wareaglecamo

I live 4 minutes from Sportmans Factory Outlet . . . love that place . . . everyone is extremely helpful and courteous . . . with SFO, BPS and ASO, Springfield is a pretty accommodating place as far as finding fishing needs at a fair price:)

nice report MS . . . nice photo . . . thanks for the details . . . congrats:)

It's a beaut Clark!!!

thanks for the report skeet . . . I'd say you deserve a round of applause for getting out there and dealing with the wind, weekenders in general and, as you said, 100 boats from one competition group alone. Sounds like you did pretty well considering you were fishing in what sounds like the Ozarks' version of Times Square:-)

Hi Mitch f . . . regarding the whopper plopper, all size fish seem to crush the WP with strong aggression . . . maybe because of the speed at which it's being retrieved . . . the hooks on the 130 WP are large and extremely "sticky" . . . they get the job done . . . I have had to use pliers to remove every fish landed with the WP . . . I do not recall any fish that was only hooked on the rear hook . . . all had the front hook well-imbedded and some the rear hook also . . . the front hook is always in the mouth and often the rear hook is then imbedded behind the gill opening or pectoral fin . . . I think using braid with no leader eliminates stretch and plays a big role in setting the hook solidly in the fish . . . I see no difference in the hook-set result and/or hook-up ratio in smallmouth vs largemouth with the WP

thanks champ . . . about 12-13 . . . 3-4 in the 16-17" category . . . no 5-pounders like last week . . . all released and as good as new . . . the only reason I have a livewell is to revive a fish, if needed, before I release him . . . being a retired science/biology teacher of 30 years, my love for animals seems to grow stronger year after year . . . a definite turn around after having grown up in a household where a guy could get killed if he thought about releasing any fish:-)

hmmmmmm? Last week it was 98% smallmouth for me on Tuesday and 100% largemouth on Thursday. Today was 100% smallmouth. About 2/3 caught today approached 15" and about 1/3 16-17" . . . photos show an example of the typical 16-17" smallmouth today. IMO, not many things more beautiful than the coloration of a smallmouth reflected in the clear waters of Table Rock (photo). I know you young "kids" out there probably have other ideas of beauty . . . but remember, I'm 70:-) . . . and you're not . . . perch plopper, ned rig, zara puppy and Xpod/position #1 all resulted in some action . . . mid-lake and mid way in chunk-rock coves

nice pics raps . . . when a guy can't get out, a pic is the next best thing:-)

thanks for all of the details 3L . . . great report

F4F . . . nice pics and great job "catching" . . . I do miss my Hobie Pro Angler 14 that I sold a few years ago . . . I do believe the "stealth" aspect of the kayak was, at times, a definite advantage

nice pics . . . thanks for posting . . . looks like your cute little fishing buddy is interested in your catch:-)

a little deceiving . . . the actual painted lure is 5 inches . . . however, the metal shank extending rearward (which is pretty hefty) adds another inch in length and the trailing treble adds the final inch to make it 7 INCHES . . . because of the hefty extension at the rear of the body, I thought CORN DOG would be an appropriate "code name" for the plopper . . . yesterday (Thursday) I threw it at least 700 times, to the point where I could definitely feel cramping in my casting hand . . . quite a switch from the finesse Ned rig

WOW!!! Alex, what a great fish! Thanks for the pic . . . and a Cardinal victory to boot . . . great job:)

nope . . . just called Sportsman (4:23pm), they said not today . . . probably Monday

go figure, more dinks, fewer quality fish as compared to Tuesday when almost every fish was a keeper smallmouth . . . TODAY, not a single smallmouth . . . all largemouth and most in 13-14" range . . . I did manage this "NEAR FIVE-POUNDER" that blew up on the PERCH PLOPPER . . . water temp 74 . . . not as much chop as Tuesday . . . chunk rock pockets again but this time most activity came about 3/4 back into the cove . . . I fished from 11:00am to 6:00pm . . . pretty much non-stop . . . best results again came in mid-afternoon

4 pounder on a spook . . . great fun!! thanks for the report . . . always helpful:-)

thanks for the report . . . sounds like you had a good day and a lot of action:-)

I agree with Old Plug . . . things have changed . . . now they don't even call them "plugs" anymore . . . When I use to fish with my dad, our 3 favorite "topwater plugs" were the Crippled Killer, Jitterbug and Hula Popper. All three were very affordable to anyone with an average salary. My dad would be shocked to know that tomorrow morning when I head to the lake my 5 rigs have lures alone that total near $100 (including tax of course). . . Megabass Xpod, River 2 Sea Whopper Plopper, Megabass Vision 110, Spro Rock Crawler and Spro Little John square bill shallow crank . . . and I wouldn't even know how to begin to explain to him the cost of braided and flurocarbon line:-(

the "Whopper Plopper" in PERCH color

It's the 5 inch . . . but it feels bigger with the extended hardware and large hooks . . . kind of like casting a "WEIGHTED CORN DOG"

Before last weekend I had never even heard of the WHOPPER PLOPPER. Now it has given me the most memorable afternoon of smallmouth bass fishing I have ever experienced on a Midwest impoundment. I fished from 2:30pm to 5:30pm with a nice medium chop on the water . . . partly cloudy skies and 70+ degree air temperature . . . mid-lake and midway back into chunk rock coves . . . little did I know I had entered the gates of smallmouth heaven. On my third cast ever of a "whopper plopper," a ferocious explosion like I have never seen resulted in a 5 pound smallmouth (see photo). Several smallmouth in the 2-pound class, a couple approaching 3 pounds and the one that left me literally shaking . . . a "blow-up" next to the boat like I have never seen as I lifted the fast-moving plopper out of the water . . . I was able to get a very good look at this "over-five-pound" golden-brown beauty that had the personality of a pit bull with fins. He would have been my personal-best smallmouth of a lifetime. Believe what you have heard about the "plopper." Today made a big believer out of me. I only had 2 or 3 short largemouth . . . the rest smallmouth My experience this afternoon showed me the faster you crank it, the more ferocious and larger the fish become. I had 7 rigged rods in the boat and never switched to any of them for even a single cast . . . another first for me. I used the "PERCH" color . . . . not because it was my choice, but because it was the ONLY ONE LEFT IN THE STORE.

great report . . . sounds like you had a fun day:)

please, never apologize for what you refer to as a "winded" report . . . there is no such thing . . . a great report and I enjoyed every word . . . I can never get enough of forum contributors like yourself . . . your report is right in line with my most recent purchases . . . SPRO ROCK KRAWLERS AND SQUARE BILL LITTLE JOHNS . . . so now you have really got me PUMPED!!!

thanks for the report . . . looks like you had a fun time:)

nice smallie . . . thanks for the report . . . interesting comments on the KVD TG