merc1997 Bo

the smile says it all! bo

got linda out on the water last night. we put in very close to 7 pm, and was back on the trailer at 12:30 am. ended up with 11 keepers. could have been 12 if you counted the one that linda swung in over the boat, and then somehow she swung it back out over the water and plop, back into the water. guess you could call that landing and getting them back into the water without even touching them and still be able to get the fun out of them. somewhat similar areas as monday night, but did not catch one bass on a blade. water temp was showing 77. bass are on the move and dropping water tends to put them on specific types of spots. i really do not know on the lower end how deep daytime bass might be, but i did not feel that visibility was much past 5 feet. there was a line of stuff around 35 feet, but did not see anything hanging around in that depth on the graph. every bass was caught on a 1/2 GrassJig. got a few pics because linda will take a pic while i stay on the tolling motor and not lose the spot. most of my other partners are not picture takers and want to fish. bo

champ that is just about par for the course, but i always tell linda that i got to fish more instead of guiding. thankfully linda does understand that it is a job running the boat out in the wind, and sometimes have to deal with one of her overruns, retie lines, ect. i am sure that donna appeciates how nice it is to be able to just sit back and catch bass and let you do the work. bo

i will go at night until the water temps get below 50. in the fall, you just fish the same way as you would in the spring, same banks and lures. however, you do have to kind of hand pick the nights because of the colder nights. one full moon of november, i caught 6 bass that weighed over 36 lbs. all came on a 1/2 brown and blue jig with a #25 blue crawfrog. perfect conditions, it was a warm night. the low for the night was 56 and the bass were just flat out up eating. of course, that was back before the fish kill, and we had a lake full of big bass. when the spoon fishing is really geared up, we often put in around 11 to noon, and will often stay for the after dark bite. many of the bass that you had been catching on a spoon will move right up on the bank after dark. one has to really enjoy those hours that you totally have the lake to yourself and the bass are biting. bo

nice ones for sure, and you are right. are you going to miss catching them while taking pics, or keep on catching them, right? i always have a good laugh watching iconelli rolling all over the boat yelling and screaming. i could put an entire limit in the boat before he ever gets over his patting himself on the back. one never know just how fleeting the bite might be. bo

being in the water and getting back in your boat is something anyone needs to actually practice. this will give you a very good idea if you can do it by yourself, or if you need to have another plan, such as boarding ladders that actually work, and wearing a pfd at all times. when cold water is added, it becomes much more difficult and in a hurry. i still routinely get out in the water during warmer water conditions to make sure that i can still easily get myself back into the boat on my own. there are tricks to doing it, and anyone with lifeguarding background will know what i am talking about. you bob up and down and on a bob up, you kick at the same time, and it will easily propel you up on the deck. the same way one used to get out of a swimming pool without using a ladder. i hope that everyone takes being out of the boat into the water seriously and plans ahead and knows their each individual capabilities. most definitely have your pfd on and buckled up and kill switch hooked up anytime the big engine is running. a very good thread to remind us to be safe on the water. bo

interesting that the drop would get them fired up and then catch them on something else. most often, the spoon the the triggering key and then you can catch them on other things. great job of figuring out how round up a bite and keep it going. bo

has anyone noticed that the officer in the pic of story is operating the boat, but does not have his pfd on????? not too good of an illustration to wear your pfd anytime the big motor is running. wake up water patrol. you are being watched. bo

fishing as parallel with the strike zone a possible. most often fishing parallel with the strike zone is the best way. fishing into the bank and back out is not too good of a way to present your lure in front of as many fish as possible on each cast. example would be 10 bass sitting on a 10 foot deep ledge and they are spaced 10 ft. apart. throwing straight into the bank, you could not ever get a lure in front of any of those 10 bass because each cast could be landing exactly 5 feet from each bass. when allowed to, fish as parallel as possible with the strike zone. bo

here are the three lures that did the catching. bo

Went down to the lower end last night. Put in at 7 and back on the trailer at midnight. Was lucky enough to stumble upon the bite right off the bat, and caught bass the entire time on the water. The bass were all on similar type structure, and that would be on a shelf with a very vertical edge. Most bites were from 15 to 25 ft. Best three baits were a 1/2 GrassJig, a 3/4 GrassJig, and a 1 oz. SpinJig with a new 1 oz. GrassJig on the frame and a # 6 colorado blade. The amount of bass we caught was insane. 20+ keepers. brownies were the most numerous, but also had a good mixture of lmg's and k's. We did have a fair amount of 3 lb. class bass also. The wind was always at a bad angle, and my back sure can tell that from having to stick the nose of the boat out into the wind, and turn around backwards to fish. did get pics of two nice blacks, but the wind really made it impossible to do any pic taking or you would be up on top of the bass or blown completely by them. These bass were really grouped up, and there would be multiple bites in one little area. I was totally surprised that the bite was that good last night. With the passing of a front, and a north wind blowing, I was really expecting to just catch a few bass, and the bites to be few and far between. Of course, it was pretty lucky to stumble upon the right everything first jump out of the box. I did go looking at more vertical terrain to begin with because of the post front conditions. Goes to show you can't catch them sitting at home. bo

