bluebasser86

I was always a Shimano guy untl I tried a Pfluegar Supreme XT, that thing has been the sweetest, smoothest, best casting and most comfortable to fish with spinning reel I've ever used. I really like the look of the MGX and it is next on my list of reels I want to get. I have a Symetre FJ but if it's raining or I use it all day that thing sticks so bad I almost can't even turn the reel handle.

Most of my frog fish fall for a black frog. Never seen a black frog in my life but the fish sure eat them.

I have several lots of baits that didn't make the cut this year so I'm clearing them out. Most of them have been fished with but not many have been fished a lot or even caught fish. Some baits may not be as pretty as they were new but still work fine and will catch fish. All prices are to your door in the lower 48. Paypal and M.O. preferred. #1 is sold #2 is sold #3 is sold #4 is weedless jigheads, mostly the smaller Eakin's jigheads, 5/16oz I believe. A few are Jann's Netcraft heads, all are new, just need skirts and you could have a bunch of jigs to get through next year! 20 heads for $12TYD #5 is buzzbaits from War Eagle, Booyah, Terminator, and a couple from local lure makers. 8 baits for $15TYD. Thanks for looking!

I was throwing mine on 10lb mono and a 6' 2" M/XF Avid when that fish pulled the hook and split ring off.

I have fished the one I got a few times and I can say that you are right about the split rings. My 3rd casts with it I hooked a solid keeper that dove under the boat and pulled the front hook and split ring off of the bait. You also have to reel or pull them down before you start twitching them or it rolls out of the water occasionally. On the plus side, the finish has lasted well after several fish and they seem pretty durable. I had a fish jump and toss the bait that slammed into my trolling motor shaft. Knowing how bad the lips on megabass are I figured I was probably the proud owner of a new bait with no lip but to my surprise the bait was still whole and worked fine. They may not be exactly like a megabass but they are worth a try for sure.

The Olathe Bass Pro just started carrying them and I got my hands on one yesterday. $7.99 and I can't tell a difference between the two. I took a picture of the Luck E Strike and a real Megabass to show how similar they are.

I don't have either of these baits but I do have some of the Luck E Strike squarebill crankbaits and they work very much like the LC Rick Clunn cranks so I wouldn't suspect these to be any different and will probably prove to be very good baits. I wish they had my favorite wiggle wart color in the wart hog though.

By the way it's been sounding with guides even having a hard time catching any fish, let alone keepers, you might be doing the right thing if you're catching 3 keepers a day.

All but two of our bass were caught on shakeyheads in the Lindley Arm on steep rock or bluff walls. A variety of colors worked but trick worms seemed to be the preferred bait.

We fished Pomme all day Monday. Had terrible conditions for muskie fishing, bright blue skies, and no wind. We still tried a little bit. Chris had a good follow in the morning on an orange and black Blue Fox bucktail but it didn't commit and he did what most first timers do when they see a muskie, stopped reeling and stared. We tried a little more but it got hot and dead calm so we waited until evening. Chris had a fish stop the same bucktail but was zoned out and didn't even set the hook until it was too late, nothing but the swirl the fish made was left by then. I couldn't get even a follow. I really wish I got down to Pomme for muskie more than I do. One of these days I'd like to be down there when it isn't sunny and dead calm like it has been my last 3 trips! We did get 44 bass with 14 keepers though so at least something was biting.

Thanks a lot guys. Bill-I guess the derbys explain why there was so many bass boats out there last weekend. I told Chris we did really well but he's used to catching 20 or more fish apiece at the little state lakes around here that get no pressure compared to the rock. I caught most of my fish on a 5/16oz Booyah Baby Boo jig on 14lb floro and Chris was catching all of his fish on either a 1/2oz football or 1/2 casting jig, both jigs that I make. The key for us was to have a trailer with little action and to fish very slowly. I tried a rage trailer, twin tail, speed craw, nothing on any of them. Chris was outfishing me from the back of the boat on a jig with a paca chunk or craw papi. I switched to a Zoom cross craw and craw papi and started getting bit. One particular bluff produced a vast majority of our keepers, had I been in a tourny I wouldn't have left that bluff. I don't know the names of most of the coves but my Hotmaps chip in finder/gps called it Cedar Cove. To make it very simple it's the cove that Big Cedar Lodge is in, but we didn't catch much there. I can PM you more info on our exact location and techniques if you'd like, it would be pretty easy to direct you to the exact location we were fishing.

