Ham

We're getting closer to Spring one day at a time. http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/usa/little-rock Looks like our days are getting almost 2 minutes more sunlight per day. I can hardly wait.

Yep, Water coming thru the dam is pretty stained. It is a similar situation at TR; water coming thru the TR dam is off colored. The heavy rain actually colored up the entire lake. It seems counter intuitive, but the clearest water may be way up the creeks where the water ran in clear after the initial muddy runoff. I'd try way back up Bennett's or way back of Float. The water doesn't have to be as clear as normal, but I don't like to fish in cold, muddy water if I can help it.

well, I fish for a little bit of everything. So, I have panfish setups. I have catfishing setups. I have flyrods. I have crappie jigging poles. I have trout spinning gear. I think I even have a few bass fishing combos. I have rods that I value to much to take on creek trips. I have rods that I really like, but if they are lost at sea on a float trip I will survive. They add up over time. I need to thin the herd myself, but I am thinking about adding a couple of dock shooting combos so.....

Nope.

http://www.baxterbulletin.com/story/news/local/2016/01/29/three-fisherman-rescued-after-boat-capsizes/79527910/

So laying them on the boat carpet is ok? Rocky shoreline is good too? Hero shot on a stringer is cool if you release them later? Did the article suggest a best practices way to hold the fish? I think I'll take less fish pics this year.

They are still running 22,000 CFS thru the dam and have floodgates open as well. They are also running 5500 CFS out of Norfork and have floodgates open there as well so the lower river is 40,000 or so CFS. Some guys are definitely fishing, but many myself included are trying to wait for them to close the floodgates at least before venturing out. 3 guys from Chicago pinned a rented boat against the bridge just above the confluence with the Norfork river the other day. They got real lucky that a homeowner spotted the mishap and called Norfork Fire Dept who quickly got them out of the water and warmed up. They really are lucky to be alive.

See what you started!

They are only a little less elusive than Bigfoot. I catch one every great now and again. I've never caught one approaching a size that a rational person would consider keeping.

Bull Shoals has a bunch of docks. You just have to run around a bunch to fish a bunch of them and they aren't all created equal. I got some favs.

Meh

That show sold a whole freaking bunch of spoons.

Very Nice!

I fished barbless all day. It "cost" me a few fish I guess, but it makes releasing them so much easier. It's got to be better for the fish. Its a lot better for me when I stick a barbless hook in me vs a barbed one.

That would be great kj. I still have some house keeping on my end to go thru. Griz says I might not need to replace it at all and he is much better at Humminbirds than I am. IF you find it, please PM me or something.

It shouldn't sit well with anyone, but I don't believe that is an accurate appraisal of the situation.

TR can be fantastic! I've had some really, really great fishing trips there. I choose not to deal with the longer drive and the higher volume of other boaters and fisherman. I'll behave though.

Hey Pete! I finally saw Outlet 3!

You know how to fish that bluff a lot better than first timer me. We did much better below the cable. I'd guess we caught somewhere in that 60 fish range for the boat. There were three of us fishing though which helps. I caught three or four on white, but did much better on Brown/Orange and Tri Olive. Might just be a confidence thing.

I sort of want to play with that by myself first. Trying to limit the noob embarrassing myself exposure. I also don't want my first fish to to a angry 18 inch Brown. i had a brief frustrating outing to Quarry Park (below the Norfork Dam) this afternoon. Floodgates are still open. Boat ramp parking lot has a band of water running across it. No noticeable flow from Dry Run Creek. Lots of yahoos with crap gear slinging every known jerk bait trying to catch walleye that washed over. I had hopes of doing the Tenkara thing for little bookies and cuts hanging at mouth of DRC. Muddy water made me leave it in the truck.

The GPS antenna on my front Humminbird unit has died an untimely death. I'd love to buy a used one someone has laying around. I have a 697, but I think is a fairly universal deal.

Please tell us who you're pinning your hopes on Spoondog? I'm not a Trump guy. I think he's a narcacist and a bully. That has bought charisma with his billions. He's tapped into frustrations, but I don't think he's electable and I don't think he could live up to the rhetoric. conservative minded folks need to understand that there is more of them than there is of us and if we don't run a candidate that at least some of the other folks will vote for we will get another 4-8 years of a jackass in the White House.

For the record, the last time a cold weather hat was accidentally kleptoed, Quill back was on the losing end and I had to mail it back to him for the good of the group. It wasn't me that had the cold bald head on that trip.

Authentic Mad Bomber with Rabbit Fur. Nanuck of the North doesn't like cold ears.

"Free college" and "free healthcare". Both are combinations of goods and services that cost real money to produce, but some feel that they are basic rights that they are entitled too. I would think that access to good healthcare and access to a good education are opportunities that state and federal governments should work to ensure, but someone is going to have to pay those costs. So it's really "free to me" and paid for by someone else. Can you image how lazy some students would be if college was free? 4 years to screw off, get drunk, and chase girls. A lot of people behave that way now. I'm in the middle of paying for my second child to go to college. I am VERY aware of the costs. I wish that the cost of college wasn't increasing much faster than other goods/services. Maybe the college professors and admistrators should take a big paycut. How about "free" textbooks? Or free digital versions of them?