BassFan will be on the water each day at the Forrest Wood Cup, monitoring the action live from the Red River. We'll be posting periodic updates here on Dock Talk and on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.
Make sure to follow along.
1 pm: We're gonna head back to the dock for now. Have to get to work on our day 1 photo gallery and prep for the weigh. Hope you enjoyed our live coverage from the water.
12:48 pm: Back toward the launch pond, Rose is still flipping away. He swings and misses on one and then gets hung in a tree.
12:45 pm: Just north of the launch pond, Larry Nixon is flipping shoreline cover. He says he has a limit and it's "not too shabby." He then pulls up the trolling motor and heads north.
12:30 pm: Shuffield swung and missed on what he says was a 4-pounder. He was not happy about it. It's the best opportunity he's had at a big bite today.
12:15 pm: Across the river from Lucas we see Spencer Shuffield fishing in the shadow of the Port of Shreveport. He's got 9 1/2 pounds and is looking for a kicker. His co-angler has a good one, about 3 pounds.
11:45 am: We've stopped on Justin Lucas flipping/pitching reeds not far from the port of Shreveport. He's caught two since we've been here and said he had about 9 pounds so far.
11:30 am: Andy Morgan just pulled up a little north of Avena and starts fishing near a rock jetty. He's coming our way so we hope to chat with him shortly.
11 am: We left Dudley, well he left us, so we came back toward the area known as Do Not Dredge. Adrian Avena is putting on a show. Word is he's up to 12 pounds and has thrown back three so far that wouldn't help him. As he turns his boat around he notices the Xpress X-19 aluminum rig we're in and says, "Now that's the ultimate river boat." It is a sweet setup Ron has. Twin Power-Poles and a 200-hp Yamaha SHO. We're riding in style this week.
Moments later, Jacob Wheeler plows through some mud and idles through the narrow cut in the rocks and emerges just to the left of Avena. They chit chat for a moment an Wheeler leaves. Avena catches two more shorts in the next 5 minutes.
10:50 am: We started back north in Pool 5 and found David Dudley. He was chatty as usual. He just culled but says he has a dead fish.
10 am: We made a left turn off the main river and straight ahead was Caterpillar Point. Stacey King is back in here fishing a shallow flat that falls off into 9 feet. It's covered in stumps and laydowns and looks mighty fishy.
9:45 am: Found Barry Wilson fishing the opening leading into Caspiana Lake. Says he has two in the livewell, then he sits down and motors off.
9:30 am: We have come into McDade hoping to find someone in one of these vast backwaters. No luck yet. The water's much clearer in here than on the main river. This was a crowded spot in the Classics down here but it's a ghost town now. There's one boat in here, but it's a couple locals crappie fishing.
9:15 am: Just pulled into the Beehive along the west shore. No one's fishing it right now. There used to be 50 beehives used to raise honey on the point, hence the name of the place. They're no longer there.
9:10 am: Kerry Milner, the All-American winner, is flipping shoreline cover and working a topwater across the river and south from where we just saw Spencer Shuffield. And we're off again.
8:50 am: Things slowed down for Rose so we are heading south. Stopped on Stacey King for a bit fishing a barge dock but nothing to report. Now we see Bill McDonald a little farther south flipping shoreline grass. The sun looks like it's here to stay and the breeze has tailed off.
8:32 am: Mark Rose has a limit and has culled a couple times. We're heading over to get a closer look. The sun has broken through and you can feel the heat is coming.
8:15 am: We left Port Lake and didn't have to go far to find a pile of guys fishing rock jetties near the mouth. Scott Canterbury, Mark Rose, Casey Martin, JT Kenney and Dan Morehead all within a few hundred yards of each other. Kenney just blasted off heading north and Scott Martin just pulled in across the river after coming back from up north. Casey Martin just boxed a small keeper.
8:03 am: It is cool and breezy this morning with plenty of cloud cover. The sun is trying to burn through. Lefebre just caught his first keeper - a 12-incher.
7:47 am: More on the spot Brasher started at (and Tharp wanted to). Out boat driver Ron Festavan says its the same area several Classic anglers went to on the start of day 1 of the 2009 Classic. Obviously it's a different time of year but big fish seem to live there.
7:43 am: Dave Lefebre is working a stretch of lay downs just southwest of the ramp.
7:32 am: Martin is off and running to his second spot. We're on our way to check in on others.
7:30 am: So far we've counted five big B-52 bombers fly over Red River South. Barksdale AFB is just up the road toward Shreveport. Impressive sight to see.
7:10 am Scott Martin also didn't go far. He's now back in the pads fishing and old road bed right across from the ramp with a topwater. No hook ups yet.
7:03 am: Chris Brasher makes a right turn at takeoff and starts on a stretch that's a stone's throw from the ramp. A minute later, Randall Tharp heads the same way but comes running back out on plane. Looks like Brasher beat him to his spot right off the hop.
