kre11

I will be curious to see what your experience uncovers. I like to fish soft plastics and jigs (slow presentations on Wayne's scale) and have found that even decreasing from 15 to 12 pound test significantly increased the number of bites I got. Also similar results when using floro vs mono or braid. Unfortunately, I don't fish moving baits enough to provide any valuable input there. The one thing that might support your theory is that many crank baits perform very differently when fished on different sizes of line (better action or deeper depth), so using a thin diameter braid may give your bait more action which could lead to more bites.

Anybody have any cool side or down image shots of a spoonbill? I would like to see that...

I also saw something in a magazine where they were cutting the bottom out of a small Gatorade bottle to contain the rig. With the center hook on the rods hook keeper, they would slide the Gatorade bottle down the rod and over the other arms of the rig to contain it. Kind of a cool idea.

Missouri can only sell ethanol free in premium grade fuel. You can get ethanol free regular in Oklahoma.

steveearle, Compare your thoughts on the Steez vs the Core. I have heard good things but don't have one yet. As far as your experience... No comment

So here is a question for everyone...and please be as specific and technical as possible. What is your favorite set up for fishing the Rock? Not necessarily your most productive, but simply your favorite way to try. Like I said, be as specific and technical as you want. Your answer can include everything from boat and motor to the hooks you put on your lure, and it can also be something you WISH you had. Have some fun... For me, it would be fishing as the sun is setting out of a big dual console Ranger Z21, throwing a Texas rigged Watermelon candy Baby Brush Hog on a 3/0 Mustad needle point with a 1/4 oz tungsten weight (just love the way a soft plastic bite feels and I always think I have a chance at a hog on the bbh). I would be throwing this on a 7ft MH G Loomis NRX with a Diawa Steez spooled with 12lb Seagar AbrazX. Hopefully a shallow bite, say less than 15ft to increase feel.

Nice report, I will be interested to hear your long term satisfaction with those Trokar hooks (or anyone else for that matter). I used those a lot last year, and just like you noticed a BIG difference in hook sets, they are freaking sharp! I even put a post about how much I liked them in the TR forum. The problem I ran into, besides the $2 a piece price tag, was that they are not very durable. Hang that hook on a rock or tree branch and the tip is gone. Then they are worthless. I was going through full pack every time I was on the water. I have switched back to a needle point in the Mustad Ultra Point, and they still work great and are a fraction of the cost. I would like to know if anyone else has any long term results or suggestions.

Sounds like a nice trip, wish could have been there.

If you are just getting started, live bait is great. I think everything that swims in Stockton will hit a 1/4 ounce jig head with half a night crawler fished along the bottom. I would try to find a good point and position your boat a good cast off the shore and cast along the point. You should fish the worm on the bottom. Keep your line tight so you can feel what is going on. Cast it, let it fall to the bottom, reel down the slack moving your rod to a 9 o'clock position (parallel with the water), let it sit for 2 or 3 seconds, lift your rod to 12 o'clock and repeat. The trick is determining the difference between bumping into rocks on the bottom and feeling fish strikes. After a few casts, you should be able to understand what the rocks feel like. A bite will be similar, but will feel like a thump, and will usually occur while the bait is falling back down (while your rod is moving from 12 back to 9) hence the importance of keeping a tight line. Another good method is to troll crankbaits of varying depth, depth is usually determined by the length of the bill of the crankbait. If you are fishing with your wife, let her use one that will run 5-10 feet deep while you use one that runs 10-15. Good colors include anything that looks like a shad or has some silver on it, and those in a chartreuse color. This method will also catch just about anything that swims in Stockton, even the occasional flathead catfish! Again, I would focus my efforts on points and significant underwater depth changes. This is where a good map will prove useful. The ones sold at Bass Pro, for around $10, are a great tool. Also look for the green signs nailed to the trees on the banks as these indicate areas where the MDC has placed fish structure in the lake. This time of year also brings the opportunity to catch white bass schooling on top late in the evening. Look for surface disturbances or splashes as whites chase schools of shad to the surface, also look for sea gulls to be flying and diving into the water chasing the same shad that the whites are after. Try to avoid motoring in too close to the school as this will spook them. Instead try to intercept them as they "migrate" in pursuit of the bait, use your trolling motor to narrow the gap to within casting distance. As far as lures go, take your pick as long as it looks like a 1-2 in shad. Topwaters such as baby spooks and pop-rs work well, those mister twister grubs will work too. One option is to use a 1/2 ounce silver spoon, this will enable you to cast a long way to reach these fish. This can be easy and a lot of fun. Good luck.

Just an update: I spooled up with some 15 lb Abras X and can tell a huge difference over the 12 lb BPS fluoro. Fished the same patterns and didn't see any decrease at all in the number of bites, but did notice that my line did not have any nicks or frays on it at all when the night was over. No break offs, I am very happy with it. Thanks to everyone for the help.

We make an annual spring fishing/turkey hunting trip down there. That cabin looked amazing. Any more details or a website for that cabin?

Another way to prevent the majority of twisting problems is to manually flip the bail back over after casting instead of turning the handle to flip it over.

sold

I will definitely try the Trilene 100%. I am curious, several people have mentioned using braid with flouro leaders. If I use a braid like 30lb power pro with no leader, do you guys believe it decreases the number of strikes? What about at night?

Very Nice! Before I would have said you must know what you are doing, now I wonder how much is your ability and how much credit is due to the rod! Good work, just remember to leave a few for the rest of us!!! Keep it up!