ryan

I was interested in fishing the CPA but just not worth it when you have to make top 5 to break even on entry fee. Man I remember reading all of the old CPA/Heartland tournament results and winnings when the payback was really good. I didn't fish then because I was in school and had no money. I fish the OMTT now due to 100% payback and the Berrys do a great job organizing the events. I just don't think many people can afford to fish like they once did. I hope that Mike can get the CPA numbers back up somehow, if they drew 70-100 boats I would def fish it. As for fishing gear I think that some of the Johnny Morris rods and reels are good deals for the money, that being said its crap you have to buy warranty on the equipment now. I fish Revos but my partner is sponsored by LEWs and they are very nice reels. I personally don't think Nitros are the best quality boat but if I got a great deal and could make money turning one over every year I might consider selling my Z520. On second thought I would never do that :-). Must have been my allergy medicine affecting my judgement. On a serious note OMTT Saturday, sign up tomorrow night before 6pm. Bring your warm gear!!!!!!

Knowing how to do this is critical in keeping your fish alive. It needs to be done relatively quick too! Don't let them ride in your live well all day belly up, they actually develope emboli that kill them just like if a diver gets the bends. Also going in through the side as opposed to through the mouth has a little better survival rate. Be responsible and fizz your fish!!!!!!

Gotta go electric that way you cut right through the rib cage and it takes you literally 30 sec to fillet a fish

Well we ran down to the cabin for the weekend, had one full day of fishing today (Saturday). Hit several spots today threw the a variety of baits found some nice whites but they were scattered. Several females full of eggs, at the mouths of the major rivers/creeks/bays. Warmest water today was 53 ran way up devils fork to find that. Went up past the mud line trying to find the walleye. Thought I could catch some of the males but no go. Caught a few K's, several whites, and a few crappie. Nice day to be out but the water needs just a few more days like today to really make the fish move up the rivers. Can't believe I didn't catch a walleye today but oh well Il will be back next month when the walleye bite really heats up!!

Once these K's decide to move up you should be able to wreck em on a grub, that bite may heat up by this weekend as well. I hope you guys catch them good!

Water temp was 43-45 degrees fishing it Dave Barker style like you were just crawling it across the bottom. My partner caught them better than I on the old brown orange craw, I caught them on natural brown craw putting a suspending dot in front of front hook, don't know if it makes a difference but does help me keep it on the bottom fishing slow. Long creek was a Gar hole for me the last couple weeks. I concentrated on the back half of pea gravel pockets with chunk rock mixed in. A little bit of stain in the water helped me get bit, finding that in the back of some of the bigger feeder creeks. They had started to cool down with the cold weather and snow melt but should be warming back up! Should get good in the next few day. I'm off to Greers Ferry lake for some grocerys (walleye)!

Not any real giants but I've been catching some wiggle wart fish mine are all coming off pea gravel banks with a little softball size rock mixed in. Transitions are key areas, midway back in creeks and pockets keep it slow and on the bottom. Parallel the bank and just keep going, we found them in little groups, catch one and catch two or three more in the same area.

Thanks Bill!

I had found fish on channel swing banks from K-city to aunts creek throwing a stick bait. Friday pre fishing I had 15-16lbs by 8am (that was one fish per spot just to check on them and then I left). I did not pressure them. Catching them on French pearl early in the Am then switching to pro blue color as it got later in the day. Of course Saturday rolled around and my bite disappeared only two keepers and a couple nice ones that got off! Didn't adapt like I should have after my fish shut off. Oh well had a great time, wish I could redo my day though! Tablerock 1/ Ryan 0!

I am by no means an A-rig expert but the way you fish that bait allows you to do a couple of important things. One it allows you to target those big pre-spawn bass at any depth in the water column. And two you can still fish it effectively in gale force wind and inclimate weather by literally throwing it out there and slow rolling it back in. It's a big heavy bait that you can effectively present to fish in a multitude of ways and conditions. Pair that with guys that really know how to fish and bingo=big sacks. Plus Tablerock has really been cranking out some big fish the last several years. I fished Saturday and yes I got my butt kicked by the rig! (And better fisherman). :-)

Guys come on out and fish Saturday at the first OMTT tournament o the year. 100% payback and and very well organized tournament. Go to www.respoolin.com for all details. Plus ranger incentive money!!! Hope to see you all there, dress warm!

Could you get a boat back up the ramp today

Are the ramps gonna be open today? Didn't know if kimberling city had much snow accumulation. Thanks!

