Horton’s Southern Fried Baller Safari - Day 2

[Horton]

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Get your own

Tuesday morning Dave and I woke up early in south-east Alabama, packed up and headed north-west for Meridian Mississippi. We entertained ourselves by working on our impression of how Clint Smith says the word rrrr. Clint explained that he lived in a rrr area and the lake was very rrrr. Sometimes he said that lake was in a rull area.

Around lunch time we rolled up on Jay Leach’s Dream Lake in Meridian Mississippi. Jay arrived with a brand new Centurion Carbon Pro. When I say new, I mean first day in the water new. The water looked perfect so we made sure the plug was in and went skiing.

Besides the abysmally bad job I did driving Dave, it was a great stop. The lake skis great but the best thing was watching Jay ski. I have seen plenty of 38s and 39s from the boat but Jay made it look way too easy. He seems to just grin and cruse around balls.

Unfortunately, time was tight so after Jay took a quick second set we got back in the rental car and headed to Meridian. We did not really have a map but we had some chicken scratch directions on a sticky note and that seemed good enough at the time. It turns out that the next stop was also very rrrr.

Many phone calls asking for directions later, we arrived late at Lonnie Harris’ site “QuickSet”. Why would Lonnie call his ski lake “QuickSet”? It is the shortest lake on earth with a 6 buoy course. You think you know how short is possible…. Trust me this is short. The lake is so shockingly small that you can almost miss the fact the Lonnie’s house next to the lake looks like it should be featured in “Southern Living”. Lonnie is living large. Killer house, ski lake and acreage for his 10 horses.

The green balls, if they were there, would be on shore. The lake itself is “S” shaped. Well no… it is a backward “S” The boat takes off and cranks right, you take the whip and there are the gates. No time to fix your trunks or adjust anything. If you manage to get through the gates and turn one ball the water is magic! It is crazy awesome. Without the mad skills of BigDawg driver Tim Cost, it would be pretty easy to end up on shore. Lucky for Dave and I, Tim was behind the wheel for our ride at QuickSet.

The sun was going down fast but there were more buoys to round. We ran a mile down the road to Tim’s two lake site, Cedar Ridge. The east lake at Cedar Ridge is not as small as QuickSet but is pretty small. When you edge change into 6 ball going north it is hard to not be distracted by the tree that is practically at 6 ball. Maybe it is not that close but it cracks me up.

I did my normal quick ride: 28, 32,35 and a few at 38 (for the third time that day) then Tim said “are you ready to go to the other lake?” Ten minutes later with the sun almost down, I started over again for the fourth time that day. The second lake at Cedar Ridge is the bigger and more like a typical 3 event lake. Maybe typical is the wrong word…. Typical for stunningly beautiful lakes nestled between rolling Mississippi hills.

Lonnie took us back to his house to feed us venison burgers and his wife’s homemade blackberry cobbler. Two days in a row and 6 lakes later, southern hospitality was almost overwhelming everywhere we went.

[Boody]

Man, you guys have the frickin life. Those sites are amazing. DSmart, how do you like your Strada, have you tried the Nano?

[Not_The_Pug]

Looks like Dsmart is riding the Vice?

 

Saw a Carbon Pro in one of the pictures, did you guys ski the boat and how did you like it?

 

Kevin

[jdarwin]

Looking forward to Jay bringing the Carbon Pro over for the tournament this weekend. First event in SCR using that boat. I'm sure there will be plenty of comments / impressions after this weekend. I have it scheduled to pull the MM group (15 skiers) one round both days. At some point, all 55 skiers will have an opportunity to ski behind it.

[Ham_Wallace]

The Dawgs looks better than Lonnie and Jay!

[MrJones]

How did your like Quickset Lake John? Did ya think a 6 ball could be that short?

[Bulldog]

Looks like a great time.

[Marco]

@Scot- How long is Quickset Lake? I have a buddy trying to do a deal on an 1800' lake. Is a 6 ball course possible at that length?

[jackski]

Nice shots John, all that rough water though I don't know if I could stand it.

[MattP]

Give your self some room put in a 8 ball course

[MrJones]

Marco,

I believe quick set is 1285'. Picture exiting the course and making an "immediate" left into a cut out. Reverse the process for the set up. Not good for a long 2 handed pull out, but great for one handers. Yes, it is really that short. There is not enough room for 55m buoys (boat would run over them) so they have to get exemptions for tournaments.

 

John will probably have some stories about it when he gets time to post. Skied with him and Smart at lunch and they look a little burnt from drive/ski time.

 

With a turn island, 1800' is just a nice normal set up. (IMO)

[Marco]

@Scot- Thanks for the input. My lake is 2000' with islands and is plenty comfortable. I couldn't imagine 1285!

 

When you get a chance, start a thread about the progress on your lake project. I'd love to hear the details.

[MrJones]

John will probably be posting some pics from skiing today. We are hopefully starting the house in 2 weeks. I have some shots from the air, but I will have to figure out how to post them. Will give it a try.

[Dirt]

Boody, sorry for the delay. We have been going and going. The trip has been a blast. I am liking the vice and have watched a few skiers on the Nano. I would really like to try one. Southern hospitality is incredible. We have skied some of the nicest lakes in the country and the people are the best. Horton needs to find some time to do some typing and post pics.

Quickset was really fun like a roller coaster. You are inches from shore as the boat whips you out and then no time to breath before pulling through the gates.

I drove and skied behind the Carbon Pro. Great boat.

We finally arrived at Olde Wards Pond. Time to catch up on some sleep.

[Marco]

Scot- Beautiful spot. Congratulations. I know first hand how much work it takes to build your own lake. Looking forward to seeing more photos and hearing about Johns trip. Good luck with the house and keep us posted as it progresses.

 

 

[bxroads]

Horton, I'm surprised thats the only word you had trouble with. I did good!

[Horton]

@Krlee Smart is on the Vice. Looks good but I had him try the Razor and he looked better. The Carbon Pro skis great. The dark color mats are HOT on the feet but it is a great boat

[teammalibu]

Its always worth the ride over to Lonnies and Cedar Ridge for Movelyn's cobbler. If I was stuck on an island and could have one choice of food that would be it. I would be fat but I would be happy. Canton Ms. Rocks

 

[Marco]

Wow- I just looked up Quickset Lake on Google Earth (32* 36'59.00" N 89* 54'26.00" W). The gates are 200' from the end of the lake, and the lake is 170' wide. I bet there is an extra rush that comes with skiing there!

[Horton]

So fun.

[Dirt]

teammalibu is right. The cobbler was delicious.