merc1997 Bo

fished a total of 3 hours this evening. took taylor sanders our helper fishing this evening, and we lucked out and pulled right up to a bunch and went to wacking them. most bites were in 25 ft. deep. caught them on the big flopper and the black widow, both in 1 oz. we caught a total of 16 keepers and only one short. sure not bad for 3 hours of fishing. taylor always wants to take pictures. so, we have a few. bo This post has been promoted to an article

put in at 9 quit at 1 and just flat caught them. same as we have been doing. the big flopper and a 1 oz. spinjig 20 to 25 ft. deep way out on flatter stuff. of course the better spots have lots of bait in the area. we caught way over 20 keepers, and at least 8 over 3 lbs. those 3 lb. plus brownies just pull like freight trains. over the weekend, the wind was a bear saturday night, and sunday night, they had front- itis, but we still caught 8 keepers saturday and 10 keepers sunday evening. still doing the same thing. tonight they had gathered back up and there was lots of numbers on a spot. kind of like the old days but very few lmgs, and minus the big ones. but, 3 lb. brownies are flat fun to catch. bo This post has been promoted to an article

catching is pretty darn good right now. the bass have moved out to summer homes and are grouped up. the big wobbler, which i guess we will officially call the "Mega Elite Blade" is just wrecking them. we had another 20 plus keepers again, and did not get to fish until nearly 10 and quit at 1:15. most bass were more in the 20 ft. range tonight. no lmg's tonight, but still good mix of brownies and k's. one really nice one and several 3's. the big wobbler does have a learning curve to fish it correctly, and to know when to set the hook. i am sure that at some point, the bite will go away on this earth shaking piece of machinery, but right now, it is a fish catching machine. the bass are still on the flatter terrain, and the presence of shad is still necessary. so, you will not find them just anywhere, but when you do, there is bunch of them. bo

boy, what a night of catching! lost count well after 20 keepers. caught very few shorts. several big k's, one nice lmg, and lots of nice brownies. the bass have made that jump to deeper depths and have now got there and stabilized and went back to eating. we put in at cow creek and fished from there to the dam. this year, the bass are on flatter terrain with a roll off coinciding with the depth they are wanting to hang in. started out catching them on a 1 oz. Black Widow SpinJig. they slowed down on that and picked up the 1 oz. Magnum Elite Blade and they took a liking to that. that slowed down, and i believe because the big push of shad up onto the areas had ended. so, picked up a 3/4 GrassJig and went to plying around for those that did not go back home, and started to whack them on the jig. i was keeping the boat in 30 ft. and throwing pretty parallel with the strike zone. the 4th boat traffic has already begun. the lake was very busy until 12:30. really did not care for all the bouncing around, and that makes boat control and positioning much harder. again, you are not going to find very many bass if there is not any sign of shad in the area. we never did have any true summer fishing last year, but this year, the water is remaining fairly clear and there is a good thermocline going and will continue to get deeper with the hot weather. they are getting where i like them, deep and grouped up. when you find them, stay put and catch fish. bo

6 nice brownies took a trip last night on the minnow, and the minnow got lost at eagle rock. the brownies boated the minnow between cow creek and the dam and paid their fare on a 1/2 GrassJig with a small trailer. sorry that they are now stranded at eagle rock😃. bo

here are a couple of pics of the GrassJigs that i have been fishing with for nearly the last three months. wanted to show what they look like after three month of hard fishing. these same two jigs have went the distance all this time. i've had to replace the skirts several times from the bass eating them off. as you can see, they both have the old stand by brown and blue. you can see all the teeth marks on the head and guide arms. bass are in transition now to more of a summer time home. a thermocline is trying to set up in some areas. the areas that i have been in, it seems to be in the 10 to 15 foot range, but many including bill say they are catching some at a much deeper depth. definitely during the day, there seem to be many out in the lake dining on shad. everyone be safe and keep a watchful eye out. bo

here is bit of a rundown on my thoughts on what went down fishing wise from march to what i believe was just now the mass spawn. we began with the heavy rains and lake wide muddy water. the water came up rapidly but was sucked back down just about as fast. there was a mass movement of bass to the bank during this time. there might have even been a few spawn during this time. the water cleared and dropped and everything moved back out. then we had the running up and down of temps. it would be hot followed by winter. bass most often will not attempt to spawn until temp and water levels are more stable. this last new moon phase, there was just about everyone tearing up off shore bass on top waters and other offerings and some getting them just outside bushes. most of these bass were quite fat and slick looking, which is another indication, they had not spawned and were staging bass just waiting. the moon began getting bigger each night and many wonder why no nests. answer. because they spawned out deeper for two reasons. water temp and water clarity. those same bass have also just as quickly moved out to deeper water and most bites are now in the 15 to 25 ft. range. i have never been one to put much stock in what the surface temp is when dealing with pre-spawn or spawning bass. even though the surface temp last week was 80 degrees, it was not that warm where this mass of spawning bass were spawning. seems as though the top water bite ended just about as quick as it started, and i believe it is because they were pre-spawn bass and they have now done their thing and have moved to more summer type areas. how deep will the bass get this year? depends on water clarity and how much water is being ran through the lake. there is my two cents worth. happy summer fishing. bo

