Pepe

I agree with Quill. A paddletail swimmer, swim ripper or either of those on an Underspin.

We left the lake this afternoon, from Shell Knob, and it was already a zoo. The Wichita Navy was out in full force

We do a lot of work at the ConocoPhillips refinery in Wood River IL and know that they add colorant to "off road" fuels when requested or required to do so. This includes gasoline and diesel. We buy a lot of off-road gasoline and it is tinted bright pink in the STL area, but it also has the required anti-smog "city" additives. It is my understanding that Oklahoma produced gasoline is generally not processed exclusively for mixing with ethanol and may therefore come out of the cat crackers and final processing with an amber color.

A 36v wireless trolling motor with 109 lbs of thrust would pull that boat and allow you to set up trolling profiles, hold a heading, track a contour, "anchor " in place, etc.. Adjustable vertical height and very quite. They come with handheld remote and a foot control, both of them wireless, so can be used from any position in the boat. Mine, a MG Xi5, will pull a 22 ft fiberglass bass boat up to 6.5 mph info a headwind and locks onto a windy point great.

I love having family and friends visit but it is nice to see them go also. I have been designated driver, cook, pontoon captain and guide for several weekends in a row. It is so different on summer weekends that I feel like a NYC cabbie here around SK. My hat is off to every fishing guide on the lake. That is just stressful work trying to get folks bit, keep hooks out of their skin, fixing reels and fetching hung-up baits, not to mention feet where they don't belong, coffee stains and cigarette burns in the carpet & at least one hat to fetch every time the boat moves via big motor. I had a tough time getting them all bit but everyone got at least, ahem, 1 "keeper" (so long as the bump board stayed stowed). Kings River Marina always has reliable pontoon boat rentals so afternoons have been filled with "Pontoon Parties" while papa drives and drags trying to find space among the traffic. My "kids" are all adults now with busy careers and children of their own so, in truth, I love having them here, spending time with them and watching them smile and relax a bit. Lily & I are looking forward to enjoying the rest of the week here and vacating the area for the big holiday. We know we are truly and incredibly blessed to have family, friends, this beautiful and bountiful lake and a resource like this forum to share information.

Nice fish, but you don't look happy

Hah, I just realized I am the old man complaining about the music that "is sending this country to hell in a handbasket". That is what my dad said about that evil Rock'n'Roll. I still think it is ignorant, but agree that chilling out is the right answer, even though I sometimes dream about taking a flamethrower to an entire sales lot full of wake-boats.

I was fishing one of the points at the junction of the White & Kings yesterday afternoon without too much traffic out. A wake boat with 2 adult men and what looked like a 12 to 14 yo boy aboard came into the area with live concert level "music" blasting. Way more than the usual volume. All the boat occupants were Caucasian. But what they were playing was hardcore "urban thug" rap, where all the females are reffered to as female dogs are, or with a name that rhymes with doors. The "N word" was a constant as was the MF references, killing, raping, robbing, etc. Vivid degradation & violence. Did I mention this was LOUD. As you may know, there is a large Christian youth camp at Point 22 that caters to urban kids, mostly Black, who are active in that area all day. The counselers always have at least a couple boats in the area dragging kids on tubes and they use the canoes in the back cove. I was frankly stunned that any adult would let a teenager listen to that filth, but also that they were doing it in front of a bunch of kids that are getting exposed to experiences that may not otherwise be available to them - natural beauty & good moral role models. Note: my cabin is right across from the camp and there is never anything foul coming from there. The only noise is "happy loud". i found the whole thing ignorant at best and hateful at worst. I was sorely tempted to flag them down and ask them to turn off the violent audio pornography. I will defend their right to do as they please in private but not make the rest of us endure it. After stewing for about 20 minutes, I realized they weren't leaving so I did. Think I should have had some words with them?

Had a similar day. Evening bite was good. What a difference from trying to fish the weekend. Homemade 3.25" paddletail Swimbaits caught most of them, but the WP was hot this evening.

Good prices. I make my own, so know what all is involved.

I think the key is to present them a bait they will choke down. The fish I have been catching are spitting up 3" Shad. The Keitech colors rainbow shad and bluegill flash in size 3.8" on a 3/8 oz VMC swim head is a good off-the-shelf solution suggested to me by the good folks at Lew's store in Springfield. That bait is salty and soft, so they hang onto it but it tears up pretty easy and is expensive. I throw that rig on a 7'10" medium action rod & 10 lb mono or 40lb Gliss with leader. The combo allows for maximum casting distance. I make a very soft 3.5" swimbait (see picture) that tears up easier than the Keitech unless rigged on the (1/4 oz) safety-pin jig. No salt but heavily infused with Shad scent. I throw that on a medium action spinning rod with 17lb Nanofil & flouro leader. Swimming at a medium retrieve it often just feels like I ticked a weed, other times they whack it. Either way, the trick is to keep reeling until the rod loads up. As Bill advised, casting ahead of feeding fish works well. The 3/8 head works better for deeper fish. Yesterday I caught 41 with 14 keepers between 6 and 11 am, all on the swimbait. Most were not surfacing. This morning was slower but I caught 11 between 6 & 9 am. I hope this is of some help. Unfortunately, it will be a couple weeks before I get back to the lake.

Have had good luck with a soft PT Swimbait (homemade bait & jig) over the top of sunken trees, topwater prop bait & wake bait. I was getting a lot more action on the WP but much better hook up percentages on the other baits.

We were back in that 1st Cove on the right after you turn from the White into the Kings, left creek. There used to be a couple trees just a few feet apart. I caught a nice LM last October on a WP that crushed it as it swam between the two. There is only one above the waterline now.

Thanks for the report, Bill. Very helpful tips. What is that white topwater bait in the picture? I can't wait to get back to the lake as soon as Ulrich gets my boat squared away. We had a big tree fall on it - hitting the TM, graph and front pedestal. Bad luck but at least nobody was up front

You are dedicated, Steve. Looks like a lot of fun.

Yes. Just a hobby, not a business. I am in town this week and happy to make some. Hook is a 4/0 Mustad Black Nickel. All payment made direct to charity, so just let me know what you think is fair and what color skirts you prefer.

+ 1 - We had a great day fishing but think we blew up the lower unit. Andrew, thank you for the tow and best of luck with those baits.

No, Sir. Not a business for me, just a hobby. Any money raised goes to charity. Will send you PM when I get back home

I pulled the wording because I am fortunate enough to be fishing instead of tinkering in my shop, but I expect to be home again next week. Price 6 for $10 - 5/8 oz via PayPal, TYD.

Have to head back by Saturday - duty calls.

Good report. Thanks. I have been under the weather with a flu bug but went out today for a couple hours in the afternoon. Also caught fish on a Swimbait.

Great report. Thanks