Feathers and Fins

We hunt in the Ozarks an area not well known for waterfowl(thanks God) Our lakes, rivers and creeks combined with golf courses and farmponds, do in fact hold large and diverse amounts and species of waterfowl. That being said though we just like everyplace else areaffected by Mother Nature but also the demand for water and power, both ofwhich dictate how well our seasons will be. On a good year our lakes are down duringthe Winter and we have Mudflats that are feeding zones for waterfowl. This yearthe lakes were up so they didn’t hold near the numbers as normal. Combine thatwith way above normal weather temps and conditions across the country it’s easyto see why this year was an off year. Hunting the Big Waters require IMO a lot more Hunteradaptability then it takes to hunt other area. Lets face it some of our mainlake points as an example can go from “0’’ ft to 30ft just 10 ft from shore andunless you know how to hunt deep water you will not be productive. High winds equal danger on the big lakes in ahurry and then there is the fun of not having a ton of managed food sources. So sure we have a tougher spot to hunt, but those tougherareas sometimes are more productive them the best managed areas. But on the same token how many guys who hunttimber or the delta or WMA’s have a chance commonly we do of so manyspecies? Good and Bad points with OzarkLake hunting and definitely a different breed of hunter. I know guys who wouldgive their right arm for a chance at taking Goldeneye or Hooded Mergansers or a6 bird limit of different species. Yet we have it at our back door. These are some pics from the last few years, Diversity of species we have for sure: Canada Geese Redheads, Scaulp, Gadwall, Ruddy and Bufflehead Bufflehead, Goldeneye, Scaulp and Ringneck and yes we have mallards And pretty woodies But here is something I have to laugh about. Most guys haveto drive 1 or 2 hours to hunt or they have assigned blinds or limited amount of area to hunt. Look at Beaver,Tablerock, Taney, Bull, Norfolk and Greers. That’s a lot more area to hunt thenmost guys have in other areas and for us we can be launched 3 minutes from ourfront door or make the drive to try a new area. And we also have a blessingthat if we limit (on a normal year ) early we have some of the finest fishingwaters in the country to stay out on for the rest of the day. Ok so it was not the best year, but there is next year stilland ill look forward to it.

Beaver is a Interesting Lake. It can hold dang near any species at any time. Its a sleeper for Divers many guys really dont understand how blessed we are in NWAR and SWMO with our big lakes and the Divers on them. But unlike alot of the Northern State Lakes we have a TON of puddlers to go with them. Tack on Snows, Honkers and Specks and these lakes could be classified as Sleeper Duck spots.

Its been strange for sure. I havent seen any Cans or Redheads this year and thats not normal. Then on the flip side I have seen thousands of Scaulp and Ruddys. Geese well I can get them anytime out but they are resident no migration geese for honkers anyway. I hope next year gets back to normal.

Sounds like you had a good day, Much better than most people have had this year. Way to go.

Best for me starts with toasting bread. Then make it into crumbs and place it in a ziplock bag. Then Ill add any number of McCormicks seasonings to the bag about 1/2 a bottle to the mix. Dip the fish in a Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Egg and Milk, then place them in the bag and shake. Pull them back out and re-dip then back in the bag... After that place fry them up no more than 3 minutes, I honestly beleive people over cook fish.

Managed 1 Greenhead and a pair of mature Hoodies They will be going on the wall mated pair... In other news The cold front is gone and so are the birds Duane you didnt miss a thing they bugged out apparently last night because the thousands that were there were gone today... Man im so through with this season time to start picking on the Stipers again unless a miracle happens and the north gets 12ft of snow and everything freeze's out before the close of season... Im thinking next weekend I either pick on stripers or walley...

Without a doubt Salt makes you do strange things.. I mean really Using a KITE for fishing! Oh kites work on stripers and Musky...

Havent used it out here Jeb., In FL we trolled them most the time at 12 knots for wahoo, for Tuna and others about 5 to 8 knots and Jacks as slow as the boat would go.. When i used them on inshore fish like Flounder and Pompano I drifted them with slow and close to the bottom. Im not sure how castable it would be never tried or thought about it. I suppose more of a bend on the arms and shortening them and it would be nothnig more than a 2 arm A-Rig. hmmm

I dont put much stock in the bird counts and population numbers of Divers, they are a hard bird to spot from the air let alone get accurate counts of. I was reading an article a few years back where a winter count on Catahoula and Mississippi Pools 7 8 9 were conducted within the same week and the numbers were close to 1.5 million Cans, That tells me there are probably alot more cans then USFW suggest.

