fastguy and Snaggin Steve at the dam through my binoculars early this morning, so I went there next. None schooling, but they were all over the bottom at and southeast of Dam Drop-off . Mosied over to Dam Ridge and fish were there also in 21 to 23 fow. Dashed over to Staubach Hump and fish there too. Next stop - Long Ridge but didn't find much there or at Mid-lake Hump. The other place I caught fish up north was Enchanted Island Point up in the shallows - 8 to 12 fow.

There are a lot of 10 to 12 inch fish being caught here and a lot of 12 to 15 inch hybrids. I noted today how long it took me to catch 5 tournament quality fish (14 to 16 inch fish). The 6th, 14th, 24th, 27th and 30th whites of the 37 I caught were 14 to 15 inch fish . I think a ton of fish will be caught at the tournament which will increase the odds of having 5 good ones for weigh-in. Good luck to all!

Ok DC, please PM me (only) the way points where you caught the 16 inchers

They're at sun point in 60'.

OK, I'm sure there are some 16 inchers here because I've caught a few this year. I didn't catch any yesterday. Like Jesus answered when asked when the end of time would come, only God the Father knows...... where those 16 inchers are.

LOL Mix and DC. Did yall know the world record for sandie is 6lb something.

Weather forecast looking worse now. May have to postpone. If we do, we'll announce it on TFF and call all pre-registrants. Likely will make the call about 6 PM today.

If we reschedule, we have chosen Saturday June 29 as the date. Stay tuned for a call on it later today. If we reschedule and any of those who pre-registered cannot make that date, we will refund your registration fee. Dennis

OK, there is 70% chance storms hit Dallas at 9AM. That puts them at Cedar Creek Lake by 10:30AM. Therefore we will reschedule the tournament to Saturday June 29. The tournament activities and times of activities will be the same - just a new date - still at Log Cabin. We will contact all those who have pre-registered. Please pass the word on to friends who plan to come. We hope all who were planning to fish the tournament this Saturday will come on June 29. If you cannot make it on that date, we will issue a refund.

OK, boys and girls, I'm back doing scouting runs on CC and reporting on lake conditions. All good news to report. The lake has cleared up a lot. The Clear Creek arm is clear. Also, almost back to clear at the dam. As you go north the water is stained but fish-able down to 20 to 22 ft as far north as Enchanted Isle Ridge. I went up to Sunken Island a couple of weeks ago and could catch fish there as deep as 15 fow.

Re Fishing, I Caught mostly good sized white bass at East Dam Ridge and Dam Ridge on a short trip Tuesday. Today, I went on a scouting run to the north and found fish at the following spots: Key Ranch Drop-off (north end of it) in 13 to 17 fow, Spillway Hump in 15 to 18 fow, the Rock Pile in 15 to 18 fow and Enchanted Isle Ridge in 18 to 22 fow. In all these spots there were lots of fish. I caught some to prove they would bite then moved on to check next spot. Of the 60 I caught 50 of the fish were mostly 13 to 15 inch white bass, 4 legal hybrids, 4 cats and 2 short hybrids. The number of small fish I caught was much fewer than it has been up til now this year. I'm catching everything on #4 silver Mepps Aglia spinners.

Bottom line: Things are shaping up for great fishing for our white bass tournament on June 29.

Tournament registration: If you registered for the May 18 date you are good to go for June 29. If you have not registered yet, you can pre-rergister up to 10 PM on June 28. If you mail in your registration, we need to receive it by June 22 so we'll have time to mail your receipt back to you. Of course, you may also register from 5 to 7 AM at LOG Cabin ramp on the 29th. All other details are in the ANNOUNCEMENT post at the top of the White Bass/Hybrid/Striper section of TFF. For any questions you may post them here, in the ANNOUNCEMENT post or send me a PM. Dennis

How to win a white bass tournament

Since we have our Cedar Creek White Bass Tournament coming up June 29, I thought I would share my strategies for winning a white bass tournament. I have won the Lake Ray Hubbard white bass tournament and have just won the Tawakoni white bass tournament two years in a row. My strategies assume you have a boat with a good depth finder that shows fish and a topo map of the lake that shows lake structures. Depth finders with GPS have slots for detailed topo map info, but you can use a paper map if you don�t have GPS with detailed map function. The Side-scan feature on a depth finder is a definite advantage because you can locate fish down on structure better and faster.

First: Have a way you know you can catch fish off the bottom on structures that typically hold white bass (humps, points, road beds, drop-offs and ridges � all in 10 to 25 fow with deeper water next to them). I have many of these identified on my Cedar Creek Lake map, which I have a link to in my signature block. Usual bottom techniques include slabs, sassy shads, silver spoons, tail spinners and what I use � Mepps Aglia in-line spinners silver #4 size. I say be able to fish the structures because it�s unlikely you will be able to find surface schooling fish, and, if you do, they usually only stay up for at most an hour. If there is an early morning surfacing pattern, go for it. I caught a couple of my Ray Hubbard winning fish from early morning surfacing action. But of the 100 or so fish I catch to cull out 5 for weigh-in, the large majority were caught working baits off the bottom on structures where I had located fish.

Second: If at all possible, pre-fish the lake the week before the tournament. Look at the weather forecast and pick the day during the week to pre-fish that most nearly matches the forecast for tournament day. Since the tournament hours are 6AM to noon, be on the lake pre-fishing during those hours.

