techo

No fish in Aunts Creek area. You are going to want to head over to Shell Knob area. They bite like crazy there and most go well over six pounds.

I was a viewer too, but not in the market for a boat. I am selling a motorcycle that is kind of slow with the icy roads. I think it is that time of the year. Maybe you should throw in GPS coordinates to that 7 pounder?

Thats my area. No fish there! Seriously you can fish from the bank practically!

I purchased the BPS 100 MPH for my wife for Christmas. They keep you warm and dry. I hope the weather warms up soon as I am spending way too much time on the forums!

You might have better luck with responses in the Table Rock section, but I bet a bunch of guys will pitch in here anyway. It is a common thread this time of year. It is going to be fun this year I think. I am not sure where you are coming from, how much time you are spending, where you are fishing and so on....but if you are going to spend the money to do a Table Rock trip...then a half day guide would be well worth the investment. Table Rock is a different beast and most tourney guys either love it or hate it! Most actually hate it. What you are fishing for is kind of important too. When I take the kids or a friend and his kids I just like to catch fish and don't care about size much. You can catch a ton of little Kentuckys most anytime. When I fish by myself or with another guy who is looking for big ones then it is a pain to keep taking off the little Ks and we would fish a little different. With all of that being said. Stick baits will probably rule. Many discussions on color. I like shad colors because I try to match the bait. Hopefully Bill and the stickbait experts will pitch in on this part. That early it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a white tube tied on, a white grub on a jig head, a top water (I hope) like a red fin or spook and I never ever ever go anywhere on Table Rock without an Eakins style jig with a double tailed grub on there. Two colors for the most part on Table Rock are green and brown. I think in the spring white isn't bad. Most use watermelon or pumpkin seed. Year round the shaky head and the C-rigged fish doctor usually catch something. Same brown and green colors. If you post where you are fishing at...on occasion I and others have actually PMed a few of our favorite spots for visitors not fishing tournaments.

That is a challenging question and the answer in my opinion is it depends. Personal preference and confidence are going to be the main two factors. EXAMPLE: I use a great number of double tailed grubs. BPS makes some and they are more durable than my other two choices, but not as much action. So if I am taking the wife or kids fishing and I want them to catch more than me I use the Bass Pro XPS stuff. If the bass are particulary agressive or the blue gill are pecking away at my stuf, but we are having fun.....we use the Bass Pro XPS. If the bass are finicky or I am in a tournament....Chompers or Yamamoto grubs for me. They just have more action as they are softer, but they are not as durable. Jigs are the same way. I stick with Eakins and some Chompers because I have confidence in them. There is a guy that makes jigs up by LOZ that had offered to sponsor me, but I catch fish on the Eakins so I passed it up. He probably makes just as good of a jig as Eakins, but the confidence is there for me on what I have been using. I don't think any one company makes the best of everything and I would hesitate buying because it had their brand on it. BPS does have some good stuff though! I stop by their store every week. Seems daily here lately as I have the fishing bug bad, but am too cold blooded to go catch a seven pounder like Jessary.

Welcome to the OAF Family.

Sorry about your brother. Glad you are on here as it will give us another brain to pick on those Table Rock bass, Welcome to the OAF Family.

I concur!

We have had the fishing line discussion on here many times. I have been a Maxima user for years and everytime I try another brand or type, I end up back with Maxima. With that in mind I keep two reels with flourocarbon on them, because they have different characteristics. An example would be when I want to get deep a little faster without getting too heavy on the tackle or when using jerkbaits. The bottom line (pun intended) is to use whatever you have confidence in.

I forgot about Buster. Nice of a guy as you can meet. We use the same ramps a lot of the time. Captain Joe Hreha has has a great reputation. I really need to keep a list.

Man o man! I really want to go, but there is no way of telling if I can be of work on time. I would go for the company though not the food as we are on a pretty strict diet right now. Im surprised everyone hasnt filled this up already.

Any big tour that comes into our area causes havoc and makes it a bit uncomfortable. I would rather fish with anyone on here before them, but I had fun at the weighouts and visiting with people. I am still glad they come. I know there is always something or someone that throws a bad shadow though. An example would be apartment buildings and trailer courts. They aren't bad people, but there is a high concentration of people in a smaller area so it seems like they commit more crimes. Another example is the Champion boat tournament where a few Champion owners acted like they owned the lake and parked blocking the natural driving area on the Mill Creek ramp. Another example is at an AIA tourney where a boat cut right in front of me as I was about 25 yards from a point trolling up to fish and he took the point. Not all Champion owners are thoughtless, not all apartment dwellars and trailer court residents commit crimes and I don't have a strong feeling of violence toward all AIA tourney guys. There is this one Triton owner......never mind. Guess I am trying to say the actions of a few should never be stretched to include all. Some are divas and some are pretty nice family guys. I hope it all goes well, but I know it won't.

Details please? Sweet fish!

I can speak from experience about Bill Babler. He will take you out and be your guide or take you out and teach you a little bit about Table Rock and what to look for so you are more successful in the future. Captain Don House and Eric Prey are two really nice guys that are pretty successful fisherman and guides too. I have never fished with Bill Beck (really want to), but he can catch fish anywhere. It is rumored he is part bass himself. There are a bunch of guys on here that post pretty regular. I wish I could always remember everyone when one of these questions come up. They share their knowledge because they want people to have a successful fishing adventure. I would think that is one pretty important requirement to a fun day on the lake.

I would like to see them. I plan on attending, but it depends on what happens at work.

