Blll

It is a scientific law that the # of fishing rods must expand to fill the space available. Bigger boat-more rods. Also the law of accumulation applies. It makes perfect sense to me that the older you are, the more rods you will have. At 60, I have more rods than when I was 40, and fewer than I will have at 80. These scientific laws are in direct contradiction to my wife's question of "how many hands do you have". I look forward to this forum having fishing reports again...soon.

Took my morning coffee and drove over to the rt.12 ramp this morning around 7:30 am. Temp was 23 degrees and there was ice on the ramp. Water still brown. Wow, 5 trailers and 1 more putting in. I could see a couple boats fishing between the islands. I salute you guys! To quote some other O.A. members: " I'm just not that mad at em'." Would love to here some reports!

Used this "neko" rig quite a bit up north, Wisconsin mostly. A real bass killer. Most of the lakes up there are pounded. The success of this I think had a lot to do with it being a newer look. I never considered it a finesse bait as 3/16 weight, 6" plastic was pretty normal. It worked very well for skipping docks. Very different "dock" fishing than here. almost all fixed docks with posts 3' to 15' deep. Usualy weeds under and around the docks. The hook could be attached either way on an "O" ring. Inboard made it very weedless. The hook placement made it drop differently than a jig or typical worm. Kind of a combo Ned, Shakey, Wacky, hybrid. I tried it on Beaver docks my 1st summer and caught nothing. I don't think docks are the best cover to use it here. I'm going to give it another try some on ledge banks.

Most of you guys are too young to remember the "old" fishing shows. La Salle outdoors with Jim Thomas or shows with Virgil Ward. Champ, they must have put 1,000 bass on stringers for the show ending "money shot" of a stringer full. Beetle spins and Daredevils. Rapalas were still too new. Now there were some tough to watch shows. God I'm old!

Wow. Holding at 1129. I wondered why it was not going down much if at all. I guess for the greater good. Well ok, I reckon I'll get on that "honey-do" list. (along with some football)

Stump, you are probably right about the current making the mud worse with the water up where it is. I'm just bummed being stuck onshore.

OK. I get it. Beaver is the 1st lake in the flood defense system. But are we going to stay 8'-10' high till summer? A drive around the lake shows a huge number of docks (like mine) are inaccessible because of the water level and the rt 12 bridge is hard to get under for plenty of boats. I read on the TR site that they have dropped over 9' from the early January high. It looks like Beaver has come down about 3'. Would 1125 pool level be too much to hope for? Would not some drawdown current clean up the water? Sorry, just venting. Yesterday should have been a fishing day.

Beaver. Finally getting easier 2nd season.

Was he fishing a sloping bank, chunk rock or bluff end? What was the water temp and visibility. Gotta know these things!

Stopped at Rt. 12 ramp for a quick view. Whoa! Chocolate milk as far as the eye could see. Bear cove too. My 3rd winter here, never saw anything like this. Not a mud line, a mud lake! Gonna be a long winter for me.

All my old Ambassadeurs are on a shelf display. Oldest round reel in service is a Sigma from 1989. Still have my crappie rods paired with old Mitchell 308's -the ones from France. Amazing how much better newer reels are but its fun for me to fish with Dad's or Grampa's stuff.

I'd donate a floating dock for the Rt.12 ramp. Although that would limit the entertainment there. PC for OA members only, now there is an idea. Before the money became a "problem" I'd build homes for homeless vets. vet widows & kids. Oh, I would get my 99' Yukon the "overhaul" treatment. See, no problems.

Thank you for the great info! Any future plans for Prairie Creek or Horseshoe Bend marinas?

Darned if it didn't go back up a little from yesterday.

1131.94 at Noon. I did not know it could get past 1130. Our community floating docks electrical box is mounted at 1131 and is now compromised. retaining Cables inboard and outboard seem at max extension. Much higher and I'm afraid winch damage or failure may occur. Walk ramp is already out 50'+ from shore in 20' of water. Interesting winter so far.

I knew they should be biting in the wind somewhere. I tried main lake stuff and had nuthin'. Couple of points did have a mudline but could not find anyone home. Creek arm next time. Good for you! WT still pushing 52-53 where I was.

Too nice not to try and catch a fish today. Beautiful day, warm & sunny. Motor ran well, no broken tackle, all is well. Got my 1st "skunk" of the year. Tried all the windy tactics with no luck. Got tired of rocking & rollin after 2 hours. Decided I was not having fun. Came in to tie some flies (normal December stuff). Looking forward to more December fishing next week Merry Christmas!

Strange weather indeed. Was looking forward to a Christmas Eve fishing trip. Maybe not.

I caught some type of hybrid, big mouth (green sunfish) with a saucer shape (bluegill) that was just at 1#. Really pulled drag. Largest true gil' was about 9"so about 1/2# Noticed many more gils this year over last year. High water may produce even more. Any one target them?

The stripers I caught a couple weeks ago were not skinny at all. Every one of the few walleyes this year looked starved but I've seen others pics and some seem fine. The few crappies I've been blessed with also seem very skinny from last year. Like you said, the bass all seem stuffed especially the spots. Whites seem ok. My few fish certainly aren't enough to make any conclusions but everyone seems to agree that the thin walleyes are the most noticeable but they did not at all seem sick or weak. Food is there fish, go eat it!. The weather has been weird to us and maybe to the fish too. My main concern now is the high water has made our dock inaccessible and still rising. Looking at the lake level history this seems to be really a weird time for high water. Am I missing a good bite? Does not seem like many are fishing lately. Last year F&F and friends were all over a December striper bonanza. Anybody been out?

J-DOC, I think your choice of MK is smart. I always had a MK until my Nitro came with a MG. Hated it and was terrible in any weeds. Not an issue here but my Maxxum has been a horse for almost 9 years. I thought it had died this year and had a Terrova with I-Pilot in my sights and even a thumbs up from the boss. But a simple fuse link fixed the problem and I couldn't justify a new one...yet. Really looking forward to having spot-lock when the Beaver breeze blows. Good luck with your motor. Anyone in particular have the best pricing?

With your experience and comfort with Lowrance, aren't you pre-disposed to go Motorguide to max its features? Having the same debate with myself and the electronics seem to tilt the field. I can justify a new trolling motor but not a whole new motor/graph do-over. Terrova/ipilot have some history and time to have worked out the bugs but the x15 looks pretty sweet.

From the reports and talking to fisherman, the bite seems pretty good. Most success has been on live bait and spoons with a few crank fish. I spent a lot of time last month trolling plugs with very little to show for it, in fact nothing. What I've learned in my 2nd season is to adapt and move around if you want to catch em. There also seem to be shorter windows of activity. Thanks for the water condition update. Good luck!

Pulled brooders around rt. 12 ramp area and Bear island. Loads of bait. WT 54- Caught 2 14" spots on spoon and had 1- 10# striper. Nothing after 10am. Several boats out. Just amazing weather for December 9th!

In my continuing quest to learn Beaver Lake, I have a question on jigging spoons. Do you normally use any kind of snap or swivel? I have been using a snap swivel to prevent line twist but get the hook caught on it frequently. What am I doing wrong? Do I need to let the spoon fall back on a tight line or what? Appreciate any help.