Stump bumper

I would recommend the 5050 lights instead of the ones he uses and to get the wire to seal I used a spray can of Plastic coat I bought at Lowes. The wires I used were trailer wires from a kit that came with new trailer lights.

High water for spawn seems to always be good. I saw fry in Avoca last week, not sure from what but the higher the water the more cover for them to hide in. Full pool and more through the summer is always the goal and hope to see 1225 by June.

There are some great tips on YouTube on how to make your own, if you want easy store bought lights be ready to spend about $180 for a good one big enough to bring them in. Don't waste your time with a $20 set up. I spent about $40 on Amazon and put together a light that would have been $180 at Cabela's but be sure to add about a lb of lead to get them to sink. It is really hard to see what is gathering on top if the light is floating.

No I don't save fish to eat, too much work. I caught an 18in eye on jerk bait near PC right on the rocks also. There were no bass up there but there was an eye, probably looking for sunning crawfish. I was in the back of Avoca looking for bait and ran over bass in 2 feet of water, looked like they were sitting on beds. White bass don't have to run up the river to spawn, I have run into spawning whites around the dam, anywhere they have a sandy shore they will spawn, thus the reason OK calls them sand bass. Funny thing is I have not caught any small whites, they all seem to be around 3-4 lbs. I am wondering about the last years spawn, where did they go?

With all these rules about 50 feet, no fishing within 50 feet, no smoking within 50 feet can someone make me a laser measuring device for my cell phone to alert me when I am within 50 feet of anything? If I am 150 feet away and cast 125 feet in the direction of the dock? Anyway, thanks for the info Champ. I found it very informative and I am over it now, but would like to remind people that some people get nervous on the lake at night alone and shinning spot lights at them is not a friendly gesture.

Bill, I understand the slip owners getting protective but this guy came out of the store and was very rude. I guess he saw me on a camera and thought I was too close. There were two people in a boat besides the dock without their lights on fishing the dock, I guess he had confused them with me. The fact remains I don't like being blinded with a spot light and threaded when I am doing no damage. After he finished yelling he walked back into the store so I assume he was an employee, one with a very lacked dress code yet an employee. Anyway I took it mean stay away and I will stay away from that marina all hours of the day and night. I would by no means want to disturb the wake boaters while they blare their music and drink while running their boats in circles. Also it would have taken a very calibrated eye to see if I was 45 feet or 50 feet from the dock while trying to get a treble hook out of my front seat in the dark without ripping the seat. I just take a spot light as an act of aggression, has something to do with being in the Army for 22 years. Try this out on a State Trooper next time you get pulled over and watch his reaction. Exactly what every bone in my body felt last night. (My mind to me "you can't see his hands, he is blinding you take out the light.) I am over it, but stepping foot on that dock would bring it back so I will just stay away.

Just a small rant here but also a question about the law. The marina in PC has signs posted all around it about it is illegal to fish within 50 feet' yet the law states you cannot fish within 50 feet of dock with a gas pump. As far out as they have extended the marina that covers just about everything between the buoys if you say everything connected is under that law. Yet people that have boats there can put out lights and fish from the dock all night without being hassled. So if this is a state law how do people buy their way past the law? If it is not a state law then how do they get away posting signs saying it is? Is this State property? This really got on my nerves last night while putting away my gear and getting some hooks out of my seat I drifted near the outside corner of the docks closet to the brake wall. A guy with no shirt and a spot light claiming to be security came out yelling at me and kept saying "you guys" that You guys was breaking the law and needed to get going. I was alone by the way.Seeing how it was late and I was the only one around, I stopped what I was doing and moved away for fear someone had given this questionable gentlemen a firearm I didn't want to be shot for drifting into a free fire zone. It has given me a very bad feeling about the place and I sure will not ever go there to buy anything.

If you hooked more than 4 times in a day, you are on them more than anyone else I have heard of.

I was pulling around point 10 last week with nothing on the graph and stopped to reel in an Arig I had been pulling when something big hit it. That fish took line for 15 minutes with me chasing it with the trolling motor before I lost it. My point is if you don't see them on the graph means fishing is slow but if you don't have a hook in the water it is 100% that you will not catch one. I have not had more than 2 hours a day to look for them all week so I can't help.

Seems all bass boats have the plug in type bow lights on a short pole. Can you replace those with the flush mount type lights that don't have to be removed? Just seems it would be less of a hassle to put up on light at night and only take one down.

After the sun went down there was one boat that came through and two trailers in the parking lot when I pulled out at 10PM. Tonight the wind will be too rough, last night was perfect for night fishing without having to tie down to anything.

