cullinby9

Bull creek is a little different than most of the creeks around the lower sections are great fishing with steep gradient when there is enough water in bull to float a person should be somewhat experianced in white water paddling. Watch the gauge at walnut shade if its above 4.5 ft. then its getting close to being more of a white water trip. Anything below and your good down to about 3.5 ft otherwise its a wade stream Swan and beaver are good fishing to but no trout however the whites run up both those streams.

Hurricane Creek enters on river left we were on the gravel bar on the right. I thought it would be a good spot but we didn't catch them there. Up at the first run after MD shoal I caught a couple and up from MD shoal at the head of the pool with the heavy rapids is were i caught the others on the fly rod. I didn't try anything other than small jigs my fly tackle is very limited I'm still using a friends old 8wght that he lended me to see if it sticks. Other than some bluegill and a few trout below Table rock dam those are the first fish in current I've caught its different for a guy who fishes a power bass style. I normally don't tell the big one gets away story but it was the highlight of the trip for me, when I lose a big bass at the lake I try to forget about it immediately. A magical moment like that on this body of water is something I'll never forget and why I'll fish the 11point forever in person or in my dreams.

Thursday morning we slipped the canoes in at Greer and made a right turn. Headed up stream we instantly began catching bows on a little jerkbait and a jig. Didn't go up very far just to the bridge. Fishing was lights out, knowing that I was around fish I started to cycle thru jigs and discovered solid dark colors grey,black and dark green. Started down the blue ribbon and we caught fish everywhere from the shoals to deep holes if we could keep our bait wet we caught fish with the grey jig doing most of the catching. We were able to move at a snails pace and when I'd catch an eddie the low flow made it possible to sit still and concentrate on the jig. When the day came to an end we had floated down below mary deckers and caught a gravel bar. The fish count was good I had 21 and my buddy Mack had 9 but he had an eighteen plus, my best was a 16. Day two we decided to go back up and keep camp set. This proved to be tougher than we thought not the upriver part but fishing two out of a canoe we mostly waded and fly fished with limited success I had 4 and Mack had 1 on all on the fly rod. Day three we got started and at the first shoal got into them caught a few but they were not as spread out sitting at the head of the pools you could catch multiple fish in a hole then go a few bends fishing the turns without a bite. Then I figured out if I set up on the high bank side I could catch them off the eddie seem where I had been sitting the boat I was in a really sweet spot where three currents came toegether and caught quite a few without moving. The bite slowed but instead of leaving I made a sandwich as I sat there eating it a fish rushed minnows up in the eddie, I picked up my rod cast that jig over to the seem it didn't sink ten inches and thump fish on head shakes this is a good one to the surface it comes and breaches water like a tarpon this is the biggest bow I've ever hooked the fight continues hard runs no stopping her I turned her and back to the boat she came another jump I kept her down I can see her in the water she sees the boat burns drag out of sight and GONE she just decided to spit that jig out. I went to the bank shaking from adrenalin nothing I can do so I finish my sandwich. We made it down to the island a couple miles above Witten and camped again. Day four we continued to catch trout and below Witten I started to bass fish I was fishing a 2.75" tube green pumkin the smallies were'nt in every hole but when I found them I caught several nothing to big about 2 pounds the best. Day five its time to go everythings wet and cold slide the canoe in and the first hole I pitched the tube towards some big rock thump largemouth a nice largemouth about 3 pounds there are fish everywhere a huge school of bass I sat in that pool and caught them for an hour 14 total most of them fifteen" or better never done this before it was a great way to finish off a great trip too many eagles to count nobody on the river but us epic time to do a long float. If your going to bass fish right now take alot of tubes and hooks the pickeral are biting I caught 7 in the last two days. I have pics and will post them once Mack sends them to me.

I always apreciate your reports Brian I am putting in thurs. and floating till sunday can't wait. With the water so low I would think this is gonna be a tougher trip than previous years where we had to stop catching them to make it down river a ways. This will be my second trip since picking up the fly rod this summer any tips for an advanced angler but a newbie to the fly my main problem seems to be the spinning rod thats in my boat not keeping the fly in my hands enough. I would figure the setup to be a 2-4 # flouro leader, the lightest jig I can cast below an indicator 3-5ft. I'm a bass fisherman so casting the fly can be tricky I'm good in the yard or at tanneycomo out of the boat but when I get on the river tryin to roll cast under limbs and on the move I whip alot of flie's off I tried heavier leader line that helps to not loose flies didn't loose any fish either cause I didn't get bit. The Eleven Point in December is heaven on earth.

who say's fishfinder? people who don't fish, most people call it a depth finder. just sayin

welcome to the steroid era of bass fishing 10 bags 20+ 15 pounds to draw money. The thing I can't belive is the co-angler weights. I think flw is going to down play the a-rig and try to promote anything outside the rig to be able to say at the end of the year that it is not what won tournaments. They're trying to sell product when I noticed how bad it is I was reading the results to the Amistad Everstart and all the top guys were throwing a combination of baits but everyone talked about the strike pro crankbaits. What do you know on the sidebar there's an ad for? you guessed it strike pro crankbaits. I know if I had 3 six pounders on a jig I would've screamed a-rig then fished anglers in action sunday cause you'd have those fish to yourself.

