Pepe

LOL

I had no luck on it today throwing a McStick 3-5 ft model on bluff ends and points. Virtually every place I intended to stop had a boat on it the first time I went there, so I spent the day moving on and doubling back later; fishing behind other folks. I dont know that it made any difference as I was never sure how many times to jerk the bait or how long to pause so I just mixed it up. I had one bite. Loaded the rod, shook its head and was gone. How do they spit out those sharp treble hooks? Those hooks manage to grab every other thing they get near:) I'm going to stay with it but I miss my jigs, worms and soft swimbaits.

Committing to the technique sounds like good advice. I will do that. Thanks guys.

Thanks for the help, Bo. We hope to get on the road tomorrow and be on the lake thu-Sun. I do struggle to stay on top of fish that I spot on the graph, though. Mostly they are gone, or not showing, when I get up on the troller.

Except in Ferguson, of course. (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Is anyone working one of the new Duo Realis or other type Spybait ? Product data indicates that the bait should be effective when jerkbaits are working.

I am sorry to hear that. The truth is that the Post has become increasingly less relevant and I can't say that I read much from them anymore but Burwell was a good sportswriter who always took a solid position on things.

That is encouraging news. Thanks for the report. I dont have much experience or confidence in a jerkbait but it sounds like I need to learn.

Aww, that's probably just because Steve Jobs didn't fish.

The last time we were at the lake we had some gear in our minivan after going out with a friend in the KC area. I had a half dozen rod & reel combos and an old Shimano box (I think they were made for jerkbaits, red inside with slightly curved compartments) with 25 pre-rapala wiggle warts. All of them were good colors, some original and some custom painted, Lily and I pulled up to the gas station directly across from Harder House to use the restroom. In the short time we were in there someone opened the back of the van and snatched the box. I guess it would have been too noticeable to grab the rods and reels at the same time. In the city we know not to put something valuable into the trunk or back, when in plain sight of others. We weren't on our guard in Kimberling City, though. My hope is that the thief sells the baits for maximum value and buy some kids Christmas presents or school supplies. Lily prefers a spinnerbait and I prefer a jig anyway (just backwards of Champ & Donna). We are planning to fish again starting midweek, so hopefully we will find a few around SK.

That is 100% correct. I would just add that the slip owner and the boat owner do not have to be the same person and the slips are not to be rented.

We fished from point 21 into Big Creek. Same results here. The few we caught were near docks

Thanks for the report, Matt. You are tougher than I am to brave that cold.

Thanks for the report, Bo. Great job of adapting. We tried for a few hours early afternoon in the wind. I stayed with what I thought "they ought to be doing" and blanked with cranks and blades. There was plenty of room on the lake. We only saw one other boat, a Triton near Icebox that ran up the Kings. Don't know if I'm mad enough at the fish to work vertical but sure appreciate you posting some help.

Sitting by the fire can be dangerous to the wallet. Reading about all those "must have super lures" and revolutionary products costs me more than running the boat, LOL

You can call the license office in Cassville, (417) 847-3471 in Barry County during business hours. Very pleasant and helpful ladies there. They will walk you through the requirements and then you can probably mail payment and whatever else is needed. Barry County does charge Personal Property tax on boat and trailer.

Sunday was supposed to rain all day but turned out pretty nice. We wanted to get into smallmouth and ran to KC area. The wart, shallow on small points, (like the one behind me to my left) was still working best though we tried jerk bait on bluff ends, jigs on flats rock piles and blade at (mild) windy pockets. In at 8 and out at 1. Half dozen nice fish, mixed bag. Only a few small ones

Lily and didn't stay out as long as you guys did but we had a great wiggle wart bite going in the morning. We ran up the Kings River and found them on chunk rock points. Main lake and some secondary points were good with a fairly steep drop. If deeper water was near we did better. Almost all of ours were very healthy K's with just a couple LM. No big ones but the largest percentage were legal size. Lily loves her spinnerbaits and didn't pick up a wart until I teased that I had a limit and she had nothing in the boat (I almost had to beg for the coffee thermos after that dumb remark) . As you said, Donna, there just wasn't a consistent wind to keep a spinnerbait going. They wanted it up shallow and if I got it past halfway back without a bite - there wasn't going to be one on that cast. Lily's first cast with the wart resulted in a LM slurping it down like a Pop'R in less tha a foot of water. We saw 2 boats together with a marker buoy between them WAAY out on Icebox Point vertical fishing, but not another boat. We came in about 2 and called it a day, I'm hoping the weatherman is wrong about the constant rain tomorrow, but if it's not too cold we will probably go again.

See my note under Tablerock for red fish.

The gar have ruined Falcon Lake Bass fishing but the Texas DNR has a low limit on them. http://www.kgns.tv/news/headlines/Alligator-gar-study-continues-at-Falcon-Lake-262554951.html?device=tablet&c=y

Yes, Sir. Pete being a tournament fisherman he instinctively tried to swing the first fish into the boat. That doesn't work.

We made it to Venice, Louisiana running just ahead of the Arctic front. I have always wanted to try this and was finally able to make it happen with a friend who also wanted to try it. Warning - doing this May cause you to give up Bass fishing and move to the Gulf. We fished in the seemingly endless canals with an oversized Beetlespin. The fish wanted that bait right ON the grass line and just hammer the bait. I used my standard spinnerbait rod and reel with 15lb FC and gave that Shimanos' drag a real workout. Fourtunatley, these fish don't jump because they are very strong. Unfortunately, the weather caught up to us and we only got the one day of fishing in before pulling the plug on the trip. Mid 30's, rain and 25-35 mph winds are enough for me to wave the white flag, although my buddy, Pete, was seriously considering braving the elements. Thank goodness our guide said "no way". If you have not yet tried this, put it on you bucket list.

Sounds like you had a good outing. Congratulations on those catfish. I'm sure they will cook up nice

Sunday we were on the lake after services and decided to throw crank baits & spinners on windblown points and along bluffs. Picked up 1 walleye on a CB but no joy on the bass so we rigged some drop shots and spent some time dangling bait that the fish did not want.. We started catching nice Ks on SBs between The bridge & Campbell Point when we switched to bigger blades using the 3/8 oz WR Eagles. Every fish was a healthy chunk that just crushed it. Today we did a repeat but did catch a few olong the bluffs before the wind got too rough and we went to the back of Big Creek. Warts and jigs were working best, but all day it was a fish here and there without much rhyme or reason. 2 great days to be out with very little traffic. Off to try our luck in Louisiana for Redfish the rest of the week., running from the cold front. Stay warm!

Great contribution, Bo. Thank you. I'm coming to the lake real soon and that is good intel.