Ham

We should all be aware of how things are trending and consider if we should attend. Cases are surging right now in this area and Nationwide. I would not stay in a Lodge right now and my presence at Jigfest this year is going to be largely in my boat. I love you guys, but I am very concerned about getting my Inlaws ill and bringing the virus into my workplace. I still plan on fishing Friday/Saturday/Sunday, but that’s all depends on me being healthy and what my Hospital needs. I could easily see a scenario where we lose enough ppl to illness that I work 20-30 days straight without a day off.That is the last thing I want to do, but it might happen.

80) Strawberry Darter it took a couple of tries, but with John’s help, I was able to get me a Strawberry Darter. i got about 10 darters today and missed a few others. Maybe a bit of an epiphany with the darters anyway.

Little Rock isn’t that far away

SOLD !!!

I don’t need a Big one. I just need one.

Nice Fish!

Are you sure they weren’t Channel cats? I’ve caught channels on artificial baits fairly regularly.

I’m not worthy. Jeff might be though.

Thank You Very Much! I think Quillback and I are going to fish Beaver with the hopes of getting me a Striper. It would be Super to get a Blue as well. I have something to try. IME, Blues rarely hit artificial lures. Which natural bait should I try? A gizzard plug would be Great, but I don’t have a source.

Only frustrations. I fished Monday on Lake Norfork. I caught 20 fish/ 7 species. I tried repeatedly for Blue Cats and Stripers. No Luck. I’ll roll the dice again Saturday and Sunday. Still trying to decide where and how. I really want to get a couple of new ones for the year. I’ve already got a lot of stuff in mind for 2021, but starting to think I might be too results driven. 2022 I think I’ll fish totally for fun whatever that means that particular day. I’ll always gonna like new places and learning new techniques.

Tell you what Dave, you guide me to a single Goldeneye and I’ll guide for 50 fly rod Trout. And then we’ll figure out what to do in the afternoon.

Dave needs to spend a day with me on the White.

River Chub (Nocomis micropogon) I caught two of these little guys below Triple Falls on the Little River in North Carolina. This is my best guess right now. I know it’s not life altering, but Hurricane Zeta screwed me over. I had planned to hit up a small river in Kentucky in the way over. I gave up on that idea. And the rivers that I planned to fish were blown out. High Flow, cold, off colored Water is terrible for me to fish. I had planned to fish Friday AM, Saturday AM, and 1/2 a day on Sunday. I only got to fish on Sunday. I caught 7 fish all together. Oddly enough, more Redbreasted Sunfish. I’d never caught one before this year, and I have now caught them in three states.

I’m good with catching one a year

78) Northern Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris) Little Guy, but the only one I caught on three wet, cold days on Big Piney. sadly, this was the only new for the year species for the trip. I caught 10 species, but only one of my 30 something species that I had hoped to catch. That’s fishing.

I’ve stubbed my toe on multiple trips to different watersheds. The weather has not been very friendly to me

77) Yellow Bullhead (Ameiurus Natalia) I caught this fish about 5 minutes after the Checkered Madtom. I was on top of the world right about then. it was kinda weird. They was not much of an initial bite and they nothing, but when I lifted gently, it felt heavy. Hook sets are free so I set and it was fish on. Almost no fight at all. Very odd.

76) Checkered Madtom Talk about finding a needle in a haystack. I was fishing for different catfish and this guy bit instead. i was already starting to plan on catching one of these in 2021, but now I’ll focus on getting an Ozark Madtom instead.

If I catch one, I’ll mail it to you, ground Delivery.

Still swimming around taunting me

I can’t be there but I would like to be.

75) Slender Madtom (. Definite Lifer. I feel really good about this ID. I also feel really good about putting in the effort and being rewarded. Much harder to catch than most gamefish. I might not ever catch another one, but I caught this one.

It’s probably got a little Bluegill DNA in the mix. I calling it my Lifer Pumpkinseed, but Inwill honestly feel better about it when I catch more of them.

74) Pumpkinseed (. ) I’ve been trying to catch one of these for a while and it is a tiny bit uncertain yet so I need to catch more The last of the unique Nebraska Fish. I should have found a way to add a few more species there. I tried. I really did.

73) Black Bullhead (Ameiurus melas) I used to catch these as a kid, but it had been a long time. The Ozarks isn’t Bullhead Central, but there are plenty in Arkansas. I would have to work it out. but I got intell about a spot in Valentine, NE that was a “sure thing “. Usually with fishing a sure thing is like a free puppy. They don’t exist, BUT this time it worked. very small but so what? I caught me one (several actually).