Dan and I went today and decided to put in at Hobson's so we could fish Lake Barkley or run up Little River. Couldn't have asked for better weather. Mid 70's. Intermittent clouds. SSW wind at 5 - 10 with a front blowing in tomorrow. Water temp was 68 - 70. Dogwoods blooming. Water is almost to Summer pool. It should have been one of those days when you just wore em out. Lots of small fish and huntin for the big ones. It's a little different on the lake this year though. The fish never have really turned on. It's like they just never came up. This may actually be the case since the TVA dropped the lake during pre-spawn and kept dropping the levels after it would rise during the spawn. I'm guessing that the bass have bedded deep and are hard to find. Everyone I know is having a tough time putting a keeper in the boat right now. So, it's puzzling to say the least.
We spent time shallow at first. Nothing but a catfish (me) and one small largemouth (Dan). We saw about 8 huge Buffalo Carp wallowing in 4 inches of water. All the splashing and commotion surely would encourage a hasty retreat of any other species of fish. We went deeper and found em in 12 feet of water. Started throwing a Jig and Pig, Carolina Rig and Shakey head. All produced. Caught four or five between the two of us with the largest going about a pound and a half. Nothing stellar, but fun nonetheless. Fished a flat with brush piles and the same story.
We went back in a pocket and while Dan was throwing the Carolina Rig I turned toward the bank and had a notion. The water was perfectly calm and it somehow reminded me of fishing topwater on Shell Point Reef and having those trout hammer my Skitterwalk. So I pulled out my Bone and Chartruese SkitterWalk and tied it on. I figured if there was anything around the cover on the bank I would be able to aggravate it enough to get it to bite. Capt. Pat McGriff would have been proud. Throw it out. Let it sit. Jerk it. Let it sit. I did this for about ten minutes and could tell that Dan was wondering what the heck I was doing. He doesn't fish top water and we sure hadn't seen anything shallower than 12 feet all day. I said out loud, "I know it's a long shot, but I would love to see a big ol' bass hammer my skitter wa.." KA...WHAMMMM!!!!!
It sounded like someone threw a concrete block in from the bank. As I set the hook and started reeling I could tell this was a nice fish. Running and fighting hard. Got it to the boat and it was a 4 lb smallmouth. She must have spawned up shallow and then I upset her. That was my first smallmouth bass. Been wanting to catch one.
Dan snapped a picture and back she went. Made the whole trip worth it.
We worked Hobson pretty well and decided to head to Little Terpin and then run up Little River. For the first time since I've been fishing Barkley, Little Terpin didn't yield anything. Unless you count the 20lb snapping turtle Dan donated a shakey head to. Those are some nasty hammer knockers.
Went to start the boat and head up the river. Turned the key and all I heard was that starter scream. Not good. Hmmmm.... Well, let's just pretend like that didn't happen and turn the key again. Nope, same thing. Thought the new electronics I put on the boat may have run the battery down. That, along with my kids turning the key on and running the battery dead for about a week, led me to believe that my cranking battery was probably shot.
Switched to the trolling battery and same. Took the cowling off and noticed the starter gear was stuck up. Took the flywheel cover off and noticed the nut, cap and spring were gone. 
Knocked the gear back down on the starter, got the pull rope out of the cowling and said a prayer. It started right up on the second pull and we headed in. Put the boat on the trailer with the trolling motor and headed home. Upon further inspection I found the cap and nut had fallen down in the motor but the spring was not to be found. Batteries tested good.
I stopped by the boat shop here in town and found out that I had to order the whole mechanism. 
Yeah, that's cheap. Just need a spring. I called the auto parts store and talked to my buddy there. Asked if they had any wheel chamber kits and we found one that had a spring that would do the trick. $11 for the kit and a tube of blue Locktite and I had it fixed up in no time. Great day on the water and mechanical challenge met. I'm ready to go again.
