Dock-in-it

Mitch, I was around a lot of fish and they were eating the Keitech. So I tied on the Tackle Max SB and caught a keeper on the first cast. I locate another small group of fish and make a cast and they ignored it (like they routinely do with a Keitech). I make a 3rd cast and catch another keeper. So now I realize my goal is to catch a limit on your SB and that happened without a problem. I was around fish postured above 15ft and below 15ft. The SB worked much better on fish postured below 15ft. The 2.8 Keitech worked good on fish above 15ft. I think a 2.8 inch version of your SB would be interesting. The thing I like about the SB is how well it holds up due to the sturdy top section where you have the jig head and then the lower tail section has lots of action/flexibility. After catching a limit the bait showed no wear and tear.

I did a table rock post for Feb 15......the 3.5 swimbait worked good.

Tackle Max pics

I fished this morning and the swimbait bite was awesome. The BFL tournament this weekend should be pretty good for a lot of the guys. I normally try to experiment with new baits when the bite is strong and I am around a bunch of fish. So today I decided to try the 3.5" Tackle Max Fugitive SB and it did not disappoint. I caught a nice limit on it which included all 3 species. BFL-FFS comments. FFS is educational, efficient, and effective (I like it). But some tournament guys can not use it and also practice proper etiquette. They get so close and totally ignore your presents. I normally let it go because 99% of my trips are hassle free. But the morning it was so flagrant that I decided to educate a few guys. Plenty of tournament guys misjudge a book (me and you) by its cover and that is a character flaw they need to work on. Tournaments bring out the worst in many guys, but these same guys know proper etiquette when fun fishing. Had 20+ keepers and kept my boat in 40-50 FOW......on the main lake. WT 46.5 to 47.5 The Tackle Max pics are on the carpet...too many eyeballs in the area.

Regarding FFS smack down/education, Patrick Walters (Elite pro) showed its capabilities in Nov 2020 on Lake Fork. His approach with FFS caught everyone off guard. MLF pro Drew Gill (age 21) is a product of college fishing and he just finished 3rd on the MLF-BPT on Toledo Bend and won the MLF invitational last week on Sam Rayburn. If you want to see the impact of college fishing and the future of high level pro fishing I would recommend you watch his interview from earlier this week on Bass Talk Live (BTL) on YouTube. This young man is ready for prime time.

I fished this morning for a few hours and things are changing (like shad locations and the deep bite techniques). Shad can be found on gravel runouts, in the creeks, and on the main lake. Finding fish associated with the shad is a challenge. The deep vertical bite can still be found but the fish are very picky and not grouped up like they were. I have found the swimbait bite to be more reliable because the fish are using the entire water column and they seem more willing to bite a horizontal presentation. I have not spent any time looking for gravel fish, I normally try areas with plenty of trees. The two pictured fish were caught using a swimbait retrieve. One on the main lake and the other in a creek. Had 7 keepers this morning. the boat in 30-50 FOW. WT 46.5 to 48.5

I scouted/fished this morning for a few hrs and there is a big disconnect between the bait and the fish. In the river channel around channel swings you set your graph at a depth of 100ft and see an unlimited amount of shad starting at 90 FOW (stacked from 70ft to the bottom). Some large schools of shad can also be seen in 60 FOW several hundred yds from the channel. I was not able to find any fish associated with these massive bait schools. I was able to find some active fish on the main lake around trees and just a small amount of scattered shad. The fish were feeding in small groups and several individual fish just raised up off the bottom to follow my Damiki rig. I would normally drop the Damiki to the bottom and slowly crank it straight up. The graph picture represents the bait/fish scenario that I was seeing in the area. Kept boat in 40 to 55 FOW. WT 45

I fished this morning from 9-12 and the bite was really steady the first hour then got progressively tough. There were more boats than I have ever seen for a weekday in January. I fished an area with lots of trees and scattered shad. Kept the boat in 30-55 FOW. The fish were eating 3 to 4.5" shad. The bite was aggressive but I did lose about 10. The fish used the entire water column and plenty broke the surface and that allowed me to catch several on a swimbait. I used ice jig, Damiki, 4" grub, 3.3" SB, and modified Tackle Max Shark tail worm on a Damiki head. WT 45 to 45.6

