"Billy Basser" on Crooked Lake

     Wow! What a crazy day on Crooked Lake. I've never been involved in such a strange series of events. Let's figure all this out.

     I woke up about 2:00 AM and couldn't get back to sleep. That means that I love this fishin' stuff even after all this time. I got gas and sandwiches at the local Citgo station.

     I use Citgo now, ever since they paid me when I won the tournament in 2004.

     Drove over to US 27, down to 630A road, and began to head towards Lake Reedy. Phone rings.

     Chuck Bearce says there is a problem at Lake Reedy, and the lake had been changed to Crooked Lake.

     He wants me to meet in Babson Park, so I drive to Babson Park. I drove right by Chuck who was in Steve Hartley's truck. I call Steve and he tells me to come back to where he is.

     I do a "Uey" and start back. I meet them heading for Bob's Landing. They call and said that we were to meet there. I do another "Uey" and head for Bob's, all the while becoming more confused about what is taking place.

     I got in line at the ramp and finally found out why the lake had been changed. CSI wannabe Gene Carter tells me he was headed to the lake when police had taped up the area. Gene, in his own charismatic way, offers to assist in their investigation because of his vast knowledge watching the television CSI programs. I think, at that time, the police wanted to arrest him for being a wise guy (which he is).

     Next I found out that Hugh Palmer has tire trouble and that he and Will Horton (who was my assigned partner) would be at least an hour late getting to the ramp.

     The tournament director told me that he was switching partners with Hugh and I.

     I was looking forward to fishing with Will as he is a great target for my sarcasm. Damn, what a disappointment that was.

     So I got to fish with Jim Kozelsky. I was primed for my sarcasm with Will, and let it flow smoothly to Jim. He was a trooper all day, and took it as Will did.

     At the end of the day I found out what really happened to Hugh. Somehow the wheel and tire came off his boat trailer. Two of the lugs were sheared off. When the wheel came off there were many sparks that flew when the hub hit the road. I can only imagine what kind of panic that might have caused Hugh, but knowing that he was a pilot in the Navy, his nerves of steel took over and he came to a safe stop.

     A guy on a motorcycle stopped and told Hugh that he knew where Hugh's wheel was, as it sped past the motorcycle as the bike was heading down the road. He took Hugh back to get the wheel and brought him back to his truck. Kudus for the biker !

     Hugh had three extra lug nuts (Who'da thunk it) and was able to get the trailer lifted enough to get the wheel back on and made it to the ramp. A most excellent recovery ! Typical of Navy pilots !

     I was in the Navy too, but I am sure I would never have been so resourceful to recover from such a problem. Great job, Hugh ! Great support job, Will !

     For whatever reason, I have been doing very well over the past five months. Crooked Lake has been kind to me in the past, but I never expected what happened yesterday.

     I was at my first stop, and throwing Rat-L-Trap, when Jim yelled, "Get the net". I did so, and netted his first keeper. He told me that he had a bite shortly before that, but didn't want to tell me because I might "front end" him.

     Not true. I, honestly, was getting close to moving to my next location. Boy, am I glad I didn't. Jim caught his third keeper ! I hadn't even had a bite.

     I had to duct tape his arms to his sides until I could catch up. Joke! I did begin to catch fish after his third.

     My first one was just over the 14-inch line. I'll make it short for the "rest of the story" I caught fish all day. Seven keepers and one dink to be exact. I broke off twice, had to re-spool, and missed four big fish that would have given me a big boy (Bassmaster) limit.

     The moral of this story is this: Listen to your partner. Make sure he tells you if he has any bites, and don't leave fish to find fish. I think the bass were staging on the flats, as we caught our fish in 3-4 feet, in timber, and in grass patches just outside the timber, and never in any deeper water than six feet.

     Kudus go out to Scott Ellis. Tournament director is a very difficult position to manage, and he is truly great at doing his job. Changing the lake to the closest lake instead of the backup lake at the last minute was the prudent thing to do.

     Going to North Winter Haven Chain would have lost us a lot of time on the water. The changing of partners with Hugh and I was also the least inconvenient for the both of us. I'm sorry Hugh had to lose the time he did, but he did get to fish, and that is a good thing.

     In conclusion, I want to say that I am blessed to be part of such a fine bass club. All of you are wonderful people. I have spent a day on a lake with Jim Kozelsky, Keith Kozelsky, Greg DeRosa, Steve Crosby, and Jim De Zort over the past few months.

     They are all excellent anglers and good partners to have in the back of my boat. If they can put up with my sarcasm, and give it back to me (wouldn't have it any other way), then they are better men and anglers for it.

     There are still a few of you I haven't fished with, and maybe that will change as we go on down the lakes of life. I hope so.