It is that time of year. I sat in PC until 10 last night catching 3lb whites and 5lb hybrids until I got board of catching. I had the perfect 8inch gizzard shad on a free line but no stripers came to visit the light. I thought about moving down to the bridge but decided to let my one live bait go and hang it up instead. I was using a spoon and the less I moved the spoon the faster they would bite.

I got out to PC around 5:30 yesterday with storms rolling in but clear skies overhead. I could not find anything but a few small shad balls in the creeks. I saw lighting coming straight down over Rogers, so I headed back to the Marina. Then the rod next to me just took off the back of the boat into the lake! I turned around with no hope of finding it in white caps and they sink fast anyway, then I saw something floating in the water. It was my net, it floats and had garbed my jerkbait and the reason the pole went over. I got the net and the pole back. So I dropped the trolling motor when I got back inside the no wake zone and the fish finder lit up like Christmas and beeped like crazy, shad and big fish everywhere. So I put down an A rig and started pulling and in less than a minute fish on, it bent the 8ft rod in half took drag then was gone. I reeled in to find a straight hook, drag too tight. That is when I noticed the lighting was getting to the lake and I had to run, I stayed up all night wondering what that fish looked like.

Just a quick update, I have been using this reel every time out to some degree. It is still running the 24lb braid line and I have pulled flicker shad on it, used spoons and thrown ned rigs all by changing leaders. I have tried to abuse it, have not cleaned it and it still cast better then any of the spinning reels I paid $70 for, still as smooth as the day I took it out of the box.

No stripers?

I knew I should have been out there yesterday! The nice weather has me spoiled. That is funny since the last time I was after whites all I caught were blacks. I could have put together a 20lb sack easy but the only striper I got was short. Sounds like they are out of the river moving North, thank you for the report.

Maybe you could get 3 five gallon gas cans then have someone drive to Prairie Creek and unload the cans at the dock, refuel there were it is a short walk on even ground. It would not be as covenant and would require two people, but just a suggestion. I know it would be hard on Saturday and Sunday due to Bass tournaments.

I was trolling around yesterday and found some big rocks and brush piles in 25-30 feet of water. Every-time I found that type of cover with nothing else around it, the cover was loaded with keeper large mouth. I could see the big rocks with fish hanging off the top and the sides on my down imaging then pulled the Arig over it. I was lazy and just pulling it with the road holder (broke a rod holder and almost lost a pole doing this). Then when I hooked up, I would go back and cast and get two or three more. Those rocks and brush are in my GPS now.

I was in the PC area today out to point 10 and between the islands from 3 until dark. I could not find the shad, bass were close to structure. I did manage a few big Blacks on a rig and a small striper. I also had a double on Arig but not the kind of pics you showed.

I think a lot of times the people working at the DMV and tax office make things up as they go. I have been taxed for a 145hp engine for the last 10 years, I tried to change it to 115hp that came on the boat. The lady at the tax office said the boat was rated for 145 so that is what I would be taxed on without looking anything up. If she had looked up the boat I would have believed her, but I really don't think she has every boat model memorized. I just wanted the paperwork correct, but I think she just didn't want to go through the hassle for something that would have not made any difference in the revenue. Then you get to crossing States and my boat came from Illinois with a title on the motor but not the boat. So Arkansas issued a title on the boat site unseen off a bill of sale from a car dealer. Makes one wonder who makes up these rules and if half of them get read or if they just get passed around by word of mouth from one person to another. Now let's talk real ID and TSA.

Just fish back seat to someone who cuts you off from the bank all the time.

Just wanted to know everyone's opinion on the color of jig heads. I used to be stuck on green shaky heads no mater the color of worm, then black for jigs. Now I don't find it makes much difference though I passed on some chartreuse 1/32 jig heads a Cabelas that would have worked for Ned rigs. So do you have a color that works or a color that you just stay away from? Is your Ned rig color the same as your A-rig color?

I'm jealous, wish I had the drive to get out there on a freezing morning like that again. Thanks for the report and congratulations.

Taking a picture with a cell phone and printing it sounds so much easier. though it never ceases to amaze me the number of people that buy smart phones for $700 and spend $200 plus on the best multi function copiers and can't email a picture, attach docs to email or scan and email. Then again if people born before 1960 lean how to use Google search and watch videos my company will no longer need me as a manager. After thinking this over and the average age of the boat owners in Arkansas, pencil rubbings are a great idea. Not that age has any bearing on learning but there is truth in old dogs new tricks.

Could use them for crappie now.