Mike Worley

I have so far tried to stay neural on the question of stocking striped bass in Bull Shoals. The numbers that are proposed are quite small 22,000 2"ers every other year starting next year. The stripers that are in the lake now are nearing the end of their life span and are 30-50LB'ers. I believe the life expectancy is 10-15 years. The fact that stripers are about the only way to control the gizzard shad population which does need to be controlled is one of the considerations that makes this an option. The lake biologists from both states are far better educated persons than I am. I have heard many things about why this proposed stocking program would be bad for the lake but most of it would not seem to apply to the small numbers of fish that are being proposed. I'm quite sure the biologists did not just wake up one day and decide to stock striped bass into the lake for some unknown reason. These biologist have spent many years studying the Eco system of the lake and just the fact that they asked for input before stocking shows that they do care about the anglers who use the lake. I for one think they do a pretty good job of managing the lake and I don't think they are going to do anything that will damage the fishery.

I rigged the "Bama" or "A-rig" I used offset worm hooks & twister tail grubs rigged Texas style. Mainly because it is lighter than using the jigs and seems to have more action. I have tried the small & larger version of the "Bama Rig" with 3"-4" grubs and it all seems to work, I like the 4"ers on 3/0 hooks but I'm a big bait guy. After reading all the conterversly on the Missouri # of hooks rule I have optied for replacing 2 of the hooks with #4 colorado spinner blades when fishing Missouri water.

Gerry's Quik stop (870-492-5141) in Moutain Home carrys a knock off called "Bama Rig". Cost is about $10, they come in two sizes. I think the regular "Alabama rig" retails for about $25.

The walleyes are biting on BSL in shallow water (<10') We've be catching a few good sized walleyes on stickbaits. The real surprise is the new "Hot" technique that's really been working on BSL this winter. It's had the bass fishing world really going it's a weird looking contraption called a "Alabama Rig" or a "Bama rig" It looks similar to a "Umbrella rig" that striper fishermen have been trolling for many years but it's been modified for casting. It has 5 arms about 3"-5" long with snap swivels attached to clip on the baits. When slow rolled like a spinner bait it looks like a small school of shad moving though the water. Thursday was the first time I tried the "Bama" rig it took one cast to make a believer out of me with a 35-40 pound striped bass on that cast at about 1 PM. Later in the day we tried it again and caught a 19" walleye on it and a 21 incher on a stickbait. I had to make some adjustments in my rod & line set up to fish the "Bama" rig and tried it out yesterday afternoon. We tried suspending sticbaits, jigs, spoons & the "Bama rig". Nothing caught anything except the "Bama rig" which put a couple nice walleyes in the boat and a couple of others that got off before being netted. The ones that got off I think were due to my fishing partners rod & line set up. It takes a rod with lots of backbone and some pretty heavy braid to make it work right. I went to a 7' Xtra heavy action rod & 50# braid which seems to be about right for rigging with 4" twister tailed grubs on 3/0 worm hooks. Both days we saw other boats fishing the "Bama rig" so it's really becoming popular on Bull Shoals.

I called the Luck E Strike company and asked about the hook & split rings. The guy I talked to said the hook was a Eagle Claw FL934BPM6 (light wire hook) He said he was aware of the weak split ring problem and that the latest version had a upgraded split ring that should be stronger. So far I haven't been able to locate that hook but I think I will buy some of the Megabass replacement hooks from Red's. The split ring looks like a size #1 or #2. When I changed out the hook & ring on the lure I used a reloading powder scale and found a combination that weighed about 1 grain heavier which didn't seem to affect the lures action.

The RC STX has been working for me on BSL for walleyes. I have had to replace the front hook & split ring after catchuing a 4 LBer that really clobbered the lure. I had a tuff time finding a hook & split ring that weighed the same but got one within 1 grain which held up to a couple of walleyes yesterday. Does anyone know what brand of hook Luck E Strike is using on this bait?

