NebSchmidty

Add Still Waters to the list. We'll be down there for 8 days beginning tomorrow. I called this morning and confirmed they had docks up and slips available. Their going rate for the hotel size rooms is around $60/nt (no idea on availability), plus a little extra if you want a slip. I launched from their main marina drive near the peak of April '11, so should be fine at 930+. If you see a white & red triton fish/ski putting around that neck of the woods, say hi. Hoping to contribute a few reports for the good of the cause.

Can't quite tell 100% from the pic size... but if I had to guess, you're speaking northern canadian... "up north, eh" to the Americans. Firetiger (what's that??) pattern with single Indiana gold?

From what I could find in online news reports, they hit 69,000cfs in 2011 and then 72,000 in 2015. Obviously they can release more, but there's the historical perspective.

Thanks for sharing that!

That's where we're scheduled to head to next weekend -- Stillwaters. I'm guessing maybe you were in the main marina and had to go over by ABC dock to get enough grade to retrieve the boat? I still clearly remember arriving for our spring of 2011 trip and launching from the hillside road down to the marina by JKL buildings... sounds like that could very well be the case again next weekend.

Anyone tried one of these yet on a ned head? Curious of the results and opinions if you had.

Thanks for the report. Coming back down to that area in a little over a week, so good info to know. Water must still be pretty clear in that neck of the woods if you could see beds in 10-12ft?

Totally the opposite of that sticky elaztec worm on a jighead... chuck and wait like a trap.

Are you using some sort of super-glue to hold the plastic onto the jighead? If it's that your plastic is sliding down and causing twist and/or fouling the hook, that'd be my first suggestion.

400 boats? Holy crapola! And to think I booked an extra day and leaving on Monday. Glad I put the wife on kid duty today and wrestled 'em for 8 hours in the rain and cloud cover.

Cow creek was a zoo yesterday by 930. Every secondary point had a boat, plus a few in the pockets too. Pulled the plug early on the daddy fishing, and took the fam gravel fishing for shorts around Indian. Ned's have pretty much been it for us as well. Dry for us too this AM. Missouri omelet at Billy gails is calling my name.

Funny you mention that. I fished a club deal last fall on Perry. I was delayed due to work and arrived to reports of sloooowww fishing all morning and afternoon. Hearing everyone else had been power fishing, I grabbed the ned and proceeded to make hay. In a matter of 2 hours I had boated as many fish as anyone else had all day, but likely with a better net weight. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful in convincing anyone else that I had stumbled on to the elusive Kansas strain bass.

Thanks to all for the feedback. The warning sign has been duly noted. I will also keep a watchful eye for red laser dots painting my boat when approaching unknown docks. Good discussion on the weather apps. I have a pretty detailed radar app... but it never occurred to me that a lightning tracker could be just as, if not even more useful in a boating scenario.

As a non-local, a number of recent fishing reports got my gears turning... Is there certain etiquette/rules for finding a dock to park under when adverse weather pops up, or is the nearest shelter fair game? Being a regular lurker for the past couple years (giving back a few reports during the 2 weeks/yr that I get to enjoy on your local waters ) I have seen a few stories of tension between dock owners and fisherman. Does that go by the wayside when a storm pops up, or does one need to dock selectively? I'm usually OCD about weather forecasts and plan my outings in advance, but was curious what to do if the nasty stuff should ever catch me by surprise. With smaller flatland lakes here you can generally see storms coming from miles out, which allows you plenty of time to retreat to the truck or just get out of dodge. On TR I suppose it could be over the next ridgeline... and my 21' F&S barge isn't going to outrun too much at 55mph. Just curious.

Very nice SM there! Gray skies, temperature drop, heavy wind, rainy... couldn't plan much better of a day to hook into one of those thick brownies.

Being from nebraska, i am predisposed to loathe the wind because it seems like its either calm or 30+ gusts.... no in between. At that rate, its hard to maintain much for boat control on a 100 acre impoundment. The 1-2 weeks I spend each year on the rock are what remind me theres more to learn with fishing than what becomes habit. The best days ive had on TR in the spring are all the days I would've just cracked a cold one and watched fishing shows on dvr if back at home. The worse the weather is, seems like the better this lake fishes.

Glad to see your report... and to see someone else confirm that maybe I wasn't way off base in my approach the last two days. That little varmint is really by far the best bite for me as well -- certainly the most repeatable and "no work" bite. A few really short up 5-10, but most of the better bites coming in that 15-25 like you said. Found a small little notch in a long runout just southwest from indian point that was holding quite a few smallies today (assuming you know where this is)... managed to pull in a nice 16.5" brownie with a lot of fight. A slow, but decent number of shorts... enough to keep wife and kids interested. Next to that, I have also worked the Dixie jet whenever I've seen bass pushing shad to the surface or have graphed sizable bait schools below. I had two up shallow (20-30') and two out deep (40' over 50-70' seems most consistent on the graph for the offshore roamers). Other than that, I have yet to get a bite on the fb jig despite working it hard. PB&J tube landed a pair just inside cow creek <15'. I'm really thinking about throwing a grub or smaller keitech type swimmer for the few that I've marked suspending in that 10-15' over 20-25' range.

