Steve, many thanks for the kind words.  I’ve wanted to catch a 10 pound bass since I was a kid, this is a dream come true.  Even though I don’t have a pic, I won’t EVER forget!

Funny thing about that cast: As I made it, I told my buddy, “This is where I caught the biggest bass of my life a couple of years ago!”.  Seeing the result, he proceeded to solemnly intone exactly the same words before every cast for the next 30 minutes, but ...

Robert, I had a very similar experience at Timber Sulphur Bluff early last summer.  The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but if you’ve got bass promises to keep, go where there are fewer trees.  Maybe all that wood scatters the fish too much?  Anyway, we did better around the dam and the relatively open areas.  And yeah, the topwater bite was absolutely explosive that evening!