We fished out of Diamond City yesterday and had a great day with beautiful weather and a pretty decent bite for several species on several techniques. We started about 10 AM with jigging spoons catching about a dozen bass. We switched over around mid day to crappie jigs and caught a few nice sized crappie over brush piles. Later in the day when the wind picked up we switched to stickbaits and caught a nice 22"+ walleye. Heres a copy of the fishing report I sent to the AGFC. Water surface temp is low- mid 50's. Due to colder air temps some areas are very foggy early in the morning so becarefull about boating early in the day. Jigging spoons are still catching a mixed bag of black & white bass and a few crappie in the 30'-50' depths. Walleyes have been moving shallow and can be caught on suspending stickbaits on points & in coves. Crappie are suspended over brush piles and around standing timber along bluff banks and are bitting well on jigs & minnows. Crawfish colored jigs & crankbaits are catching smallmouth bass & spotted bass in shallow water....................Mik Worley (www.bullshoalsfishing.com)

We are still catching white bass from Bear creek down to Bull Shoals dam. We have a few days that we don't but most days they seem to be out on the flat points in about 30'-60'. Jigging spoons in white or chartruse seem to be the best baits. The whites are moving to the back of the creeks after the shad. The middle & lower end of the lake seemed to have a pretty decent population of white bass this year. The theory of high shad populations = low white bass populations is interesting. When we are catching white bass some days we catch a mixture of year classes from little 6"ers up to jumbo 4+LBers. While I don't think the whites have bounced back to the numbers we had in the 90's they have really improved over the slump we had a few years back.

I fished in the pt 16-17 area Wednesday afternoon with spoons & stick baits we caught some bass on both baits but most were short fish. We stopped and talked to a friend who was spooning half way back in a creek who had a nice 21+" walleye & a 3 lb+ KY. The water temp was 58 degrees and was discolored at the Welcome ridge ramp. I've been hearing the striper's are up & biting but we didn't find them that day. The next two days I fished with Bill Struthers out of Tucker Hollow the water was much clearer and cooler at about 50-53 degrees. Thursday we spent most of the day spooning out on the flats and caught about 30 fish a mixed bag of whites, blacks, walleyes, yellow perch & drum. We tried crappie fishing and caught a few on jigs over brush pile and in the standing timber along a bluff. The next day we just mostly fished for crappies and were able to catch about 15 with jigs & minnows with 7 (keeper crappies) and some bass. Late in the day we tried spooning again but the weather had cooled and the spoon bite wasn't working but we did catch a pretty big yellow perch on a jig & crawler before we came in.

I fished with a couple of friends (Bill Struthers & Lee Brown) in the Tucker Hollow area Tuesday and found the spoon bite and B/B crawler rigs to be productive. We caught a mixed bag of walleyes, bass, white bass, crappies & yellow perch. We caught a nice 22" walleye pitching a 1 oz jigging spoon along a bluff wall in about 10'-15' and a 21"er about 30' deep on a crawler rig. We also caught walleyes, crappie & Bass on the B/B crawler rigs anywhere from 20'-40'. Some points had walleyes pretty shallow that would hit spoons worked from the bank out to about 30'. We tried crappie fishing with jigs & minnows along a bluff and on a couple of brush piles but only caught a few small bass with most of the crappies being caught on jigging spoons about 30'-40'.