did a bit of fishing tonight. started around 9 pm and quit at midnight. the bass did not let the weather slow them down any. ended up with 11 keepers. only one decent one and the rest just nice fat keepers. none of these bass had a mark on them. all fat as ticks. of the 11 keeps, there was one nice brownie and two fat k's. there were a few of these right on the bank, which is a change from every bite being out deeper. same old weapon, the 3/8 GrassJig in brown and blue and dark trailer. bo

took linda fishing for a bit last night. a bit slower bite, but if you have patience to fish for a quality bite there are a few out there. pretty much the same. the bite for the better ones seems to be out in 10 to 15 feet. still throwing a 3/8 GrassJig with brown and blue skirt and a dark trailer. take in mind that the particular area of the lake you are fishing can be completely different. we have fish that have spawned. some that are on the nest now or just getting done, and a few that are still hanging out. you really have to hunt and peck around until you get a feel for what is going on in your area. there should be some areas of the lake that the bass spawned long enough ago to really be back on the feed, especially with the moon getting bigger. bo This post has been promoted to an article

this time of the year is always a crap shoot of what are of the lake to find a bite. table rock being the length it is will either have just one area of the lake that you can get a bite, or will have several areas that have a bite going on, but each area will be unique from the other areas. this is the time of the year that there are several different bites going on. some area the bass seemed to have spawned. lots of areas where they seem to be more in the process, and then there are some areas that most bass are still in the feeding up mode. these are the areas that i like to keep up with this time of the year. why?? because dummies like myself have to go after the ones that are the easiest to catch. i just do not have the will to spend an hour trying to beg one bass on a bed into hitting. let it spawn. put the shoe on your foot and see how you would like to keep being interrupted in the process😄. if you learn to follow the pre-spawn bite, when the last ones to get in the process are beginning, then the first ones to spawn are back to eating again, and you can go catch them as the are hungry and will more readily bite an offering. i know this will draw some fire, but many of those that love to bed fish are some of the same ones that throw a fit if anyone eats a bass. just a bit of food for thought. anyway, this is certainly the time of year that bass can be caught on just about whatever you really like to throw. by the way, we made a short three hour trip the other evening and caught 10 on the plus side of keepers, with two of them being dandies. all came on a jig and most bites were still in the 8 to 15 ft. range. none had spawned. bo

took a short trip last night at eagle rock and the mdc was actually there getting ready to go out and do some shocking above the eagle rock bridge. they are supposed to e-mail me the results. needless to say, i peeled their ears back while i had a captive audience😊. on the fishing front caught 10 keepers and they were all 16 to 17 inch cookie cutters. all healthy and fat. all were caught 10 to 15 ft. deep. all were caught on a 3/8 GrassJig and trailer. all were on steeper chunk banks. so, more on ends, but still out deeper. bo

got out on the water around 4:30. did some looking around to start with. saw lots of bass out deeper, and bank beating proved that most of the bass are still out deeper. moved off shore and caught a few on jerk bait, but all small. fished a 4" swimmer out to 25 ft. and had a few nippers on it. went to fishing bluffs with a jig as it got dark and caught them up to 11 pm. the skies cleared and seemed the bass cleared out also. had 4 keepers, but nothing over 2 1/2. the further upstream from big m we went, the colder the water got. more fronts moving through and several cold nights. extended forecast does not show any 50 degree nights until the end of the month. you might be seeing some mid 50's surface water temps, but it is not the temp 15' down. the bass will be on the move practically on a daily basis. traditional april bass fishing is like turning a pack of hungry dogs loose. they are constantly on the move. what works one day most likely will not work the next. take time and use your electronics. it will help narrow down your search area. i like to be able to get out a while before dark to search around with the electronics to determine where i will be wetting a line after dark. it will sure clue you in as to where to be fishing or not fishing. bo

got out for a bit today. a real hodgepodge. SpinJig, Elite Blade, GrassJig, and a Trd on a CrappieJig. 10 keepers total, and 4 pretty nice ones. bo

despite fishing in the hurricanes, fishing and catching is pretty darn good. yesterday, we not only caught lots of bass, but had 18 keepers. several that would bump 3, but nothing bigger. today, fished a few hours and ended up with 5 keepers, but it just became nearly impossible to even chunk and wind and gave it up. crank baits still are doing most of the catching. you do have to do a lot of searching because you simply find them where you find them, but they are really bunched when you do find them. you can fish a lot of places they should be and not get one bite. champ would be proud that i do chunk and wind once in a while. and even fish in the day time. champ, you and donna better get out while we have these optimum conditions for a great shallow bite. bo

