bluebasser86

I don't fish Beaver but I've had more success in the lakes around the KC area on the Luck E Strike baits than I have the Megabass but our water isn't quite as clear. They're a good bait for sure though and much easier on the wallet. Caught some really nice fish on the new mini version before the lakes iced up.

What's everyone think it's going to take to win the thing? I've never fished Grand or even seen the lake for that matter. It looks like there could be a good warming trend the couple of weeks prior to the tournament so maybe the big fish will be moving towards the banks feeding up for the spawn?

Good advice there. I often forget to check the little things and it's amazing how fast a little thing can become a big problem, like say a wheel bearing for instance. No feeling like looking back to check the boat and seeing smoke coming off one of the tires

The lake record is 5.62 and was caught during one of the Wednesday night tournaments this spring. I have been fishing that lake a lot for the last 7 or 8 years since I lived 10 minutes from it and been fishing the tournaments quite a bit the last 2 years. It will eventually be a really good smallmouth lake but they haven't been in there very long but they're still doing well. I've caught them over 4 pounds and there's seems to be quite a few over 3lbs weighed in during the tournaments every year. They have an 18" length limit protecting them so that should help a lot. They get a little bigger every year. Last year they seemed to average 10-14 inches with a one over 15" once in awhile. This year most of them were 13-15 inches with 16-17 inch fish happening pretty frequently. It's a pretty little lake you'd never expect to see in KCK but it is not easy fishing by any means. They're just discovered zebra mussels in there this fall and I've never seen one there so it's still to be seen how they will effect the lake. It's already really clear most of the time so it could be interesting.

We usually launch right by the Bass Pro in Branson. Haven't been there in awhile but it's been a good place to launch in the past and can almost always catch fish right under the bridge.

A friend and I are kicking around the idea of hitting Norfork the first week of April next year in an attempt for both of us to catch our first stripers. I fish for wipers alot during the winter in the KC area but have never caught a striper. I've done some research and it sounds like a lot of it is either accidental catches or trolling cranks and livebait. I'd rather watch paint dry than troll so does anyone have any suggestions on artificials for Norfork stripers and maybe some areas to try in early spring? I'm not expecting anyones secret spots but just point us in the right direction and we'll go fishing and see if we can figure anything out. If we're going to be wasting our time that's great info too so we can just stick to our original plan of fishing Bull Shoals.

A bad economy doesn't really effect my line of work very much except we don't get any raises. I fish out of a small, aluminum boat with a 60hp 4 stroke so my boat doesn't burn much gas. Fishing is what I do for fun and is about the only thing I do for pleasure besides hunting during the winter months. I'll be going regardless and if I'm going to spend the money I'd rather drive a little further to a good lake than the poor lakes close by. I don't like to eat fish but could if it was a survival situation. With that being said there are much more cost efficient ways of catching fish to eat than hooking up the boat to my 14mpg truck and driving 200 miles round trip to fish with 400 dollar casting combos tossing 25 dollar jerkbaits. I could spend less than $20 to drive to a local river and set a trotline with sunfish, crawdads, or nightcrawlers I caught myself and fill a freezer with catfish, but not looking at doing that any time soon. Really overall the only way the bad economy is effecting my fishing is that lakes aren't as crowded as they normally are and I can deal with that

I've got some 110's but since the STX baits came out they just sit in the box. I've caught a ton of fish on the STX baits and have yet to break any of them. They've fixed the split ring issues, the hooks still suck but I usually change hooks out on my baits anyways. I've got several of the STX Jr's now too and caught this wonderfully colored fish at one of the toughest little lakes we have up here that isn't known for producing fish over 15", let alone a fish like this. This one ate the secret night color right next to the boat.

I'm by no means an expert in fishing a wart on the rock but I think one of the biggest mistakes I used to make with it was fishing it too fast. I was lucky enough to fish with a couple really good wart fishermen that taught me a little bit on how to fish them. Seems like they hunt a lot better and kick out more on the deflection with a slower retrieve than a regular cranking clip. I know one of the guys that fishes the lake a lot more can give more info than that but that's just my observations.

Anything craw colored

Very nice buck. I got a fat doe with the stick and string Tuesday. Sat out Wednesday night and saw nothing until the drive home, had a stud trot across the road a mile down the road from where I was hunting. He had a very nice rack and a huge body, not sure I've ever seen a deer with a body that big in person. I'm sure hoping to see him again in the woods next weekend

I use a telescoping lure retriever. It reaches all but the deepest diving crankbaits (I don't usually worry about getting it out for jigs or plastics). Plus I can reach lures hanging in trees that other people have left behind for me

Very nice! What did she weigh? What'd you get her on?

I think as long as you are considerate with them like you are with other anglers you're fine. The only thing I wouldn't do is if a tournament guy is fishing a multiple day tourny is to go in and sore lip all the fish on the spot he was fishing. If he's a professional he's fishing for his livelyhood and feeding his family with his winnings in some cases. Not saying it gives them any more right to the water, just my feelings of how they should be treated.