I (as some of you are sorely aware) fish left handed. For the very reason you stated. I fished spinning reels first for a long time. It is hard to argue the benefit of it for fishing when you watch the Pros casting, but I cast and reel. I don't cast, switch hands and then reel. It would be like drawing my gun with my let hand, switching hands and then shooting. I wonder how it ever ended up like that? The nice thing about fishing left handed with a baitcaster, beside the above stated reason, is you often get better discounts on reels. The downside is less variety. Tacklewarehouse only carries one gear ratio on the Curados for lefties.

Table Rock is a little different....and I don't know why. I fished Rainy Lake for about ten years. It is a deep clear lake too. I even did a little guiding and won some tournaments. I also fished Alaska pretty hard, a different situation there though. I fished Table Rock hard for a year with limited success. I would highly recommend grabbing a guide for a half day. There are a bunch on here with great reputations. It will make the vacation way more enjoyable. Bill Babler is well known for his jerk bait skill and is even giving a seminar on the technique. Don House, Bill Beck, Eric Prey and a bunch I am missing would be great too.

Ouch! Funny thing is that every year I look at a faster newer boat. Last year I was even approved for loans at two dealerships before I chickened out on buying a boat that cost more than my pickup truck and more than the first two houses we owned. I fall into those categories every year asking most of those very questions, but always talk myself out of it.......so far! Why is the price point so high if they are having that much trouble staying afloat?

I received the Bass Pro letter again this year. My wife has caught me hiding in the bathroom reading the catalog. I feel better now thanks!

It helped a great deal. I was waffling between going wih another low rider, a St. Croix Mojo or the Bucoo. I finally picked up the Bucoo today. I have a Johnny Morris Signature reel that I picked up from the discount store two years ago. It was still in the box and I have never used it for some reason. The silver reel on that black rod looks awesome. I cut the hook off an old 5/16 Eakins jig that has been beat to almost unrecognizable. I also decided to try some fluorocarbon again and purchased some Seaguar Invis X. The neighbors are used to it by now, but went out in the front yard to try some casting. Whooooooooooeeeeeeee! I can cast into the neighbors planter by their mail box, across the road from the sidewalk right next to my steps. It is SMOOOOOTH and sweet. As I reeled it back in....the jig caught in the neighbors roses a bit and would catch on the grass some. The rod would bend and flex and I could pop the jig back up a bit and work it in. Not sure how it is going to fish, but it looks great and feels great right now. Wife is still a little embarrased about the neighbors watching out the window. I have the same addiction. At times I think it would be a little cheaper to be a drug addict or drunk. I see their quality of life though and am quite happy being obsessed about fishing. If you buy good quality stuff it lasts a long time. I believe these Falcon rods will easily last me fifteen years or more. I have spinning rods and reels that are easily over fifteen years old and working great. If I could keep from stepping on them in the boat or breaking tips off doing stoopid stuff they would last forever. Thanks for the input.

Don't have time for the fantasy stuff, but FLW was in town last year too. The final weigh out was fun and you had the chance to learn about the competitors and their famiy a bit. Highly recommend making it down to the booths and weighouts. I guess I lean more toward BASS, but I read the FLW stuff too. For tournaments....I really enjoy supporting the local ones. I am not near good enough to compete with the big sticks anyway. I can hardly compete with the locals. I really enjoy Anglers in Action. I also have fished Heartlands and they are pretty well run too. I know Eric is running CPA and he is a big supporter and promoter of fishing in general so I have no doubt they are well run too. There are a ton of local charity tournaments that are really fun to do. You usually win something....even if it is small and it is great fun visiting with the local famous fisher people who show up. Heck I even saw Webb get out of his pickup one time (three years ago) at a Cops for Kids tournament and visit with people. I am glad we are well represented in FLW by our fellow Ozarkians. I feel we have the best people in the World right here. Maybe someday I will be good enough to help represent us for FLW or BASS.

Went to BPS to look at stuff today. I saw a Falcon Bucoo rod. Anyone have any or try one? Any reviews?

Oh gosh! None of that helped then did it? The old which rod or reel question is tough. Kind of a Ford/Chevy, Skeeter/Champion kind of question. All are good. I am of course very partial to Falcon rods. They are light, sensitive, durable and great customer service. I have some with Pfleuger Presidents and two with Shimano 51g's. Either rod with a good real would be awesome. I do think with spinning setups, the rod is more important and with baitcast setips the reel is more important. ( That should stir up some conversation.) With that in mind....I would never knock anyone elses rod/reels, because they work for them. I can't remember what the first one I bought was....maybe a very inexpensive Browning at BPS. It was nothing but trouble and frustration. It was way too cheap and not of great quality. I should have went with a better quality combo for sure. I guess what I am trying to say is....no matter what you get try to spend the cash to make it worth it. Sucks to have a $19.99 combo you will never use. I think the BPS Extreme combos are good starters and own four of them. The drawback in my opinion is that the rods tend to be heavier and can tire you faster than a lighter Falcon or St. Croix. (Gary will chime in here!) Ever go to Saylorville Lake there in Iowa? In Johnston there is a small fishing place on Merle Hayes Road just north of the interstate. He is really knowledgeable and can hook you up! I think he really likes Daiwa though. Gary....you know you can cast and hit the eye of a flying seagull at a 100 paces and don't need buckets, but if you do I actually still have them stacked up in my shed as I still practice that way. You are welcome to borrow them anytime.

I was in the same boat ( pun intended) a few years back. I had mostly fished the clear lakes of Minnesota and had never used a baitcaster. I can pretty much skip a bait or do anything with a spinning rod that you can with a baitcaster, or so I thought. Babler took me out and started my schooling and then I fished the AM side of Central Pro/AM one year. I learned that there is a good time for either real quick. I took a bunch of buckets and sat around the yard and cast at them for hours after work. I wouldn't say I am good now, but I can hit a running dog most of the time (wifey still a little miffed). I love my baitcaster now. Well worth the effort!