Ham

Holy Smokes Mark, How many "big" boats do you have? I'm still trying to figue out what part of the lake I'm going to focus on. I may shoot you a PM for advice based on what you've found. It sounds like it's on though.

You're killing me! I can't go until Tuesday. I'm dying to get on Bull.

There are Bull Sharks in the Mississippi River, but I doubt any ever swam up the cold skinny water from the warm muddy water of the Mississippi to roam the upper White prior to its impoundment. I'm guessing mistaken identification on any "alligator " gar, but who knows. Have fun sticking the 6 foot Long nose ones that swim in Bull Shoals now.

I've caught trout in Bull Shoals LAKE on Shad Raps and crappie jigs. I've had trout hit skirted jigs thrown for smallies in the Spring river and know of a trout caught on a buzzbait in the Spring River. I've found LARGE crankbaits in the White River and a Zara Puppy that were lost to breakoffs so somebody is fishing them.

Thanks for the 411.

Great boat. IF my Tarpon 120 (2003 model) ever wears out, that's what I plan on buying.

Big Long Nose are in there by the bunches. I was not aware there were ever Alligator Gar.

We caught some in the Mutton Creek area while bass fishing soooo some are leaking back out of the river arms.

I like 17 lb mono for that. The 14 lb would throw a little better, but the 17 lb might help you land a fish around wood that you would lose on 14 lb. It's your choice really.

Cajun Angler and I did our BIG Spring fishing trip this past week. It's always difficult to quess way ahead what the weather would have been like for Spring, but we were SURE that by the end of April everythig would be GREAT. Well, the water temp still had the fish pre-spawn and the bite was tougher than I would like it to have been, but that's how it goes. But, you guys have a GREAT lake to fish. I'd keep encouraging everybody to go to Table Rock, Pomme and LOZ if I were you and keep Stockton nice and quiet. Lot's of very nice boat launches and beauiful parks. We fished 2 half days and 4 FULL days and only used 26 gallons of gas feeding my 250 Merc. I thik we launched at 5 different ramps if I am remembering correctly. The variety of birds and the large population of Loons and Osprey kept me entertained in between winding in fish. We caught all three species of bass, drum, walleye, White Bass, and a lone 13 inch White Crappie. I guess the water was too cold for the other panfish to play along. We caught good numbers of bass and good numbers of keepers. We did all the typical pre-spawn stuff. We released almost ALL of our fish. We did keep the keeper walleyes we caught while bass fishing which was more than I am used to catching. I'd need some help with the crappie. I'm used to fishng private docks with planted brush and I saw ZERO of that on Stockton. Like I said we were bass fishing, but I'd have to learn how to catch crappie if I lived closer. In the next week or two, Stockton should be stupid good. I hope y'all appreciate and enjoy what you have.

Last year's winner will be working hard for his sponsors on Sunday. I'm really impressed by him, but he's toast for this one, and will likely have to win an event to get in the next classic.

I wonder why those guys didn't adjust rather than try to force the issue and bed fish when conditions were stacked against them. The fish are there for the catching.

Good Luck! I'd like to make the trip you're taking.

How long until your hands quit smelling like fish?

Three.

Thanks for the report. I wish you had better news.

The weather is going to mix things up a BUNCH, but they have to be sand bagging if they say they aren't catching them right now. It's stupid good. I could seriously weigh a 15 lb bag of smallies every day, but the weather change may reduce that to ZERO.

Thanks for the intell. I can't allow myself to purchase any more soft plastics, but a heck of a deal. All my favorite colors are available in the 5 inch Hula grubs.

You do know that you don't have to eat every fish you catch. To put it another way, you can go catch fish for the enjoyment of figuring them out and catching a few. You put them right back into the water after you catch them. No muss, no fuss.

Our best five yesterday would have been between 17-18 lbs and NONE of the fish we would have weighed would have been a largemouth. I would expect lots of > 15 lbs bags.

They're going to whack em. It will be tougher than last year, but they'll almost all get limits..they run all over the lake and find some off color water especially if we get some of that rain they are predicting. I'd bet some guys are able to do some sight fishing. They'll be Topwater fish and jerkbait fish. Crankbait fish and jig fish. Ought be a fun show.

Bull Shoals is a HUGE lake. You'll have plenty of room to fish. You'll be hitting it at a GREAT time ( I hope). We've had a protracted winter so the water has stayed cooler longer than usual, but the warming water should have everything biting. You posted on Upper Bull Shoals, but I fish the lower section a lot more NOT because it's better, but because it's so much closer for me. You should be able to use what you learned from TR on Bull. There should be plenty of fish in < less than 20 foot of water and you should catch a bunch of fish. Have fun, be safe, and spend a bunch of money down here.

Why in the world would you throw anything else if you're knocking them dead with grub? Gosh, I hope I can find some of that. I'm going tomorrow after some business I MUST take care of first thing. Thanks for the trip report Mark. Did you fish alone?

We had found some fish last Monday, but cooler temps shut them down. We only had a couple that would measure. I was pretty disappointed, but that's fishing. I did want to mention how well run this tournament is. AGFC had a big truck there and the fish were quickly weighed and transferred to the truck. The truck took the fish and released them back into the lake at an undisclosed location. Lots of money raised for a good cause.

Solid work Mike!