I've got a ton of old baits I need to get rid of here. Most of these baits have been fished with except for the jigs, they are mostly new. I know some of the lots are very large so I may be willing to split them up, just let me know what you want. Paypal or M.O. to lower 48 only, all prices TYD. Thanks for looking! Lot 1 sold Lot 2 sold Lot 3 minnowbaits $10 Rebel minnow, Rapala 11, Redfin 7", Rapala 11, Rapala 13, Jointed Rapala, Rapala 13, Rapala 9 Lot 4 Buzzbaits $18 unknown, Terminator ball buster, War Eagle 3/8, Terminator ball buster, Booyah Pond Magic, War Eagle 3/8, Booyah Clacker 1/2, unknown, War Eagle, BPS Lazer Eye. Lot 5 sold Lot 6 Sold Lot 7 sold Lot 8 sold Lot 9 sold Lot 10 sold Lot 11sold

I don't have much experience at all on the White so this is strictly a first person experience and not gospel but I put my 16' aluminum with a 60hp Merc on it last March and we did alright but we strictly stuck to the deeper holes (right around white hole). If you're really wanting to fish a bigger portion of the river you'll want something that can get in skinny water and no way I'd put a nice bass boat on there. Even in the deeper holes there are big rocks just waiting to take a big bite out of your gel coat.

That's a pretty meanie!

The muskies up there seem to react better to bass baits than they do muskie baits anytime I've been there. They really seem to like spinnerbaits and I've had more than a few chase plastic baits to the boat. They like crankbaits too but it's hard to get a leader to not kill the action and the only other option is to hope they don't bite you off. Early and late seem to be the best time, around the island, the big cove about middle of the lake on the west side (properly called "muskie cove" I believe) and the flat to the south of that cove have been my best spots for them. A bucktail is about the only muskie bait I've been able to get them to respond to at all until that one missed my topwater plopper this trip. I'm sure they'd eat a big trolled muskie crank but that's hard to do with just a trolling motor.

We really planned on shooting more carp but after fishing all day in the heat we were too out of gas to stay up bowfishing and then try to get up early and fish again. Both of the carp I shot hit dead center of one of their big scales so that makes it all but impossible to get good enough arrow penetration to keep them stuck.