I fished this morning for a few hours but did not find very many. I had about 8 fish and they were all shy of keeper size. I tried the ice jig and Damiki and the ice jig worked but the Damiki did not. They wanted the ice jig reeled up real slow. So I decided to try a modified version of Tackle Max Shark tail worm on a 3/8 oz VMC Damiki head. I took the 5.25 inch worm and cut it to 3 5/8 inch which is just above the solid mid section. I caught two fish in 4 minutes then I could not find more fish to experiment with. These fish were about a foot off the bottom in 43ft and they wanted the Shark tail dropped down to them and then reeled straight up very slowly. They would rise up and follow the bait then finally commit. I went to my dock yesterday and worked the modified bait just below the surface to comprehend the action based on moving the rod left/right, twitching, dropping,,,etc. The bait has very fluid movements were as a regular Damiki brand bait is rigid. I look forward to trying this bait again when I find a good group of fish.

Mitch, I mostly use a 3/8 VMC moon eye jig with a 3" Damiki brand armor shad. Regarding the shark tail worm, I would recommend cutting the 5.25" version down to 4" and put that on a 5/8 oz jig head. Then use it vertical for the deep fish and fish for the guys closest to the bottom and work the bait aggressively by jigging it up several feet. These winter fish love a fast rate of fall. Then try the same setup as a swimbait. Regarding hover strolling, I have not tried it in the winter because of the slow rate of fall to reach the fish and the fish high in the water column are very tough to catch vs the bottom guys. I would love to hear feedback that it works. I think the best scenario to try hover strolling is in the first 30 minutes of daylight (with no wind) and you know your around plenty of fish. A low pressure mild wind day before a cold front is the best time to find winter fish feeding high in the water column.

Regarding how to determine which creeks are good for winter time. Every creek is unique and will hold winter time fish at different intervals throughout the winter. Since I fish deep 95% of the time I know which creeks are good for grouping up pre-spawn and/or post-spawn fish (at certain offshore locations). A creeks 'spawn phase grouping ability' seems to correlate to having winter time grouping of fish at certain locations. These groups of fish come and go multiple times during the spawn phases and during the winter months. So you can not write off a good looking creek/location after one visit. Prior to FFS, deep winter time fishing was more suited for guys on the water multiple days per week. Since FFS, several weekend fishermen have cut their learning curve time frame by a few decades.

I fished this morning for a few hours and the deep bite was very steady on the Damiki rig. Both the horizontal and vertical presentations were effective. Swimming the Damiki produced the best quality and was just as effective as the vertical bite. Tried the ice jig and they did not like it very much. I did not try a Keitech because the Damiki is so effective as a swimbait. As normal for resident fish, the good bite lasted from 7:15 to 8:45, then the wolfpacks fizzled and the small groups were much tougher to catch, then at 9:30 it was done. Stayed in 37-45 FOW. WT 50-51.5

Fished this morning for a few hours and found some resident fish grouped up and willing to bite. Both horizontal and vertical presentations worked good. Scattered deep thredfin and plenty of gizzard shad breaking the surface. Caught them mainly on Damiki straight under the boat and as a swimbait. Kept the boat in 55 to 60ft. Also I never ignore a fish that breaks the surface because they are active and ready for a swimbait. WT 54ish

Regarding winter time resident fish (history proven locations). Resident fish will vacate an area throughout the winter and reappear days later. So they will roam off the reservation. I just fish mornings so I do not have any first hand knowledge of how resident fish operate in the afternoon. I have fished in the winter for many years and my trips are based on wind speed and direction ( I avoid the wind ). These fish get educated so I recommend not fishing for them on consecutive days. Resident locations are normally a few acres in size and some locations require more shad to keep them hanging around. A lot of these locations have trees and are on the edge of a comfort zone (like deep/shallow or trees/then no trees). Winter time resident fish will be very active from daylight until 8AM, then between 8 to 9 you can see the activity start to slow down. After 9 or 9:30 it is like a ghost town on your graph. I would not scout for these fish after 8:30. You may not see any grouped up shad but there are scattered shad in the area. If I was going to fish for 8 hours I would start on resident fish at daylight then go looking for abundant shad after 9AM. These locations have an overall depth range of 30 to 65ft and that allows you to catch them suspended or on the bottom. Different resident locations will turn on at different times throughout the winter. Some are good in December and others might get going in January. You need an inventory that you can check in a few mile range because running the boat in cold Temps works on your enthusiasm.

