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Nice fish, the one in the middle looks to be a really nice hybrid. Sorry you didn't get on the shad, I haven't been on the lake since the water has been down due to boat issue's so I haven't been able to keep up with the shad migration. Did you fish near the top with ballons or were you fishing deeper?

I have had one for over a year, have used it only a handful of times. It has 6 c cell batteries that don't last long along with a 12v adapter that works much better. You can see fish real good but scale is the problem, how far the fish is from the camara or which direction the camera is pointing is really hard to tell. Sometimes I can see from the front of the dock to the back, sometimes I can't see 5ft. I can point down toward the bottom and think I am looking at 10 ft of the bottom then lower it 6 inches and drug mud, so those big bolders I thought I was checking out turned out to be little rocks close to the camera. I paid $100 for mine and would take a $50 bill any time, it has been fun a few times but would not call it a useful tool. I have had several people fish with me, try it out for about 5 min then decide they didn't need thier own. I could see where it would be more useful from a dock or ice fishing then from the boat.

I caught them off spoons right in the no wake zone on that first point, deep. Saw them feeding on shad on the locator and thought whites, but ended up being two good blacks, just thought about all those tourneys I fished that 5 fish didn't add up to those two! I have started fishing spoons a lot more this year and there is not much in the lake that hasn;t hit one, walleye, catfish, whites, stripers and even a 2lb gizzard shad. Saturday will be a real hard cold front on the back of some really nice weather. In my book that says the fish will hold tight to cover and bottom and not move very far to feed and the wart bite will die between Friday and Saturday. But then I am usually wrong.

Right now it is just normal generation and lack of rain and the power comapany can generate down to 1077 ft and the corps has no control over that. The corps can release water when the levels are too high, but low water is not a problem for flood control, the more room to store flood water the better. But I know if it goes much lower the drinking water will get worse and after a while the boat ramps will be hard to use. The last time the lake was down they extended and repaired most of the ramps.

Maybe you could talk Champ into some vertical fishing, just let down the spoon or drop shot over some deep points or brush piles. Sounds like it would be eaiser on your wrist. Just be sure to leave the warts and jerk baits at home to avoid temptation. I was doing that right in Prarie Creek last winter looking for a few whites/stripers and landed two 5lb plus blacks. Sorry to hear you won't be in the Polar Bear, I hope you feel better soon.

That cold is going to hurt on an open wound. Good luck, maybe you could work a spoon for a while, it doesn't require much casting.

If you are looking for a waleye bite in the spring you can't beat the tailwaters up from Holiday Island IMO. Beaver is getting waleyes and I have caught a 8lb waleye in Beaver, but TR has had a steady population for a lot longer and if I was looking for a steady eye bite I would put in at Holiday Island and run towards the darn anytime of the year rather than to try to locate the few scattered fish around beaver. I know there are a few guides trolling for eyes on beaver but I have heard of very few that can get a limit of 18in waleyes even on thier best days.

That was not very nice and this is getting way off topic from wind to boat wakes and I am not helping but here I go again. We were just pointing out how great the Ozarks are were you can run around with big ski boats on one lake or take a short drive and fish a lake were you might not see another boat all day. To each his own and no one was bad mouthing anyone until your post. I do enjoy Table Rock, Beaver and Bull Shoals but I do try to avoid Table Rock in the hotter months when it gets busy, I am glad you find it enjoyable year around and just hope we can all get along nicely.

Deffently time to take out the camera and gps, also a great time to drag up some drift wood and tie it down to some big rocks next to those humps. you can even go out and make some rock piles quickly that can become a go to spot next spring.

I am not complaining, seems the fishing gets eaiser with lower water levels but at 1114 ft and heavy generation past couple of days I wonder how low they will go this winter. It has been a long time since I have seen the amp out of the water in Monte NE, do you think it will get that low? I am betting on 1110ft before spring rains.

Sounds to me like you would be happier on Bull Shoals, not trying to be mean or anything just stating the facts. The water skiers and party boats don't seem to like it out in the middle of God's country but sure is a lot nicer to fish.

They are sold though Sam's Club also, so does that make them WAL_MARX garbage now?

I have sent serveral rods to shimano and they have always paid the return shipping no questions asked. I have also taken in broken shimino rods to dealers other than where I bought the rod and they have exchanged over the counter no questions asked if they had the rod in stock. Hook,line and sinker in Rogers,AR is great for that.