This Nebraska guy runs a 21' fish/ski semi-deep v... and I still kept it parked at the dock this afternoon. If I wanted 40mph wind gusts and whitecaps I would've just stayed home and gone out any other weekend.

I also started with a noname glue with the same results. Used the loctite brand gel glue and no issues since.

Yup. That's why I've been a repeat customer of this particular lake for the last 5 years, +/- two weeks on this particular time period. 3/16 shakey, 3/16 tube, 3-5/8 jig, & the ned rig end up making me feel so much better despite my struggles back home the rest of the year.

IMO, the rig is a prime presentation for when fish are relating to shallow water and are in the fickle mood where they want an easy, opportunistic meal. Definitely excels in less than ideal conditions where you would likely struggle for numbers with more conventional power or reactions presentations. Case in point: our trip to the rock during the end of last April. 20'+ water clarity and it didn't matter whether it was 80 degree air temps w/ blue bird skies and smooth as glass surface; or a cloudy 30 degrees with strong north wind and rain turning into sleet and snow... that stupid little rig just put 'em in the boat. I will still remember being the only resort fisherman stupid enough to go out on their own boat by themselves in the sleet and freezing rain. Pete and Bill (I think it was you Bill) were both dilligently picking up clients at Still Waters for what could only be described as one of those "we pre-paid for it, by golly we're going out for it" type of days. Troopers, both -- I would've called in sick and skipped the "office" for the day. But I digress. I was further convinced of "Ned's" utility last weekend when BIL and I were on a local mud-hole of a "reservoir" (40 acres) and we were struggling to put anything together with the wind, 60 degree surface temps (had to be much lower below), and 12-18" max water clarity. Jigs, shakey worms, or jerkbaits, cranks, or any other reaction bite had yielded us only two fish in an hour or two. Shallow, dam rocks, all depths of the (only) creek channel, inlet, outlet, wood, mud... no consistent bite. We switched to another shallow flat, and I figured what the hay and threw out the rig (dang near dead-sticking it), and it was on like donkey kong. We double checked by throwing other baits to see if it was just the shallow bite in that particular area, but it didn't seem to matter as much... the ned rig was the deal. Now in an effort for fair disclosure and impartialility, when on the rock last october, couldn't hardly buy a bite with the rig. Was mostly the seasonal crank and jig patterns. And there-in maybe lies the caveat... chasing shad in open water, there's better options. But when intuition tells you they are shallow and willing to look to the bottom... I'm convinced its hard to keep powering through with something more conventional when there could be another solution to your stuggles. It's kind of weird because I feel like I've come full circle being willing to accept the ned rig. When I first was introduced to fishing as a serious endeavor, it was by my (at that time, future -- now current) wife's grandfather, and the man loved and could catch dang near any fish species on that dang beetle-spin. That's all we fished. Gills, crappie, bass, northern, walleye; Minnesota, Nebraska... didn't matter, it caught 'em. To me, the ned rig is just the beetle, without the spin. Put it in the right depth and it will pass for something that fish eat. No wonder it works.

Wanted to pass along a short report from our time on the water. It was a family trip with in-laws and little ones, so our fishing time came in short bits and pieces throughout our stay. Brother-in-law and I fished between moonshine beach and pt 5, and back up into jakes and north indian creeks. Struggled in the creek arms. Didn't seem to scan as many fish or bait in these areas either. By far the most productive areas were on the up-current side of main lake points and then bluff-ends. The steeper the point, the better, w/ nearby submerged timber being a plus. Didn't find (or scan) a whole lot on backside flats or very far into coves. Worked tubes and fb jigs from shore out 12-20' depending on time of day. GP tubes, smaller profile jigs (best was 1/2oz jewel PBJ finesse FB jig w/ GP ultravibe speed craw) on the points, and heavier/bulkier jigs (5/8 jewel GP candy w/ matching twin tail grub) dragging deeper along the bluff-end. When the wind got really going, we also found bites spinnerbaits and on craw patterned DT-10's (gp/purple seemed to work best). The bluff-end (by Moonshine) seemed to hold the better fish, but we just ran out of time to make further runs up-river to try duplicating that pattern on similar structure elsewhere. Mostly all browns, with only a couple spots mixed in.

Appreciate the input champ. Will make sure to pass along some reports from our time on the lake.

Thanks for the update. Will be coming down to the indian point area Wednesday and staying thru Monday. Hope this pattern stays intact for the week... but the forecast right now looks to stabilize towards the end of the week with few clouds and not much for breeze Thinking that could put the kabosh on the crank bite. This time of year can it change the bite a lot when water slicks off? Should a guy focus on slow and on the bottom out a little deeper... jigs, tubes, shakey type of approach? Hit shaded docks in the afternoon?

It has to be the rod you are using that caused this snafu. I'm willing to take it off your hands so that you never repeat this unfortunate incident. 704 or 705 cb? Kindly let me know where I can send the prepaid rod shipping tube to absolve you of any future fishing pain and suffering.