Ham

I don't think the population is all that great. Lot's of other creeks I would look to first, but I understand if you're going to be on the Buffalo why you might want to try for some. You might catch enough to eat.

Why don't they issue them a nice rubber landing net that would not hurt the fish at all ?

24-26 inches is my guess, but it's just a guess. We caught a lot of Browns 15-20 inches and these two looked huge in comparison to those.

I am sick and tired of being cold. I can hardly stand it any more, but I am not going to let it keep me from fishing. Trout gnat and I met at Bull Shoals dam yesterday morning @ 0800. It was 19 degrees and cloudy. Wind was minimal which was nice. They were running about 7000 CFS when we got there. It's not a secret that the area below the dam is HOT for a while after it is re-opened to fishing on Feb 1 every year. It seems that the weather is almost always terrible also. In a way, the more miserable the better because you want a minimal amount of company. We were one of the first three boats there. Hot Dawg was there for a little while. He left before I could say hello. A drift boat launched a little before us, but they were all but out of sight when we started. It won't surprise anyone that I threw Zig Jigs. Troutgnat likes to hand tie custom colors on trout his worked great as well. We whacked em. Lots of fish. Lots of BIG fish. I had three quarters of a slam. Troutgnat had a real nice Rainbow. We released it after a quick pic. Somewhere in the 20 inch range. We had lots of solid bows that that was the largest. We had a very large number of > 16 inch Brown trout. I lost two really BIg Browns. As the morning moved along, more and more boats piled in the area. It's clear that the extra boats shut the fish down. I've seen it on multiple ocassions now. I know it's just something you have to deal with, but I would have loved another hour to ourselves. Water dropped to around 3000 CFS and navigation became riskier. I made the call to relocate to Cotter to show Troutgnat some stuff in that area. We caught them, but not as well. We caught several more real nice Browns and a bunch or good thick Bows. The wind picked up and clouds moved in. It really got to be a grind, but we fished as long as we dared. It was a comparative grind though. I believe we caught over 200. I know I caught 100. Troutgnat has the pics. He may post them here if he chooses to do so. The White is so amazingly good.

Stir the pot my man. I suspect your taste buds are freezer burned. Pretty cold here, I imagine it's really darn cold there. Enjoy your eats.

I've fished the Current River twice and Big Piney once. I have very little interest in EVER going back to Big Piney. I'd like to fish the Current River every Fall. Small sample set, but I'd recommend the Current.

Come springtime , hook a brother up! hint Hint

I use the White Nanofil. I'll admit it seemed garish at first, but I quickly got used to it. I like that it's easy to see. It has helped me become better at watching my line. I know it has helped me catch extra fish by quickly seeing changes in the line movement or seeing the line jump. I set the hook on these lines movements without ever feeling the fish. It might not be for everybody, but I freakin love it.

What? I gave several reasons for using leader. I'm pretty sure I never said it was cheaper to replaces lures than line. I want to be able to break off WHEN i NEED TO DO SO. IF I'm using 20 lb braid fishing from my kayak and get hung up, current sweeping the boat along might become a big problem. I'm pretty sure I can break 6 or 8 pound leader material in a hurry IF need be, but 20 lb braid isn't going to break. I ONLY use 20 lb because it had the line diameter I'm comfortable using VERY CLOSE TO 8 LB MONO it never was about needing heavier line to subdue the fish. I don't think I'm as old as you are, but I'm pretty sure most of us have caught fish heavier then the pound test we are using. The cost savings comes in when you aren't using expensive Nanofil or braid on basic lure changes or to re-tie. I don't know anyone that is fishing any type or brand or line to be cool. I love te Nanofil because of the easy hooksets from a great distance AND it's enhanced casting distance over braid. I have lures that cost > 15 dollars, but they are the exception rather than the rule. I don't go out of my way to lose any lure and I'd certainly try not to lose the more expensive ones. There's jumping to conclusions and then there's pole vaulting to make believe land.

I will sometimes forget to eat because I'm locked in to whatever is going on, but I'll feel better and fish better if I'll take 15 minutes to eat somewhere near the middle of the day. Maybe I'm getting "better" about this whole fishing obsession thing.

If I wasn't clear, you call Jeff @ Reb Rod 870-453-2780. He's generally there from 0700-1530. They sell the rods from the shop where they make the blanks. I would ALWAYS call before I made the trip to Flippin to pick one up. One to make sure that they have them in stock and two to make sure you know where the shop is. It's back behind the Orschlen's on Industrial Blvd. I think they have a small amount in stock now.

