Devan S.

Yeah your only bet is a commercial operation...like state park. This time of year its just too cold for most rec. guys unless they have the right gear...most weekenders wont. Second you better hope its relatively shallow and you know exactly where its at with a really darn good reference like directly off the corner of a dock. Not triangulating 3 points 200 yards from bank. Third I hope the item is relatively big.

Thanks RPS...I had hoped you would chime in.....I already use metered braid using power pro depth hunter(I thought I had read sometime ago it was no longer available) nevertheless this is my preferred method. The real problem I am running into is picking a rod. I am almost positive I pull out of crappie now...It seems I have a lot of misses anyways. When I look at rods at Bass pro in the trolling category they all seem to me at least to be way too heavy duty. Maybe I'm miss judging since I've never really used a rod designed for such.

That's exactly how we caught them on the Missouri in winter......find the current seam between the wing dike and the river. Scan it...you can see them then put it right on them. Just like you said...they find a low energy spot and they can grab food as it goes by. However if your method of fishing is sitting and waiting in one spot then less active fish means less fish moving around and would probably decrease chances.

One of my current setups is an ugly stick and while not bad....it honestly feels like its more suited for catfishing.....it feels way too big. It was a 29.99 special at walmart years ago so that could be some of the issue. Are the trolling rods generally big backboned rods?

Looking for Rod/Reel combo recommendations. I have for my entire life used the cheapest walmart combos for trolling. While they have certainly worked and caught their share of fish I would like to buy 2 dedicated setups. Ideally less than $100-150 ea. Thinking 7+ feet. I'm okay with either bait casting or spinning although bait casting I am a LH retrieve but in the case of trolling I could get by with RH retrieve(thinking line counter reels). Duty would be using braid trolling cranks and pulling bottom bouncers. Think whites/crappie in the spring run all the way to Walleye. I am seeing the Cabela's depthmaster series....are these decent?

Add me to the list of Pfluegers. I generally stick with the president but lately the summits at slightly cheaper pique my interest.

Interesting....seems we have a true mystery on our hands.....would either a college or independent source have to get permission to tag and track fish from either AGFC or MDC?

I read my post back and reading it now it seemed harsh. I was purely talking about their TV fame. They certainly have done good things with it. MOST entertainers do good in the community behind the scenes.Yes the idiots from the MTV show do good in their communities. I may not agree with some of the causes they align with but that is their community not mine. Just like there's people out there that would argue their ministry/religious cause isn't good. I'm not against the guys at all I just see them as entertainers/marketers nothing more...nothing less. That was their day job. They aren't world class duck call makers(I think we have already established that by the lack of pre-duck dynasty calls). They are a marketing company/TV personalities. They created the narrative shown on TV....right, wrong, or indifferent. Once you see it as entertainment only, then it really doesn't matter what Phil did or didn't do in his past.

Might reach out to Arkansas Game and Fish......since part of TR is in Arkansas maybe it was something they were doing.

You know what you see on TV.......I would say nobody outside that family knows the "real" story and your right it doesn't really matter. They were nothing more than entertainers. Their show was funny but take most rednecks and give them a decent budget and you get a lot of the same content. They got famous because they marketed themselves and a narrative on a national TV network. Whether that narrative is real or not is another story entirely but ultimately in show biz $$$ talks so they did what they had to do to sell themselves. Most people would say that is a good thing until they have it. The money to some degree may be okay but they literally cannot walk into a store without being hounded by the wanna be rednecks to get an autograph or take a picture....doesn't sound fun to me. Their kids probably can't go to a party and drink a beer in college without showing up all over the tabloids......doesn't sound fun to me. The probably have people show up at all hours of the day/night at their house looking to meet them....once again doesn't sound fun to me. That may be why the show ended.....the money was good but the fame never came close to outweighing the fortune. Success is in the eye of the beholder. Don't get me wrong I watched the show...been to their store...heck I'm one of the idiots that bought a call and doesn't duck hunt thanks to my wife. I wouldn't even think about trading places with them and certainly don't think they did anything more impressive than the crew on MTV did in the early 2000's whose only goal was to be idiots on TV to make a buck.

Could a bass that was tagged 6 years ago really only be just a shade over 3lbs? I would think if MDC tagged they would be tagging 15" fish to study adult behavior meaning that fish grew minimally between 2011 and now?

Agreed $40M is large don't get me wrong but its really not that big....and ultimately certainly a drop compared to what they make today. Google shows Buck Commander first aired in mid-2010, Duck Commander was on Outdoor Channel in the late 2009 period. Giving them a roughly 3 year jump on the true explosion that came with Duck Dynasty in 2012. You can bet they were selling t-shirts/hoodies, cups, and vinyl decals during that time period. Sure they got started making calls but it wasn't a $40M company selling duck calls(which is why to Wrench's point most of the guys here don't have a mid 90's duck commander call they use). What you really want to know if their revenue in the early 2000's that would probably tell you how "popular" their calls were. I'm sure you can find guys in LA or MS that have some but its still a local/regional company at that point. Ultimately where they made their money, is marketing based off TV. Details on their story pre-2009 are pretty vague but I highly doubt that outdoor channel was their first big break on TV....maybe nationally but not likely regionally. Most people don't go from a family business and then leap straight to TV in that big of a jump some do but not very often. Not many real, true hunter/fishermen on outdoor channel anymore. Most of those guys/gals started with a silver spoon(land, location, small-mid sized family business) and turned it into a golden spoon by marketing and pimping their name. Most are marketing ambitious and just dragging their product along for the ride.

