Guess I should have created another category for other fishing talk. Anyhow, am heading to Texas this weekend to visit an old friend and we're going to try some bass fishing on Sam Rayburn Lake. Even getting a guide for one day. I'm very excited about it. Have never been to Texas and haven't rented a guide in many years.

Will let you know how it goes.

If anybody has ever been to Rayburn or knows anything about it, tips are much appreciated.

Good fishin,
fishman

Good luck Fisherman, Let us know how it goes.

Very nice trip and some nice fish also. Don't have the pics sorted out yet. Will post a picture or two along with some info on "Big Sam" in the next day or two.

Suffice to say, it was a great trip.

I posted some pictures in the photos area. Really had a good time down at Rayburn. Here's a semi-brief summary of the trip.

Only got in a couple of hours on the first afternoon. Picked up a few small kentucky's and a largemouth or two on carolina rig and texas rigged worms.

Second day we went out with guide Mike Wheatley. The wind was pretty fierce, so we only got in half a day. But, we learned what to do and where to do it. Caught a couple early on a spinnerbait. Then we caught the rest on a black with red flake or watermelon/red senko type bait. Mike likes the chaumpers brand, but we did well with a few different brands all of the same senko style.

Anyhow, the guided trip produced about 12-15 fish with a few in the 4-5 pound range and a couple of nice ones that got off right at the boat, of course. Very nice trip and the main thing was that we learned what to do.

Went back out that afternoon for a few hours on our own and brought in a few nice bass and once again got the big one right up to the boat and lost it. Still some good fishing.

Next day we did well also. Brought in some more 3-4 pound fish and I finally got a pretty good fish myself. Don't know what he weighed, but in the 5-6 pound range.

We caught almost all of our fish on senko style baits in a dark color (black or dark green) with the red flakes in them. We fished them weedless and weightlwss. There is a lot of grass, much like Kentucky Lake. Most of our fish were caught just as we brought the lure out of the grass' edge. As soon as it got out of the grass just let it drop.

On the last day we also caught some out from the grass 5 yards or so.

There was a huge "big fish tournament" the day before we arrived (4000 people). Never heard of a tournament that big. But, we still caught fish even coming the day after that. So, we were pretty happy to catch what we did.

One note, the wind can really be a beast on Rayburn. The lake has some very long straight runs and when the wind is out of the norhtwest it is horrible on the main lake.

The lake wasn't crowded at all and the bass were biting. Didn't get the 9 pounder, but caught some good fish and plenty of them. If I had one thing to do differently it would be to hit the lake a little earlier in the year and I also wouldn't go right after the McDonalds big fish tournament.

In summary, it was a nice trip and highly recommended for bass fishermen.