go to the mud, and tie on a crank bait. they are biting. we caught at least 60 bass today and had 5 keepers. i just put a trouncing on a good wiggle wart basser with the iovino zoner. he finally gave in and put one of my zoners on and immediately went to catching them at the same rate i had been doing all day. this is not the first time that the zoner has owned a good wart fisherman. i really do not know if i even have a wart in the boat anymore. every day in the mud should just get better. a lot of the bass were biting way off the bank as the crank bait was coming up. bo

ended up with 6 keepers, and the mix was 3 lmg and 3 brownies. depth from the bank to 20 ft. great pattern right? bites was where you found it. bait of the day was a 1/8 CrappieJig with a piece of Elaztec on it. i actually did have one bite on a jerk bait, but did not hook it. we also had 6 or 8 shorts. bo

i received a call that i had not looked forward to, but knew it would be coming at about anytime. my long time friend and many times fishing buddy Keith Testerman went back home yesterday around 6 pm. those that have known me for many years would remember keith. he and his dad ran barry county express that ran from cassville to joplin and back, for years. a great service for many of the local business community. keith was around 8 to 10 years younger than me. i first met him when he was about 10 years old and would ride on the freight truck with his dad in the summers. i watched keith play many baseball games as he was growing up, and he was a darn good shortstop. but, he also had a great passion for bass fishing as he got into his late teens and begged me to teach him to fish. he was a great student and the rest is history. we fished and won many tournaments together, and because of keith is how i became somewhat familiar with grand lake. grand lake was closer for him since he lived near anderson. so, we fished together on grand quite a bit as well as table rock. keith was also a great father to his two sons, caleb and tim. i have logged quite a few miles with keith and those two boys watching them play baseball and wrestling. it is really hard to let go of such close friends, but i know, and am joyful, that keith is on to the next leg of our journey. till we meet again precious friend. bo

do we have any notherners that can teach us how to go about ice fishing??? well might not get quit that bad, but another week of cold. all the shad schools have busted up. some are scattered is very small bunched 60 to 80 ft. deep out in the channel on the lower end of the lake. pretty much relegates what bites one might get to be more of the shallow variety. time to get out the jerk baits, neds and grubs. believe it or not, but a crappie jig can really be a great lure to be throwing for bass. now is not the time of the year to get many bites in a day of fishing, but can run into a nice one. have heard of a couple of reports of some of the dreaded a-rig action. chuming with a bucket of minnows, but work also. plus, do not forget the effectiveness of night crawlers. i am beginning to think about just staying home until i go to mexico the first week of march to do a tv show - not! it is always good to get out even when you know you will most likely not even get a bite. you can usually find some bald eagles to watch, and that makes it a good day. for those that do get out and fish this time of the year, always be mindful of the cold water and its dangers. take care of getting the back of the boat over the water before taking the winch strap lose. let the boat engine warm up adequately before getting on plane, and always wear your pfd. bo

i am having to bum rides for a while since the bottom half of my engine got knocked off by a pickup. but, it is still pretty much the same, when you are still the guide regardless. meaning that everyone that i fish with has me run the trolling motor. had one heck of an afternoon of catching this cold cloudy winding day. caught them on a 3/4 chartreuse zinc spoon, and on a 4 inch swimmer on a 3/4 GrassJig head. used a pearl Elaztek swimmer. most of the bites came 40 to 50 feet deep in 55 to 60 feet of water. caught everything casting. no bites fishing vertical. yes, catching suspended bass by casting and working it through them takes time and practice, especially when the bites are that deep. vertical bites have been hard to come by so far this year. the final tally was 12 keeps. of those, they were all lmgs, and there were 3 in the 4 lb. range and 5 over 3, and the others were over 16 inches. two of the bigger ones came on the GrassJig head and swimmer. no pics because of trying to keep the boat in place out in the wind, and also, you want to get these deep bass back into the water quickly. the longer they are out, the bigger the chance of them bloating up and not being able to swim back down. bo

here are a few pics of some of linda's fish from the last two trips. could not post the walleye. she had the phone on video. wish i had a video of her landing those. she gets kind of excited and tries to reel them through the rod tip once in a while. bo

been fishing the last three days, and the feedbag is still on. however, it is catch in a different place each day. either the bait is just moving that much or the bass is moving them that much, but more than likely it has more to do with the weather. anyway, still same two lures. ZincSpoon, and 3/4 GrassJig with 4" swimmer. depth for the most part is 40 to 50 feet. we have caught 10 to 12 keepers each day, and the bulk have been lmg's. on a side note, have seen a few chasing up on the surface, but they appear to be mostly smaller ones. bo This post has been promoted to an article

great day for deep fishing. put in before 9 and it took a while looking to find some. depth was pretty much on the bottom 45 to 50 feet. caught all of them on 3/4 ZincSpoon and a 3/4 GrassJig head with a 4"swimmer. keeper ratio was pretty good today. ended up with 12 keeps, but we did have a true grand slam. keeper lmg, k's, brownies, and a 22" walleye. bo