*T*

There are more than 2 sizes. ?

Oops! That's what I though Mike called it. May have missed that one. Wife tells me my hearing is poor. I thought it was just "selective" hearing.

Think he mentioned RK Crawler 55 - 2 to 5' range. I'm intersted.

Think I will try them.

All of us are not close enough to TRL or other waters to easily, regularly get out on the water, so we spend some enjoyable time "tinkering" with our tackle, for me this includes making adjustments to baits as I like them to be. What works for me may not work for you. Hope your systems work for you. Mine do for me.

Guess I am.

They are hard to deal with but I've changed out the round ones to oval on many/most of my baits. Also this is a great test of patience and dexterity. Often fail at these tests.

Battle tested!

Well, fish a bait & color you have confidence in, and you have had success on the body of water you are currently fishing. Some of my favorites follow.

RC STX baits are very erratic In sink / suspend rates. Some will float regardless of how much you weight them down. I'm done with them.

Nice! Good work!

The contributors to Ozark Anglers use highly classified "codes" when discussing baits, and even when you think you know which ones are being written about, there are often "codes within codes". So be sure to purchase the best selling digest "OA Triple Classified, Covert Bait Guide", now at your local Bait and Tackle, so you know what to tie on the end of your line. Either that or just fish the Varmint.

NOTE: Effective July 1, 2015, the Wildlife Code of Missouri requires hunters, anglers, and trappers to carry either a signed hard copy or an electronically signed digital copy of the prescribed permit with them while actively engaged in hunting, fishing, or trapping. The signed paper or digital copy of the permit should then be exhibited to any officer charged with the enforcement of this Code upon request, or to any transportation company or postal employee when presenting wildlife for shipment. After harvesting a deer or turkey it is still necessary to immediately notch the month and date of harvest on your permit, which you can now do within the MO Hunting application. You must telecheck your harvest by 10:00 pm on the day of harvest, or prior to being removed from the state, and record the Telecheck confirmation number on your voided permit.

Being age 65 does not cover Trout Stamp though. You would still need to purchase that if pursuing those slick fishes in Missouri waters, other than trout parks.

I dont think you need those paper/plastic tags for deer or turkey either if you're using phone app as long as you immediately notch your tag and telecheck, both through the app. For my archery deer this year I did just that. No tag on deer. App shows time & date of notching & telecheck as well as what was checked, doe, button or antlered buck.

Really good report! Thanks. If folks really pay attention to this, well, those fish may be in trouble. Can't over emphasize how "dead sticking" or super slow motion with baits on this lake can make all the difference. I just need to get with that program. Fished a couple 6 hour days recently but was "hooked" on jerk bait and jig bite. One day only jerk bait bite with dozen or so fish, 5 keepers, biggest approaching 4#, and next day (different part of lake) only jig bite. No huge numbers, but spring like weather made it worth while. Good luck out there.

Been some years since I fished that but those sections hold some quality browns & rainbows. Need to get back out there.

Well there's a bigger world out there than the one your living In.

Here's another bad dude. Worse than you might think. Mosquito bites result in the deaths of more than 1 million people every year.

For me on Fri./Sat a guess at baits used, jerk bait 60%, jig 20%, crank bait 15% & Ned/spoon/swim bait 5% or less.

Brother and I put in at Baxter Friday. Fished up to Campbell Point. Good wind. 9 fish/4 keepers, largest 3-1/2#. 4 Smallmouth AM - 1 spot & 4 LM PM. 2 keepers on crankbait (RK Crawler & Suspending Shadrap) slow winding, 2 on jerkbait (Lucky Craft & Megabass) dead stop/long pause, mostly windblown channel banks or points. Largest was on Megabass in 2-3 ft water. Fun but slow 7 hr. day. Worked hard for that bite. Saturday State Park ramp. Little to no wind and you know what that can mean. 1 missed bite in 4-1/2 hrs. Could not find them or get bite going. Briefly tried spooning deep fish. No love there. Back in couple of weeks depending on weather.

Emails sent!

Every time these color discussions come up I wonder about, but am not sure about, a couple of things. How do the eyes of bass perceive color? Are they receptive to wavelengths in any way similar to humans. Even people see the same colors differently. And, underwater, at different depths and in different water clarity conditions, how are reflected colors there distorted from the colors we see out of the water in daylight viewing. I'm sure you've seen how images from photos or pics on computers can show color inaccurately. Got to say, it's great to see these artful skills of you folks who paint up baits. And if it ups your confidence when fishing, it's a good thing.

Let me know how that goes. I'm 67-2/3 right now. 68 may be too late. Do ya' think 4 months is enough time to succeed with that?