I fished the Diamond City area several times in the last few weeks and found the bass bite to be pretty good. While we were fishing for walleyes we caught some 3-4 pound bass on jigging spoons as well as some walleyes in the same weight class. Each day I talked to other fishermen at the ramp that were catching bass on spinner baits, hula grubs, tube baits etc. The last day I fished out of Diamond city was 10/16/11 we caught mostly bass (LM & KY) on the spoons with white & chartreuseuse or chartreuseuse being the productive colors in 30'-40' on flat points. Many of the local bass guys were catching bass on spinner baits worked over the brush piles. While the bite was not red hot it wasn't dead either. BSL has a lot of shad schools right now so the fish aren't really in the chase mode but they will take a easy offering like a larger spoon worked a long the bottom or a jig crawled on a flat point. Bottom bouncer & crawler rigs were also catching fish of all species but early morning spoon bite has been the most productive. Trolling crank baits did not work well on that day. We fished the point 12 - 18 area on 10/14/11 and again caught several keeper walleyes on the same spooning & B/B patterns with a 20"er on a spoon in 10'-15' of water on a drop off so at least some walleyes have moved shallow.

John, Bull Shoals is in the "turn over" stage right now, hopefully this cold snap will have helped it along and the fall bite will be improving. I fished the Diamond City area several times in the last few weeks and found the bass bite to be pretty good. While we were fishing for walleyes we caught some 3-4 pound bass on jigging spoons as well as some walleyes in the same weight class. Each day I talked to other fishermen at the ramp that were catching bass on spinner baits, hula grubs, tube baits etc. The last day I fished out of Diamond city was 10/16/11 we caught mostly bass (LM & KY) on the spoons with white & chartreuse or chartreuse being the productive colors in 30'-40' on flat points. Many of the local bass guys were catching bass on spinner baits worked over the brush piles. While the bite was not red hot it wasn't dead either. BSL has a lot of shad schools right now so the fish aren't really in the chase mode but they will take a easy offering like a larger spoon worked a long the bottom or a jig crawled on a flat point.

Water temperature is 70 degrees and lake level is 652. Walleyes are from 10'-50' and are being caught on jigging spoons, botom bouncers with crawler rigs and trolled crankbaits. Bass are 5'-40' and are biting on spinner baits, Hula grubs, tube baits & jigging spoons. Crappie can be found in the standing trees along bluff walls as well as brush piles and are being caught on jigs & spoons. Large Bluegills are 5'-35' and are biting on worms, spoons & grubs...................Mike Worley(www.bullshoalsfishing.com)

I've been using 1 OZ spoons in white or white / chartruse. Fle-Fly, War Eagle, Manolure or Binks will all catch fish. The walleyes seem to prefer about a 3" long shad and the crappies are biting the same spoons.

Every fall the shad start moving into the creek arms and the game fish go into the feeding mode. That shad migration is going on now. Walleyes, crappie & bass are biting. Jigging spoons, bottom bouncer / crawler rigs and crank baits fished in the 30'-40' depth range are catching walleyes. Crappie are holding over brush piles and biting jigging spoons, jigs & minnows. Bass can be found shallower and are biting on shad & crawfish type lures as well as jigging spoons. This past week or so I have fished in the Diamond City & Oakland areas and found the bite to be good. Don't expect limit catches every day but there are plenty good size fish being caught.

eyecrazy, you might want to reproof read your post since today is October 9. I fished this past week several days out of Diamond City and found the early morning spoon bite to be pretty good with walleyes biting around the outside of brush piles and on the end of points in about 32'-40'. The bottom bouncers produced lots of large bluegills, catfish & bass but we didn't catch walleyes on them. I will be fishing the Oakland area this coming week and will be trying some leadcore trolling as well as the spoons.

lake level is back to normal (654') and fishing is good. Walleyes are biting well on jigging spoons and nightcrawler rigs fished on bottom bouncers in 30'-50' . Crappie are biting well on jigs fished about 10'-20' down over brushpiles. Bass are biting on tube jigs & Hula grubs fished shallow out to about 30'. Shad type crank baits trolled on lead core line is working on walleyes & bass 30' -50' and large bluegills are also biting on night crawlers......................Mike Worley(www.bullshoalsfishing.com)

