Robert Haynes

I like Horsehoe bend ramp, it is steep but never had an issue, launches big boats well but never would I consider using in ice conditions

I agree with J-Doc, I live close to Monte Ne launch and will not use it anymore. With my 21 ft center console, it is just too big to launch and stay dry. It is worth it to get the year Corp of Engineer pass and launch out of Horsehoe Bend or any other corp ramp. The Corp ramp at Hickory Creek is not good either, it is worth it to launch at the marina and pay $3.00. Plus you can get coffee etc. while there. Garland who helps run the marina was the first person I met when I moved here 29 years ago and never find a better person, although it is unlikely he will give up his crappie holes, he will give you all the striper advice you want.

Good

I was a taxidermist here locally for 16 years mounting thousands of Stripers. I know almost all of the guides well. I kept freezers at their homes and made regular pickups. I agree that this is not the description that I have of Don Andreasen. The only complaint I ever heard of was when he refused to take a client back in during a tough day of not catching. He had a repuation of catching fish and big ones and did not want to go in without catching fish. I don't know of anyone who works so hard for fish. There are other good guides on the lake but Andresen is definitley one of them. I have not seen him in years but highly respect him as a fisherman.

Not sure they even make a remote only unit. If my remote goes out or I drop in water I just plug my foot control pedal in and work by foot. My remote operated minnkotta came with pigtail to plug foot control into.

It's all about the size of the boat and how much money you're willing to spend. I prefer to find exactly what I want and to save up and buy one time.

I agree also, I have a 21 foot center console I wouldn't be caught with a remote. I have the ipilot and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have never had the remote fail, keep extra batteries just in case. I have a foot control cable ready to plug-in just in case something ever happen with the remote.

What you say I will assume to be true because it is the same thing with venison. People eat my venison and are amazed. I know it is in the care of the meat that I take. You are correct about the care of the birds. You described exactly how I would (mis) care for birds. I come from duck, goose, quail, dove, white-winged dove country. Grew up on all the above but always challenged with ducks and geese. My issue today is I have too much meat in the freezer and too little desire to cook. Ducks and geese were part of our survival growing up as well as most animals that walked or swam but it seems the rib eyes , venison, shrimp and flounder come out of the freezer first and the ducks and geese seem to make it to the bottom of the freezer, maybe you can change that.

I hate to bring up the Gar again but I think I would eat gar before I ate goose. I have found 1 way to cook it so it is edible but it requires more jalepenos than goose meat and in a tortilla. Anything in a tortilla is better.

I'm glad I have been out of the country for the last week. The only way a gar can go almost 3 pages must be because no one is catching any fish.

It just so happens while this topic has been going on, I have been in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswich, Nova Scotia, Deer Isalnd (Canadian island with 21 ft tide changes) and now in Maine. I have been eating the Lobster (bugs) everyday for a week. As good as it is, I have had enough and I am ready for some good old fried beaver lake fish of any kind (except gar, carp or shad).

I can't believe gar made 2 pages of posts.

When I was a kid in south texas running 200 hooks on trot line for cats, I would get a lot of catfish bait out of them. We never ate them cuz we had too many catfish as well as speckled trout, reds and flounder when on the saltwater. It's all about how hungry you are and there needs to be a little hunger before the gar goes in the freezer. My wife is Italian and puts pigs feet in her spaghetti sauce. I imagine 100 years ago one day they had eaten the rest of the pig and only had the feet left. They were hungry and threw it in the pot and now it has become tradition. That's how I feel about gar, not that hungry yet.

Congratulations, buying a house is like shifting gears In a truck, you loose a little momentum financially but you gain it back when you get in a higher gear.

You guys are probably right, I just can't understand that kinda thinkin. They may look cool to some but they look in the way to me.

Power Poop, that's hilarious, wish I would have thought of it. I fish the gulf Coast a week or two every year and the power pole is invaluable on the coast. I haven't gotten one because of the expense for just fishing eight days a year on the inshore gulf but I do have two fiberglass 10 foot pins that stick in the sand and tie off that were just as good short term. I'm sure the power poles were not put on these boats for beaver lake but for fishing other Shallow water lakes in Texas etc. And a lot of these guys do go down the coast as well.

J Doc: Also thanks for the video referral. I know when the light clicks on, I will understand and feel like a fool for not seeing it or using it all these years.

J Doc: What I meant is I have a $1500 unit that I am only using as a depth finder and have to learn to use it to find fish. Chestnut: Thanks for the link, I will look right into it.

Very nice, I have a hummingbird 998 down and side imaging as well as sonar. I have had it for several years but have not grown confident in reading it. Listening to how you guys trust your fish finders, I have got to learn how to trust it, I don't need a $1500 depth finder.

Thanks for the report. My wife and I are camping at Horseshoe Bend next 4 nights. We have been catching the surfacing whites the last couple weeks in the same area but the last 3-4 days seemed to have slowed. Went out yesterday evening around 6:30-7:30 in the same area you were fishing and saw nothing. I knew we should have held out a little longer for them to come up but the campfire was calling. I will fish this evening if not too rainy. I have ministry commitments the next 2 nights so will have to fish mornings. Have the whites been surfacing around Monte Ne area in the mornings? I am new to this site and have really enjoyed the reports and clean content of this site. Thanks

Wife was throwing Silver Roosertail, large one so we get get some distance out of the cast. I don't think it mattered yesterday, I was throwing a saltwater white swim bait that I was testing for my gulf trip and it worked as well. You are right, they have been surfacing for 1-2 weeks now but a week ago I could not get them to hit hardly anything. Yesterday it was easy pickings. There were some large, aggressive schools then they would break up into small sporadic schools. I am glad it got dark, already had more to clean than I wanted. Takes a little extra time with the whites to get them edible but once red is out, we love them. I tried to post pictures but could not figure it out. I use Tapatalk on my saltwater forums but not get it to work on this forumn. I have not caught or seen any strikers.

Had a blast with wife catching whites in Monte Ne Area. Good size and lots of fun. Last week they seemed to be reluctant to hit anything even when you would throw right in them but they were ready to eat yesterday. Morning and evening, both were good. I did not realized that they surfaced this time of year. We usually fish Gulf coast a lot and only "practice" working lures on Beaver but this has been a nice change for us to catch something.

Whites been surfacing in the evening between monte ne and Hickory creek. Not big schools but still fun especially for kids. They have been a bit picky, I have thrown in the middle of schools and not got bit or short bites. Water has been pretty, calm and fairly clear. Schools are so small that a little wind makes hard to see.

Thanks to all the advice when I started this thread. We fished Saturday evening, rough water and boats like crazy, big boats. Found a sheltered spot and had a few small fish hit. Out at daylight Sunday, water was beatitful, lake was quiet. Started to get on a bite on gravel flat and rain hit. Stayed under open spot in close dock for hour or so and after looking at radar decided to call it for the day. It's one thing fishing in storms by yourself but with 7 year old grandson I did not want to make his trip miserable. I will return but may wait until water is too cold for ski boats.

I added to my front casting deck last year with a couple storage boxes on my 21 ft center console. It changed the ride of my boat so much that I had to put trolling batteries in rear to help take some weight off the front. That helped but it still does not ride quite as good as it did.