Member Brian Long and I hit Timber Lake on opening day and had to battle the elements from the start.  Once we got there the rain started and kept us fairly wet until the wind started howling out of the north a few hours later.  One of our two batteries is obviously ready for a change because on a full charge it lasted less than 20 minutes which had us on the reserve battery even before the wind started howling.  With no battery to spare I had to keep my graph off but the water temp was 52 when we initially put in.  All in all, it was a frustrating day due to the conditions and our deep cycle pooped out from the start.  We did manage around 20 fish and the fish look really healthy this year.  We had two four pounders and only five culls in the mix.  Most of the fish we caught were chunky with a belly full of eggs.  A 5" swim bait produced the best for us in a Tennessee shad pattern.  We will get back out there soon so we can spend some more time fishing and navigating the entire lake.  The lake has caught some water from last year but is still around three feet from full pool.  The gravel launch made the trip possible…..  A couple of years ago we wouldn't have gotten out of there.