great day of fishing what is in front of you. pretty typical september fishing. bo

you most likely were not fishing a tournament either. it does not make any difference then. bo

that is just part of fishing. there are times when they are just hard to come by, and september fishing on table rock can be the worst month of the year many times. the bass are in the midst of transitioning from their summer homes and scatter. scattered bass are much harder to get to bite because of lack of competition. you did the right thing in trying different presentations and keeping on the move to try to find something working. bo

a good troller will beat the pants off of the cast and retrieve any day of the week. you can cover more water, and control your speed and depth much better. yes, there are bass in brush piles by docks on LOZ, but there are way more off shore bass than by the docks. trolling is not my cup of tea, but i have fished with a couple of people over the years that are experts in the art of trolling, and it is amazing at how many bass they can catch in a day. you would not want them to be competing against you in a tournament, providing trolling is allowed. bo

pepe, do not know that it could be called bad luck, but it just part of life and you have to deal with it as it comes. if i can get my blood count back up, i think i will be fine and back to somewhat normal. thanks bo

well bill, this is one of the reasons that i do not pursue tournaments. you can make it sound in your head anyway you want to, but the fact is that pulling your lure along with the trolling motor is trolling, no matter is you do turn your handle once in a while. you could do the same trolling with the outboard engine and it is still trolling. if trolling is to be allowed, then no trolling needs to be taken out of the rules. you talk about "tom foolery" all the time. well, dragging with the trolling motor and not calling it trolling is right at the height of "tom foolery". i do not care if strolling is done all the time in a tournament where the rules state no trolling. it is against the rules and should be applied as such. if you want to have a trolling tournament, then lets have one, and the actual folks that do know how to troll with clean everyone's clocks. you can drag your lure all you want, but when there is a no trolling rule, the dragging needs to be done by casting and retrieving. bo

i have been out of commission for a bit. a one week stay in the hospital, couple of surgeries and four or five days of recouping, and i finally had enough energy to take a trip to see if i still remembered how to catch one. went down to the lower end, and most shad were still in the 25 to 30 foot range. water temp right at 83. caught three nice keeper brownies before it got dark, and they were right at the 25 foot mark. they all came on a 3/4 GrassJig. caught one nice keeper kentucky before the moon came up, and after the moon came up caught 3 more keeper brownies and 1 more keeper k. these bass had moved up into the 15 to 20 foot range. still saw shad out deeper but not bites that deep. had the boat back on the trailer at 12:15. caught lots of shorts in the 1 hour flurry after the moon came up. it sure seems that the bass are eating while the moon is up. most likely because of the water color, pretty dingy. these bass seem to be where you happen to find them. not any real pattern to where you might run across them. you have to stay on the move and pay attention to your electronics. bo

unfortunately, marine engines are expensive to work on. there are several dealers in the area. ulrich's comes to mind. right here in cassville, we have bill vance marine, and they would be able to fix your issue. fishingwrench here on the forum might be able to help you. bo

i think the bass have scattered again, and it will be a while before they settle back in to there next pattern of depths and feeding. i would imagine that many are just suspended out in the lake. might be a good time to go explore the upper reaches of a flowing arm. bo

it is possible to use a thinner wire and not break. these wire frames will last through many, many bass and not break. you never have to tune because of the design. you can change out head sizes and blades. plus, you can fish these through the middle of just about anything with very minimal snagging, and most often when it does, the hook is not hung, but the wire frame is wedged in a crack. the wire frame is only .032, but as can be seen in the video, can be stretched out straight as a string and goes right back to shape. even something as simple as the spinner bait wire frame can have better technology. bo

yep, you hit the nail on the head about what fishing is like right now. the bass are just here and there and never in the same location twice. since the food source seems to be here and there from day to day, so are the bass. i am right in there with you on the drop shotting, but sometimes you have to do something that is not your favorite to catch them. i would say that you had a decent day, especially since the bass seem to be so scattered now. bo

as many of you might be wondering as to why the bass are feeding on shad, but a jig seems to be catching a lot of them, i have touched on this very subject before. understanding the food chain can help solve many fish catching situations. when bass are feeding on shad in an area, there are a good many dead shad than end up on the bottom. this can be a prime food source for crawdads. never pass up fishing an area, where the bass are feeding on shad, with a jig. bo

terry did put in a small selection of SpinJigs. even if there is not the size and color you might want, the good part is you can switch out the head and blade on the same frame. saves a bunch on not having to have two dozen spinner baits. one frame, some blades, and a few different weights of heads, and you can make what is needed for the occasion. bo

i feel that many times, the blade needs to be more the size of the shad, but with that said a #7 colorado blade has been the most consistent producer, and most ofthe shad are still on the small side. kind of why i start out with a pocket full of different blades and just keep switching until something begins to produce. bo