Maybe this lake is backwards but I have caught smallies in may off the beds several times for some reason they seem to hold back for stable water conditions. My only conclusion is the depth they spawn in takes longer to warm. Down here I have seen times where the LM were on beds that you could see, the spot's were bedding in the back of the same coves but in 6-9ft. and alot of times in the ditches,and the smallies on the flats in the same area's. As soon as we get a stable 58 degree water temp out on the main lake there will be fish starting to make love. For my two cents on bed fishing I prefer to fish the smallies I don't normally see them and i like that plus you can catch alot of fish real quick. I'm not much on bumping LM to make them bite and not patient enough to stay put on a single fish very long.

I thought I had a little secrect on the old brown and orange rouge I didn't think many people threw that color. I've had a few big bags on it at lake O. Snowy or really dreary days I put it on and throw it all day they eat it.

The college fishing tourney that was supposed to be held last weekend in conjunction with the everstart is trying to reschedule for this sunday march 11. Kevin Hunt is the T.D. he called asking if we knew anyone that would be willing to provide a boat for a college team to fish in sunday. You get paid to take the team out drive them around. 250.00$ for the day. His phone # is (270) 252 1593. Help support the fishing community and make a little change.

The wind is your friend here. When you show up and the water looks like glass the fish seem to stick on bottom fb jig time. As far as the mess is concerned thats the first time I've done anything on it and I think when the fish are suspended it will take a better average than 4 pounds per fish to be somebody. The bite is like they hit the single swimbait times ten pure all out aggression and thats in 49 degree water.

The rig your showing as legal has 4 hooks making it illeagal the two trebles each count as one hook your other swimbaits have 2 hooks that equals 4 so it's leagal they contradict themselfs horribly so now we can fish stinger hooks on all 3 baits thanks for confusing me MDC way to lead from the front

Guess I don't know how to place the photos on here.

After catching small fish for 3 days last week I changed area's and techniques. When I arrived at my first stop of the morning I could see the fish suspended. Went to work with the a-rig they would slap at it but couldn't get hookups. Moved several times every stop fish suspened about 11 my brother nailed a 4+and the clues became apparent in 2 hours after the first fish we put 20 pounds in the boat. Only had 7 keepers and 6 of those were fat females and one squeaker smallie no shorts. The bite's were the hardest I have ever felt.

I fished 5 of the last 7 days and the fish seemed to be grouped up on the points I haven't caught anything big up shallow lots of fish on the wart and a few on the jerkbait

they are moving up the back of the kings caught a couple yesterday and one nice walleye

i had 3 keepers yesterday around the mouth of the kings about 25 shorts 15 or so needed to be bumped. Saw an older gentleman and his wife catch a 4 pounder on the a-rig and put it straight in the livewell guess they were starving.

just got a text from flw cancelling all events this weekend their weigh in trailers were destroyed hope everyone is alright down there this morning.

I'm sure that some of the everstart fellas will fish shallow they weren't sun. I never saw another boat in a pocket or even on the bank unless they were a-riggin a bluff wall. Everyone is chucking that mess kinda seems like alot of the guys who were bank beaters are now a-riggers.

Alright guy's I was wrong about a few things pertaining to the a-rig. 1. It's not as efficient as I thought. I said on here multiple times that I thought it increased chances by 3-500% wrong. I can cast a crankbait 500 more times in a day than the rig making the odds just about the same. 2.Fishing pressure.I saw about 25 boats sun. all with 2 guys a-rigging. The unpressured fish that everyone is targeting are now the pressured fish. I didn't see anyone on the bank everyone was 2-3 casts out on long points chucking and winding. 3. I have to use the catfish dough ball cast any whip in the rod and it's fouled and I can only do that for so long before I realized how much time I was wasting trying to fish someone else's bite. I'm sure at times the rig will reign supreme for this spring I think that time has past.

We put in yesterday at aunt's creek with high sky's and a ton of everstart guy's. We started off in the creek with the a-rig had one small keeper on it and one squeaker on a jerkbait. Started up the James every point, bluff end, bluff walls and wind blown flat was getting hammered by the riggers. The watercolor up at cape fair is stained and the main channel was 46 degrees. We started cranking shallow and results were immediate lots of shorts and three nice keepers. Finished the day back in aunts and the fish had moved shallow in the cleaner water as well. If the weather forecast for this week holds next weekend is gonna be crazy fun. When it was said and done I manged a limit for about 12 pounds on a tough day. My big fish for the day was a 20 inch smallie that came out of less than 5 feet of water on the wart.

I have an 88 374v ranger with an 89 mariner mag2 150 fresh rebuild motor is strong motorguide tour 82# lowrance x135's holds 50 gal. of gas 417 766 7816 caleb

I rigged the rod the other day an abu garcia 4600 c4. unretired it's been on the shelf for a few years.

no not in a tournament I have used double fluke once in practice on schoolies thats not my style when I dropshot its only to fish on the graph I very rarely c rig only if I'm on a school and need something to switch up from the jig, crankbait or swimbait. Does anyone know anybody that has ever cracked 25+ on a double fluke or frontrunner? I'm sure someone has but I've never seen it.

I'm developing a new rig, you just cast it out let it sink and it scares the fish so bad they jump in the boat to escape; It's called Chuck Norris!

It doesn't matter how I feel about the rig after two weeks of post's on here and 800 signatures on the petition flw is going to allow it bass is going to allow it on the levels I fish. Whether I like it or not its getting close enough now that its time to start getting busy with the rig.