A little known fact about Battery Outfitters is that they carry factory blimishes that have the lables torn off and you can get them at half the price. They only have a one year warrenty but I think they are just as good as the regular Pro guides.

I have fished it for the past 5 years or so, but boat problems and finical problems will keep me out this year.

I like a short 6ft medium heavy or Heavy rod myself, it is just easier to work a jigging spoon on a shorter rod.If you are using a good quailty rod and don't have your drag to tight I don't think that a short rod hurts on fighting big fish, I have landed 20lb stripers on beaver with a 6ft rod. I like a much longer medium rod if I am casting spoons and keep both handy in the winter. I think the reel makes a lot of difference on jigging spoons and its the only reason I own an ambassador 500 reel so I can watch the line guide go back and forth and get back to the proper depth quickly. I know the big casting spoons are "in" but I think that a match the hatch apporach on vertical jigging is the most productive apporach to cold water fishing, and there is nothing like watching that straight line coming off the bottom heading toward your spoon line on the depth finder. I also have switched to braided line and a flourcarbon leader for spoons and it has increased my feeling and hook ups.

I really think it has a lot to do on water temp and how many shad you carry. I have kept 20 or so shad in the livewell all day with no problem and have also had 20 in a five gallon bucket with nothing to provide air and they have lived ok. Then I am only using them on 1 or 2 poles not 7 or 8 like a lot of striper fishermen so I don't need to carry a lot of shad on one trip. I also haver never seen shad for sale anywhere around Bever Lake, minnows but not threadfin or gizzard shad, but they are easy enough to catch if you are early to rise or get them at sunset the night before.

I hope this helps. Monte Ne

The back part of Monte Ne seems to be the best place I have found to throw a cast net.

Stripers,whites, blacks?

I fished Hickory today and the water looked like a storm had come through. Two fishermen and two whites for a day of chasing shad balls with spoons. Lots of shad all over the top but nothing but gar feeding on them. Talked to gudies and people pulling ballons and we had one more fish than most boats.

Food prices will only go up if there is a switch in the stock market since producing alcohol does not destroy corn in fact the waste product mash makes better feed. This tradition of putting mash in feed goes back further than the USA. I just don't get why people are kicking about supporting farmers in Arkansas and Missouri as much as the Middle East. I have run E85 in my Ranger pick up since 2000 and it is not going to take that much to get used to this and adapt. The biggest problem is old fuel lines breaking down and there are plenty of fuel lines that are protected from this on the market and it does not take that long to change fuel lines, it took me 2 hours along with changing plugs. Also don't leave fuel in the tank over 30 days, if you are not going back out in a month, don't top off. Being from farm country I get a big smile on my face every time I use the yellow hose and pump a tank of corn and hope corn prices went up since I know that money stayed HERE. JMO

Last I heard 66 stations were all non ethonal and I have not found one yet with an ethonal warning label on the pumps but some put a big banner out front. But this change is coming and IMO it is better to get your boat ready, I just have a little Nitro with a 115 but it didn't take anytime at all to change fuel lines, bulb and filter. There are a lot of old cars running around that people said would never run without lead, but we figured that one out too.

I have had a heated arguement on another board that slowing down when approaching another boat head on is always the best move since it gives both boats more tine to react. I can't believe that there are so many people that will argue that is it is dangerous to run anything but WOT during the first hour of a tournament. That is why I can't enter a draw tournament as a non boater, I would love to fish with different people but I just can't put my life in the hands of someone who might have those feelings. I just feel so bad for that poor man who just happened to draw that boat on that day, I can't help to think if I was entering as a boater and my wife as a non boater how I would feel if that was my wife. I would place blame on both the boaters, how could a person not. To slow down to the point of coming off plane until the danger clears should not be a sin, I have done it for wake boats, striper guides even canoes during tournament take offs just because I couldn't be sure what they would do.

The best bite has been early for the past week but there is a cold front moving through right now so things could totally change by the weekend. The shad are moving into the creeks and coves at night and back out during the mornings so if you sleep in, you can catch the feeding spree again around dark a lot of times, but my experince is if you get out around 10am be ready to fish deep and slow. Some cloudy weater this week and cold nights could turn everything around fast though.