I only saw Spin Rites for sale once in my life. I like Cicadas better than Silver Buddy's and I much prefer the tail spinner lures where the line passes thru the body and is tied to a hook of your choice. I need to fish those more.

So I broke the newer of my two Ozark Mountain Traditions rods the other day on Taneycomo. I average about 80 days on the water a year and this was the first rod I've broken since I moved up here swven years ago. I was just sick about it, but you can't undo a broken rod. I gave Jeff a shout at Dorber to see if there was any chance or a warranty and/or to see when they would have another batch made. Jeff asked me to bring it by when I had a chance for them to inspect and they might warranty it completely or give a discount on a new rod. I have no idea why this blank exploded on me. It was a smallish fish and the rod really wasn't under much stress when it failed. Jeff and another guy looked at it and while they both believe that I must have damaged it at some point without knowing it leading to the dramatic failure, They were nice enough to swap it out for me. I did inquire about the rod to see if additional stock was planned. It seems that blank is being picked up by another company for their line of blanks. As far as I was able to determine, that company will be re-selling the blank NOT a finished rod. Since They will be making runs of that particular blank more often now, it is more likely they will have that OMT 84 UL in stock. They retail for $72.40 now so with tax figure on right at $80. I would always call first before you made the trip. It's the best rod I've found for trout to this point and I'm darn glad to have two of them again.

It 's a valid thought that a lure has to catch the fisherman BEFORE it can catch a fish. I catch more than my share on a simple 4 inch grub and Lord willing I'll continue to do so, BUT a lure that excels on clear water lakes should work on Bull Shoals. It is fairly common that a new lure has a honeymoon phase where the fish haven't been exposed to it and the dumb ones eat it pretty good for a while. I hope there is a period of time where I can drag this in the face of some dumb ones. It ought work around boat docks as well. I've had some BIG Brown fish come out and follow a spinnerbait a long way MAYBE those fish will ease up and eat this lure. I'm cool with folks doing their own thing. I'll find out if it's going to work for me.

Good looking Clousers there wrench. Those ought to work just fine.

I'll never have a bass mounted. My parents had a 6 1/2 pound largemouth mounted for me when I was 10 years old. That was a big bass in 1972. But if I caught a 20 inch crappie, I'd get the best skin mount money could buy and proudly hang it somewhere.

What? I'm going to slow roll it on deeper flats, pulling it along horizontally. I expect the fish to load on it and a sweep set with 8 lb Nano and a 6 lb leader. I expect a really good hook up ratio.

Cajunangler caught a giant one on a stick bait a couple of years ago on Bull Shoals. He cares very little about crappie, but it was so big he took a picture of it. I don't think he bothered to measure it. Lol. I fished a long time before I caught one over 15 inches, but I finally caught one on Bull. It was 16 and 1/4 inches. Lol. Dozens of 14 & 3/4 inch long one and then that. I took a buddy and his first ever crappie was 15 1/4 inches. Crazy.

Gosh, I hope they catch more than White Bass. I suspect they'll catch cool water smallies in a slow moving water too, but you gotta throw it at them to find out. I haven't caught a smallie over 20 inches in Bull Shoals yet. It would be sweet If I got one on a spy bait.

It's gonna catch all three species of bass, crappie, white bass, and walleye. I'll be throwing it Pre-spawn in the clearest waters of lower Bull Shoals. I'll post pictures. ; )

It is a finesse technique that should work in cool water, but I don't think it's limited to cool water. I will be trying it this spring.

I haven't tried any yet, but I'm going to.

X 2 , I really wanted the Lew's Spinning reel. I would have gotten the 2000 or the next larger, but I had no interest in the 1000 size.

That's Great! The Table Rock forum is FULL of great information. You'll have some great days on the water ahead. You might want to help yourself learn the lake by taking a guide trip during the Spring and Fall with Don House and Bill Babler. They both seem to really know the lake. Summer it seems to get crazy busy, but your night fishing skills could really pay off then. I don't know if you plan on winter fishing or not. It may be worth it to take another guide trip in the winter. Good Luck and God Bless.

I had to leave work and go get my daughter in Harrison. After she saw multiple slide offs, when she slid out in a curve, she parked it and called for help. After getting stuck multiple times and being unable to get to work a few winters ago, I got a 4 wheel drive. No way I would have gotten to Harrison w/o it. The roads were much better on the way home after lots of salt, sand, and plowing, but the snow is absolutely filling the sky. It was tough to breathe without inhaling flakes. I was out shoveling the drive before the snow got hardened. Nasty It looks like the 3 plus inches I shoveled will be replaced quickly. Come on Spring.