I fished the ABA NW Classic last week end in the Tri-cities.  Although my partner & I didn't finish in the money, we did present an acceptable bag at the weigh-in and had one of the more enjoyable times I've ever spent in the area. 
The winning bag was over 20 lbs with 2nd place comming in at 16.  There were 30 teams who weighed bags in excess of 10 lbs. That is some awesome smallie fishing folks!  The majority of the fish were caught on topwaters in 3' or less followed by spinnerbaits on rip-rap banks and then plastics in 5 to 10 ft. of water.  While some fish were taken on drop-shots deep, it was not the surefire ticket to success that fishing shallow was.
My fun came on the last day of practice watching a school of 3 lb LM slowly cruise around in circles in about 6' of water.  They knew I was there and wanted nothing to do with me.  They even had the nerve to lazily swim under & around my boat several times.
The club should really consider this area for a "T" in the future.

Smitty 8)