kjackson

Hot n Tots are great baits--the second largest walleye--13-5-- I've netted was taken on one. I've not fished the new ones, but the pre-Rapala Tots will run deeper than you might expect. I pulled the smallest a bit last spring and was hitting in the mid teens for depth with 125 feet out. I don't recall what the mid-size or large ones run, but it is deep. I've not pulled the Rapala versions, so I can't respond there, but that is next on the list.

With my limited experience, I've found that Tail Dancers and Storm's Smash Shad also do fairly well. The TD seems to attract spots, for whatever reason. I've delved into my boxes and found the Excalibur Shad-R to be really good as well as Berkley's Frenzy diver...but both are out of production. I fished Strike King's line of walleye baits a bit this year but haven't spent enough time with them as we relocated recently and have been involved in other things. I do think the SK 3XD will be a good trolling bait. Tried it in upper Table Rock, but all I could catch was trout.

Back when I lived on the east side of Washington State, I had good luck casting #7 Shad Raps, quarter-ounce Hot Lips and some hard baits that aren't made any more. I've caught quite a few walleyes vertical jigging blade baits like the Heddon Sonar and Gay Blade and others of that type. Blade baits are a big deal in the middle Columbia River early in the year. The guys out there catch real hogs with blades. The big thing in the upper Midwest now is the Jigging Rap. In a couple of reservoirs I fished, I had excellent luck with plain jig heads and a variety of soft plastics--grubs, tubes and my favorite, the ringworm. Having said that, if the walleyes were actively feeding, you could readily catch them without bait. If they were neutral, we'd add a short section of nightcrawler--about an inch long or longer. Scent was necessary most of the time. In the right situation, though, you could catch walleyes rip jigging with plastics alone as it was a reaction bite that would break your wrist if you weren't careful.

Be glad you're not in Eureka Springs...that is usual for us on weekends and some weeks. This weekend is the biggest of the year for tourists here...a lot like BB& BBQ weekend. The good news is that the crafters don't ride bikes, and there won't be as many sirens.

I'm still waiting for a reply from him, but I'm not concerned. Hope he's fishing, but I'll guess it's business.

Many thanks.

I need Dave's contact info...and he can't receive PMs, so this is it. PM me if you prefer. thx

Warranty policies have changed a lot in the past couple of years. Manufacturers were finding it way to expensive to maintain them...one manufacturer said it had to build and store an extra rod for each one it sold. Manufacturers' defects are one thing, but normal wear and tear breakage is something else. Each company is trying to work out its own plan, but most don't use the dealer-replacement plan any more if what I remember is correct.

Then there is the issue of whether bass see UV light or not. UV reflectance is attractive to some fish, but practically no research has been done on bass in that regards. What is interesting is that some companies do use UV in lure finishes, Megabass being one, but don't advertise the fact. While I haven't been flashing lures with a UV light, the owner of Tightlines-UV has been doing so because he recently received a series of patents. I'm not saying that UV is an important but invisible-to-us factor in bass, but it might be. It is in salmon, steelhead and trout and may be in walleyes. There just hasn't been the research. Certainly, color isn't always important, but there are times, IMO, when it makes a difference between catching fish and not.

I've found that in walleyes, at least, color can make a big difference in clear water. One case really stands out-- my buddy and I were using soft plastics (four-inch worm on a plain jighead) for 'eyes. He was catching fish while I wasn't. We were fairly well matched in skills, so it wasn't that necessarily. However, his bait was smoke with blue flake, and mine was smoke with red flake. Once I changed over, I started to catch fish. Having said that, after I got bored (the walleyes weren't that big but they were plentiful), I started playing with different colors and found that a laminated worm that was red bug over a pearl chartreuse was working as well. I've not had something similar happen with bass, though, so I can't speculate there.

Or go with the Rooster Tail spinnerbait...it has a double hook but snags way less.

OP-- Give the Tightlines-UV website a try for some images. I've done quite a bit of research on UV, and whether or not fish see it depends upon a lot of things. Some fish see it, but others apparently don't. Some see it at certain stages of the life cycle. Some have the ability, lose it but regain it later. Some fish use it to find food, and some use it to find mates. Some fish, notably bass, apparently don't see the UV end of the spectrum, yet lures that reflect UV light often enough catch fish better than similar lures. Some very popular lures reflect UV but don't advertise the fact... What ultraviolet reflectance comes down to, IMO, is that the lures are more visible to some fish some of the time. It could be that some fish are conditioned to react to UV-reflecting baits because when they were very young, the food they ate reflected UV. And I think we all realize that just because a fish can see a lure doesn't mean it will hit the thing. The owner of the Tightlines-UV company did a lot of doctoral research on UV and fish, and that is why he is selling lures that reflect different colors of UV.