Third: When pre-fishing, you have two objectives. One objective is to find as many places as possible that are holding fish. I�d first check those areas where fish typically school on the surface, such as the shallow areas out from the west part of CC dam. If you find some surfacing, fish long enough to see what baits they like and catch several to see how big the fish are. The second objective is to locate fish that are 15 inches or longer (what it usually takes to win a white bass tournament). I�ll catch 10 to 15 and note what per cent are big fish, then go look at other spots. Keep track of which spots are holding the most fish and which spots held the most 15 inch or bigger white bass. Be sure to check out different areas of the lake � near the dam, mid-lake spots such as Key ranch drop-off, Mid-lake Hump, Iron Wall Hump, Merimac Point, Spillway Hump and Enchanted Isle Ridge and then farther north such as Sunken Island, which is a little south of Bird Islands, the islands you can see to the south as you cross the Gun Barrel City to Seven Points Bridge. You may find that the fish are bigger on average in different parts of the lake.

Fourth: Read the fishing reports on TFF. On my reports I give locations, depth and lure used.

Fifth: Buy an accurate set of scales that can measure to 1/100 of a pound. Tournament winners are often separated by hundredths of a pound for the 5 fish stringer, so don�t just eye-ball your fish for size, weigh them

Sixth: On tournament day be ready to start fishing at official start time (6 AM for the upcoming CC tournament.) If you found some early morning surface action when you pre-fished and you caught some big white bass there, go there to start. After that go to the place where you caught the highest percent of big fish on the day you pre-fished. At the June 1 Tawakoni tournament all three of us that placed went straight to the same structure to fish and caught all 5 of our submitted fish there. All three of us had pre-fished Takawoni the day before the tournament and had found big fish there.

Seventh: Don�t keep your good fish alive. Put them in an ice chest. Why? Because when it is time to stop fishing and select your best 5 fish, you will likely be in a hurry � because you used the maximum amount of time possible to catch fish. And, it takes more time to weigh a fish that is flopping around and won�t stay on the scales. Those in the ice chest are dead and still.

Eighth: When you go to the weigh-in line, keep your fish in water (ice chest or water tight plastic bag). Why? Because you may be standing in line for a while before they get to you and fish that are not in water will dry out to some degree (lose weight). I made this mistake at the 2016 Tawakoni tournament and lost first place by 1/100 of a pound.

Good luck to all!

Dennis

Scouting reports:
6/12 Found fish at Swing-set Hump and 60 Acre Hump: Whites, short hybrids and one legal hybrid
6/14 Found fish at Drew's Humps (south one), the A-Frame, Sam's Hump, Long Ridge West and Key Ranch Drop-off. It was very rough so only fished 2 of the spots - Drew's Hump and Key Ranch Drop-off. Side-scan showed a lot of fish at all these spots. Caught a 23 inch hybrid, some short ones and white bass (fish on every cast). Of course used a silver #4 Mepps.

It was very windy this weekend but fished on Saturday and caught about 30 of mixed sizes at number 13 on the map. Got blown around most of the mid-lake area, but found a good concentration at Dollhouse, there were less small fish there. It had the added benefit of being out of the wind as well. Caught about 15 there before we went chasing some small fish hitting on top water on the far east side of Dollhouse.

Thanks for the report.

Friends Ed and Paul went out with me yesterday to catch fish for the tournament fish-fry. We checked Drew's Humps and the A-Frame with no luck then found fish on Sam's Hump. We sat there and had our 75 fish white bass limit in under 2 hours. Paul also caught a 19 inch hybrid. We all used #4 silver Mepps. Fish were in 15 to 18 fow.

Paul with nice white:


Ed with white bass:


Paul with his hybrid:

Yesterday I caught whites, including a few in the 15 inch range, at Dam Ridge and Key Ranch Drop-off.

Someone asked a good question. "If I pre-register and will be leaving to fish in my boat from my private dock, do I have to wait until 6AM to leave the dock or can I go to where I want to start fishing as long as I don't start fishing until 6? " My answer was that since you could start fishing at 6AM from anywhere on the lake - including from your dock, then you may be anywhere on the lake when you start. So, you may leave the dock to go to where you want to start - just don't put a line in the water (or any other way to fish legally) until 6AM.

Dennis,

Just registered for the tournament. Should be a good time.

I am new to white bass tournaments...

Since the fish can be placed on ice, what have you identified as best way to bring fish to weigh in?... still just a weigh in bag with best 5 fish? are you putting ice in the bag with them?

Keep them iced until weigh-in. Then, before going to weigh-in line, weigh your fish and pick your heaviest 5 including your heaviest one. Bring them to the weigh-in in water - either in a plastic bag or ice chest or bucket. You don't need to add ice at that time - just keep them wet so they don't dry out and lose weight as you stand in line. Good luck in the tournament! Dennis

Good luck to all today. Keep safe and have fun!!! Dennis

Here are updated final results:

Winners

ADULT
1st - Blake Sanders - 5.28 lbs - $650.00
2nd - Boyd Parker - 5.08 lbs - $390.00
3rd - Richard Bookout - 5.02 lbs - $260.00

Elizabeth Murphy tied for 3rd at 5.02 pounds but was not at results so Richard Bookout took the full $260.00.

Big Fish - Jack Bookout - 1.32 lbs - $100.00


KID's
1st - Lincoln Bookout - 5.27 lbs
2nd - Max Boyer - 3.53 lbs
3rd - Reece Boyer - 2.35 lbs

Big Fish - Lincoln Bookout - 1.34 lbs

We had 67 registered adults and 6 kids.

We raised just over $3000 - all to help our veterans. Not bad for our 1st try. THANK YOU to all who participated in some way!!!