The deep bite has been good the past few days. Mainly using Damiki, ice jig, and slab spoon. I caught a few yesterday on topwater (in 40ft) but they were shorts so I put it down after 5 casts. The bass pictures are from this morning in 60-65ft. The graph pictures are from today (60-65ft) and yesterday (40ft). These are resident fish vs shad roamers. These resident fish will come and go from the area but it does not take much bait to hold them. These resident fish are grouped up unti 8 or 9am, then they disperse into singles and are tough to catch. This morning I noticed a few gizzard shad break the surface where I could see there body. That is a good indication that nice fish maybe in the area. WT 54-55

Thanks for the report. I went out this morning for a few hours in the Kimberling area and found some deep fish. I could have caught a few on topwater but threw a fluke style swimbait at the ones that broke the surface. The 1/2 oz spoon works good on picky fish.

Just FYI, with the guys taking off from state park. 68 of 210 boats made it past Mill Creek ramp on their initial run. So guessing the big creeks prior to Kimberling Bridge have plenty of FFS guys and some football jig folks on the main lake. Perhaps Cody Huff wins this deal if the deep bite is king but he will have plenty of company.

Champ, I can no longer estimate a reasonable cost to get something accomplished by a small business. Keep in mind you are not just paying to have batteries installed. You are paying the cost of running a small business (admin staff, rent, work trucks, insurance,,,,,, etc). Example: Dock repair costs have gone up 100-200% since 2020. I would say $45 was a reasonable cost....because that is probably only 100% increase since 2020.

I fished for a few hrs this morning and tried my luck with the hover rig for the first time. I went to a spot I knew would be holding non hassled fish. I caught 10 Ks with 3 keepers and was 4 for 4 on my first 4 casts. The Keitech 2.8 bite is extremely tough and there is no way it would have caught 10 fish out of one group. My hover rig utilized a 4" caffeine shad Jr (actually 4.75 in) with a 3/32 Core Tackle hover jig head on 6# line (this falls about 1.75ft per second). I would let it sink to right above the fish (20-25ft) then constantly shake the bait while turning the reel handle once about every 15 seconds. Currently the market may not have the ideal soft plastic bait for this rig. I was pleasantly surprised that a 4.75 inch bait would work but I want to find a 3.75 inch bait with a solid body (no under belly hook grooves). I am pretty sure this technique will be a Table Rock player. WT 86 ish

Fished this morning and the suspended bite is fairly tough with a swimbait. Finding fish out deep is not the issue, but triggering them to bite a swimbait is the challenge. The first few cast to a group of fish can be productive but each additional cast is normally a waste. Bait speed seems to be key, so I lift and drop the SB to trigger a bite. A steady slow retrieve will attract some shorts but the bigger fish seem to prefer the action/speed of a falling bait. I use a 3.3 on a 5/16 and a 2.8 on 1/4oz, the 5/16 has fewer hang ups because it seems to have less roll when it hits a tree limb. So I make more risky cast around cover with a 5/16. I normally stay off the main lake and check out deep history spots that I can spend 30-45 minutes trying to fool a few. My boat is routinely in 45-55 FOW and the target fish are normally suspended in the 20-30ft range. One drawback about deep fishing is the fact that some very good history spots will just stop holding groups of fish. Some spots produce each year and others will be solid for years then dry up. Minor ramble: The Kimberling area has got short handed the last few years on a deep post spawn surface bite. I think a good post spawn bite depends on a short window between the bass spawn wrapping up and the shad spawn starting. This year a lot of bass spawned in 59 degree water and the shad spawn started about 68 degrees. The pictured fish were on SB, and I did get a few on the spoon. 7 keepers and some shorts. WT 84-85

