bfishn

biting... tongue... club... rules...

Since small, medium, & large strippers stripers travel and feed together, catching the big ones exclusively is more a matter of method than month. That said, when the surface temps cool to ~52 degrees, they're very active and will feed shallow until it cools to ~48. Some years that's late October, some it's early December. Invert those numbers for spring and you'll be in the ballpark.

"Back in the 1970s and 80s, several regional outdoor writers, ... wrote several articles in regional magazines extolling the virtues of the fishing for big smallmouth on the Kings River, which fired my imagination to no end." They'd probably been fishing with ol' JD Fletcher, IMO the King of the King's River (RIP). He guided hundreds of folks to memorable KR bass floats, day after day, year after year. Sounds like maybe it ain't what it used to be. Thanks for the report.

If someone has figured out how to pick up a radio signal from a submerged fish with a roof-mounted antenna they ought to share that how-to with the US Navy. I'm sure they'd be really interested. Fish chasers using radio-telemetry have to shove an antenna in the water, take directional and signal strength readings and move until they find the target. Edit; ... with the exception of fish/whales that regularly surface.

I live in B.V. On my way out at 5AM this morning I could only see tiny portions of pavement thru the blanket of leaves, sticks, & branches that covered the road to the highway. Haven't seen it that bad in my 33 yrs here. Must have had a heck of a blow, but I slept thru it until the power went off. Haven't heard about a tornado, but we certainly had some strong winds.

"To the bottom of the lake" is a stretch for hulls with Basic Flotation. They stand up like a pencil float, mostly submerged.

Tracking studies (Santee Cooper IIRC) observed schools doing 80 mile round trips every day for weeks. They overnighted near the dam, headed uplake at sunrise ~40 miles, and were back to the dam by dark, presumably feeding along the way.

If you're after those bugeyes, the islands Ham mentioned are a good place to start this time of year. Some of them are visible, some are completely submerged. There's also some submerged weedbeds you won't find on our other highland lakes. For a lake that looks much like what you're used to, it's got some different bells & whistles.

There'll never be another ewe...

I tried to go thru Anderson right after the downpour quit yesterday AM, saw 3 vehicles with their lights on (and presumably people inside) all pinned against trees in fast moving water up to their headlights. Tried to pull over to offer assistance but the police said rescue crew was coming and I should get on out of their way. Scary business.

Duck Dynasty Disillusionment

Understood. That's why I don't spend the time on my favorite lakes that I'd like to anymore. Wakeboaters have no respect for crazy. 😉

Drunks, crackheads and tweakers are nothing to be scared of, you just have to show them that you're crazier than they are. In their compromised condition, that's pretty easy to do.

Nothing in particular to be suspicious about, Missouri has created laws mandating e-fuels, and Arkansas hasn't. They did it in front of God and everybody, and the media covered it. Probably has something to do with the fact that lots of people in Mo. have corn to sell, Arkansas, not so much.

Best of luck on your new water and adventures yet-to-be-had.