mixermarkb

I'm not Bill but i'd go with a used 18' glass boat with a 150 or 175 as a starter boat for our lakes. It's enough to get you out in about any water conditions you need to be out in. If you can swing a 19'/200 or bigger do it, if it was me, I'd rather have a model year or three older, but bigger rig. I'd also go Optimax/HPDI over EFI. The fuel savings are real. Just my opinion, YMMV

Fall is a tough time of the year on Bull. Until the bass move into the backs of the creeks in numbers, it's hard. They still seem to be in that transition thing. Sorry you guys didn't hit the Bull when it was rocking. Did you see any bait on the mudflats in 2 feet or less in the backs of the creeks?

Use that wind to your advantage. Find chunk/ledge rock banks, or areas where the bank changes from rock to gravel where that wind is blowing in, and throw spinner baits. Find creeks that the wind is blowing into the back of, and throw blades and traps. The creek pattern I was on last week was taking place in inches of water, not feet. For smallies, 3" yammotto grubs in green pumpkin, watermelon/red, or smoke black flake, on pea gravel main lake points will catch a few. Try waaaaayyyy up the creeks in the afternoon tho. If you see clouds of shad under the water, the bass are there too.

The bite in the creeks should really be solid by then. Enjoy! Hopefully I can get back down in a week or 2 myself.

Fished out of Theodosia today with Bry as my backseater. We had somewhere around 20-25 bass on the day, with 8 for real, checked on the bump board keepers. No kicker fish, but a good day on the water. Fish are scattered, blade, trap, topwater all catching a few as they head back into the creeks. Another week or so and Bull will be rocking!

Where did you have those done? I have several pre-rapala warts that I need done before wart season this fall.

Fisherman lie. Having said that, on Bull Shoals, I've had one 100 fish day, and several 50-75 on smallies between 12"-18". It doesn't happen for me every spring, but it's fun when I catch the timing right!

If by cook's marina you mean Theodosia Marina Resort, you can talk to Bryan at the doc. He can give you someplace to start, or better yet hire his dad Bob for a half day guide trip. If its your first trip to Bull, and you are looking for bass, I'd have a spinning rig with 6 pound floruocarbon ready for tubes and grubs, and baitcasters ready for football jigs, maybe carolina rigs, and worms in brush piles after dark. And you will get a better response if you are nice, both online and in person.

Join up to bassboatcentral.com and post it on there, and hang out in the champion room. Lots of rabid champ owners looking for old mountain home boats..

I'm leaning toward a jetboat. I'm not sure I have time to learn the art of floating a canoe, though I'm in awe of those that can. I think a smaller jet rig will do what I need just fine. Now I just have to find something decent in my price range. Anyone seen anything for sale in the $2-3k range lately?

I'm not the least interested in running fast on the rivers. Don't get me wrong, I like cracking open the throttle on a big V6 on the bassboats, and running down a glassy lake at 75 mph. This river fishing thing is different though. I like the idea of small and quiet. Spent quite a bit of time back in the mid 80's on the gasconade at Jerome with my uncle and dad in a 16' Jon with a 15 horse prop, listening to my Uncle Chub curse the brand new invention of the shoal runner. If I had the $$, I'd say a 1752 with a 4stroke jet in the 50 horse range would do me, but I may go even smaller. I'm not sure about a tiller motor, as I have zero time running one. I'm sure I do have a huge learning curve, just because learning to read the water from a console or back at the tiller position has to be a bit tricky, not to mention no prop or lower unit in the water to help in turns. I can get my big horsepower speed fix in the bass boats. I'm just wanting cheap and easy with the river idea.

Med/hvy to heavy for worms. My short list of rods in that price range would be falcon bucco, phenix recon, and the shimano compre, or skip a couple meals and bump up to a crucial or used loomis.

Yep. Catch and release only, even on the lakes. My wife would probably like some kentucky fillets, but I'd have to practice, cause I haven't cleaned a fish in 20 years.

