Sam

gitnby - That's fine. I'm just sharing a method that's worked well for me. If you don't think it helps for a nightcrawler to drop real slow, then don't fish that way!

I sure do. Without a slip bobber and with no sinker or a light sinker, you've got no control of the depth you're fishing at. If the boat's moving around, your bait may be drifting at 8' or laying on the bottom at 30' - you can't tell. If you put on a heavier sinker so the line stays straight and you can feel the bottom, then you sacrifice the slow natural drop of a nightcrawler with little or no weight - and that's where the bass bites come from. Sometimes I fish with a nightcrawler, a split shot, and no bobber, too - catfishing.

I thought that title would get your attention. I'm just killing time on another cold day, and I got to thinking about something. A week or so ago, in one of these threads, guys were talking drifting a fly with a 3-way swivel and a bobber for bass. Someone wondered how a slip bobber would work with that rig. I don't know about that, but I've been catching bass for years on a slip bobber rig. Now, I'm a panfisherman - I fish to bring something home for the freezer. I bass-fish for entertainment sometimes, but I throw bass back, for various good reasons that have been thrashed to death here many times. When conditions are right, though, and when I want to have some fun catching bass, or when bass are mixed in with another species I'm targeting, I've got a method that'd be illegal in most tournaments but works real, real well. Conditions have to be calm, with very little or no wind. I have to find fish on the scope first, and likely places are on the drop-offs from flats to channels, off points where the point finally drops into the channel, and sometimes out in the main channel where Kentuckies are cruising around, suspended. Most important, I have to find a place with no perch. I use 10-lb. PowerPro braid (3-lb. diameter) on a spinning rig, a #1 Kahle-style circle hook, a 1/16 oz. split shot, a slip bobber, and a whole, big, live nightcrawler. For goodness sake, don't do this with anything but a circle hook, or you'll gut-hook every fish! Start about 2" from the end of the nightcrawler, and "worm" the nightcrawler onto the hook - covering the hook completely and leaving a couple of inches free and wiggling on each end. The 1/16 oz. split shot goes about 5-6 feet above the hook. Set the slip bobber to the depth you're fishing - if I'm off a flat that drops from 12' to a 45' channel, and if I'm scoping fish on the bottom at 25' on the slope of that drop-off, then I'll keep the boat in 25' and set the slip bobber 25' above the hook. Like I said, you can't do this if it's windy. Cast out, upwind, and give it slack while the rig sinks. When the slip bobber stands up, there's still another 5-6 feet for the worm to drop so leave it still for another couple of minutes. Strikes will come on the drop - they like the slow drop of a worm with no weight, and it's important that the nightcrawler be alive with the ends wiggling. Also, I'm pretty sure fish can sense electric fields and tell whether something is really alive or just looks like it is. This rig will outfish lures, lots of times. If there's no bite 2 minutes after the slip bobber stands up, twitch the line a time or two and leave it another minute. Then reel in and cast again - they like to take it on the drop, not sitting still. When the bobber goes under, don't "cross their eyes". Use a big, sideways, sweeping hookset. A bass will swallow the whole worm, and by the time you know you've got a bite the bass is heading away with its' mouth closed. With a Kahle circle hook, a long sweeping hookset will produce a solid hookup in the jaw, every time - and the fish can be released unharmed. If you get bites you can't hook and an end is bitten off the worm, that's perch. I keep a lighter spinning outfit rigged up the same way but with a small gold hook. When I get perch bites in a spot, I'll throw the lighter rig and fish it the same way for a couple of casts. Sometimes it's big bluegills that are worth keeping and I'll have a ball with them. If the perch are small, it's time to move on - you can't fish this way around perch. I catch mostly bass with this method, including some big ones. Also catfish, big goggleyes, and occasionally walleyes - all of which are of more interest to my freezer and dinner plate. I don't think there's any harm in C/R bass this way if you use a circle hook. I don't cheat at anything and I don't fish bass tournaments. If that should ever change (it won't), they better search my boat for nightcrawlers and disqualify me, or I'm liable to win the thing! I don't think anyone reading this would use nightcrawlers in a tournament that doesn't allow them, but this a good way to have fun and catch some bass. Comments?