We started off fast on Table Rock Saturday morning with me catching a short spot on my second cast with a grub and then a keeper largemouth about 10 minutes later on a wart. http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n500/bluebasser86/101_1239.jpg Chris caught a keeper largemouth on a shakeyhead and we caught a few more shorts of all 3 species before the sun got up. Once the sun got up and the wind died completely it got tough. I caught a short spot on a sammy (our only topwater fish all weekend) and a keeper largemouth on a shakeyhead. Chris stuck a good fish on a jig that got hung in a tree on the way up. The way he could lift it a little ways and it would stop you could tell it was on an old line. I tried and tried with my lure retriever to get it loose. Finally on a desperate attempt to just catch the line I caught something and pulled and felt a line pop. I lifted and swung in about 15 feet of line, an old jig, and Chris' keeper smallmouth that weighed 2lbs 9oz. http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n500/bluebasser86/101_1240.jpg It got really tough from there. We tried to run to Cedar cove when my boat went into alarm because the outboard was overheating. We limped to a point and could see nothing wrong. We weren't far from Big Cedar Lodge so we putted to the docks there but they don't work on boats. Thankfully one guy had the number to someone who does work on boats and he was nice enough to listen and answer our questions. He said it sounded like my thermastat was stuck and was an easy fix and not expensive. It took about an hour to get back to the ramp at idle speed but we finally got to Bass Pro in Branson and they took a look at it. It was the thermastat but they didn't have one and neither did the 5 or 6 other shops he called. Luckily BPS in Springfield did have one so we hit the road and got the part. Back on the lake it continued to be tough but at least my motor was working. We scratched out a couple more shorts before hitting a bluff wall we'd caught a could keepers off of earlier. It was getting dark and cold but we could see pretty well with the light bluff wall and half moon. I flipped a jig next to a tree and turned to say something to Chris when a fish about yanked the rod out of my hands. After a pretty good tussle to keep it out of the cedars I swung my biggest smallmouth of the trip in, 3lbs 3oz. http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n500/bluebasser86/101_1242.jpg We ended day 1 with 15 fish, 7 of those being keepers. Day 2 started terrible. 38 degrees and fog so thick we could hardly see the trolling motor. In the first 3 hours we caught 5 fish, no keepers. I was tired of picking the spots so Chris scrolled around the topo map on my depthfinder and found a spot he liked. Someone else liked it too and was already fishing it when we got there so we hit a different area close by. Soon after getting there some fish started busting shad. We caught a few short spots throwing grubs but nothing even close to keeping. I noticed a large standing tree out in the middle of the cove in about 40 feet of water so I dropped a spoon down next to it. It barely sank out of sight when my line jumped and I stopped the spool with my thumb and set the hook into our first keeper spot of the day. As I fought it up about 15 or 20 others chased it. I dropped a grub down with the first one still on and doubled on keeper spots. http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n500/bluebasser86/101_1246.jpg The school disappeared quickly so we ran back to the bluff we'd done well on the day before. I quickly caught another keeper spot on a jig. http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n500/bluebasser86/101_1247.jpg A couple more shorts and then I got thumped hard on a jig and stuck a good fish. She jumped like a smallmouth and fought really well before I lipped her. 20" 4lb 6oz largemouth was our biggest at Table Rock. http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n500/bluebasser86/101_1249.jpg I wish every fish that I caught on a jig ate it this good! http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n500/bluebasser86/101_1248.jpg We ended day 2 with 16 fish and 5 keepers. We caught fish on several different baits but a jig was by far our best bait for keepers and numbers.

Driving down either tonight or early Saturday to fish all day Saturday and Sunday. Bringing a friend that has never fished it before. He's excited but hates fishing clear water so it should be interesting . Planning on fishing around the dam Saturday and unless we do really well trying up around Aunt's Creek Sunday. Looks like the weather will be nice but not great fishing weather. I'll give a full report when we get back!

I will be at Pomme on Monday with standard muskie gear trying to get muskie #4 and hopefully my first legal size muskie. My friend will be trying for his first ever. I'll be sure to give a report when we get back.

My wife and I stay at Aunt's Creek and tent camp. Nice ramp right next to the campsites and plenty of room to park the boat next to the tent. Plenty of camping spots with electricity to charge the batteries too. Clean showerhouses and bathrooms too. There's good fishing all over close by and some pretty good scenery too. We only get down there a couple times a year but we love that campsite.