We fished yesterday in the Oakland area and found the overall fishing to be pretty good with about 10-12 walleyes caught(4 keepers) In a full day of fishing we saw only one dead walleye(which IMHO would be pretty normal for this time of year) Here is a copy of my fishing report for AGFC. Water temperature has cooled to mid 70's and we have recived several inches of much needed rain. Lake level is 659' (4' above normal power pool) and launch ramps & marinas are back in operation. Jigging spoons are catching a mixed bag of fish 25' - 50' deep. Night crawler rigs fished on bottom bouncers are catching walleyes, bass, bluegills & catfish about 40' deep. Bass are also being caught on top water lures, crank baits and spinner baits in shallow water and jigs on points and drop offs..........................Mike Worley (www.bullshoalsfishing.com)

I have fished the point 3 to point 16 area several times in the past week. I did see a few dead fish in those areas, but only a few. A couple of stripers and 4 or 5 walleyes over the course of about 4 days of fishing with most of them floating in the point 7 to point 12 area. let's hope that the cooler weather and rain will help.

We fished lower end of the lake Friday & Saturday. Friday from 7 AM - 4 PM jigging spoons caught a mixed bag of fish from 25' - 42' we also caught fish on Shad Raps fished on leadcore and B/B crawler rigs. We caught about a dozen walleyes with 3 being keepers and a 5 pound channel catfish that bit a Flicker Shad and quite a few large bluegills that bit on all three techniques. Saturday was a good day also, we fished a half day 7 AM- noon 22 keeper fish caught on jigging spoons and B/B crawler rigs. We caught white bass about 40' deep and the walleyes seemed to prefer the 28'-32' range with 3 out of 4 being keepers.

We fished a half day in the point 5 area Monday. Starting with trolling crank baits 15'-20' deep which caught 5 walleyes and a couple bass. The east wind kicked up about mid-morning which made bottom bouncing a little tough but we caught a few more walleye,bass & bluegills on them with crawler rigs and caught a couple walleyes on jigging spoons & split shotted nightcrawlers on a 30+' deep brush pile.(IMHO) Overall the fishing seems to be pretty good on all areas of the lake with fish scattered though out the watter column from about 15' down to 35' and biting on several types of techniques and lures.

I think 2011 has been pretty darn far from a "HORRIBLE YEAR" overall. With most days seeing some pretty good catches of walleyes, really large bluegills, white bass , yellow perch & striped bass. Bull Shoals Lake is loaded with fish right now. It also is a lake that changes almost everyday and can be a real challenge to stay on the fish. This past week we saw walleyes drop into the 40' range and come back up into the 20's. Tuesday we fished in the point 16-18 area and started the day out with a nice 20+"er on a 42' brush pile on a jigging spoon and found that the fish just got shallower as the day went on. We caught about 12-15 walleyes and a couple dozen half pound bluegills had two fish hooked that broke off after hard runs and ended up with 6 nice keeper walleyes up to 25" and a overall sack of fish in the 25-30 pound range. The 25"er came on a B/B crawler rig in 24' FOW and most of the fish we caught were in about 26'-28' FOW. We found some really large schools of walleyes that ignored the crawler rigs but would just clobber a jigging spoon in the middle of the day and other schools that went the other way and attacked the crawler rig. Not every spot we fished was holding walleyes but the points that had the current on them were the better areas to fish.

We did not have the bimini top with us that day (wish I did) it really got hot. But I do remember seeing a gray Lund trolling that area. Were you trolling the big 800 Reef Runners?

We fished out of Tucker Hollow Wenesday morning about 6:30AM. We found walleyes on the flats at about 32' and tried jigging spoons for a while with no bites. We switched to B/B crawler rigs and did much better with 6 nice keepers by noon. We also caught about six very small walleyes which shows that the spawn / stocking this year was a good one. After the sun got up pretty high the walleyes moved out into about 35'-38'.

Q: Whats the best day to go fishing? A: The day you can go! IMHO any wind is better than no wind, but any wind direction other than east or north east is better. A slowly falling barometer is better than rising one. Full or dark moon periods mean fish are more active later in the day.