While we first learned about great bass fisheries like Guntersville and Rayburn through tournaments, our intro to Grosse Savanne came through pros and major television personalities. Guys who’ve been everywhere spoke of this place in South Louisiana with awe.

I met Dennis Tietje at his camp on Toledo Bend in either 2001 or 2003, when he hosted a crawfish boil. I was one of the few interlopers there amongst the Hall of Famers. Until a recent trip to Grosse Savanne we’d never fished together. It turned out to be just about a perfect outing.