mixermarkb

I fish the keitechs a lot, but I throw them mostly on spinning tackle with 1/4 or 3/16 oz heads. May have to try the 3/8 heads next time out.

when fishing the swimbait on a 3/8's head, are you using spinning or casting gear? what line test?

Now, if you would kindly just go back to the TR and quit telling everyone on the net how awesome Bull Shoals is...LOL It's a terrible lake. Always flooded. No fish. Hillbillies with banjos everywhere. Horrible, horrible place.

What about Coffman? Wouldn't be til next week, so I know things could change, but...

Having boat slip with a lift is the only way to fly, as far as level changes. All of the larger marinas that rent slips, keep their docks accessible no matter the water levels. I don't think I'd go for a slip in a private dock, because of the maintenance to keep it accessible. Bull Shoals is a great lake, and is wonderful for getting away from people. The double edged sword is that the things that keep the crowds away, like the 40' swings in level every couple years, limited road and launch access, and the general remoteness of the area, are also the things that make it tougher to live in the area. Mt. Home seems to be a great little town, and seems to have most everything anyone could want as far as healthcare and shopping, and Lakeview is a hop, skip, and a jump from there. Lakeview seems like a nice area to retire- and Bull is the ticket if getting away from crowds is the goal.

With a boat with a 225, I'd think most of the lower half, from say Music to Oakland, back to the dam, including Sister and Jimmy Creeks, would all be plenty fishable from Lakeview. I fish from Theodosia to Big Creek, occasionally as far as the Buck Creek area out of a Champion with a 225. I I haven't ever driven it, because I launch up in the Little North Fork arm on the Missouri side, but there are several ramps on the south side, like 125 and Lead Hill, that should be less than an hours drive from Lakeview. Maybe Mojo will see this thread and give his favorites on the Arkansas side, along with some guesstimates as to how long the drive is from Lakeview.

Any weekday, you will feel like you are fishing by yourself. There is probably more traffic on the lower end around Lakeview and Bull Shoals than anywhere, due to the proximity of Mt. Home and the White River. Weekends, you may have a boat on about a third to half your spots, but there is always water available to fish. What kind of boat do you have? Any v6 powered bass boat will open up a lot of water to fish within say a 30 minute boat ride, and crowds won't be an issue.

Shut up about white bass hybrids and get back to fixing on old OMC's????? lol, kiddin of course

Amen. Just because someone can sing a pop song, tell a joke, act in a movie, throw or catch a sportsball, does not make their opinion on anything outside of their alleged area of expertise valid. IMHO, one of the glaring problems with our society that this whole coronavirus thing is showing is that we undervalue expertise. In the age of the youtube video, everyone is a self proclaimed expert. True expertise and craftsmanship still matters. Paying dues to get REALLY good at something, still matters. Maybe a lasting benefit we can take from this is getting back to respecting others who actually know more about certain subjects than we do...

How so? Canada is doing MUCH better at dealing with COVID-19 than we are here in the states, So is Germany, and much of the rest of the developed world. Our numbers have been among the worst in the world so far. Lots of it is the cost of personal freedom in our society vs more restrictive governments, but our healthcare system is far from a shining beacon on a hill right now, despite the heroic efforts of our front line docs and nurses.

Thanks Jeremy- I was pretty sure it was. Hey, a couple questions. Meanmouths sure are pretty, but do they pose a risk for the smallmouth genes? The few ive caught have been shorter and smaller than smallmouths. Long term, will that mean the smallies get smaller, more like an average spotted bass? If so, should we be cleaning and eating meanies when we catch them? If so, what are the length regulations? Thanks!

State wide order specifically says leaving home for outdoor recreation, including fishing, is legal, as long as social distancing guidelines are being practiced, which given those who fish the bent pole pattern and move right in on you this time of year, may be being broken...lol

start sharpening and soaking then, cause it's coming. It's stupid, there is no science behind it, but with the crowds being reported, it's only a matter of time. If people won't keep their distance, and insist on partying in groups rather than just enjoying the lakes in solitude, its coming. Makes me wish I had my boat parked on a lift somewhere...

Go fish before you can't. It's only a matter of time before the COE closes the lakes, IMHO.