I've had numerous hooks stuck in me over the years, some bad, some worse. Worst of all was when I was by myself trolling a Bandit II plug on Bull Shoals and caught a 25" walleye. I hate using a landing net when treble hooks are involved, but that was a nice fish and I netted it. You can't lip a walleye - anyway, you won't do it twice. I got the fish in the boat and it was hooked on the back treble and the front treble was tangled in the net. In trying to get the mess straightened out, the walleye flopped and sunk one of the front treble hooks deep in the base of my right thumb. Now the thrashing fish, the net, and me were all attached. This went on for awhile. It's a good thing that wasn't a big bass I wanted to release, because I ended up stepping on the walleye's head to hold it still while I worked left-handed with needle nose pliers to get first the fish and then the net unhooked. Then I had to run the hook on through my thumb and cut the barb off.

I haven't been there lately, but Yocum ought to be OK no matter where the water is. I've used it with no problem from 10' low to 33' high! That gravel beach just keeps dropping toward deep water, but you've got to have 4WD.

Bill, thanks for posting all that good information. I had no idea. Living in Ozark, we seldom go to Branson-area attractions. I guess it's that way with locals - my wife's brother and his family live in Las Vegas and they never go to casinos (except when we visit). We stayed in cabins at B.C. twice and liked it a lot, but that was in the '90s. I enjoyed following the link and looking at your lodge's website just now (and no, you were very careful not to engage in "shameless commerce", and you included referrals to competitors in your post. That's a good way to be.) I can see you've got a great place there, and I bet my wife and I would enjoy getting away from home for a night or two. We'll be seeing you before long.

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." - Robert A. Heinlein I think I'd call Big Cedar back and get the $177. price.

I've seen that before in various places - rocks as big as bowling balls on a launch ramp. It comes from people swimming and fooling around the ramps when the weather is warm, of course. Those rocks are probably 8 feet underwater when they're thrown in there, then the water level drops and they become a problem. I appreciate that you let us know to watch out for them. I like my prop the way it is, so I always use the power trim when putting in or taking out. If there's two of us launching I'll be in the boat with the motor clear out of the water. My partner backs the trailer in and hits the brakes, sliding the boat off and clear away from the ramp. Then I lower the motor and start it. Taking out, I've got the motor tilted so the prop is just barely underwater, then once I'm on the trailer I turn the motor off and raise it out of the water. Besides rocks on the ramps, sometimes there are potholes in parking lots that can bang up outboards that aren't raised.

Chances are, between now and spring, it'll be one of two things. (1) Lake levels will stay low through the winter and we won't get much rain. That means this spring's fishing will be good but the survival rate of the fry will be poor, hurting fishing several years down the road. (2) It'll rain like all get-out in the late winter and spring, making the lakes high, muddy, and mostly unfishable. Spring fishing will be poor, but we'll get a good crop of young 'uns for future years. Each extreme is both good and bad, I guess. My favorite situation is when the lakes get 4 or 5 feet above normal in late winter then stay there through the spring, with no mud or floods. That gets some land bushes in the water for cover and keeps the fishing good - but it doesn't happen that way very often.

Good memory, motoman - that was me back in February. It's not a link, it's a Word document I got from a dive club member, and it gives GPS coordinates and information on all kinds of underwater objects (sunken boats, bridges, foundations, a tractor, etc.) in Tablerock, Bull Shoals, Beaver, and Norfolk Lakes (mostly Tablerock). Anyone here who wants it, send me an email at ozarkbrew@yahoo.com and I'll email it to you.

Pouring crappie jigheads - a cousin owns a tire shop here, and those free wheel weights help with this project every winter. I leave the big green fish to you bass guys, generally - with notable exceptions sometimes.

MartyW - Those are great side-scan pictures. Interesting. The old bridge looks pretty mangled, with a lot of it down - I guess that's to be expected after 50+ years underwater. What do you think those dense clouds are at 80-90 feet? I always scope a lot of fish around there at that depth, but I don't know what they are. Schools of shad? White bass?

Interesting post Marty, thanks. Being older than most here, I remember riding across the old bridge with my folks and seeing those columns under construction. I also remember us having a family picnic where the fish hatchery is now while Tablerock Dam was being built. I've got some pictures that were taken that day somewhere, and if I ever run across them again I'll post them here.