Yes there are stripers on the Rock, Mostly concentrated around areas where Trout enter the lake. Do Not expect to go out and catch them without putting in a-lot of time and cast, Think about where the Arkansas State Record came from? That is technically Tablerock Lake. People forget the Upper White below Beaver is connected to TR, in flood years some stripers go over the dam and thus make it into TR.

They knew i swear they knew i was limited... All were wall worthy

Ive been on Beaver scouting most the morning for tomorrow and watched about 30 flights going southwest. Father-in-law says the numbers have really increased the last 2 days at the house in sear im thinking the last weekend of Feb might be a good bet if weather permits. Scaup numbers on the Rodent went through the roof from Wend to today, Some nice rafts of Canvasback and Redheads as well but the Scaulp numbers are just unreal. Ill post a picture in a minute of one group that swam right into me. How they knew i was limited i dont know. First time in a long time i was limited by 8am 2 Scaup 4 mallards. I wish i would have waited had a group of Cans come blowing past me at Warp 8.5 and some hoodies. The islands around 12 bridge are loaded right now.

Know clue Jeb, thats what we called it off the Treasure Coast, noone sold it just made them. My best catch on one (at least to me ) was 3 big pompano at one time, not my biggest fish on it but great eating.

8" From the swivels to the baits.. I run no line leaders just 20lbs from the reel to the rig very simple set up unless you get several large tuna or jacks on it at one time. There is tons of things designed for Ocean fishing i use in freshwater. I think mostly freshwater fishermen have no clue about half the things saltwater anglers do and the salt boys dont hink of using them in freshwater.

Yellow and Black, Panther Martin Crappie Jigs White rooster Tails Thats my 3 lures i use when i lure fish.

Ok so what is a good Saturday for everyone then?

Marty I post on two others 1 i post on just to get a rise out of people because it is what you said, the other is a group of guys ive known a long time, its a small site mostly from around the central and mississippi flyways we tourment each other to no end but in the end we would give the shirts off our backs to each other. Most the other sites ive viewed if you are not part of the clique or agree with the owner and mods you are banned or treated by abuse and they allow it. I like it here as well its more of guys just shooting the breeze and enjoying talking to eachother.

Im a little confused by your last sentance! I do not beleive it makes anyone a better angler, It is IMO another tool in the bag or its case luggage case, Does it improve odds? Possibly does it make the angler better? That i doubt. A good angler IMO is one who can read the water, read the geography of shore and relate it to the water, read the birds and understand the affects of weather and current on fish. Then put it all togeather to catch the target species of fish. And then have the memory to remember it and put it togeather on any given body of water when the conditions and geography present itself for a consistant ability to catch fish on any given body of water. The good angler has the memory of a elephant and the ability to change like a chameleon and the brains of Einstein to put it all togeather.

Cull you bring up a good thing... Running a LARGE profile bait through cover is going to end up making the angler a Donater to the lakes Christmas Tree decoration division. Of the methods you listed the fishing the worm or grub in timber takes far more skill then drop shoting. Seriously how much skill is it to set a graph sensitivity high and send a bait down to the fish and watch them come get it. You are using electronics not skill to catch the fish. Slow rolling 5 hooks or 1 hooked baits stil has some skill involved. I liken this conversation to ones ive seen where guys complain about a guy using a stick bait with 3 treble hooks vs them and the single hooked worm. The ultimate skill fishing IMO and this is only IMO is to go after fish with line you know is below the weight class of the fish you are after using barbless hooks. Luck is getting the bite, Skill is landing the fish when the angler is outclassed in line lbs test rating. I know alot of bass anglers who can catch a bass on 50lbs braid but take them after say Stipers or Tarpon using 12lbs line and they will loose a vast majority of the fish as they do not have skill needed to play the fish and take their time. I was one of those guys at one time. I got my rear end handed to me but luckily had a great teacher and when I boated my first tripple digit tarpon on 12lbs i was hooked for life on light line addiction. It took me over a year to learn how to play the fish and play it to get it to the boat but still alive enough for release and that is skill only a good teacher can teach and a willing student can learn IMO.

