Ham

I measuring board is a lot easier. Less moving parts and no batteries. Look at the Golden Rule Boards. They have a built in guestimate for weight. It was a nice fish. I understand being curious about how much it weighed, but in the end it doesn't matter all that much.

I'll wait and go in October or November when everyone is busy hunting and cant be bothered with the fishing.

Nanofil is like braid is a lot of ways. I use a leader to avoid wasting the nanofil with re-ties. I also like having a weak point to break when you get in a bind. It throws really well and it has not stretch so I get easy hooksets from any distance and improved sensitivity over mono. The white and chartreuse lines are really easy to watch for visible strikes. You can see your line jump or ease off to one side or the other . I feel like we will run into each other one of these days. I have a (mostly) white Supreme with a red stripe. I have a Merc 20 jet so I'm really loud and really slow.

Glad to hear you're enjoying Zig Jigs. That's a lovely area to live in with lots of Bald Eagles flying around. Plenty of deer in the area if you have the inclination to hunt them. Close to a boat ramp too! I use several different rods, but what is quickly becoming a favorite is the 7 foot Browning Air Stream. it is a two piece rod that is listed as a UL, but fishes more like a L to me. It appears they are a Bass Pro Exclusive product. It comes in a variety of lengths. I have only fished the 7 footer, but I know folks that are happy with the 6'6" model. It lists at $60 which is not a lot of money and they will be on sale a couple times of the year. It loads well and throws the 1/16 oz and 1/8 oz really well and the 1/32oz are doable. It lets you enjoy the trout, but can handle the bigger fish too. I like the cosmetics of it and they are light weight. I have a lot of different spinning reels, but one I'm pretty happy with is the Pflueger President. It's only $60 and will last for years even when you fish a lot and neglect to clean and oil it. I think I like the 6930 size. The Pflueger Supreme are $100 and are a better reel. The Pflueger Patriarch is really nice, but more expensive. I use Nanofil 6 lb in White or Chartreuse with 4 lb and 6 lb leader that I tie on with an Alberto knot. I like P Line CX Premium in Moss Green, but any skinny green line will do. I bass fish a lot and IF I use anything less than 4 pound and I'll break off on hooksets. I'm better off to use 6 lb if I can and usually the fish don't mind too much. Not the only way to skin this cat, but it's what I use. I hope this helps.

Babbler has me wanting a Head Turner as well, but I can't seem to catch a gap and get to Springfield. I'm not going to pass on a fishing trip to buy a fishing rod.

That's a nice set of top waters. Pretty good Ozark creek starter kit.

Nope, not me. I never targeted a male bass guarding fry, but I had it happen. I cast up the bank in a small pocket. I noticed the ball of fry first which is always a good thing, signs of spawning success. Then I saw the bass moving towards the fry, I figured it was about to get ugly. The bass swam past all the fry and ate my floating worm which was headed towards the ball of fry one twitch at a time. I don't sight fish bedding bass, but I'm not going to stop bass fishing from Feb to July which I would have to do to eliminate any chance of catching a fish that is spawning. Others can rant and rave if they want to do so. I'm not going to beat that dead horse anymore.

I always considered them a post spawn tool. very effective when males are guarding fry. ( I feel the flames getting closer)

I've had so much fun with floating worms. I can still remember lots of my floating worms bites. Seeing a 3 pounder roll up and engulf the worm as it settled. My first lights out bite where I'm watching my worm work across a grass flat and them the worm just disappeared like some one had turned off a switch. Seeing a huge boil on the surface of Lake DeGray late, late one day and realizing that was a fish getting my floating worm. I still have them, but rarely find myself in a place with flats to fish them on.

I choose to use a leader with my Nanofil or braid because I want a weak spot that can be broken if needed. I use a alberto. The uni/uni works fine, but bangs along thru the guides. The alberto is longer and skinny and flys thru the guides. I have also used a surgeon's knot where you go thru a third time. That works, but seems a little weaker than the other two knots. It will fail quicker on a snag, but none of those connecting knots have failed on fish. My knot failures seem limited to a snag that I do a dead pull on trying to free or bend hook out. Line failure to zebra mussels is a whole different animal. I have zero interest in Nanofil on a bait caster. I do use some braid on bait casters. I am throwing braid on my topwaters right now.

I have fished PP and 832. I saw no real advantages to 832. I have used the low diameter stuff like 4 lb, 6 lb, 8, lb diameter. I have not used the 832 in 50 plus break strength. I didn't see the 832 as being any worse than Power Pro either. I had to try it for myself, but I didn't gain anything for my expenditure.

Hey Al, I did just fine with 8 lb. I should have had 2 rods with 8 lb. I don't go below 6 lb. any more. I have not found it to be necessary to go below 6 lb, but you live and learn.

Probably a 9 foot 4 weight.

Dang Jason, you want to fish even more than I do. I would not have done that, but maybe I would have at 25.

This!

Those numbers certainly seem low. That stinks because we had a really good trip last fall and I was hoping to hit that section again later this year. Our numbers were not White River numbers, but the fish were all nice and healthy and we caught somewhere in that 20 fish a day range .

I was thinking the other day on the way home from the river how blessed we are in the amount of fishing opportunities that exist in this country. I'm sure that a few other countries may have it better, but not many.

