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DavidB...see my post from today where Bill says it is sticks, sticks, and more sticks. I shall beat myself with a crappie rod for suggesting the heresy of the blade later this evening . I'll be down next week and am planning to fish from the 13 area back to Baxter, maybe up towards Aunts depending. Couldn't tell you if that is the right area, but lots of fish are in there. Usually fish back in the big creeks from the mouth of the James to Cow this time of year, but does not sound like that is the deal.

Almost forgot...if you get over by Beck's place in the next week or 2, I'll be the white 521 Ranger parked across the road at Schooner Creek. Would love to say howdy & thank you personally for all the great info over the years if the chance comes up.

Bill-thanks much, as always. Should be a ton of fun to throw it with all the little bits of leaves, trees, boat docks, & etc coming in. Looking at forecasts I almost had myself talked into jumping on the blade and hitting the back ends of the coves /cuts. Weather channels are going on about massive rainfall and flood warnings for the area...is that accurate? They love to stand on the edge of a cliff and try to push everyone off up here based on a dark cloud. Is it anything close to a warm rain or are you stuck in the 50's? Can't tell I'm getting antsy ticking the last few hours off at work can you?

Would like to hear how anyone fared today. Guessing with the lake coming up we will start to see the stick drop off and the blades and jigs pick up pretty quickly. Also any info on water conditions, debris, etc. Thanks in advance.

Nice work & good luck. Looks like it was T-Rock weather, minus some wind.

To me the Rock is a very "local" lake. Doesn't mean you have to live there to catch some fish, but you do have to be willing to fish what the lake gives you. Example: I remember staying next to some guys who were fishing the NE Fed tmt out of Kimberling three years ago. None of them had any #6 line, and none of them had a smoke grub tied on. Also none of them would consider it when I suggested it. No sweat to me, but Brush Hogs and #20 big game just won't make it here most of the time. As someone who is still learning the lake going into year 13 of fishing it, you have to give up some notions that work other places. I had to learn to speed up when the weather gets bad (cold & wind), the dead opposite of what I was taught and what worked up north. You also have to embrace finesse...after decades of gitzits, grubs, and drop-shots I still have lots of friends who fish Truman, LOZ, Smithville that hate the Rock b/c it is clear and requires finesse work. We all have our preferences but this is not usually a lake where you can force the issue. If the so-called average fisherman will put pretty scenery out of their heads, get out of the calm water, and find some flat gravel or chunk rock with wind they have a chance to do better than ok. If you ever have a chance to run the spawn coves around Baxter when the fish are paired and visible, or get on some of the big schools of spoon fish in the winter, it really sinks in that this lake is absolutely full of bass.

Wow...will the stick ever quit this year? It's like we're trapped in March. Am getting antsy for the soft stuff to fire up, heading for Kimberling on Tues.

Mine is a conglomo of Hot Spots maps, cut to match. Looks like the one Mark has up at TRB&T, only the newer map version. It covers most of a wall in my "fish room", by the racks of plastics and the bench with the clearcoat turner for painted baits.

Thanks for the post, as always Bill. Did you get a hard freeze there? Got cold and nasty here in the KC metro. Would have preferred to be at the lake with the same weather. Without outright asking, it sounds as if some of the fish are moving towards the spawn coves / pockets, but not quite into them yet.

1) Seeing a few references to moss. Is this just the regular green slime (rock snot, what have you) or something new this year? 2) Any thoughts on the state of the stickbait bite in 2 weeks? I am finishing up packing /spooling this week and am sort of surprised that bite is still hanging on. Looks like the forecast is for warmer days and nights for the next 6-10. Assume that will push fish off the stick. Thanks as always.

+++ on Jerry. Good info, usually has what you need to fish with, and treats you like you live next door. Between the two shops you can normally manage to skip the drive back to Springfield.

Des Moines, former member & officer of DSM Bass Club. Wife is from WDSM, family from Boone & Marshalltown respectively. Learned to fish on Little River, West Lake, Miss R., etc. Big change down here. Mostly the doctor is a finesse rig deal...split shot or mojo weights, although it works on the big rig too. Ask around when you get in the area, there are Iowans in places you would not expect

Should be great about then. Only crank I would worry about would maybe be a square bill. There can be a DD22 type bite, but probably not that early with this year's weather. Should be fins, spooks, rigs, maybe a football jig. Never go out without a smoke grub and a jig spoon tied on. Spoon can be blast on schoolies, esp if you hit some of the roaming whites that time of year. Something will always eat the smoke grub. Make sure you pick up some doctors. That thing is unreal on a rig, and they can show a real preference for it over a centipede. Make sure your line is appropriate. As a displaced Iowan (truly former after some of the political nonsense there of late-almost embarrassed to claim it), I had to learn clear water and light line lessons the hard way. Seaguar flouro or Maxima ultragreen in 6-10#, and some 15# for your topwaters. It's SO not Three Mile or the Mississippi R. Mark at TRB&T is super for tackle and marine service issues, also usually some locals and guides in there that are helpful and at least entertaining. Also stop by and talk with Jerry Snider in the Kimberling shopping center if you get the chance. Bill...is the PBJ Chompers a new color or the purple/brown laminate color from last year? Thanks.