I know several people who used to fish a lot before they moved to the lake, then they pretty well quit fishing. Others who live there fish almost every day. A guy I got a kick out of was one who has a house and yard in one of the coves and I watched him from my boat one morning. He had an old water well tank with the top cut out and rigged so it fit on a three-point tractor hitch. He was backing his 4WD tractor into the lake to fill the tank, then he'd raise the lift and drive up to his vegetable garden, open the valve at the bottom of the tank, and water his veggies with lake water. Now, there's something you can't do unless you live on the lake! Pretty slick, I thought.

That's my question. Swimming in Tablerock in the warmer months I've opened my eyes underwater and never been able to see more than a few feet. The water gets real clear in mid-winter, and you can see your lure and line 10 or 12 feet under the boat. But shallow-water fishing is real tough then, the bass are usually on the bottom in 50 feet or more, and I wouldn't think there'd be much light that deep. Someone who dives in the lake could tell us for sure, but my guess is that a camera wouldn't see much in Tablerock.

I came across this news article this morning, about Mexican troops murdering another American. Mexico That wasn't around the border, it was near Acapulco, and this stuff is happening a lot. Besides the criminals who'll obviously kill Americans, the police and military often do the same - and they'll falsify evidence and not get in trouble for doing it. Like I said in my post above, my dad and I nearly got killed by cops down there in the 1970's - it could have easily have gone either way. I think Americans ought to stay out of the whole country and quit spending money down there until Mexico gets rid of the crime and corruption and makes it a safe place to visit. It's pretty dumb to go on vacation to a place where you have absolutely no rights and the criminals and crooked cops can do anything they want to, including kill you. Just my opinion.

I'm also retired from a career in law enforcement, and back in the 1970's my dad and I made a 2-week trip to Lake Guerrero. We camped on a sandbar of the river running out of the lake, and we had a ball with the bass fishing in the lake and the Rio Grande Perch in the river. The local people were friendly and nice in every way, but the government was downright scary - and we didn't run into any drug smugglers back then. We got ambushed on a dirt road by a squad of uniformed federales pointing M1 Garands at us, and I thought sure they were going to shoot us and steal the truck and camper. I was able to "badge" my way out of it, and once they understood that I was a cop in the U.S. and that we didn't have any guns it was OK. They pretty well wrecked the camper searching it, though. We'd left our handguns with the McAllen, TX, P.D. before crossing into Mexico, and when we got back we learned from those guys that a Mexican police station had been attacked and some officers killed - supposedly by Cuban guerillas who'd snuck in from the coast. The Mexican cops were on a rampage and out for blood, and that's 'way too exciting for a fishing trip, in my opinion. It's a crazy place. That was back when things were fairly safe, and I understand it's 100 times worse now. Maybe a guided trip to a lake 'way down in Mexico, like El Salto, would still be OK. I don't know. I wouldn't mess around that border for anything now, though. Don't do it.

Marty, I got a chuckle thinking about how fishermen go for the "more difficult" sometimes (and I do it too). Your Cow Creek area of the lake is one of my favorites. Let's see - lots of bass, as you say. I've only caught a few good smallies around there, but I've caught some real nice largemouths and Kentuckies most every time I've tried. Also, that general area is a favorite crappie hole for me - all those trees in Little Cow Creek, and any flooded brush off the steep banks north of you all the way up toward Point 7. Wow. THEN - I've got into white bass real good many times out in the main channel and on the east side of the lake, again all the way from you up to Point 7. Those flats, coves, and points on the sandy side sure attract the whites. Oh, and I've made a few catfishing trips around Little Cow Creek - last spring I caught a flathead there that was about 15 lbs. THEN - One of my favorite deals is when the big goggleyes (rock bass) and big bluegills nest at their respective times in the spring on all those round gravel points between you and Point 5. If you're there at the right time, they're thick (and big) all along there in 15-25 feet of water. THEN - In the fall, about Halloween, good-size black perch (green sunfish) come in to the steep chunk-rock banks all around your area. I've got a 7" mark on the handle of my lightest spinning rod (to define keepers), and we like to go down those banks throwing little-bitty crawdad-colored tubes on 1/16 oz. jigheads. Last time we did that we brought 55 sets of tiny, tasty filets home. Fun. I know you like to fish for all species - but your favorite is WALLEYES. I like 'em too and I know they're in there, but that's the only fish I've never caught near where you live.

