Fish24/7

I have a 10' jon boat with a 45lb trolling motor on it. Are there any public places to launch such a small craft on the White, and still feel safe about current, rising water, ect.? I was hoping maybe there was a place within 10 miles of Bull Shoals dam. I'm not very familiar with the river so any help is appreciated, thanks !

thanks for posting, we need more people participating , thanks again !!

thanks for the report Ham. I think it's time for me to switch from bass fishing to trout fishing now that the lake temps are getting so low. If it gets any slower I'm going to fall asleep while fishing. The only way I can get bit is with a dead sticked jerkbait. No twitching or jerking . just dead hangin'

Some coves just attract a lot more bass during the spawn than others,to me these are spawning coves. Last spring we caught over 300 bass in just one of those coves during the spawn from March through May

Fished 3 1/2 hours Mon., slowest bite I've seen in a long time. WT 36 and could see 3-4' down Managed to catch 5 largemouth, 3 were keepers 16-18" , jerkbait. The fish were still right up close to the bank again in 5-8'. Could not get bit where they were Sunday. Picked 2 points at the mouth of a spawning cove up the Theodosia arm and fished them the entire time. 3 1/2 hours , same two points. Instead of burning gas running all over my plan was eventually a bass would have to swim by those points and stop to look for a meal. Cast out, then a short pull to get the bait down a foot or two, then soak it. No twitching or jerking, just let it hang. Some bites came right away , some took a long time.

WT 35-37 visibility 2' Fished from 1:45 -5:00pm With all the wind we've had lately the shallower water up in the creeks is heavily stained, and very cold . Not what you generally want this time of year, but with a positive attitude things can happen ! Caught 11 bass , 6 were keepers. Fish were feeding very high in the water column while soaking up the sun. I used the shallowest diving sticks I had, they dive 2-4'. Can you catch big bass 3' deep in 36 degree water, you bet !!

KVD says, when it comes to fishing, "It's all about the attitude." Fish can sense if your having a bad day.

I've got a " lady" who does all the work

WT 43 Fished 1-5pm Couldn't ask for better jerkbait/stickbait weather today ! Caught bass, crappie, and walleye. Yes, they were biting today

really nice fish

use spinning gear, there's a good reason why all the ICE fishermen use it I've got COPD and freezing cold air is hard on me..but I still go, mind over matter !

great day ! thanks for posting

Quillback nice work with the tube !! A great wintertime bait Crawfish are so lethargic right now they are an easy meal for a bass! Those bigger females take full advantage of that. They know its easier to grab a craw off the bottom right now than it is to chase a shad in open water The big sacs I've been catching on Bull were caught with soft plastics on the bottom too. Good job Q ! Quillback I say screw the weather and go anyway, the best days are the cloudy, shi**y cold days anyway !

Tuffy, My graphs don't have high def imaging, gps maps or anything like that. I still use the old paper maps and study them relentlessly with a magnifying glass when I'm at home. Always have maps in the boat too. You don't need a $700+ unit to catch these bottom feeding fish. I've got an old Eagle dash mount and it's at least 20yo, shows them just fine. I just watch for groups of fish on or near bottom features like flats,points, drop offs, ditches, transitions in bottom composition,ect ,. just something irregular on the bottom. I spend just as much time idling and looking as I do fishing most days.

Ham, My electronics are my best friend right now! What I've noticed the last 2 trips is there are some bass one step ahead of where they usually are w/ WT's in the 40's The deep bite in the river and ck. channels suddenly stopped producing big fish. Some are already visiting spawning areas on flats up the creeks but they don't stick around for very long. Others are bunched up on pre spawn staging areas in coves already. Places where you'd typically catch them in mid-late Feb. There are always several patterns working at any given time on Bull. Remember this IS Bull Shoals, they could be anywhere come tomorrow right ?

WT 44-46 The bass are packing on the pounds and are looking really healthy for next years spawn ! 660.36 12/29/13 The lake had been rising from all the snow melt. Started at 10 am. quit at 3 Best bite was from 12-2. Faced with unfavorable weather conditions for fishing Bull Shoals I always first go back to where I caught some last time. Just to see if maybe they are still there..Not this time. Rising water means moving fish so once again the hunt was on. I have left the deep bite alone now and went shallower for bigger fish. I found some bass schooled up shallow on steeper points at the mouths of spawning coves. Inside those coves steep channel transition banks also held bass in 10-20fow. Soft plastics worked along the bottom has been the deal for size and numbers the last two trips. 19 total ,10 were keepers, 5 were largemouth over 4 lbs., biggest was 4-8, all released, The bite was way better than I had expected, but hey when you're hungry you're hungry !! Bull Shoals winter fishing right now is as good as it gets imo !

http://blogs.basspro.com/blog/bass-pro-shops-cincinnati-oh/an-inside-look-at-tube-baits winter is a great time to fish a tube bait for bass , but I know guys who won't throw a tube for fear of losing them to snags, this rig eliminates that problem we called it the stupid rig 20 yrs ago ,lol

Set your clock ,maybe?? Other than that everything looks pretty normal to me. Good report

hodge, when you see those fish on the screen going up and down in the water column try a blade bait like a sonar or silver buddy. Cast it out count it down and slow roll it. Now when the fish get tight to the bait the spoons seem to work better. good luck

thanks again everyone, appreciate the good info. Merry Christmas

thanks brian, Ham, I am really hoping for some "decent" water levels and temps this spring. It's been a while since I've seen a banner crappie year.

Not just you but the word is fishing has been tough most of the time. My "go to " winter spots have yet to produce a bite, and the baits I typically use are not getting bit. This year I had to find new places and that means burning extra gas which means fewer fishing trips To me Bull is the toughest bass lake i have ever fished, been fishing there over 25 yrs and she still makes me question my abilities from time to time,lol.

brian, I was in the Pontiac area , Spring creek , and the Theodosia arm. The N. end seems to cool quicker than the S. end by the dam. How deep have you been catching those brownies?

WT 44-46 very clear Fished 15-30' with texas rigged tubes on gravel points and flats near drop offs. Caught 5 keeper largemouth Thursday, and 5 keepers Friday along with some shorts, but not very many. Those ten bass weighed a total of 41lbs. and change. Biggest one was 5-12.

thanks for the input everyone