Blll

40 years ago I was the guy with the new boat and no clue. Wife & kids cowered on the dock cause "Dad was getting the boat back on the trailer" Made sense to me to get that trailer in good & deep. Why the boat kept drifting off was a manufacturer defect. Oh my what a day when some kind fisherman,laughing so hard he had tears, took pity on me. Since then I try to help all even the 20 somethings whose boat cost more than my 1st house. Surprising how many don't/won't want help. You can't pay for the Rt. 12 show every Sat. & Sun. Great weekend coming up. God bless America!!

Haden't been out for awhile. Trolled around Deer island for a couple hours 5-8 PM. Water temp 85. Caught several small stripers and a couple spots. Traffic coming from PC was extreme for a week day. Marked plenty of fish near the rt. 12 launch but could not really fish for all the boat/wave runner traffic. Funny to watch the boaters hit the brakes when seeing the bridge headroom. Solid thermocline at 40 feet. Threw a spook around the sandbars and missed 2 good blow-ups. Good to be out again.

We moved here from Illinois because of the flooding of the Des Plaines river near Chicago. After 20 years, it flooded our house 2x in 5 years and the city & FEMA actually bought our property rather than continue to pay flood claims. Only trouble with the water this year is my wife actually has PTSD from the Illinois flooding and all the water talk lately scares her. We Love it here but hope this is not the norm. I am surprised the COE has kept the level this high when it seems TR has a lot of available capacity. Lets send them some Beaver water. Anybody fishing? Pretty quiet forum lately. Going to wade to my slip tomorrow.

Back to ya! Glorious day!

Is that a Gamme front treble?

You're a blessed man! Good job!

X2 on Pro-Guides. Battery Outfitters in Rogers gives a 10% veterans discount.

Only 2nd season here but I have never seen a law enforcement boat. About 70+ outings and not one to be seen.

3 days without rain and today the water level went UP!! Bummer.

Well my second season at Beaver is sure different than last year. Will the COE keep the water level up to prevent a summer drawdown when all the A/C's start up? Waist deep water now to get to my slip and wondering what to expect. I've looked at the past graphs but don't know if they went down from lack of rain or if the COE brought it down. Just wondering.

I love the MLF format too, but it is made for tv. Regular tourneys rely on the "weigh-in" to attract crowds including a glib pitchman for the MC, and an element of suspense building to the winner. Way more hype than I need but would an FLW tourney on day 1 with 150+ boats be able to supply a judge for each boat? Real time scoreboard would be a nightmare to monitor. MLF much better for the fish but may never happen. Will Aaron Martins ever win one?

Most striper guides are getting $400/half day trip now but that has nothing to do with the fish. Each angler buys a fishing license plus the guide has a fishing license and are all under the same fishing regulations so what is the issue? They have the same right as anyone to the fish. My only occasional complaint is about the ones that think they own the 1500 yards of lake they are fishing. Just sayin'

I've been lucky enough to catch two this year over 6#'s. Back in the water they went. Fishing buddy thought I was nuts. Being from up north and fishing walleyes for years, we always keep "eaters" and return pretty much all of them over 24". Wisconsin, Minnesota, even Canada you'll find eaters are 18"-20" and most others go back. That said, it is mostly to keep the larger spawners alive. Maybe a slot limit on Beaver would help. Being still new here, I'm surprised/pleased how many walleyes I've caught as very little is written about Beaver Lake even having a walleye fishery. Do we think there is any natural reproduction to speak of?

Made it back from Nam' in 1 piece. Here's to my buddies who didn't. I salute you, every day. So its your day. Peace.

Buying gas on the water gives me the chance to fill up with "E-TEC" marine fuel. That said most marinas have not lowered their price per gallon since I moved here and It's a crime to charge $4.50/gal. Horseshoe Bend Marina is my new best friend but do need to add a sip of Stabil.

I saw him in Bear Creek Cove and was pleased to see him until he half-throttled out and sent a 3' trough into my slip. Gotta get one of those "no-wake" signs.

Nice morning Ron. Were you trolling crawler harness'?

Trolled brooders around Deer Island again this morning 6:30-11. Got drenched with enough rain to set off the bilge pump. Water temps up to 64. Caught 5 keeper bass and a 3# flathead. Fished 15-25 fow. Had the redfin knocked in the air 3x but no hook-ups. Was blessed with another 21" LM on the redfin. Spawned out, weighed 5#'s. Lots of bait stealing hard hits. I think they were White bass and the brooders were too big for hook-ups. Rain stopped and so did the bites. Great day on Beaver.

IMO the Lakemaster chip is better for how I use them. It's all about the ability to color code certain depths and shallow areas. I usually set a 5' depth range and stay in the colored area. Don't spend a lot of time trying to stay on a certain specific depth. I find it easy to travel in the river channel too and avoid trouble. Only 1 season on Beaver but have not found any errors. Navionics may be better if looking for that "spot on the spot" like cuts on points.

Odd that with all the shad/shiners in the lake they are targeting crawdads which I think may be less nutritious hench the skinny bodies. Even the bluegills are in their zone now. Are they avoiding competing with the stripers?

PC just hosted the FLW with 150 boats and was not quite full. 200+ would be a "nightmare".JMO

Trolled brooders around Deer Island this morning. Just the way you guys told me to. Found loads of pre-spawn bass in 15-20fow. Really nice ones including a 6# LM and 4# smallie. Almost all 16"+ My best 5 would have weighed in at an honest 17#s and change. Plus a 20" walleye and 8# striper. Really great morning for me. Hey...this trolling bait works! All still swimming except the now grilling striper. Fins thanks for the tutorial. Water temp back down to 56-58.

Transom trolling motor will steer the boat just like your main motor. Works fine except the odd time when avoiding a tree or rock that can only be seen at the front and needs a fast bow move.. Being from the north, we often use transom mounts especially for trolling and backtrolling is an art itself. Biggest problem is getting a transom mount with enough power to make sense for your boat. I don't know if there is a MG 24 volt transom mount. To my knowledge MK does not have a more powerful model than 55#s.

Ahhh, that makes sense. Its been awhile since I actually anchored. But sounds like right move. Ned fishing yesterday and the 1/16 just would not work. Slack line I know but a huge wind bow just made it tough. Thanks for the technique info.

Awesome! How did you guys stay vertical on the brush with yesterdays wind? I found them on the sonar but could never make a decent cast with the howling blow. Maybe I came in too early (6pm). I need some crappie fillets!!