kscullawl

You literally can catch fish on an arig just about all year...just like any other bait..:certain times of the year it's better than others. Winter suspended bite is the best. The best day I have ever had was on Easter though. Agree with Bill, flash mob JR and SR are the easiest to get and throw. I have had days where no blade seemed better than blade. Eco pro at tackle warehouse for 9.99 is about the cheapest for blades unless you find them on sale like Bill did.

Has anyone been up the Kings or James to see when or if the water clears?

All I see is the winter series on Table Rock

Do they have a schedule out yet? Sundays or Saturdays?

My problem with BPS is everything that has their name on it is something that had made as cheap as possible to make a buck on. As opposed to everything Cablea's puts their name on they make sure is quality first. BPS branded=made in china junk Cabelas branded=quality product I have no dog in the fight. Just going by 20+ years of buying from both places. I wouldn't begrudge people who buy at BPS. I think the "walmart of the sporting goods world" is an accurate description

I certainly would look at the jackplate closely too. That is one thing that could affect all the above in a short time.

You haven't changed the weight in the boat have you? What you carry? Tackle etc? Kinda weird its wants to walk on you but lost speed. Typically chine walking is because there isn't much boat in the water allowing it to rock back and forth for various reasons. If you are running that much slower usually the boat is not lifting like it did and it will not walk as bad. So I would agree with the poster that said the cup affects speed. Esp those Tempest, the very end tip of those blades have the lift. As well as checking the hub. But I would look at the weight distribution as well. is one side heavier etc?

The problem with that statement and shad is they can be found anywhere from 70ft to 1 foot during different times of the year, but also can vary greatly at the same time of year. Hiding can also be in the form of open water and numbers too. Much like a Zebra. There is more to the ecosystem than Bass and shad.

Ok let me clarify my post. I did not say that I think TR is at carrying capacity. I was saying that just stocking fish is not the answer. Making sure there are structure and forage is an equal part of the equation. That is all I meant by that statement. If you stock too many then you run out of forage at some point. I am talking mainly about largemouth because that is what we fish for mostly and wins the majority of tourneys. I would agree with Bill that Spots and SM relate less to man made cover. I have caught plenty of fish out of sunken brush both at TR and other states. They were not from the MDC. As for Lake Fork they were transitioning their bass population to Florida strain and developing a Trophy lake. Without the right cover and forage, the stocking would been useless. I never said they DIDN'T stock bass, I said it has a TON of cover. Missed my point entirely. I also never said fry would be reproduced in brush piles. Not having a place to hide until your not on every other fishes menu can be helpful though. Are the structures the MDC are using doing the trick? Well certainly debatable. Bill, I am sure few people have as much experience on the lake as you in the last 25 or so years. You think the fishing pressure in clear water with lack of cover, whether it be wood, rock or grass has to do with why so many bass moved off shore? Again I agree with you on Spots and Smallmouth. Would that be a reason that the shad move away too? Less predators? I have spent numerous hours in ichthyology classes. Not all waters are the same of course. But as a whole, prey like to hide, predators like to find and eat the prey.

Doesn't matter if you don't have the forage to support it. TR is a old lake with a huge population of fish. The dept of conservation could stock fish everyday and not even equal 1% of what is put in the lake naturally by current fish. Make your habitat better, make sure good forage base. For example, what if you stocked a 1000 acre desert with 500 whitetail deer? Think they will thrive with no cover or food?

You can never have enough structure in an Ozark lake. With no vegetation, the more you have the better it will be. Especially for your forage. I think that is where adding structure helps the most. No secret why a lake like Fork is so good. Tons of wood cover with GRASS. TR will not have grass so the more structure out there the better. Certain areas of the lake do have lots of cover, other areas are quite barren. I wouldn't want to be a minnow hiding around a barren rock bank.

I have thrown them quite a bit, but more in late spring/early summer and then late summer again. Seems like they work best when Big Crankbaits work. I haven't thrown them much past mid-Oct cause they don't seem to work as well. Then when it turns to the winter pattern, I always downsize and go more vertical. Just my 2 cents