Been tough for me as well but starting to piece it together. Basically junk fishing caching them doing several different things, jerk bait and A-rig have caught me some really good ones just not many bites, maybe 2 or 3 per day. Catching a few on a pbj finess jig around docks and transition banks. No deeper than 20 ft. Stained water and a little wind and I can get them to eat a wart in brn craw. Catching a few Ks finally on a grub in about 30fow salt and pepper in 5 in has been best for me. Also caught a few on a war eagle spoon 30-40fow but they are only suspended down about 25ft. Good luck and God bless! Also come out and fish the OMTT this Saturday!!!! The more boats the better!

Awesome, thanks!!!

Didn't know what the ice situation was are the ramps gonna be clear tomorrow?

It has definitely been a grind out there for me lately. One thing for certain is that I love trying to piece that puzzle together every time I'm out on the water. One decent pattern that I have been on is a smallmouth bite, main lake pea gravel pockets in 8-15fow on a jig and a jerkbait. I haven't ran that pattern too much because I'm looking for some tournament fish and just don't think I can get the job done with brown fish (although it would be awesome if I could). 1/2-3/8 oz football jig with Yamamoto craw trailer in PBJ and green pumpkin have caught a few nice ones (2-4lbs). Surprised that I can't get on a deep bite with a spoon and a grub. I did catch a few on a spoon a couple weekends ago but just haven't found any good concentrations of fish deep. I know there out there but I'm not on em by any means. I haven't caught any kentuckys what so ever, all blacks and smallmouth that puzzles me. Good thing about fishing with a jerkbait and an A-rig is that you can get right in a hurry if you find a school of them. Well I'm gonna go Saturday all the same and run some different stuff, maybe Sunday after church. Thanks for all the help guys. I'll try and post some POSITIVE results!!! God bless and tight lines!

Bill as always thanks so much. I appreciate the information greatly! Hope everyone else can use this to put a few more in the boat as well. Can't wait to get back on the water!

Having a really hard time putting together a solid pattern on Tablerock right now. Jerkbaits, a-rig, jig, and a spoon have been catching a few but none with consistency. Last two trips I have had a 6 and an 8lber but very few fish to follow up. Just cannot find consistent schools of fish. Lots of bait but its in 60-80 fow. The 8 I caught on Saturday had a big gizzard shad in its throat so I know there are a few fish feeding. Don't know if its because water generation has been lacking or what the deal is. Water temp is consistent at 45-47deg. Fished mid lake to the dam, may try the rivers this next weekend. I have been fishing hard the last couple days out on the water but I am missing something. Any tips or help would be appreciated before I beat the water to a froth again with the same results. Someone is catching them somewhere it's just not me!!! Thanks guys and God bless!!

Just wondering if the A rig was allowed in the OMTT this year. Rules don't say it's banned but I thought it was. Just want to see if anyone knew for sure.

Jeb let me know when you want to sell that thing!

Trust me when I say you will not be disappointed with that boat!

Guys it's all about trying to live as a Christian example. Sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's not. If you hunt or fish public land/water which I do you run into all sorts of people. I'm an avid tournament fisherman and duck hunter so I have encountered a number of different situations in which someone has come right in on top of me and ruined that spot for the time being. I always tell myself that being a Christian is my first priority, killing ducks or catching a 20lb sack is far from number one in the grand scheme of things. There are plenty of spots on the lake where big bass live, plenty of spots where the ducks are using. We can't trade one wrong action for another. I'm not gonna cuss anyone out or threaten to beat them up for getting a little too close to me.(although I might feel like it). It's true, kindness kills. The right thing is seldome the easy thing but being a Christian is 10% about how you act and 90% about how you react. I wanna be a fisher of men instead of just fish. If you see me catching em and come in right on top of me, I'll just say hello and tell you what they are biting on. Then I'll start up the boat and head to another spot where an even bigger sack is waiting to be caught!

Fishing edgemont and salt creek

If you love whites and hybrids this is your time of year. Have fished for a week straight with 100fish per day being the norm. Some days they are up on top for a while but most days they are 40-60ft of water on the flats chasing shad. Catching them on 3/4 oz war eagle spoons. You will have to do some searching with your electronics but once you find them you can flat out put the hurt on them. Lots of big whites and really nice hybrids with several 6-7 lb hybrids. Lost one over 10 yesterday as he came off at the boat. Leaving Saturday but this bite will be on through December. God bless!