For the last twenty years or so I've been going on annual spring fishing excursions to remote Sandhill lakes. This trip that I affectionately call "The Bass Blitz" started back when my son, Mitch, was old enough to endure such adventures. We packed everything short of the kitchen sink and set off for pristine cow pastures untouched by human beings. The joys and hardships that we experienced are now treasured memories that we often look back on with a  smile.

Now days, I pack much lighter, only taking the essentials like fishing rods, tackle boxes and trolling motor batteries. A small cooler filled with apples and bologna to go with bread and granola bars keeps the stomach satisfied. I also pack a sleeping bag to keep me warm at night in the passenger seat.

This week I forgot my sleeping bag, but Scott and Emma Kuhn graciously let me stay at their Deer Meadows lodge. It seems like the older I get, the more appealing that a soft bed and hot shower gets. I don't turn down the hot coffee, eggs and bacon either.

I call it the "Bass Blitz" because this is the time of year when largemouth bass are going on their prespawn feeding spree. They tend to bunch up in tight schools and gorge on anything that swims by. It's the kind of thing that anglers dream of. Couple that with all the newly arrived waterfowl and you have an outdoor person's paradise. It's my chance to regain some of the sanity that I lost over the winter.

In a little over two days I managed to fish eleven different lakes in the central and western Sandhills. I snapped some photos while in the boat that I hope you'll find interesting.