Mitch makes a very good point about overall line diameter and abrasion resistance. I learned that first hand when I made a trip with Kelly Watson to fish Texas Hill Country rivers. The water was impossibly clear and Kelly preached 4 lb line and long casts. It was a multiday trip on the Llano. I had carried 3 rods. A light with 4 lb, a ML with 8 lb, and a medium baitcaster with 10 lb. So first day in and I'm throwing some small soft plastics on a jighead. I was using Tectan 4.4 lb. Very small diameter stuff. Fishing down and across bumping along the bottom when I get that wonderful thump. Typical sweep set and I break off when the fish comes tight. Hmmm, not a good start. Re-rig. Next bite. I broke off again. Third fish and I broke off again this time way up the line from the bait. The hard bed rock bottom with lots of exposed edges had weakened my line from the bait almost back to my reel. That skinny soft line was a no go on the Llano. I put that rod away and force fed them weighless 4 inch senkos on 8 lb and top water lures on the bait caster. Very frustrating way to learn that lesson, but so it goes.

So buy a line you like in a diameter you like and don't worry about listed break strength. I continue to be very satisfied with a nanofil main line with a P-Line CX Premium leader for spinning. I like Seaguar Abraz X for bait casting, but I also use Silver Thread CoPoly in 10-20 lb.

I'm a cut stick guy. I'm not looking for a better option. I'm just looking for more chances to throw the cut stick. The panfish abuse the little tube would get would drive you crazy once the water got above 60 degrees. The little crabby thing gets absolutely gnawed on by panfish. I think the tube will be just as bad or worse. Meh. I'll pass.

You had better luck the next time out.

Really dumb to die over a phone based video game, but people die playing golf so I guess I can't hate on them too much.

Hey John, They are forever established in BSL. I wonder if they established themselves in the Buffalo River or in the White River. I personally saw multiple fish in the White, but its been a while. There is no way in hades that I saw the both of the only two Yellow Perch that made it into the White. How many washed into it? How many are still swimming in it.

I've told this story before so look away IF you read this before. The first time I got burned I was tent camping at the State Park. I woke up and none of the other guys were awake. I took off for the ramp closest to the dam and waded in. It was early summer.Everything was going ok. I heard the horn blow. I immediately started to get out. I was expecting few minutes without flow, but water immediately started to rise. I had a deep slough between me and the closest bank. I had to go upstream to get to a shallower spot to get out. Flow was getting very fast and the depth kept increasing. I was starting to get noticeably buoyant when I got close enough to the exit for the water to become shallower. I had come very close to getting washed away. I now think what woke me up was them blowing the first horn. Water is on full immediately when they blow the second horn blast. I would have never waded in IF I had known they had blown the horn. The second time was down at Rim Shoals. Weather was cold and cloudy. I was the only one down there. I only had a couple of hours t o fish before dark, but I was mad at them and just had to go. It was upper 40's and really damp. The temperature was going to go down significantly after dark, but so what? I was fishing double fly rigs on the near side of the second island about half way down the island. As often happens when I fish a double fly rig, I got a massive tangle. I have eventually learned that unless it is a minor tangle it is better for me to cut and re-tie tippit and both flys. I also learned that I can do all that better when standing on the bank or even better sitting down in a comfy spot. So, I'm standing on the shore with my back to the river completely engrossed in cutting and re-tieing when I hear the water change dramatically. I knew they had turned on water earlier, but I failed to appreciate that sometimes they turn on the water just after an hour and the "real time" data doesn't show that change for up to 55 minutes later. I knew how many miles downstream I was and I had divided the miles downstream by 4 figuring that water moved down river at 4 miles per hour. I had done the math and figured the water would not hit until after dark and I had put the idea out of my mind. It was still an hour until dark and yet the water was here NOW. I took off on a sprint across the river. I knew I had to go and I did not spend any time on a self debate. I did not put stuff away. I did not zip pockets. I didn't do anything but hold tight to everything in my hands just as it was when I heard the water. There are various deep spots and high rocks randomly scattered out there, but I had no time to worry about that. One missed step and I'm going down. I'm going to lose my rod and I'm going to very cold and likely way down river. There are 3 "ridges" that stretch from the river side out to the island. Gary Flippn was nice enough to have cut a trail thru the underbrush and cleared a path to these exit points. I had my eyes locked on the exit 2/3 down. I was going down river with the flow rather than against it which helped. I was also hoofing it. I was breathing hard enough that I could hear myself in a detached third person kind of way. Water got higher and higher around me and I was just starting to think I really screwed up when I reached the point where the bottom rises up. Flow continued to increase, but I had more secure footing with each step and in another 1/2 dozen strides I was out of the water. I had a nice little stroll to the car, but I was still breathing pretty hard when I got to the car. It was way too close. Now, I figure the water coming on a full hour before reported and the water flowing 6 miles an hour instead of 4. I really, really don't want to be caught off guard by rising water again. I may sacrifice a little fishing time, but no fish is worth dying over.

The yellow perch were Illegally introduced to BSL. I do not know of any more local lakes that have them. I caught one in the White River BELOW the mouth of the Buffalo River and almost caught one at White Hole on the White River. They were flushed into the White River when the flood gates were opened. Will they establish a breeding population?