Schooner Creek ++++++ (although you will have to put up with me and my white 521 that week) Kimberling Oaks is another option I have used in K-City when Schooner is booked Fish Hook is down DD, owned by a former Leavenworth club member (my former club)

Does anyone local know what the issue is with the courtesy dock at Baxter? If the COE needs $ and would allow us to contribute, I would be first in line. Love the ramp, but frequently too much wind and too many rocks to get in and out comfortably with my 521 absent a boat dock.

Great fish. Especially like the sight of the metal hanging out of her mouth.

Unexpected bonus of weight loss...it makes your fish look bigger when immortalized on film I myself now have to catch fish over 6# just to represent an average 15 incher in a photo. Good work sir.

I seem to do better on size (avg weight at least, with an occasional big fish) about 1-2 miles either way of 13, for all 3, with decent numbers. But I fish weird, or so people tell me. I used to do very well around Baxter, but have not for a few years, although the best fish I have caught on the lake was in Little Indian. Did ok in the lower James last fall, but had not been up there much since the kill several years ago.

I've noticed the same thing with people moving to the lake and then not fishing. Familiarity breeding contempt maybe? I don't think I would be comfortable leaving my ride in a slip overnight. Have only done that at LOZ where it was basically a necessity and I wanted to stay up all night watching it. That's why I like Schooner Creek for lodging, plenty of space by the rooms for the truck and trailer. Good luck with the house search. I big time messed up on one in K-City last year, probably cost myself $30K by not buying it in May vs a comparable house today. Oh, well.

The ones that throw better will sometimes work on schoolies. Nice that you don't have to move the bait away from the fish.

Thanks all. I'm kind of in awe of this spoon and dock deal, and way too many people (as above) are telling me to try it. I make my own spoons anyway so the only expense is really the time and the gamakatsu. Any input on how braid might work for that? Would think it is basically a reaction deal so the visibility might not matter as much. The soft swimbaits I have used are smaller...the 4 or so inch Bass Magic and some that are basically large sassy shad types with a big leadhead. The shad types remind me a bit of the white hair jig and trailer deal that sometimes works, or a swim grub writ large. Of course that was in the high water when I was also flipping 7' ribbontails for brownies. At least the big hard swimmers should throw better than a fin.

Nice work, thanks for sharing such info as you could.

Couple of basically unrelated Q's for any and all... 1) Am looking for a way to turn more of my spring Redfin followers into Redfin eaters. One of the deals I want to play with is the Spro Shad Swimbait (floater) and a few others of the "mid size" hard swimbaits. Watched some video online of these big beasts and it looks like you can wake them more or less like a fin. On the slow sink models looks like they will swim back right under the surface. Thought that might be useful when the wind is blowing a bit. Either version should be easier to throw than a fin. Am I off base with these? Anyone try them. I know the big soft plastic swimbaits worked pretty well last spring, but thought that might have been more of a high water thing. 2) Completely unrelated, a Q on fall /winter...Keep running into people who tell me they are spooning docks in Oct/Nov. First couple times I thought they meant corners or cables (which I have done), also was not sure they weren't joshing a bit. Could basically make a list at this point of people whose info I trust that have talked about it, most indicating they are more or less pitching and flipping jig spoons just like a jig & sawing them up and down on cables, posts, etc. Tried it a bit, but have next to zero confidence in it vs spooning a hump or a gut. Any help on this would be great. Wanting to try it more seriously next fall when at the lake. Can anyone recomend any of the guides who could help teach it? Thanks all.

I have a friend who was throwing them as late as Mem Day last year around docks. Have also seen some nice fish in club tmts in late Oct / early to mid Nov on sticks. That is probably outside the normal, but shows some of the possible uses.

Thanks. That's not as bad as it might have been. I'm stuck here in KC (the big one, not the one on 13HWY, unfortunately) until after Easter and am trying to dial in as much as possible. Wish we could all get together on a standard day for Easter (as in last Sunday in March, or similar). Wouldn't mean less to me, but would sure make scheduling better. I sort of liked it 2 yrs ago when we went from spawn to cold and ice and pre-spawn, then back to spawn. Was like getting two spring flings.