We're getting ready to move, and the less I have to pack and carry up north, the better. I'll be posting other items as I come across them in the process. Here is the first lot: Abu Garcia Torno low profile reels. They were made in Sweden and have seen only light use. The two darker reels are six-bearing 3006 HLS models. The lighter reel is the four-bearing 3004. The 3006 are $45 a piece plus shipping; the 3004 is $35 plus shipping. Buy all three for $110, and I pay shipping.

Good report! Thanks. Love to see kids doing well--especially on topwater. I well remember the first smallmouth I got on top, and that was decades ago-- I'm sure your young friend will remember this a long time. This end of the lake doesn't get much love on the board, and I think that's a good thing.

Nice report...love the humor. Is it still foggy in the morning?

I won't disagree, Bill. I was thinking I'd read somewhere that cutt-bows were planted in Arkansas and Missouri. I was surprised to see the gill slashes as I categorized the fish as a rainbow when I netted it. Having said that, I grew up in cutthroat land, and these slashes were pretty definite. It's most likely a case of interbreeding somewhere up the line with recessive genes passed down until they pop up like this. Cutthroat and rainbows are pretty much like teenagers...recent studies in Washington state have shown that searun cutts cross with steelhead and vice versa, which is a lot weirder than stream-run rainbows and cutthroats.

Interestingly, that trout was a cutthroat-rainbow hybrid or a pure cutt. The slashes don't show on this image, but that is a first for me. Also saw this yesterday. Too much speed? Beer? It does show the force of the current when the river is running.

Started the day late--7:30--but it was so foggy on the river that I wouldn't run on plane, anyway. Marked a lot of bait/fish just outside of the Holiday Island marina and trolled my way up the bank when I could see it. Caught one small white bass and worked up to Butler Creek where I caught a smallish LM on a jerk bait. Couldn't buy a strike on a topwater of any kind, but then I didn't work too hard. Headed up to the 62 bridge to see if I could find walleyes, but there were too many trout around. Total: caught two trout in the fog zone and lost one nice one. Hooked a keeper largemouth in a row of stumps on a Spoonbill Rogue; everything else hit a suspending Bomber 14A. Water temp at the bridge was 51, and at the marina end it was 81. Pulled the plug at 1:30...

1/50 ounce? Wouldn't bead chain eyes be adequate?

We were going to stop by Lambert's this afternoon on our way back from Clinton--qbout 2:30--and had to wind through the parking lot trying to find a place to park but gave up when we saw the lines of people outside the restaurant waiting to get in. I'm guessing the potential to get beaned by bread isn't keeping folks away.

It's not Beaver but should be a warning to those who don't pay attention: http://www.wday.com/news/3814337-update-victim-identified-fatal-boating-accident-devils-lake

I've had the opposite experience. I use a lot of it in 10-pound test, mainly for trolling, granted, but also use it for casting various things. I've never had a break off that I recall, except when I have had to do so. And then it takes a couple of men and a boy to break the stuff. I do not tie directly to the lure when trolling but use a Duraloc clip and tie with a San Diego jam knot. I've not lost a fish from breakage. Is the break at the knot or in the line itself? It could be you and your friends have a bad batch, you aren't wetting the knots or are pulling them tight too fast, have a bad rod guide-- or something else entirely. Fluorocarbon can be cranky about how it's treated, I know that. I will say that I've used this line (and the XL version in 6 and 8) in 8- through 12-pound without a noticeable problem. But I'll watch to see if I find one in the future.

Look at Humminbird's new Helix 7, although a Helix 5 may do what you want up front. The MSRP on these units is very low, and there are a range of different models. The really cool new combo is the Lawrence HDS Gen3 with StructureScan 3D...but it is a budget buster. That will map your lake in three dimensions and locate just about every fish in the lake.

try bateau2.com for some guidance. They don't have a Shawnee clone, but the GF16 is relatively close.

The small ones look really good; they're very snakelike in the water. Saw 'em in the tank at the show.