merc1997 Bo

got out for a bit more blade slinging while it lasts. ended up with 6 keeps, but some nice bass. two 3's, and one big one that i guessed at 6 and a 1/4, but it weighed 6lb. 11 oz. on the scale. got a pic with a disposable so it will be a while before my buddy uses up his camera. the 3/8 SpinJig with a #6 colorado was still the best producer. did much better on steeper banks tonight. bo

the one other thing to keep in mind is the fact that the bass are most definitely taking advantage is this easy night feeding opportunity. as long as this phenomenon of gorging on these needle nose minnows continues, daytime fishing will most likely not be exactly lights out. as we get colder weather, i feel this bite will go away to some extent. just wish that i come zero in on just exactly what will trigger these bass to hit because as many are busting minnows right up on the bank, one should be getting bit much more often than is happening. bo

update on night fishing at shell knob. went again last night (27th). little bit slower, but there are millions of needle nose minnows, and there are fish up feeding on them. still do not know what will get them better than to just keep slinging a blade. tried several other options last night, but no fish. so for now, just keep the troller running, and keep slinging a blade. bo

nice ones bo

that is so true. an older friend of mine had an accident on a 4 wheeler a couple of weeks ago. just exactly what i told him. very good. bo

not all shots hit where they were intended, even gun hunting. i have watched veteran bow hunters miss because the deer jumped the string. i have also watched the arrow hit someplace on the deer than where the shot was intended because the deer jumped the string. i have also been in on tracking a deer that i good hit was made, and the blood trail just vanished. i do not deer hunt myself because i have never had the daylight hours to do it, and they frwon on you using a flashlight. however, my brother is one of the best archers in the country, and he loves archery hunting. as good a shot as he is, things do not always go as planned. bo

way back when we used to have plenty of trees with plenty of branches, we caught a lot of staged spring time bass on wood bombers, with a bullet weight on the line (enough to make it sink), and would catch the big ones that were suspended about 20 ft. down. those old wood bombers would crawl through a lot of limbs without hanging up. mudbugs could be fished the same, and like was stated, either of the could have the angle of the bill adjusted. many of us old timers still use them at the right times. bo

the wife and i put in at the shell knob bridge just before dark to snoop around a bit. there are millions of needle nose minnows!! they are on the surface at night, on the banks and out in the middle both. do not think there is one secret bait, but did not try a lipless. bass can be busting left and right in an area, but never get a bite. one of us ended up with 8 keepers, all lmg, and most everyone was 16 to 17 inch. all were caught on a 3/8 SpinJig with a # 6 colorado nickle blade. if there was any pattern to most of the bites, it would be the back 1/3 of a pocket or cove. just got to keep the troller running and make a lot of casts. should be down any bank beaters alley. kinda had james and donna in mind . anyway, this should explain why daytime fishing is so spotty. all those minnows make easy pickings at night. bo

top pic, you have one mudbug, ane bomber, and the rest hellbenders. middle pic, the top right two are river runts. not for sure of the rest. bottom pic, the top left is another mudbug. the next one over could be a rogers crawpap. the bottom row, the first two are hoodlers, and the one on the left might be a bassoreno. bo

+1 bo

there are plenty of tournament anglers here hang around release areas. just listen to the coffee shop talk about catching release bass. it is going to happen just because they are there. but, hearing from a bird's eye view of the condition of those bass is very good information to find ways to better ensure that bass make it after release from a tournament. over the years, watching local weigh-ins, there are always a small group that really do care for their bass in the livewell. that is easy to see by how lively they are at weigh-in. then, you always have those that their bass are usually half dead. so, what is the answer? the weigh-in limits have been lowered over the years, but the same people are still bringing in dead fish. so, it is obvious to be that the lower limits have had only minimal results. i love the tournaments that have a stiff penalty for a dead bass, and there are some tournaments that will not allow a dead bass to be weighed. those types of tournaments will certainly put a premium on good livewell care. bo

pretty good trip. bet you wish you had went all the way up long creek first. bo

great trip bill, and how special to share it with a very happy girl. she will remember the trip with you forever! thanks for sharing. bo

the fishing has definitely been better at night. but, the daytime bite will get better as the water temps drop. bo

thought i would let you know that my wife and i fished out of mill creek last night. ended up with 5 keeps all over 16". had two lmgs and the rest brownies. the biggest was a lmg around 3 1/2. caught all of them just after the channel started leaving the bank. most were 15ft. range. the best lure was a 3/8 NuJig with a missouri craw skirt and a super chuck type trailer. tried a host of other lure types and weights, but this combination was working the best for us. did not find one of your 6lbers. though. bo

that is one nice big one!! great job! bo

Bill You just stated exactly why the MDC needs to do some stocking in our area lakes, and Table Rock to be exact. How many more dollars to the economy would be generated if we had bass populations as we have had in the past?? I would guess they only way to move the MDC off their hands is to get enough public pressure to force them to do something. Just matching what they do in stocking trout would be a great step in the right direction. bo

SWEET! bo

lipless crankbaits work quite well this time of the year in our area lakes including table rock. the best areas most of the time on tr are flats off creek channels more towards the back of the creeks. on lakes such as grand lake, just look for shad on about any flat and get with it. if you come across a bit of brush along the way, that is a bonus. i know that mike sowders has won more that one tournament this time of the year slinging a lipless in the back of creeks this time of year. i have used it to add to my bag here on tr tournaments this time of the year also. i have won more than one tournament on grand slinging lipless. also one of the best on grand by the name of darrell robertson has made a living on grand this time of the year winding lipless on grand. they are a great tool at certain times and places here in this area. bo

great job! bo

i will most definitely agree with you champ. there is not one reason in the world to trailer those bass all over the country, and bigger tournament take-offs need to be rotated around different areas of the lake. and to answer someone that thought more numbers of payouts would increase numbers of entrants for the tournaments, that has proven to not be the case. kelly williamson and it were the ones to start the "during the week" short night tournaments here on table rock. we only paid up to five places. while doing that, we averaged 45 boats per tournament. the same thing went for the all night tournament on saturday night out of mill creek. that tournament averaged 80 boats each week. take a look at any of the tournaments now that pay every tom, dick, and harry that show up. it is very lucky to have more than 25 boats. my dad told me a long time ago, that i could take my trophies and 50 cents and buy a cup of coffee anyplace. there really is not any use in fsihing for "money" if you can not make any. if you are just fishing for the competition with your buddies, why bother fishing for any money?? bo

i went to lowrance factory outlet, and it looks like part # 106-52 is what fits your unit, but it did not seem that a tranducer with temp and speed was showing for that unit. the price was 90.95. so, that might make a difference in if you want to fix your unit. one other choice, which i would suggest, is to call marine repair center in springfield, mo. and get the correct tranducer number, and most likely, they will have it in stock. bo

I will pm you. bo

you could stop by cassville and get them. where do you live? if in missouri, you can get them from the NuTech website, and they should be there in two days. bo

could be what you call nedish . but, i just might be fishing with a better jig . it is something that mike sowders and i used to do all the time, but we used a t-rig. there are just times that bass want a very small offering. i did change out my 4lb. mono for some 14lb. braid. got a bit more horse power to get some better ones out of a tree if needed. fished a different area of the lake last night and the blade bite was back on. ended up with 7 keeps with one around 4 lb. same scenario, where there was lots of minnows on the bank, there would be bass. caught an awful lot of shorts, so, it was a fun evening. bo