Without Shocking data I cant really comment based on my fishing experiances on Beaver and Bull. Both I do well on, You are looking for Opinion and mine is they both have good days and bad but only by a scientific gather process can we know what each lake truly has to offer in real terms. I got in this arguement years before the internet about the California lakes and when shocking was done on them people were SHOCKED at the size and numbers of the bass in lakes with and without striper. The simple truth is as a single fishermen we have bad days and good days and are inclined to be opinionated toward the species we want to pursue most. Im a General Fisherman I like catching them all. I do target stripers mostly now simply because I get giggles out of catching 30lbs fish on the lightest gear possible. I still go after all species depending on whats running best. I look at the entire picture and scope of things and do so without my own wishes involved as that Biases me to possibly seeing the big picture truth. Truth may well be Both Beaver and Bull support an excellant population of bass but do to the size of those lakes people will never understand the population's true size. I also look to what i see and hear people talk about catching and Both lakes I have heard have tough days and great days. I have caught 6 and even an 8lb LMB on beaver and a SMB to 4lbs in good enough numbers to make me beleive Beaver is healthy.

Its been a few years since I built one but with the other thread going I figured i would build one and post it.. Took me 5 minutes to build it and that includes gutting the wire and taking pictures. Anyway here it is. Swivels All you will need to build it Pass the wire through the swivel and bend around Repeat procedure for each end and then attach a snap only in the center then attach a snap swivel to it Finished Product. You dont get simple at this, Then just run your lures 8 inches off the snap, I use the snaps for quick change outs of baits that are pre-leadered.

C-Rigging is simple, Use to do it for Jacks all the time. Use a 5/0 Ball Barring Swivel, stick a number 24 wire through it and wrap it around the eye of the swivel, then cut the wire off at 13 inches from center. Put a Snap swivel on the end of each arm and one in center and your done. I liked the snap swivel as it aloud me fast change outs of baits.. works on stripers, suck on Tuna them dam things destroyed many of mine.

I never mentioned tournaments I stated "sporting" Tournaments do not allow for the use of live bait either Apples to Oranges. Question was is A Alabama rig legal. Answer is Yes within the hook per bait laws. Is sonar sporting the arguement can be made it is not. Is biosonics sp0rting again the arguement could be made its not. Is yanking in a 3 pound fish with 50lbs braided line sporting, again the arguement could be made its not. There are arguments to any use of anything. Tournaments make rules for their tournament the angler must abide by. Some may allow it some may not. But for the general angler if it is legal then so be it. Each tournament will have to decide at the time. Is 5 baits more affective then 1. NOT ALWAYS! A single baitfish swimming outside a bait ball or alone presents a target that gets attacked. A school has numbers and is may not get the same attack.

Sounds to me like Bull should get more Hatchery Fish, I.E. Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Rainbows, Walley and why not some Pike and Musky to go with Stripers and Hybrids. That would boost the economy as well as angler attention. If LMB do not do great why not give anglers a Lake with Multiple Species and of that make it a trophy lake with regs designed to make all those species Trophy size before allowing them to be harvested. I would certainly love to tie into a Giant Laker or Pike or Musky close to home

Sport of catching bass???? Interesting choice of words... Ive got close to $4,000.00 wourth of fish finding gear on my boat and know how to use it, how sporting is that? Seriously within a few hours I can have numerous schools of fish found and even with side scan find some areas with Large fish in them. I know many who would say that has taken the "sport" out of fishing. I as well as many Striper in lakes and Offshore anglers have been using Umbrella rigs for years which is really all this Alabama rig is. Is it affective? Certainly given the right conditions and right presentation. I remember when the rattle trap came out and people were calling in the unfair bait or when large swim baits and baits with scent in them came out, the comments were all the same. One of these days freshwater bass fisherment will learn what a Daisey Chain is and it will be the next BIG THING. If you want sporting try dropping the braided lines and take on bass with 4lb line only with a single lure on it. I would suggest a crappie jig! The idea is to catch fish, they dont always bite though. But sporting goes out the window anytime you fish bass with heavy braid line or just heavy line if you want to look for unfair start there and move on up. Fishing is suppose to be fun and catching fish, as long as the bait is legal who is anyone to pass judgement.