I hope you get a chance to get you both out there Chuck..
Gangly, the guy that was fishing with me the other day caught a couple of largemouths popping a Hoola-Popper just out in fron the lilly pads. They were not that big except one that broke his line. We are thinking but do not know that maybe that one was perhaps a chain pickeral. We were thinking the teeth on it cut the line but not sure what it was. All he did was set the hook and wham he ended up without the Hoola Popper. You might want to try one just in case.