Ok guys. I'm a lake guy, 20' champion at Bull Shoals, fish LOz and Twain as well. The deal is, I got married back in November, and now have a 5 year old stepson. I'm working a lot, and don't have as much time or money to hit the lakes as hard as I used to, so I'm looking to spend some time on the rivers around where I live in pacific. What kind of floater could I handle in a short bed pickup for small trips with the wife and son? Kayaks? Canoe? 14'-16' Jon boat with a trailer? I have an old 15 horse rude in the basement I could probably make run- Save up and buy a jet rig? How big of a jet rig to fish 2, maybe 2 and a boy in comfort and safety? 1752 with a 60/40? 16' with a 30/20? What are you guys using? Where are the best stretches of river? I work most weekends, so this is pretty much an early morning/evening operation on my days off that I'm thinking about here. (Monday and tuesday) What about Simpson lake, creve cour lake? Worth dropping a glass boat in and using the troller to kill a few hours and catch a couple bass? Looking for ideas here- Thanks, Mark Burris

Second on the falcon bucco. I built up my collection of Loomis GLX sticks before I got married, so I'm more than set on rods, but the bucco is a nice stick, by any measure. Made in the USA as well-

Talk to Bryan, "Bry"on here. Theodosia Marina has several boats for rent in various sizes and types.

I've had some great nights dragging football jigs on flats and flat points on Bull Shoals.

Take a look at wire gauge and connections on the hummingbird. I had a similar issue with a lowrance HDS that I solved by making a better connection and getting rid of my sloppy wiring

I agree with this for sure. If you want to learn, take everything out of the boat but what you need to work on, and go fish. It's hard to do on limited fishin time, but it really will make you better!

Yep, thanks for putting the link up- I didn't have time to sign in on a real PC and look for the link. I wish I could have back all the time I spent picking backlashes while a school of fish blew up all around when I was first learning to topwater fish. Seems like I'd always get excited and mess up my cast! Lol

Look it up on YouTube. I've fished for 25 years and never knew about it, but it works amazingly well.

My advice is spool that 6'6" spinning rod with some 10 pound mono, and tie a super spook jr, silver flitter shad on it. Get some 1/2 to 3/8 oz green pumpkin football jigs with double tail trailers for the baitcaster. Set the cast control knob on the reel to where the bait falls very slowly from the rod tip and stops when it hits the water when you hit the free spool button. Leave everything else at the dock. Throw that spook early until the sun good and comes up, then keep it handy for throwing at blow-ups. Fish that jig on the baitcaster all day. Make yourself learn how to do it. When you backlash, pick it out till you get to where it won't pull anymore, tighten the drag down, then push your thumb hard on the spool and crank the handle 2 or 3 cranks. Pull some more, the backlash will pretty much be gone, with no hours of picking or cutting loops. Pick up a bottle of reel magic and give the line a puff of that 2-3 times a day You will catch some fish, and you will increase your comfort level with baitcasters a ton. Don't give yourself too many options, those 2 baits will catch fish this time of year if you are near active fish. Just my $.02, Mark Burris

Shout out for the bull shoals guys- St. Louis guy who considers bull his home lake here

I was down Monday and Tuesday. The lake still had a lot of color, and fishing was slow. High skies didn't help me any. I found a few smallies on pea gravel in 15-20 FOW, and got one beautiful 19" in the boat. I lost 3 in the same class tho. My lack of lake time this year is hurting my skill set lol! The big suprise for me was a total lack of a topwater bite. I lost the only strike I had on top, but it was a 4 or 5 pound largemouth. Bluff end, with timber, on a fin, early on Tuesday. The other largemouths we caught were in the backs of coves, sinko, and 2" crappie jig. I got the feeling that most of the fish want to spawn, but the crazy lake level yo-yo has them scattered and confused. God knows I was scattered and confused both!

I'm gonna stick with 674 for Bull by Easter.