kscullawl

A new battery can still be a bad one...happens from time to time and I would say more often than it used to. But again...just a "new cranking battery" went dead isn't the issue. What kind of battery went dead? Pros don't use separate lithium systems for their forward sonar...the ones that don't use lithium use big AGM's. BIG! Some do run a parallel system but for most normal fisherman thats probably overkill.

I have the Duracell..1000 marine cranking amps and around 210 reserve capacity. I would prefer the interstate but couldn’t find one when I needed it.

AGM’s aren’t necessarily labeled as such. They can provide a high reserve capacity along with high cranking amps. They are often called dual purpose.

If you are running a group 36 lead acid thats your problem. They aren't made to run electronics. They are made to start the motor. You will have to switch to a bigger AGM. I run 4 93sv's with live scope and never had an issue. If you are going to run that many units...gotta have the power to do it and its a not a 36 lead acid. I am currently running the 31AGM Duracell from sams...got it on sale a while back. You will have to look at reserve capacity and cranking amps from now on.

It’s pretty trashy in that area. Cape fair mile up and down seems to be the dirtiest. Plus lots of floating debris everywhere..wind helped clear it out as day went on. Couldn’t get them committed to a blade. Caught them on crankbait or lipless so ended up putting it down. If I was going tomorrow..I would go above Bridgeport or closer to aunts. They really haven’t followed water up yet. So harder to take advantage of the dirty stuff yet. At least for me. Water 50-54.

always spinnerbait clear right? Cape fair is pretty dingy. Bridgeport is slightly clearer. Same when you go towards Piney. That’s a 3/4 covert about 6 inches..barely visible

Anyone catching whites yet?

No exactly the freshest news but I was up there Wednesday. Cape Fair and up. Water definitely has color but not muddy. Just that stained green look. Fish are in bushes but not all. Seems it had to be a flat. They weren't in the bushes with deeper water. Caught several...prob 15-18 in 4 hours. Nothing that big though. Prob 2.5 lbs for me. Bigger ones are surely to follow.

Such a great report Bill..especially with the graph shots. I have a question...seems you don't love the a-rig and really neither do I. However..have you compared throwing it versus just s single keitech? Just curious if the arig is better? Is the single better? Or does it really matter if you throw it right past their nose.

Merc, you ever use a daimiki rig for fish like this?

I remember reading an article from Hackney about fall/winter fishing. He said after lake turned over/theromcline dissappeared that the fish would go as deep as they would be all year. Usually that was mid-late Nov to early Dec depending on where you live. Said later some fish would start to move higher in water column...culmination to pre spawn. Seems like that is true more often than not. Couple of years ago before the Toyota event..you could catch fish shallow...real shallow and even middle of the day. Thermocline disappeared like the Tuesday before and you couldn't find a fish shallow and guys were catching them out of 50 feet of water during event.

Anyone know the results?

I have 3 Duckett micro's for sale. Moved to the white ice series. $80 each or $225 for all 3. In the springfield area. Prefer not to ship but can at buyers expense. 417 773 3587 1-7'6" Heavy 2-7' Heavy

I would agree...for a cheaper lead acid...the Deka seems to be one of the best. Not saying it is the best but value wise the are pretty hard to beat. I don't run them anymore but I had good luck with them. I believe higher RC than Proguide last time I checked... They are $62 a piece for 27's right now...hard to beat that

Why can't your "old Merc" handle an AGM? AGM"s are better across the board except price. I have ran AGM starting batteries for prob 10 years. EFi motors don't take as many cranking amps as the DFI's do

I agree about the $4200 being a little steep at target...but I know people with combined household yearly incomes in the $700k range...so wen you have that kind of jack...well hell...go crazy at Christmas if that is your thing. Most sane people in the world would think $70K on a 21footer with a 250 and 10k worth of electronics is a bit much Just remember though...mo money often means mo problems

I think one of the BASS permits out of Long Creek is the Toyota...weigh in is supposedly handled by BASS.

Flat creek has a grill at cape fair...i would assume there are some seasonal hours though. Carmelinas in the Kings river is actually really good for a lake restaurant. What's up dock has a grill..forget the name...again may have some seasonal hours. Then the above mentioned at the lower end of the lake.

My bad merc..kinda misread your post and thought I saw bluff ends..but yeah same kind of thinking. Although I am becoming more and more “ozarkian”..being from Oklahoma..a bluff is anything that rises above your line of sight and had more than 5ft of water!😁. Well it’s not quite that bad but table rock has no shortage of “bluffs”..anyway you define them

Well being a beginner I would care less about "what bank to throw a jig" and focus more on "what areas fish will be this time of year and I will try to catch with a jig" This time of year I would look for spawning pockets...shallow, protected, small gravel banks...and then travel backwards and find the first deep water. Deep can be 10-40 feet. Just depends on the area. Creek channel, creek channel bends etc. That's where the fish will be coming and leaving from over the next month or so...they don't all come in just one wave. If you want to throw just the jig you can start there... Sometimes the jig is not the best option... jerkbaits, crankbaits etc work better. As the weather gets warmer you can move up in the pockets and catch them too...and shallow. Post spawn..fish will often come back to the same areas for a little while before moving on to the summer patterns. As merc said..bluff ends can hold fish almost year around...but areas I mentioned can hold more concentrated numbers prespawn. Good luck!

Has anyone been up the James to see how good the white bass fishing is? Got two younger girls that I would love to get into running white bass.

Kinda depends on what area the lake you are fishing and conditions. I don't think the Buzzbait will work...if you want to try on top throw the plopper. Won't be much action but if one does hit it...more likely to be a nice fish. IMO...I wouldn't throw the spinnerbait unless you have some descent wind....especially later in the day. I agree with the other guy that said a finesse jig although they didn't seem to be on it Sunday when I was out. They didn't want the wiggle wart either. But day to day that will change. Also do the Ned instead of a drop shot. I caught 7-8 on a jerkbait in about 2.5 hours....waited to long to throw it. Again its better with some wind. They were all pretty shallow. but I was in the James with some color to water

I have 4 100b's....1 is a 100B and 3 are 100BSV which has the bigger handle. I would say they are in good shape...mechanically they are in good working order, they don't feel any different to me than 5-6 years ago. Cosmetically they have some surface scrapes, nicks but no big scratches, gouges etc. The mirror like finish shows everything like a black boat does though. I have only fished about 3-4 year over the last 5-6 years...so they haven't had much use lately. Pic of the single reel is the 100b, the 3 together are the BSV's. 1-100B-$80 3-100BSV $85

@ Abu Garcia Winch reels in great shape...really don't have much use on them. $80 each or both for $150...in Republic/Springfield area text 417 7733587

I have two 7' S Glass skeet reese cranking rods for sale..they are in great shape...went through a 3 year span with kids that I only fished 5-6 times a year. $35 each or both for $60. In Republic.. I will try to add some pics. You can email or text 417-773-3587