Royal Blue

Yeah. I'm ok with everyone using that front ramp and staying away from the back one.

That big one might have been a good one for you to relocate to your usual haunts.

Bill you're spot on with the orange on the trailer tips. Even if it's a paca chunk or slim. Orange tips are getting way more bites than anything else.

No worries. I'm not short of rods by any means right now, but I'm a fan for sure.

Actually I love that thing. I'd take another anytime you're looking to sell.

Hey! I recognize that grip on that rod!

Yeah. Having Bull the way it's been and not holding anything in TR is maddening.

Where are you putting in? I'd like to try it over there on Wednesday.

Yeah, I was heading to Baxter or even Bull on Wednesday but am now rethinking it and may end up at Aunt's or Cape Fair.

It really depends. I'll drag the jig from extremely shallow all the way out to deeper water. On that part of the lake I find shallow fish a lot. If the bites start coming further out toward the boat, I'll back off and not throw it quite as shallow. I work them both a lot of the same ways. I caught fish in 30+ deep water dragging that worm last summer too. 45 degree banks, across points, inside points, and between and in front of bushes. In some of those cuts even in the hot weather, bass over there seem to stay fairly shallow early in the day especially if there's deeper water close by. If they hammer and pick up that jig, a lot of times they come right at the boat taking it to deep water. I'm rambling...

Just grinding the bottom like the deep cranks? I'm game to try it. I'd assume that they stay pinned a lot better than on a treble hook bait?

Was there any wind at all? When Bull is flooded like it is I throw 3 baits. I run a spinnerbait through the bushes making contact with the branches. I throw a Zoom Ol' Monster worm, and I throw a jig. I have a top water tied on, but with a plopper, I don't always look for surfacing fish. I run the bank with it and cover water. That's the only way I've ever consistently caught them on one of those things. The jig and worm bite should be pretty good there I'd think.

Bo, I'll have you know that I'm sufficiently stocked up on the 1/2 oz Grass Jig again. Tackle Warehouse was running them as the daily deal I think on Monday, so when you have to restock them just know a bunch of them went to Ozark!

They're on that big Jewel Spinnerbait at night too.

Bill when you had them on the jig with your son, are you still on the quick 5 in green pumpkin/orange? You've sold me on that one and that color. I didn't have any smallie beavers with me on Wednesday, but used a paca slim in GP and orange tipped claws and got a ton of bites.

I might have to try some lighter braid on baitcasters. I had issues with it digging, and can't ever seem to get it on tight enough to avoid that.

I throw straight braid on topwaters or straight mono. Never a leader. I might be in the minority here though that I always throw 50lb braid. Never anything lighter than that unless it's a spinning reel.

We hammered them in the rain on Wednesday. 6XD on points and the Bill Babler pig sticker jig did most of the damage. It wouldn't be a good day for me if I didn't catch a keeper on a spinner bait and we had a handful on the War Eagle in the rain. Probably had 20+ keepers. Not a ton of size with the biggest being 2.96 according to the scale. Easily my best day in a long time though. Had a limit by 8:00 and it didn't really slow down until noon. All downstream from Cape Fair Marina.

Great memories!

I've been wondering about Tucker as well.

Agreed. I've gotten my butt chewed coming up that hill from K-Dock A LOT.

Agreed. Andy Montgomery is the best skipping and flipping guy that there is right now. I watched him Sunday take a dock apart and get bit way underneath where I'd never even think to try to get my jig. It was pretty impressive.

When you guys all talk about catching them in front of bushes, are you talking about right in front or further like 10-15 feet out in front? We tried to duplicate the jig bite in front of bushes all day yesterday way up the James and had zero luck. I went to grab a spinning rod to try a wacky rig or neko rig and realized that all of my spinning rods were in Ozark in my garage. It's funny that all of our fish but one came on a spinnerbait or a chatterbait.

How about Skeet's driving? It was impressive to watch him come down off plane and under control the entire time to perfectly pull in there safely.

Exactly. I doubt it was JT Kenney since he was likely on the broadcast. We spent Sunday way up above Bridgeport. Only saw 2 wrapped boats all day. Andy Montgomery pulled into a cut that we were in and I just slipped out of his way and let him fish the docks that he was eyeballing. He caught 3 and thanked us profusely for letting him in. The camera boat stuck around and they talked to us for quite a bit. Ran into Fletcher Shryock way back in the back of the cut that houses Cape Fair Marina. We watched him the whole time he was in there, and he caught 3 flipping the bank. Went in right behind him and caught a couple too, then put it on the trailer. Both guys as well as the camera crewwere super cool to us. Fletcher and Andy both joked with us about sore lipping "their" fish. My biggest takeaways were that they were both really nice guys, but watching them makes me really realize what they consider covering water is much different than what I consider covering water. They seriously don't screw around. They're either getting bit, or moving.