The morning suspended bite is still steady. I fished with 2.8, spoon, and topwater. Included below is a picture of a tree loaded with fish. This tree sets in 38-40 FOW when the lake level is at 915-917 (tops out about 5ft below the surface). The tree is near the mouth of a creek and is the last dominate tree in a long line of timber. This tree is not a good weekend spot unless it is your first stop. The skiers will run you off. From the graph picture you can tell my boat is shallow....mainly for safety. The fish relating to the tree just pick a depth that suits them. The key with a 2.8 is to look for fish postured just far enough from the branches. The majority of fish always seem to be on the other side of the tree, but if you move your boat to the other side, the fish will magically appear on the other side again. This tree location also has roamers nearby but you need a group of 4 or 5 fish to create a competitive swimbait scenario. Trying to pick off an individual swimmer is normally a waste of time. Once you educate them with a 2.8 you can move closer to flip a spoon and your first few drops with a spoon are the high percentage casts. The topwater bite did not happen even with ideal cloudy conditions. The pictured LM was on a 2.8 and the SM was on a spoon. Had a few more nice LM in the rain. WT 84ish

Regarding thermocline (or lack of) here is a picture of bass suspended at 20-25ft in 30-35 FOW. This is a creek channel swing and my boat is setting in 50ft. These fish have trees, bait and deep water within 50-100ft. FFS teaches you a lot about what bass prefer (and it is not always what we consider the best option). I caught all three species from this group ( which included more fish than in the real time picture). Using a 2.8 with a lift/drop retrieve. When you catch one it kinda scatters the tight group and they start the education process on the impact of a 2.8.

The deep morning bite has been fairly consistent. I chose a different section in my zip code on each outing and try to catch them with the presentations I like (swimbait, spoon, topwater). This morning I stayed off the main lake and there was a fair amount of small surface bait (like tiny shad) and deeper shad schools. The bass are eating a lot of 3 to 4" shad. The topwater opportunities do exist but are not a priority due to lack of quality results. And the surface chasing fish are super smart as compared to the suspended fish. Regarding the swimbait. Each group of fish have their own preferences. One group will bite a 3.3 and the next group will only bite a 2.8. The underspin will work on some groups but they get educated real quick, so I normally save it for a few wrap-up cast. The underspin (with straight tail) is also good for determining if your targets are worth the effort. The dinks and (perhaps crappie and bluegill) will bite the spinner blade and not get hooked. With FFS I see plenty of opportunities where I need to drop the swimbait to fish postured below the lazy followers. Two of the pictured LM fell for that trick. Regarding thermocline. I will assume a thermocline is developing based on time of year and WT. But the fish are using a lot of the water column and I like to focus on those using the 20-25ft range (in the morning hrs). Two of the pictured fish were on a 2.8 and the other two on a spoon. Had about 12 keepers this morning. WT 85ish.

Regarding gizzard shad. In the first hour of a calm morning you can see individual gizzard shad barely break the surface and create a small ripple. Some individual gizzard shad are more aggressive at the surface and make a bigger ripple or swim in a tight circle for a few seconds. You can also see them on FFS very near the surface and they will not react to a bait. Regarding the Jewel Live Spin. At the present time, it will catch fish in the first 90 minutes of daylight if you are around active fish. This bait may or may not work on pressured fish and the non-pressured fish get educated real quick. To try it in clear deep water, find a group of fish away from the boat suspended at 10-15ft. This morning, I seen a group of 4 fish about 40ft from the boat about 10-15ft down and tried a 2.8 Keitech and they ignored it. So I threw the Jewel bait and caught 2 of them on consecutive cast. Then I did a few fan cast and caught another. You must keep your rod down when fighting a fish or they will jump and spit this 1oz bait. Also, make the lure rise and fall.

The deep suspended morning bite is still going good. The chance for a quality topwater bite (out deep) normally happens before 6AM and then you can still have a few keeper opportunities until 6:30ish. I normally work a walking bait real fast. My starting area this morning had trees and bait with gizzard shad mixed in. I think the presence of gizzard shad makes a difference in having quality LM in the area. Some days they want a slow swimbait presentation and other days they want something fast. Today, the fish wanted a fast dropping presentation. The thing about a fast dropping bait is it really moves the location of fish in the water column. I have experimented with the Jewel Live Spin several times and it has been in the bottom of the tackle lately. I read a few recent reports about the lure and decided to try it today. It produced my best LM and other decent fish. With this bait, you have to change the factory hooks with split rings and quality hooks. Also with FFS, I locate the fish then turned the transducer off of them to avoid spooking both bass and bait. The rotation of your morning milk run is important because this bite fizzles as time ticks away. I do not use a dropshot but I know it will catch the fish I target. Today's pics and the WT is 80ish.