KC Bass Fanatic

Courtesy docks are the primary reason I put transom savers on all my boats I have ever owned. I won't bother with it anymore. If there is a place to safely beach it that is my preference, because...you just never know what kind of shenanigans will be going down on the courtesy dock when you are ready to use it. That said, blocking the RAMP is a much bigger offense than blocking the courtesy dock IMO and will quickly get politely challenged by yours truly.

Made it out for some bass fishing and the bite was still slower than I expected this time of year. That STRONG shallow bite has just never materialized for me. Did catch some really nice fish throwing creature baits on a shaky head on bluff ends and in the pockets of bluffs. Also caught some keepers on secondary points in coves where shad was present - but by far the better quality was out on the main lake, especially the steep banks. I did get out for a few hours of night fishing on Sat night as well, targeting the same general pattern as I found them on Friday and the result was fair. Several 'Pomme' keepers and one 4lber on the bluff ends.

Killer report - thanks Bo. Don't mind me asking, what area of the lake were you fishing? Not asking for spots just general vicinity. Thanks!!

Got out last weekend and the bass bite was slow. Switched to crappie fishing around 8am and had limit of 10+ inch crappie within an hour. Kicked back several keepers between 9-10". Per Shockley's report, they are in ~10' and casting, then SLOWLY winding a jig past the target was key. My best colors were red/chart, silver/red

Floated the upper Niangua a couple weeks ago and had a blast. Several 18 in class fish and just a ton of 14-16 inch. Best bait an 1/8 oz shaky head and gp baby rage craw.

Typically, the bass bite after the lake stabilizes. That doesn't mean it has to get to normal - just a steady draw of water every day. The up/down level with drawing water and rain pouring in makes the bite unbelievably tough.

They are pretty scattered. Been having trouble nailing down any particular pattern. Some in the flooded trees, some deep, some where it used to be dry land...it's tough out there for bass right now.

It's been tough out there with the fluctuating water levels!

I agree with the "take it easy" advice - that road is rough, especially towing.

I have been fishing primarily the 'dam area' so within 3 miles either direction of the dam.

Been a while since I posted here. I own a house on Pomme and I'm down there most weekends from April to November. The last couple weeks have been absolutely awesome. Bass are in full spawn mode and you can pick your poison; some are post spawn, some on beds, others staged to move in. Been catching good numbers on plastics of all kinds drug slowly through spawn areas. Topwater bite is fair as well, with most of the topwater bites being better fish. This past week I was down Thurs-Sat and had great success dragging plastics on secondaries and in spawn pockets. Had the privilege to land (and release) this 7lb beauty who was taken off a bed in 6 fow. Good luck out there.

BPS Kansas City had these on the shelf yesterday....had

Wind was key to our bite and the water up the James has some stain.

Fished a club tournament Sat and another Sun. Sat had 15lbs, Sun 17lbs good for 2nd and 1st respectively. Caught em all on the a-rig in 15-20 fow. Really only had 2 spots that were any good. 6 keepers each day and just a few shorts. We fished a smaller rig with blades (Flash Mob JR) and the small size swimmin flukes. Counted it down 3-5 sec and SLOW rolled it - ticking the bottom. WE threw the heck out of jerk baits as well and never a sniff. Overall a 2 day of total of nearly 33lbs not a bad weekend by any standard. Hats off to our boys that took 1st on Saturday with 22lbs with an 8lb kicker!

Agree with using backing. I use 20lb mono - about 10 yds.

When designed well both work extremely well independently of each other. I use Abu reels almost exclusively. Abu uses magnetic on some models (Revo SX, Revo S) and centrifugal on others (Winch). Both work well. Personally I prefer the magnetic because I like the adjustability on the fly but that is a personal preference. I've never owned a reel with dual systems but I can only imagine that is a positive and not a negative - although I'll add that I'm not sure why you would need both since single braking systems work well on quality reels and have for years. Unfortunately reels are one the things in this world where the old adage "you get what you pay for" tends to hold true. Expect an inferior reel to have an inferior braking system. I'm sure others will chime in here but I'll put my .02 in. (Keep in mind I'm talking normal conditions here, meaning you cast out and don't hit the boat, a tree limb, etc.) Every reel is different. Until you learn how to dial it in, you are going to experience some pro-overruns, no matter what the braking system. Once dialed in, backlash is near zero. For instance, I have multiple Revo SX, I know where the mag brake needs to be for every lure I'm going to throw in every condition. Backlash under normal conditions is nearly non-existent. I've found that the best way to minimize backlash is to find a reel you are comfortable with, learn it inside out, and buy multiples. This is beneficial for a variety of other reasons as well - ease of repair, familiarity of use, etc.

10" Power worm, black grape

Looking for a jon boat w/ a 25HP or rated for 25HP w/ trailer. I'd be interested in a tin boat like a Tracker as well. Clear titles please.

The Owner heads are high quality. I am using them more and more these days.

Tie all my own jigs. Custom jig heads made in small batches from a reliable internet vendor = paint lasts 5x as long. Skirts from skirtsunlimited lets you mix & match colors and match the hatch on the fly. Plus tying your own is about 1/4 the cost of buying one new.

Well I don't know if I'd go that far! I've been bass fishing Pomme for a lot of years so much of what I do at this point is stuff that has worked in the past until I find the patterns working best. Time on the water sure helps! I left out of my report that all my fishing last weekend was from State Park Marina south (Lindley Arm).

Throw 10-12lb fluoro on all my crank bait rods. Seaguar AbrazX and BPS white label have both been good to me for years and hold up good in the Ozark rocks.

From last weekend - bass report: Water temp 63 lake wide. Clarity - 2' pretty much lake wide. Good shallow crank bite early and late. Plastics flipped to stumps getting some quality bites but it's hit and miss. Buzzbait bite early around wood cover. Bite really slowed late morning until late afternoon. Went deeper during that time and caught a few jig & shaky head fish. Best stuff was early/late in <10 fow. Thursday evening/night fished until about an hour after dark had 6 keepers in 2.5 hours, best 5 about 14lb. Friday fished morning until 11 with 5 keepers ~13lb; Friday evening 6 keepers and one lost best 5 ~14lb. No giants for me yet this Fall but solid 2.5-3lb fish were biting. Like I said, caught them a number of ways but my best bite was a med/shallow crank early and late on bluff ends or flats close to deep water. AiA solo pro series was all over the darn lake. They weighed a couple big ones but it only took ~14lbs a day avg Sat/Sun to win. That, coupled with what I was seeing, tells me the best is still yet to come as the water temps fall. Typically once the water temp falls below 60 the shallow crank/spinnerbait/swimbait bite will catch fire for a few weeks with the big girls getting a lot easier to catch. I'm going back this weekend - chasing the dream!

I'm going down tomorrow after work and bass fishing until Sat night. I'll post when I get back.