Catching largemouth bass on Thurmond Lake this week isn't a secret. Just go to any main river point or hump during the early morning, midmorning and even late afternoon, cast a top-water lure and hang on.

You could easily tell that the inaugural Southeast Skeeter Owner's Tournament was coming today out of Wildwood Park. Every hump and every point, it seemed, was occupied by a Skeeter bass boat Wednesday.

Tournament hours are 2 to 6 p.m. today and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. The fishermen are competing for $150,000 in cash and prizes.

Familiar names among the top Skeeter professional fishermen include Zell Rowland, Mark Menendez, Joe Thomas, Kelly Jordon and Danny Corriea.

Demo rides, live music, a Lowcountry boil, sponsor exhibits, fishing seminars, a children's fishing pond and interactive displays will be featured at the park during the tournament.

- Congratulations to Bart Blackburn of North Augusta for posting his first victory in the prestigious Mr. Clark Hill bass tournament last weekend. It was the first time the event was held over a two-day period. Check the tournament report for the results.

Capt. David Willard, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed full-time professional fishing guide specializing in hybrids and stripers and trophy largemouth bass. 410 Sprouse Road, Clarks Hill, SC 29821 (803) 637-6379 (crockettrocketstriper fishing.com) - Fall fishing is finally here and, except for the weather this past weekend, we've had a good week. I marked some huge schools of fish that kept my parties busy running from one side of the boat to the other. Gary Grossman and his wife, Toni, from Delaware, Ohio wanted to catch breaking fish, but they were hard to find Thursday morning, with only singles here and there. We marked some deep fish and Gary caught a couple on the Berry's Flex-It Spoon, but Toni was killing the stripers on live herring in the back of the boat. Gary soon joined her. They had such a good time they want to come back and bring the kids.

Ralph Barbee, professional guide specializing in hybrids, stripers and largemouth bass, (706) 860-7373, 957 Windmill Lane, Evans, GA. 30809 (Check out my Web site at www.fishingwith ralphbarbee.com) - Bob Tarlton of Lake City, Fla., and his friend, Tony Holton, of White Springs, Fla., fished with me on Wednesday. A 5.1-pound bass hit Tarlton's third cast of a Kevin Van Dam buzz bait. He caught another 3-pounder on a crank bait, changed to a Pop-R and caught another good fish. He caught another bass on a Sammy. I finally caught three bass, biggest was 4 pounds, on a Buckeye buzz bait and a Pencil Popper. Doug Crowe of Columbia, and his brother, Sam, of Dalton, Tenn., fished with me on Thursday. Doug caught a 4-pound bass right off the bat in a foot of water on a point and I caught a 3-pounder on a buzz bait on a point. Sam caught one of about 2 pounds on a buzz bait and I added a 4-pounder from a different point and a 6-pounder a bit later. Doug had two LDRs and Sam three LDRs (long-distance releases). I caught two more bass about 3 pounds apiece. My TV show features Capt. David Willard, Capt. William Sasser and I trolling umbrella rigs and using downriggers on the lake. We're showing techniques of trolling those rigs. The show airs each Saturday at 11 a.m., and each Sunday at 2 p.m. on My12TV, including Knology Ch. 7, Comcast Ch. 21, Charter Ch. 9 (Fort Gordon), G Force (Aiken) Ch. 7, Northland (Burke County, Statesboro, Swainsboro) Ch. 9.

Craig Johnson, professional guide specializing in largemouth bass, hybrid bass, striped bass. (706) 364-6437 - No report. Check out my Web site: www.professional angler.com/CraigJohnson.htm.

Capt. William Sasser, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass. (706) 589-5468 - Fishing has been pretty good and it's a great time of the year to be out on the lake. Brad Henson and Mike Weaver of Aiken fished for crappies with me. The fish bit well until a cold front moved in and then they got a case of lockjaw. Still, the fishermen wound up with 28 nice-sized fish, which bit minnows 20 feet down over brush in 35 feet of water.

My VHF radio handle is Crappie Master and I can be reached on the lake on Channel 68.

Capt. Tommy Dudley, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in stripers and hybrids. (706) 833-4807 - We've been able to catch some nice hybrids and stripers weighing 8 to 12 pounds while trolling the Mann's Stretch 20 and Captain Mack's Bucktails (in red and white) along treelines of the main Savannah River channel near Parksville. Shriver Creek is holding fish again, but most surface activity is from Keg Creek to Bass Alley during the afternoons. A cold front has moved into the area and might put the brakes on the bite for a few days. My VHF radio handle is Boat Racer and I can be reached on Channel 68. My Web site is www.fishlakethurmond.com.

New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam

Lock and Dam Bait and Tackle (Bob Baurle), (706) 793-8053 - Mike Grover and Travis Petrea caught 25 bream and one bass up river on crickets. Butler Creek is producing good catches of bream and crappies are being caught around trees along the river. A few mullet are being caught.

Harrison Sears (706) 722-8263 (www.brickyardponds.com) - Darrell Weeks and Ricky Cain caught 17 bass in the Stick Pond on plastic worms. Greg Trenton caught 17 crappies on minnows in the Ditch. Jimmy Wong caught a 4.08-pound bass and 3.09-pound bass in the Shack Pond on plastic worms. Lindsey Fielding caught six bass in the King Pond on minnows. Hugh Cross caught 13 crappies on minnows in the White Elephant Pond. Forrest Freeman caught a 2.83-pound bass in the Shack Pond on a shiner. Jeffrey Miles caught 14 crappies in the Front Ditch on minnows. Greg and Mike Leaptrotte won last week's bass tournament with 7.9 pounds and big fish of 6.66 pounds. Eight boats in the field.

Our weekly bass tournament will be held on Saturday from 3:30 to 8:p.m. Cost is $20 per person.

Ralph Goodison, Fripp Island, (843) 838-2530, and Doug Gertis, professional guide, (843) 524-5250 - Gertis: We suffered through 10-foot tides because of the full moon and it was impossible to spot tailing redfish. We did catch some reds and trout on live shrimp during the outgoing tide. We should see some great fishing this weekend with moderate tides on the schedule. Trout fishing has been great and should last for several weeks. Big redfish are starting to gather in the holes off Bay Point and this bite will improve as temperatures fall.

Water temperature was 74 on Wednesday.