I cain’t for the life of me understand why we send millions of dollars to foroun countries to feed people and children when here in our country, five kids a week die of starvation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservations and unemployment is around 90 percent most of the time.

That is one thing and the other thought for the week is why the most powerful country in the world would stand by and let the pirates off the coast of Somalia capture our ships. I ain’t smart, but I could stop that with my 11th-grade eddy-cation.

Now here’s one history that you may or may not know, “Martha Raye” one of the many wiregrass mural singers who went to Vietnam to entertain the troops, she not only went to the main bases, she went to the out-lying hill-top compounds and sang to the troops there. By an eyewitness account saw her chopper coming in, there was also incoming rounds in the compound as her chopper hit the ground.  She ran out of the chopper dressed in white and helped load the wounded on to stretchers and got them to safety. For that act of heroism, she is buried in the cemetery at Fort Bragg, N.C., as a lieutenant colonel of the Green Berets. I would never have known it if I hadn’t had lunch with the eyewitness.

Believe it or not, bass, bream, catfish and crappie has bit fairly well in spite of the fast flood waters and they are fast. Wednesday, eight bass was taken, all about 3 pounds each, half on spinners and half on plastic, another boat reported four bass taken on spinner baits.  One 8-pounder was taken on worm “plastic” from the bank. Another boat reported 12 small bass taken on spinners.

Greg Maddix and Sam Perry from Kentucky and Joe Cleary of Bainbridge took 20 keepers on spinners up the Flint River, biggest was 8 pounds and 8 or 10 in the 3- to 4-pound class.

Twelve bass taken on spinners from a two-passenger boat mostly 2 pounds. There was also a boat with four in it, two kids that had a good mess of crappie, several bream and two big catfish. They were all caught pitchen crickets.

The lake dropped one foot Saterday, but it’s near full on Sunday evening.

Wingate’s Fishing Report

April 12, 2009

Lake surface temp: 67Lake level: Almost fullClarity: Mustard and fastFlint: Mustard and fastChattahoochee: Cloudy and fastSpring Creek: ClearingReport provided by: Jack Wingate