What really made things interesting is the fact that Thomas and I would be competing against one another in the upcoming Western Bass Delta Pro/Am the following weekend. While Dee was under pressure to put us on some quality fish for the article, he wasn't about to "give up the farm" to a fellow competitor. As we made our way through Piper Slough into Franks Tract, I asked Dee how he had been doing on the Delta during the past week. "I fished yesterday and had a 25 pound limit with fish up to 9 pounds," he replied.

Well. that really got my juices flowing as I told Thomas it would be great if we could get a picture of a big fish when he quickly interrupted. "Son, if you think I'm going to take you out here and put you on my big tournament fish, you must be crazy." He paused for a moment, glared straight into my eyes, then burst into laughter for a good 10 seconds. "Don't you worry about a thing," he said, "we're going go catch a bunch of nice fish today, just nothing that will let you beat me in that tournament next weekend."

Our day started out in the West Delta, just off the San Joaquin river where we began flipping Senkos and casting spinnerbaits to scattered tules along a shallow flat in a foot or two of water. "The tide is still a little low, but these fish are going to move up into these tules within the next hour or so," he explained. "We'll just wait them out and be ready when they start eating."

The next hour was unquestionably one of the highlights of my career as an outdoor writer. There I was, standing side by side with Thomas, receiving an incredible history lesson on the California Delta and the development of tournament fishing over the past five decades. He spoke of his childhood and falling in love with the Delta when he moved to California at the age of 13, then went on the explain how he started Tule Dippin' for bass in the 50's and became involved in tournament fishing in the early 70's. He also spoke often of his family and many good friends. I stood silent, soaking in every word of his amazing life experiences knowing this is something I will never read in a book Dee's accomplishments in the sport of bass fishing are many... far too many to include them all in this article. But to give you some idea, he has won 15 national tournament titles including a B.A.S.S. victory on Bull Shoals in 1975.

He is credited with developing the Flipping technique and is the only west coast tournament angler to be inducted into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. And if you think this 65 year old is past his prime, think again. He is fresh off a $32,000 Western Bass Victory at Clear Lake in February where he beat the likes of Gary Dobyns, Mike Reynolds, Skeet and Jim Reese and a host of the top anglers in the western United States.

Thomas spoke of the days when he used to "Tule Dip" in the shallows of Clear Lake in the early 50's and brought the technique to the Delta five years later. "I started out using four 4 foot sections of fiberglass PG&E measuring sticks I glued together," he explained. "I would attach about 8 feet of line to the end and tie on a modified striper jig and just dip into the tules where other fishermen would never be able to cast. I can still remember the day when I first tried the technique in the Delta back in 1956. I caught well over 100 fish and really knew I was on to something!"

As organized tournament fishing began to prosper in the early 70's, Thomas became so successful with his Tule Dippin' technique that they actually restructured the rules, eliminating all rods over the length of 8 feet. After the rule change, Dee made the adjustment to fishing with a shorter rod and developed what is now known as the Flipping technique.

As predicted, we had our first bite of the morning exactly one hour into the trip when a fish hammered my 6 inch Senko in a foot of water. I quickly set the hook and made a long distance release when a 3 to 4 pounder skyrocketed out of the tules. Five minutes later, I had another solid bite as a fish began to head off into deep water with my Senko. Swing and a miss... not exactly the start I was hoping for fishing with one of the greatest bass fishermen of all time. Dee didn't rib me too much, but made it very clear that I had better put the next one in the boat.

Thankfully, Dee had the next opportunity when he finally got bit and made short work of a 3-1/2 pounder that was soon flopping on the front deck of his Ranger. "These fish are turning on boy, so get ready to load the boat," he roared as he swung the big fish over the rail. "The tide is just right and the fish are moving up."

For the next two hours, we caught one fish after another, nothing huge, but all quality largemouth from 2 to 3 pounds including big fish around 4-1/2 pounds. Five and six inch Yamamoto Senkos accounted for every fish.

The bite was still going strong when we had to call it a morning and head back to Lundborgs to meet up with Sheldon and Bill for lunch. They also had a productive morning catching 8 or 9 fish in the Franks Tract area. We switched partners and made our way back out for the afternoon and each caught several more fish despite a stiff wind that was now blowing a solid 15 to 20 miles per hour from the west.

That morning spent fishing with Thomas is one that I will always cherish, not for the many lessons he taught me about fishing the Delta, but more importantly for the opportunity to spend time with a true legend in the sport I love. Dee has always lived life to the fullest, never backing down or selling out. He is truly the genuine article.