Well Chris and I got back from Hazel Creek this afternoon. We're tired and our thumbs are torn up and even a little cut up. We got out before dark Tuesday morning and tried some bowfishing. The wind was already bad and it was tough to see in the murky water. I shot 2 grass carp in the 40lb range but both of them pulled off. Once the sun started to get up we started getting to the main attraction. We caught several fish that were much smaller than I expected but it didn't take long before I got one of the healthy bass that we were after on a pit boss. I was getting quite a few small ones on a LC RC 2 squarebill but on one small point the fish I thought was a little nicer bass turned out to be a pretty little muskie. The fish of 10,000 casts proved to not be very finicky this trip. Moving on, I missed a good fish on a tube and we caught a few more small ones when I got the first keeper of the trip off a tree in about 8 feet of water. 18" and a little over 3 pounds. It got tough from there as the sun came up. I caught another muskie on a spinnerbait about the same size as my first but it squirted out of my hands and back into the water before we got a picture. We decided to get off the lake until the afternoon when it cooled off a little. Once we got back we started about the same speed. We got a few small ones flipping trees. I pitched to a laid down tree with a 7" Rage Andaconda and got thumped. Stuck a good fish that pulled like it was twice it's size. Chris lipped her for me, got a weight and a couple pictures and put her back. 19.5" and 5 pounds even. We tossed some deep runners on a flat and caught a couple dinks and I had a muskie chase mine to the boat and follow for 3 or 4 figure 8's before it sank out of sight. It was starting to get dark and Chris was throwing a spinnerbait in a cove between some stumps while I was doing the same with a spinnerbait. Right as his buzzbait got to the boat it sounded like he tossed a brick in the water and mayhem set in at boatside as his first muskie ever strained his bass gear while he tried to keep it out of the trees. He did a great job keeper her away from all the obstacles and I slid the net under her. We didn't really plan on catching any muskie so we didn't have anything to measure any longer than my 22" measuring board but it was probably 30-32 inches and 7-9 pounds. Not sure what had happened to its gills but it didn't seem to be hurting it any as it swam away with no problems. There's 1 island on the lake I wanted to try as it was about dark because it has deep water all around and then gets really shallow quickly around it but doesn't have any cover. I was thinking maybe they'd be up there pushing shad towards the shallows and feeding. Sticking with the same baits, Chris tossed his buzzbait up shallow and a huge head and mouthful of teeth engulfed his bait and it was on again . This one was obviously bigger and much thicker than the first and Chris got to enjoy the fight a little more in the open water. This one was probably around 32-34 inches and 10-12 pounds. His poor buzzbait 2 muskies later. Next day with the memory of Chris' buzzbait muskies fresh in my mind I decided to try a big chopper bait for muskies, I was not expecting the 6" bass that pulled my bait down at all. We got some small ones when I picked my cranking rod back up. I was tossing a LC RC 1.5 when I got slammed. Thought it was a good bass, turned out to be this 28-30 inch, 7lb muskie. We got back to the same area Chris caught his first muskie the night before when he tossed a 10" power worm at a stump and slammed into a good fish. She steam rolled to some other stumps and got his line around them. Luckily he had a great guy on the trolling motor that got him over there in time and we got her in the boat. Another stout fish that rang up 5lbs even. She looked like she had just done spawning with her bloody tail Another long spell of a few small fish here and there when I pitched into a brushpile with a 7" BPS Stick-O and got thumped. She wrapped me up in the brushpile and wouldn't budge. While I was pulling on her she came up and got wrapped higher in the brushpile. I took my hat and sunglasses on and laid on my stomach and reached as far as I could but all I could grab was her tail. She ca me off of that limb and swam further down in the tree. I could lift the tree so I just started pulling the tree up and Chris lifted it high enough I could see her again. So I leaned in head first up to my chest and finally got a grip on her and pulled her out. Don't think I've ever worked that hard for a fish. 20 1/2 inches and 5 1/2 pounds was my biggest bass of the trip. After going back to the hotel to wait out the mid-day lull we were back at it. I started off fast, catching this this fish out of a culvert on a Yum Wooly Bug. It was 3lbs 6 ozs. It was a slow evening for bigger fish after that. Chris was pitching a tube and got thumped when he tried to reel in. Thought it was a nice bass but turned out to be another little muskie. The fish had the line wrapped around it's teeth, not sure how it didn't cut him off. That was it for bigger fish that night. Last morning we were greeted by much nicer fishing weather. Clouds, drizzle, much less wind, and 10 degrees cooler than it had been had the fish biting. About 30 yards down from where I'd caught my first 5 pounder I pulled my Rage craw over a lay down and got popped. She was one the top almost instantly before she dug back down for the tree. It's crazy how strong the fish in that lake were but I still managed to keep her out of the tree. 20" and 4lbs 14ozs and super thick and healthy looking. I still had my big muskie chopper bait when we got back to the flat that I'd had a muskie chase my crankbait to the boat the day before so I thought I'd toss it. First cast I cranked about 15 feet when it blasted. One of the coolest and most exciting strikes I've ever seen but it didn't connect with my bait, just knocked it about 10 feet in the air . With the perfect weather I wanted to go to the island where Chris had caught his biggest muskie and toss my topwater around it. We made a lap around with no love for my chopper. I knew there had to be fish up there so I switched to a black and orange bucktail. I made a few casts before I launched one up to the same spot Chris' fish was at. I looked away when I started my retrieve and right when I looked back a huge wake kicked up behind my bait. I sped up my retrieve and her dorsal and tail fin popped out of the water when she threw water and sped forward and smashed it. It was obviously the biggest one we'd seen this trip and my biggest I'd ever hooked. After an intense battle and some debating with each other if it would fit in the net, Chris got the net under her and just barely got her to fit. She was super thick and heavy, around 38-40 inches and 15 pounds. Finally my first legal sized muskie in Missouri! I haven't shaken that bad during and after the fight with a fish in a long time. Shortly after that the sun came out and started to get humid again. I jumped off a bass around 4lbs and Chris finally got a good fish to eat a crankbait, probably the only one over 2 pounds of the dozens we caught on a cranks. After that we started cranking and I got slammed, another little muskie, my 5th and our 8th of the 3 day trip. I hooked and lost another muskie on the same crankbait that was a little bigger and Chris had another 30 incher chase his worm over a lay down and almost to the boat but didn't eat. It was a great trip despite the wind and hot weather.

Anyone been on Hazel recently? A brother in law and I will be there for the first time in almost 10 years chasing the big bass that I now that lake has and maybe try for some muskie too. We are strictly catch and release and I understand if someone would rather send a PM instead of posting on the forum.

I put these on my trailer about a month ago and so far I'm really happy with them. They bounce and flex a lot when the boat isn't on the trailer and I was afraid they were going to break but they much just be really flexible, no sign of them breaking at all. I know my boat loads and comes off the trailer way easier! http://www.ultimatebunkboards.com/

Did you catch that flathead off the steep rock bank to the south of the mouth of the cove that Big Cedar is in? My wife and I saw a guy pull up behind us and stick a good fish that turned out to be a flathead. I thought I might be watching the winning fish get caught and felt bad for whoever it was if they were in the tourney.

I caught a couple hand sized 'gills by the dam this weekend on a channel swing bluff bank in about 30' of water on a 3/4oz jigging spoon, really surprised me both times.

I have actually fished with one of the people that helped Kedhe develop and refine the technique here in northeastern Kansas and fish it a lot. Table Rock is a lot different than the lakes I normally fish with it but it is just as effective out there. My wife was basically casting it out and letting it sink to the bottom and then reeling it in slowly, very similar to what works best around here except we don't normally let it sink, at least not very long because most of the lakes we fish are shallow. Most of her fish it would have just finished sinking and when she started reeling they were there. She did catch a white bass and a couple big green sunfish while she was reeling it also.