Pepe

I would certainly like to review the source of that information, because it seems they are being presented as fact. Through our church, we are working with some organizations whose statistics differ substantially. I would love to steer some very deserving families to the agencies that will give them $45K every year.

H'mmm. It sounds like a business opportunity, dock repair & reinforcement? I guess I need to learn how to night fish or how to fish Bull Shoals. How crowded is Taneycomo this time of year

+1 on Dyna Prop

We will certainly keep Stacey and his family in our prayers.

There is a new place in St. Louis called Sugarfire BBQ. On Olive just north of 170. Outstanding food

Thank you, guys. It is such a beautiful day to be laid up. This situation reminds me of a story a doctor told me. A man was in a work related accident and sustained a groin injury. After being stabilized and slightly sedated he was visited by a surgeon who explained the situation and provided options. "Sir, I am sorry to tell you that we were not able to save your penis, but we do have the technology to transplant and reconnect the missing appendage." The man was startled but also gratified to hear that there were some good options. "Will it work when you are finished? Will it hurt? is this covered by insurance?" The surgeon replied, saying "those are good questions, so let me address them. "You can expect to have full and complete use after a short recovery period. There will be some pain but it will go away quickly. Your insurance will not cover the cost, since they do not consider it a necessity. You do need to know that there is more work involved to attach a larger organ, so a small will cost you about $5,000. A medium costs about $10,000 and a large is over $20,000. By the way, I think you can expect about $20,000 settlement from this work injury. "You are a young married man so this is something you should discuss with your wife. I will check back with you tomorrow" the doctor concluded. "That sounds like good advice, doctor. I will let you know tomorrow" the man said. The following day the doctor arrived and found the man and his wife in the room. " Well have you discussed this and made a decision?" The husband looked downcast but said nothing. The wife smiled brightly at the doctor and said " we have decided to use the money to remodel the kitchen."

I was only a few days away from heading to the lake for a week. This occasional pain I was having in my lower abdomen suddenly became severe and unrelenting. ER visit revealed a nasty hernia that needs surgery. Not sure how long this will set me back but I won't be taking good health for granted anymore. I will be fishing vicariously for a bit and look forward to your reports.

And this is not just gub'ment but the God Blessed United States Army. Reminds me of the crusty old Gunny who was yelling at the recruits to jump. All red in the face and foaming at the mouth, He got in the face of one sorry Private demanding to know "who told you to come down, boy?" The breathless Private yelled out "Sir Isaac Newton, Sergeant!". It turns out that Sir Newton was not in that COC, and therefor all instructions to come back to the ground after jumping were not lawful orders

I think it is very decent of the bass to hold back on the top water bite until they see my offering next week.

To address your question about waypoints; my HDS units are networked so when you enter a waypoint into one of them, or save a screenshot related to a waypoint, it is on all the units. I'm sure Hummingbird does the same thing. I do like the Sonic Hub music system on the Lowrance. If i pause it on one unit I can resume on the other. Sometimes the bass like Coleman Hawkins, sometimes it's Allison Krauss, Chet Atkins, Mark Knopfler or James Taylor. Even when they don't, sometimes we do;)

Wow. Nice boats. Both of them. That Bass Cat looks new. I remember drooling over that Pantera II at a boat show when they came out. There was a lot more pepper than salt in my beard then;) Now I drool over that Ranger you are buying. You're my hero (and I may need a bib

The local guys don't get to make the call. There is a "Hydrology" department that determines where and when water can be released. I have been told (in meetings where nobody is happy) they prioritize according to their mission. #1 Navigation - so water held waaaay upstream has a potential effect on the Mississippi River and that is part of the equation. #2 Flood Control - Who knows how they decide what gets flooded and what doesn't? #3 Other contractual obligations - a subject unto itself One of our primary businesses is rehabilitation of Tainter Gates like the ones at TR. In fact we rehabbed those gates (about 12-14 years ago?). When working, we need the water level to stay below the level of the temporary bulkhead we use to keep our work area dry. It is very frustrating and expensive when the USACE doesn't release enough water to maintain that level. But the Operations guys are powerless to open the gates. If the dam has power generation capability (as TR does) there is a whole other group who only wants to run water through the sluice gates at the powerhouse. I have worked with the USACE long enough to know I would never want to have a job there.

I have a couple Lowrance HDS 10's and a HDS 8. I had a problem about a year ago. I called Lowrance from the water and a tech guy stayed on the phone with me while I sorted out the problem with the network. Took about 20 minutes of pulling things apart and back together before we figured it out. T'was a bad connector. I learned to put a tiny bit of white lithium grease on each connection.

I added wire weed guards to the heads I make and it works well in the bushes & brush. Ken at Sport Boats in Shell Knob has them. BP used to sell a clearish plastic guard that had a hole in one end to slide onto the jig and very small hole/slot on the other end to put the hook point into. These made any jig weedless.

It looks like enough to pass go and proceed directly to the lake;)

"Nitro" +1

Ozark Outdoors is an excellent choice. You can do a day trip or an overnight there. Tent camping, RV's, little cabins or the lodge. They will put you on some good water and have solid equipment. I have used them for years and been very happy

Thanks for the report, QB. It sounds like a painful morning. I would think some of those fish would have moved out by now, but I guess they did not get the memo.

I like to use premium hooks like Gami. Football jigs, Ned Jigs with weed guards & without, Wobble Head jigs, Bullet nose jigs for swimbaits, Spoons with built-in swivels, some feather-dressed. I am also making plastics, as I can. The swimbaits are similar to Keitech except that mine are 3.5" inches with a blunt nose designed to mate up tight with the bullet jig.

Congratulations on a great day, Bill Is that the 5.8" Fat Swing Impact from Keitech with the nose cut off?

I'm not sure what to make of that. I do get a "high" from being on the lake, but I promise I am only making tackle in my shop, not growing Colorado Ragweed

I learned to flatten small ball head jigs by putting them in a vice and hammering the soft lead flat. I think I read that in an In-Fisherman article years ago where the subject was jig head shapes for specific purposes. I do that now for the 1/16th oz ball heads, based on another poster's suggestion. I think shape does matter.

Thanks for the help guys. We got into them with the Ned today once we found them down near Baxter. I got some good advice to pick something and stick with it. Everyone had a blast. Thanks again.

We had our first really bad day in months. We just could not get bit. Each of us ended the day with 2 fish. Several folks from here were very kind and provided some detailed tips about what was happening now, since we have been away for several weeks. I am sure the problem was me, because we watched a guy catch a half dozen short fish near docks in 10-15 ft of water on a little green worm. We threw the Ned, Flukes, worms , grubs, hula grubs, Split shot rigs & tubes. I caught both of mine on a 1/2 FB Jig in (you called it) about 12 ft of water. I admit to being steadily distracted by work calls but really hoped to get on something, since I need to get (what I hope will be) my future daughter-in law bit tomorrow. Thanks again for the intel, guys. I hope to make better use of it tomorrow. On the blessing side it was absolutely gorgeous between rain showers and we even got a rainbow. I am astoundingly grateful every day I am able to to be on this beautiful lake.

There are now over 100 mushroom heads in 3/32 oz at Sport Boats in Shell Knob. Some have light wire guards, some have heavier wire guards and some have no guard. All have #1 hooks. All proceeds go toward breast cancer research. I saw some pink T shirts this year that said "Save 2nd base";)