Ham

I'd just as soon the little SOB's did not establish themselves in the White River

There's always that guy that sleets on your parade.

Does the answer start with a "N"?

I missed the part of you being from Springfield. I'm not sure in Norfork is your closest option or if Beaver is closer. Both Beaver and Norfork offer great striper fishing to those who put the work in. You might want to consider hiring a guide on either lake to put you further along the learning curve much quicker.

Bull Shoals in under 685!

And on top of that, you often aren't going to get that many bites so how do you know when to change to another bait or just keep grinding with what you've got.

I'd start by fishing in Lake Norfork rather than Bull Shoals. Giants in both lakes, but a lot more to target in Norfork. There is a Striper Fishing Club and there are Striper centered fishing reports for Lake Norfork. I don't have a link, but some time fishing on the internet should bring them to hand.

I have absolutely been there when depth and profile made all the difference in the world. Deeper bait whacking them and standard bait going fishless. I've also seen smaller bait getting bit and bigger bait going fishless. The skill and confidence of the fisherman can be huge as well. I really skilled guy with a shallow bait when they want them running deeper is not going to do very well though.

Hey Dave, You could always venture a little further south to BSL. I'm sure that after the BassCat OI with 400 plus boats and the Bass Elites for a couple of weeks that not too fish on the lake won't have a piercing or two. I'm thinking Stockton or Tenkiller may get another visit from me.

The first time I remember seeing Stacey King was on a Bassmasters TV episode. He was paired with another pro. This young man was in contention to win and Stacey basically mentored him to the win. He had nothing to gain from it, but did everything he could to help the young man. The next time I remember seeing him was another Bassmater episode from the following year. Stacey won the event on Toledo Bend stroking a jig on a flat at the motuth of a major mid lake creek.I immediately thought 1) Those are fish I would never have touched and 2) Good for him. Karma is a bogus concept, but I sure am glad he got the win since he was so selfless the year before. I would loved to have fished with him and learned more from him in person.

Pete. That's not nice.

Has Bull finally creasted at 685.23?

He's consistent.

I'm really paranoid about that kind of thing Jerry. Thanks for giving me nightmares.

I really did not like the way the UA made me feel. I'd rather wear the Cabela's stuff top and bottom with layers over that. base layer, nice warm shirt , fleece, wind/water proof outer. Hat and gloves. I'd good down to 20 or so. I'm MOSTLY done fishing when its in the teens.

I'm sure there are catchable fish all over the lake, but access is limited and information is tough to come by. I can guess at three launches that are most likely usuable, but they are all on the lower lake.

It is a Pretty fragile resource. the WWW isn't the place to talk about these things. I would tell the friends that I felt like wouldn't tell everyone they knew about it and the ones that aren't going to keep every legal keeper they catch. I wouldn't tell a single stranger about it. Ever.

Careful...

Sooooo, you went with the Loomis after all. I look forward to trying it one of these days. Did you get the drop shot model or the regular ML taper?

That may be a question for the pros to answer.

I wonder if consistently cool water temps suppress them. They certainly should be all up and down the White below BSL, but I've never seen a one.

Hey Chef, Those stretches are a good first step, but the Flex Bar thingy has been a lot better. I still do the stretches as well. I've gotten most of my grip strength back in my left hand and the overall pain is mostly gone. Mine had gotten pretty bad and I had suffered for months. I was really trying to avoid injections, but I was starting to give up hope. I really do appreciate this thread encouraging me to buy this product.

Lots of ppl can't figure out the different between a spotted bass and a Largemouth. I'm not sure its possible to educate everyone well enough to do all the tricks to clean a boat properly. And I'm not sure that everybody cares enough even if they really understood.

I had a good, but not Great fall on BSL. I did not think it was over. The water temps were falling slowly. I was about to start keeping a jerk bait rod in my hand for at least 40% of the day. Add in a little FB jig action. Keep a spoon ready. A rig. Grub to clown mouth some fish vertically with it. Maybe a little spy bait chunkin. Keitech. Of course, I would have a Ned tied on and ready. Always. Always have a Ned ready. But then this crap happened and so... Bull was still coming up this morning despite them runnin 20,000 CFS and TR only dumping 10,000. It had slowed but was still coming up. Norfork was slowly dropping and TR is slowly dropping. I have no clue what Beaver is doing. Opening up the flood gates will get Bull back to a safe zone quicker, but make the White River a no fly zone for me.

Griz may be the best person in the world at finding deals on fishing gear on the Internet.