A-rigs, Bill's float n fly, or even the Keitechs are the deal, but if you are like me, this time of year its hard to stay out deep enough. When the lakes are up and I see all those bushes, its hard to park the boat off the flats in 40 feet to fish in 20 feet. I did pretty well on Bull, until I got distracted and let myself get in front of the fish. Knowing that its either mud shallow in dirty water and flooded cover, or farther off the bank than you feel the fish ought to be, is only half the battle. Actually having the discipline to stay out there and keep covering water with electronics and casts is the other half!

I also tend to believe that for what we pay hospitals for care in this country, that they should have been way, way more proactive in keeping inventory on hand. Experts have been predicting a pandemic for decades. Hospitals should be required to keep enough stock on hand to deal with national emergencies, not unlike how banks are regulated and stress tested.

nah, she's a cult leader. Anyone who can get hundreds of people to work 72 hours a week for them free needs to start a megachurch, not be in politics

No way would I go. Too many people who may be infected but showing no symptoms. I also would not go to any appointments at any hospitals right now, if i was a patient.

I'm not sure how much we should stockpile in normal times, but if your intelligence services are telling you in January what is happening in China has a real good shot at becoming a global pandemic, you pay attention, and start making plans then. You get the CDC, Ft. Dietrich, FEMA, and the other smart people about pandemics in the room, and you develop a plan about what supplies you may need, and how you are going to smoothly distribute them. Once you have a plan, you clearly communicate said plan to the country. You have consistent, science based messaging, with everyone on the same page, and not confusing briefings every day where each person seems to be making up their talking points on the way to the podium, only to have state governments contradict what your team says. You get people on board with hand washing, and social distancing, and international travel restrictions early, and you get widespread testing in place to see where you stand. You be proactive, instead of reactive, and you don't wait for the NBA to cancel their games on their own hook and cause a panic snowball rolling down a hill with no end in sight. You explain to the American public what is coming their way, show the intel, the same way we did when we went to war in the gulf. Americans will sacrifice a lot for a war worth fighting. If you frame it as such, you don't have to let the panic destroy the entire national economy. In other words, leadership. what you DON'T do, is attend the intel briefings, get the crap scared out of you, then go out and sell your stocks because you know a crash is coming. that's what we had red and blue congresspeople do, and it's criminal.

I pretty much think all incumbents, up and down the ballot, nationwide, need to face carnage at the ballot boxes this fall. We had the NBA driving the bus on a national shutdown for Pete's sake. Total breakdown of leadership, on both sides of the aisle, it's been every man for himself, from local aldermen through both houses of congress to the white house. I'm convinced its mainly because politics has become a lifetime career, and not a short term public service like our founding fathers intended. We have to get the money out of the game, and get the lifers OUT, regardless of party. This didn't have to be this bad. We are where we are, mostly because arrogant people buried their heads in the sand and believed that "it can't happen here" in February rather than listen to the intelligence agencies and scientists who have been trying to warn us about pandemics for decades. It's a national disgrace how unprepared we were.

It was for the best. Went something like "this is mainly the fault of our lousy leadership who care more about self enrichment than our country" "vote each and every one of them out in november, regardless of party or beliefs" "start over with serious campaign finance reform, and term limits, and get rid of the cancer in our country that is career politicians" I think maybe I wrapped it up with public hanging of the pols from both sides of the aisle who kept the intelligence information they were getting out of China away from the public who needed to prepare for the pandemic, and instead saved their own asses by cashing out of the stock market before it crashed. I don't know, I'm pretty darn mad that all of this is ruining the best fishing months of the year, not to mention killing my fellow Americans by the probable hundred(s) of thousands before its all said and done. I'm not really sure what all I typed...

long, frustrated post self removed.

It's regrettable but I understand why recreational lodging would be asked to close. The place I stay at on Bull Shoals was open last week, but taking precautions. They have been waiting 72 hours to clean rooms after they are rented, and doing a deep clean every time. To help them out, I emptied all our trash, and put the towels we used in a big pile so it would be easy to grab when they cleaned. I still felt safe, but there was a group of at least 10 in one of the cabins, and that kind of made me uncomfortable. I can see where it is better just to close them than to depend on each individual resort to keep reasonable social distancing standards. Kinda puts a place in an awkward spot if their clients break the law by ignoring common sense.

If only MY wife was complaining about me not buying a new trolling motor...lol

I'd gladly pay $20 launch fees to fish the bigger lakes at Busch if they would let folks launch bass boats there. I'd go every week, a couple days a week probably. Electric motors only, catch and release only, or slot limit or whatever.