merc1997 Bo

uncle josh at one point quit making the spring lizard, but you could special order them a case at a time. i use the 800 series most often, but does come in a bigger 900 series. that slender trailer is more effective this time of the year. the bass just seem to go for the more slender profile. one thing that i did not mention is the fact that even though water temps were around 57 last night, every bass felt like an ice cube. that should be telling us something. bo

champ, it was basically knowing that the perfect storm had arrived. i just wished that i would have been able to have fished all day that day, but was certainly glad to get to fish for the three hours. there are days that you have been whacking them on a jerk bait that i sure wish i could have been there. one other thing that goes to show that we just do not have any number of BIG bass in the lake is the fact there was not one 5 lb. plus show up in those dozen bass. normally with that set of circumstances, i would have expected a good portion of those bass to be over 4 lbs. it was the perfect situation to catch the biggest bass in the lake, and i feel that i did exactly that. they were pretty much as big as what there is to be had. hopefully in couple of years, we will begin to see more numbers of the big one again. bo

have not had a chance to post for a bit. have been working night and day getting orders out. but, i did get out for 3 hours thursday last week when we had the run in coming in. 12 17 to 18 inch keepers in 3 hours of fishing is a great trip. caught all of them in the run in on 3/8 NuJig brown and blue with a small green pumpkin trailer. these bass were in about 3 to 4 feet of water. got out last night in the big m area for some night fishing. had the boat back on the trailer at 1 a.m. and we ended up with 10 keepers with at least 4 in the 3 lb. range. vertical bluff walls produced the best. why?? because the lake is dropping. tried the flat stuff with no success. caught them on two lures - a 1/4 NuJig with orange hair with an 800 spring lizard pup trailer. by the way, this combo works great in the day time in the colored water. the other was a 3/8 SpinJig with white skirt, #6 nickle colorado blade, and small green and white trailer. fished both lures pretty parallel. with the jig, a coast type retrieve, and was slow rolling the SpinJig. most bites were in the 8 ft. range, but i did catch one of the spinner bass just as soon as i started the retrieve. until they quit dropping water, i would be looking for bass where the channel is closest to the bank. if the lake stabilizes or starts back up, then many of them will start back out onto the flatter areas again. if bass do remain around a flatter area with falling water, i have found they will be out a bit and suspended. with falling water bass tend to suspend more and keep water under them and above them to not get trapped. bass this time of the year are like a pack of dogs, here one day and someplace else the next. they yo-yo with water temps and the weather. so, each day is one of figuring out where they went. bo

awesome!! bo

bill i have a friend that has been catching them on up in ark. in the kings already. perhaps you were not far enough up. bo

i like the part of explaining how the mdc raises paddle fish to stock in the lake. HEY MDC!!!! HOW ABOUT DOING THAT WITH BASS AND CRAPPIE!!! your own actions prove that stocking of fish works. how about helping out areas of the lake that are very short on bass and crappie with some stocking programs. bo

the tater salad was great! bo

nice job!! sure makes me wish i could find a minute to sneak out. bo

great job bill!!! i will say that hanging up all the time with your ball heads will change in the near future. i know hanging up all the time is not fun. that was a very good reason that i used to not ever like crappie fishing. seemed like i was down in the bottom of the boat tying on more than i was fishing. glad you are feeling better, and there is nothing like catching a good batch of bass to make you forget about feeling bad!! bo

with out current water level, be careful boating, especially if you are not familiar with the lake. above the eagle rock bridge, there are many places that are out in the lake, but there is not much water on it. of course the tourist every year go with "if it has water on it, it is good to boat over". once you get below owl creek, there is not much to get you into too much trouble, with the exception of the rock creek backbone. bo

hey great job!! that is exciting that there are some bass being caught. bo

funny that anyone even know what a twin spin is. i always built twin spins with a rocker head instead of a solid arm into the head. twins spins were and still are a big bass bait. and, it is not just a winter bait, but is a great summer time lure for deep water big bass. yep, it would appear that the water for the 14th get together is still going to be fairly cold. bo