Never been on the Niangua but I've heard good things and would like to make a trip this fall, mainly for CPR smallmouth fishing. I've got a small 12' jon with a trolling motor that can float about anywhere that I'd rather fish out of than a canoe but not sure how I'd go about doing that since it would be a solo float? Are there any outfitters that would drop off and pick up a jonboat? Or would it be better to just deal with fishing from a canoe? It would be a weekday float if that makes any difference.

Wouldn't be able to keep your boat in the water the whole time but the campground at Aunt's Creek is really nice and there is really good fishing up there in the spring. Lots of shaded and level spots for tents or RV's and nice shower houses and bathrooms. There is a couple ramps right in the campsite so it takes very little extra time to load and unload the boat. I'm sure the guys that live on the lake can give better advice about where to fish but my wife and I get down to the rock as often as we can to camp and fish and we both really like Aunt's Creek for the camping and fishing.

Good to hear they aren't in those lakes yet. They're spreading pretty fast across Kansas it seems like, mostly to the larger lakes though. I doubt it's anglers doing most of it though.

There has been more than one species of state record fish caught from the spillway at Perry. The most important part like any spillway is that there needs to be water moving. If the water isn't flowing it's almost impossible sometimes. It can be really good fishing for several different species though.

I fish La Cygne almost every week during the winter for bass and wipers. I've had some incredible days fishing for wipers and largemouth but it seems like you're either tearing them up or they won't touch anything. For wipers my most consistant baits are free lined live shad nose hooked with a small octopus hook and a swimbait. We catch a pretty fair number of them on rattletraps and jerkbaits also but mainly smaller fish. The largemouth seem to like plastics, cranks, and jerkbaits most days. I've had good days with spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and my biggest 5 fish limit (other than from Mexico) was a 30lb 2oz limit from La Cygne on a swimbait. The feeling of knowing you would have been culling 4 1/2 pounders in a tournament is pretty awesome. Lake gets pounded during the weekend, makes me glad to have Tuesday and Wednesday off instead.

I saw a large ski boat running full tilt across Lake Minnetonka fishing for muskie at night with a friend. I guess they figured they could see everyone else and nobody needed to see them. We yelled at them and called them some bad names when they came a little closer to us but I doubt they heard us. It's amazing the things some people will do without even thinking about it.

Welcome to the site Mike! Another member just North of you here!

If what those agents were doing was entrapment then it wouldn't be legal for police officers to sit and watch for speeders, or to do drug or protitution stings. Also the word "take" has many different meanings and definitions. Take does not just mean you kept them. If you kept them out of the water or handled them in a way that the officers percieved as possibly being harmful to the fish more than what was needed to unhook and release the fish, that could be seen as "taking". I highly doubt a judge would talk so openly and negatively about the officers since a good portion of the money they make is from judging cases involving people arrested or ticketed by those "country boys". By the sounds of it I'm guessing the lawyer you talked to was a defense lawyer. They get paid to fight for you, so if they can convince you that you can beat a ticket they might be able to make some money fighting your case. One thing about the laws, they are not black and white, they are flexible and can be interpreted in different ways by different people. Do some officers try to stretch it a little to far? sometimes, yes. It sounds to me like what you were doing could be seen as breaking that law, but it is well within your rights to fight the ticket and I think you may have a chance to beat it with the information you've given. Not all officers are "dicks" either. I've been in law enforcement for a fairly short time, only about 5 years now. Are there some people on power trips in law enforcement? sure, but there's a lot more people who are really good guys and gals that are just doing their job and trying to feed their families on a pretty small income. You'll find people that aren't the most moral people in any line of work. How many times have you heard about someone at a restuarant doing someting less than tasteful to someones food? It just doesn't get as blown up as when an officer does something wrong because more is expected of them.

I've been to Canada and Minnesota trying to catch a Muskie but every muskie I've ever caught came from MO. I've only fished for them twice at Pomme and caught one and lost one. I've been to Hazel Creek for them 3 times and caught 2 and lost another that I saw and a couple fish that I didn't see so can't say for sure they were muskies. I'm thinking that's a pretty good average for "the fish of 10,000 casts?" Planning on going back to Pomme this fall and maybe Hazel Creek too so I can try to finally get a legal sized muskie just so I can say I caught one big enough to be a keeper, even though I'd be putting it back.

Thanks for the welcome guys! Ness-I'm also from Shawnee, right off I-35 and Johnson drive pretty much.