I started a controversy with my comments, but I sure agree with what you said there. A few weeks ago on one of my Bull Shoals trips I went a lot farther than usual and ended up at Horseshoe Bend. From there I ran straight back to my truck at K Dock at my blistering top speed of 30 mph with my four-stroke 50 hp motor. That's gotta be 10 miles or more I guess, and I saw only ONE other boat on the way - he was trolling for walleyes, I think, on Mincy Flat. I passed him on the far side of the lake so he wouldn't catch much of a wake, I waved, he waved, and that was it. So I can't complain. I've got a place where I can fish all day and get away from big wakes if I want to. If I choose to fish the busy parts of Tablerock instead, I know there's gonna be boats big enough to sail to Japan, pontoons, party boats going around in circles, jet skis, overpowered bass boats throwing 20' roostertails ('cause they don't know how to set the trim), and the water's going to be churning. Back to the original subject, I think a lot of that commotion is unneccesary and it damages the fishing, the banks, and the docks. As you say, though, the weather hits those docks with waves too - and a fisherman trying to get up Aunt's Creek isn't hurting anything as long as he's not being reckless about it, and I know you're not. You'll find me on Bull Shoals, mostly.

Yep, I'm not trying to be mean either - but I figured that out a long time ago. I make eight or ten trips to Bull Shoals for every one on Tablerock. Sometimes fishing conditions lead me to Tablerock anyway, but that's when something's going on that makes the catching outweigh the aggravation. I can put up with a lot when I'm catching fish.

Sorry, but I've got a different opinion on that. I think a 30 mph speed limit on the whole lake would be the best thing that could happen, plus no-wake areas near any docks. I could run from one end of the lake to the other if I wanted to spend my day running instead of fishing. Instead, I seldom go more than a mile or two from wherever I put in. Fishing one area of the lake steady and in detail is a lot more productive for me than running around all over the place - and if you can't find fish in a couple of miles of water, well, you might not find them 15 miles away either. You're sure not gonna catch any while you're going 60 mph. Of course, while I'm doing that I constantly get bounced around by wakes from party boats and bass boats with big motors running flat out. It's "There goes another one, I'll get in one more cast before the wake hits" all day long. Besides the safety issue of running boats at high speed on a lake shared by many others, those wakes damage docks and boats in slips, erode the banks and muddy up the water, and often make it real difficult to fish. They spook the fish, too - lots of times I've had fish quit biting when boat traffic gets too bad. At the least, getting hit with wakes and motor noise all day in what should be the relaxing outdoors is downright annoying. As my grandpa would have said, "There ain't no use in it!". Just my opinion, and everybody's got one of those, you know.

I know there are other good batteries, but for the past 17 years or so I've run Delco Voyager marine batteries in my boat. K-Mart used to carry those, and now they're available in Bumper-to-Bumper auto parts stores. The regular price is a little over $100, but they go on sale every spring for about $80. The Delco Voyagers have all lasted me at least five years, and more often six or seven years. I only run a 40 fp trolling motor, but my trolling battery will keep it going all day or night, even at the higher speeds when it's windy. I've been real satisfied with Delco marine batteries and intend to keep using them.

Phil - I fish the James River arm for crappie and white bass a lot. It's an easy drive from Ozark. When I'm fishing anywhere from Virgin Bluff (two short bends below Bridgeport) upstream, I put in at Bridgeport like you did. From there I can fish clear up to Galena until the water gets too shallow for my boat - usually around Blunk Hole. The far upstream is usually a white bass deal in the spring, but I've got numerous crappie holes in between. If I'm going downstream, below Virgin Bluff, I drive west a few miles past the bridge at Bridgeport and put in at Cape Fair instead. There's a launch fee in the warm months, but the ramp and the parking are better. From there I often fish down to Buttermilk Springs and a little beyond, and rarely clear down to where the James and White River arms meet. I've got the whole James arm covered that way. If you're going downstream much from Bridgeport, it's better to put in at Cape Fair. The weather looks pretty good for tomorrow, Friday, and I think I'll go pester those crappie.

Those are great images and big bunches of fish - but what are they? Shad? White Bass? I don't think bass or even crappie would bunch up in such numbers without cover.

Bill - I like several Gulp baits, but they're a slimy mess and they turn hard real quick when they're out of the water. When I've got one of those on and I'm running to another location, I drop my bait in the live well. I'm careful about closing the live well lid so's not to put a kink or a weak spot in my line. Sometimes I've got fish in the live well, but I haven't had a bite in there yet.