Is this just a stream thing or is this a whole fishing mentality thing? Is it just noticed on the stream because you can't look in every boats live well as they go by? If I were a game warden, I would think streams and specifically the major trout parks would be the absolute easiest to patrol. It just seems like they aren't however.

I have a hard time putting any stock into bowl games. Some teams are motivated....some teams aren't and it just doesn't translate well to the next season. Nobody says well X team should get the nod into the playoff because they won their bowl last year. With 4 team playoff if you take care of your business through the season then your in for anyone in the power 5. Outside of the playoff the games are just set to generate revenue. Coaches should use it as a time to put those guys that don't have the talent to be the starter or play at the next level and give them a chance to get some time in the lights. Those guys that work hard, bust their butt on the practice squad, and put in the time should get some glory in the 1 exhibition game that doesn't really count right? Those guys that are going to play at the next level should get one or two series then a big roar of the crowd as they walk off into the sunset. Most of the time after a month layoff the sharpness just isn't there. Look at all the missed tackles and bonehead plays. Nobody really helps their stock "outside" of the playoff. If the NFL GM put enough stock into a bowl game to draft or pass then they probably wont be around long.

$40M before Duck Dynasty started, they were on outdoor channel before that and Buck Commander division was before Duck Dynasty even started. Sure to the non-hunter Duck Dynasty is all they know but they were certainly on TV and capitalizing on that before 2012.

They probably made 40M on apparel, cups, boxed DVD sets, vinyl stickers for your truck, and all the non-duck hunters that go through their tourist trap store that buy a duck call.

Back then we were young and dumb, knees/ankle/back pain weren't a concern. There was certainly dumber things we could have been doing at that age. My point is ultimately they are pretty basic critters.

I have spent a many nights driving around cattle fields as a teenager. Hit'em with the headlights while there digging, 3 or 4 guys bail out of the truck run them down kick them, hit them with axes, and ball bats. That's why there are tons hit on the highway every night. At some point in my life, it got easier to ride around and shotgun them or run them down in the truck. I will warn you as a young dumb teenager the first time you go to kick one and it jumps is quite alarming. I cannot imagine any situation where you would need any shot over 30 yards and that is probably stretching it. 22, 20 ga, or 410 will work just fine. Your certainly not going to get rid of 100% of them in one or 2 nights so don't take shots your not comfortable with and certainly don't shoot into locations where cows are obviously in the background. Another option is to feed the cows right at dusk so your concentrating them in one location in the field around hay/grain whatever. That should drastically reduce your amount of area of concern.

I usually go crow blasting 3-4 times a year at least. Probably one of the most fun times a group of guys can have. Call until they bust you and then move a mile or so away....get covered in and go to calling again.

I ran up to around Jackie and saw it just knew the clearing line was somewhere between there and 86 bridge. Hoping that soon it will be clear around aching back so I can begin the winter targeting for walleye. I know they can be caught in the dirty water just like the clearer water but its all in my head and confidence thing.

Went over the bridge at Carr lane and it looked clear. Do you know how far up you have to go before you get back into clear water?

Dropped the boat in the water right after noon at the old Kings river campground. First went up river to start my usual crappie milk run this time of year. Got to about deer bluff and water was definitely off color, by Jackie it was a turning too muddy for my taste. Turned around and headed down river. Targeted standing timber and brush piles. Fish were all over the water column just relating to the timber some high, some low. Fished as far down as Viola. Ended up with 2 keepers that just squeaked past 10 1/4". Probably caught 50+ fish just nothing anywhere close enough to even put on the board. a lot and I mean a lot of 7-8" fish. Most my fish came off 3 areas(either a handful of timber together close or a brush pile) I did catch one stinking bass. Water temp was 46. Saw a raccoon, fox, and Bald Eagle. Boat ramp at the old park could use a couple yards of concrete and would be in decent order. Its a shame the Corps wont fix it or let a local step up and fix it. My boat hasn't been run since about March when the baby was born. Everything ran well so between that and 2 keepers I will say it was a success.

This is what my old one looked like before the sending unit went bad. The cap was attached via the little chain. Your probably right it was designed as a tether but without a way to really check the oil level it was a dipstick to me.

Well then I wouldn't worry about it...unless you can pull it out of course. Mine has the little balls on a chain style.

I guess the only concern would be if the little dip stick chain balls managed to get in the oil outlet and manged to block off the oil flow. I have the 2005 version and my tank was black until the sending unit went bad. New tank is see through.