i think last time there was a complete government shut down. but, we just went in anyway. we the people still actually own the lakes and ramps, as it is with our tax dollars that built them to begin with. the government is actually just nothing more than an employee of the tax payers. we the taxpayers need to start doing a much better job of hiring and firing. bo

hardhead here is your info. yes, they still make it. here is the contact info for you to get hooked up with some from lft. phone 903-473-1132, ext. 14. this will get you shawn or ronnie and they will take care of you. now, you should be back in business. bo

hardhead, i will give ronnie parker a call, and see if they have discontinued that bait. let you know as soon as i get him on the phone. bo

now, i have to ask how many 15 to 20 dollar jerk baits do you own?? i do not own any of them myself. so, i would most likely be with you in spending 9 for that underspin. it is pretty though. bo

it has quite a bit of $$ just in blades and swivels, plus the labor of attaching all of it. maybe you need to make some up on your own, and see if you can break even for two bucks. just saying because i can look at that bait and see there is quite a bit of labor time involved besides the price of hardware. it is interesting though. not for sure how bad it might want to turn the blades to the top once you get to pulling it though. bo

really nice bass!! i would love to get out and fish for a bit. have been way too busy to even think about going though. so, just as well that the bad weather has kept my mind on business instead of fishing. catch another one for me donna. bo

i was astounded when i turned on the computer to see who won, and they were still weighing in. sure glad i got in a nap and missed all of that non-sense. i am in agreement about putting people in danger traveling on slick roads. i know ashley is a somewhat local, but he just flat out caught bass all three days. the best thing he did was figuring out the bass were on the bottom adjacent to the trees. but, if you caught glimpses of his sonar, he was right on the channel edge. the other key was finding those areas where that edge was at the depth the bass wanted to be at. this is a key point for many to soak in. you have to search for depth changes, meaning your ledge edge or roll off, that occur at the depth the bass are wanting to stay. now as evidenced, when the bass get active, they will leave home for a while but eventually return there. ashely was very astute at knowing when the bass were active and when they were at home, and to understand where home was for that tournament. again, great job and well deserved win. bo

bill, that was just what i was thinking also. he did a great job of staying up with those deep bass and came up with the right thing to trigger them into biting. you could sure tell they were sitting right on the bottom from the faded color of them also. bo

somebody like sgt. carter chewing on gomer pyle??? bo

what that quote that i think was by einstein?? something like repeating the same thing over and over expecting different results is insanity?? perhaps that is why all of us bassers are such a crazy lot . bo

i will add this. when, in your mind, you are sure there are bass in the area, why not try different approaches to get a bite instead of just continuing to beat a dead horse?? when you have caught bass in an area, especially this time of the year, they are not ever very far from where you caught them the day before. you might have to change depths or space in the water column, and/or presentations. for me, when i am dead certain, there are bass in an area, i just keep changing presentations and speed, if am dialed in on depth. here is a prime example of that point. we were fishing an underwater point that the graph showed plenty of fish on. we had fished through it three different times, each of us with a different presentation, and not one bite. my partner wanted to go, but i insisted that we should give it at least one more try. my next switch of speed and presentation was the key and i caught 5 bass over 5 lbs. now, if i had the mind set, that i was going to catch them on what my strength was, i would have never caught the first bass. what worked one day, often does not work the next. you might catch them in the exact same spot, but have to change presentation some what to get a bite. i will say this about watching this classic, and that is the fact that there are usually different ways that bass are caught on the same day. but, those that are catching have found the right keys for the place they are catching, and that can vary from one place to another. for me, i will continue to be flexible each time out and try to find what the fish are wanting, instead of finding a fish that wants what i want them to want. bo

great job!! i have fished out of that model of boat back in the day with a friend that owned it. we caught lots of fish out of it. i am sure that you will enjoy many hours of fishing in it. bo

good video alex. bo