Cancel Day derby with Walters, Hamner, LeHew, Cobb and Palmer

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Photography by
Shane Durrance
Our pros never like cancelation days; however, I love them!  It gives the photographers a chance to be creative and shoot things that are out of the ordinary.  Luke Palmer called me this morning and said, “ Hey buddy, what are you doing right now?”  I was like, trying to figure out what to shoot today for Bassmaster.  He said, “Well do you want to go fish a 85 acre pond behind Patrick Walters house?”  I said, “Yeah, but I will have to work while I’m there.”  Palmer sent me a dropped pin; and it was on!
Our Bassmaster Pro field consisted of Luke Palmer, Patrick Walters, Justin Hamner, Shane LeHew and Brandon “ Sleepy “ Cobb.  This gallery will help you understand what I mean by “Sleepy” Cobb.
This pond was off the beaten path; and it only had a dirt ramp.  Getting in and out wasn’t the easiest thing to do with a big truck and a 20’ bass boat.
Luke and I started fishing the only water that was available; and that was the shallowest end of the lake, which only produced small fish.  Palmer picked up a wacky rig and went to work.  After he caught his 4th fish, I said, “Ok that’s it, give me one of those thangs.”  Palmer was finding offshore bass with his forward scanning sonar.  We would look for the fish, make a cast, and we would watch them run over and eat it.
One of the most exciting moments today was when Hamner and Walters were livescoping, they both caught slabs.  We were all surprised to see crappie weighing around the 3 pound mark.
As the derby came to a close, Walters said, “Before we weigh-in, let’s hit these cypress trees one more time.”  Walters was livescoping; and he could see some big blobs lying around one stump.  Hamner casts up to one with a jerkbait; and one of the biggest largemouth of the day grabbed it ran.  After a tough fight, Hamner was able to get her in the boat by using some tongue action.  This must be one of his secret tricks.
We ended the derby around lunch and headed to a small dock for weigh-in.  As usual, Walters pulls his sandbag card.  He said he had around 19 pounds; but we all knew better.  After all was said and done. Walters and Hamner pull it out with 23 pounds, LeHew and “Sleepy” Cobb had 19, Luke and I ended up with around 17.  Of course I had shoot all morning, so Palmer was a little handicapped.  We ended the day with some laughs, hand shakes and some memories that will last for a long time.
What was the pattern? Well everything, literally.  You name it, we caught fish on it.
Shane LeHew and Brandon Cobb hook up first, while fishing the deepest part of the lake around some cypress trees.
Walters and Hamner were fishing fast and covering a lot of water by throwing chatterbaits and buzzbaits.  If you have fished very much, you know that big fish love those two things.  I realize now that they a very god strategy.  They decided to move fast, pick off the easy fish, and then go looking with their sonar.  Walters is a genius with his electronics; and it is obvious after being in the boat with him for a few minutes.
At one point Walters and Hamner started pointing and laughing, when I look over, I see Brandon Cobb sleep fishing.  There he was lying down with rod in hand.
There were so man jokes being told; and we are just enjoying life.
This gorgeous pond brought out some of the locals too.  We even saw one guy in a kayak pulling his buddy around in a paddle boat.