rps

It's an experimental way of stocking the Bull Shoals State Park with trout that feed in the lake long enough to become something other than silver bullets. ;-D

Yes that method can work but then you must attach your main line to the loop, creating a second knot and a second potential weak point. Try this: On a 3 to 5 foot length of line tie your hook to one end and the weight to the other. About 6 to 9 inches from the weight form that line into a loop. Put the tag end of your main line through the eye created by the loop and pull about a foot through. Carefully wrap the main line tag end around the doubled line six times, spiraling away from the loop without overlapping wraps. when you have done that take the tag end and pass it back through the loop in the opposite direction from the original. Pull both doubled lines away from each other to snug up the knot. Be sure to wet the knot before the friction heats it up.

Someone start telling Rex Grady stories.

I felt better than I had in days. I had to go out. I lasted a bit over an hour. Hard to control the boat in that stuff.

Those of you who read my posts know I often explain exactly how I catch fish. I sometimes say where the fish are. I have been known to describe the location/break/pattern. I have yet to see an ugly downgrade in the fishing because of this. Maybe it because no one believes me, anyway? BTW, when it comes to creeks, sections of river, and coves that do not automatically "refill/replace" the above is very definitely not true.

Except for spawn periods, I use the rule of thumb that if you put your boat over where you have caught them before, you will be able to see a boat over where they are now. Find the forage/current/break line key for the day. Good luck.

Oh God. They're singing. We'll never get them out of here!

flyman - I will share a couple of anecdotes that illustrate the range I have encountered. Some years ago Larry and I hired a guide for two days of trout fishing between Cotter and Buffalo Shoals. We had fished that stretch ourselves several times and we wanted to fish big fish. We made that clear when we booked. Our guide was on time and had servicable boat motor and such. He started us with jerk baits and we hit a number of places - several of which we knew from experience. No luck the first day other than stockers. The second morning the man was late, still wearing his dancing boots and jeans, and smelled like a bad mix or booze and cheap perfume. We paid him but did not tip him. The very next year we hired JMC (J, M, and C were still all together) for a three boat group. The three men were on time, showed us multiple techniques - both live bait and arificial - and all three boats landed at least one C&R pin trout. A few years later, I had an equally good experience with David Capps, who sometimes posts here. The point of my story is that you can't always tell about a guide until you get on the water. When you find a good one, spread the word. Mike Worley fishes Bull Shoals primarily for walleye and posts on this board. PM him for a recommendation for the lake in which you are interested.

Sooner fans bring that out in people.

Outstanding! A little more brown adds caramelization flavors. BTW, do not be afraid to add turnip or parsnip to the mix.

Well done!

The bowl season this year has demonstrated one fact quite clearly: Sports writers know very little! Michigan State beat "should be in the BCS game" Stanford. UCF embarrasses "unstoppable" Baylor. "Shouldn't be in a BCS bowl" OU demonstrates Sooner Magic once again. I am looking forward to tonight's Ok. State vs. Mizzou game. I just won't predict what will happen.

Outstanding job delivering information in a way all of us can understand. F & F's information translates well downstream to the upper end of TR.

Duck and goose fat are amazing. Other uses you won't regret: 1. Put a little in a baggie with small potatoes (or chunks of larger potato), carrots, and onion. Add a bit of salt, pepper, and a sprig of rosemary. Shake and massage the contents until everything is coated in the fat. Pour everything in a pan and roast at 375 - 400 until the edges turn brown. 2. Use duck fat to make your roux for poultry gravy. 3. Use duck fat like crisco for dumplings. BTW: I put bones and fat in water and simmer for 6-8 hours in a slow cooker. Remove the bones and other chunks and put the liquid in the refrigerator. After a day, the fat will be on top and the liquid underneath is duck stock. Enjoy!

I agree Buster Loving for bass. Mike Worley for walleye. Both cross over quite well.

Excellent questions Hazbin.I am not the person to answer them. I have never fished the A rig and I am not much good with a jerk bait (yet.) However, as a long time board lurker, I know great threads have come through on both baits in the last couple of years. I bet some of these earlier articles will help.

I fish for two species. Well 5 species if you count large mouth, small mouth, spotted, and mean mouth as seperate species. My goals are more limited because of that. I want to master jig fishing with the jika rig for both species. I want to find and understand a new pattern for each species to add to my repetoir. (No, not A Rig) I want to become better at reading pattern changes - maybe even anticipating them.

Pam, Chuck's widow, reports the Winnebago is beginning to catch a few. She quotes him as "a week or two away." BTW he is a notorious chub on a jig fisher.

Tom: The good news is that Table Rock grows large walleyes. My best was 13.75. I saw a 14.5. I have caught or seen several others above 10. The sad news is that you must learn to hunt the fish. It's not like Lake of the Woods or Lake Erie. Early Spring -> Jigs with chubs and soft plastics and jerk baits. Late Spring/Early summer -> Worm Harnesses and Lindy Rigs. Mid Summer -> Trolled Crank Baits Late Summer -> Vertical Jigged Spoons Fall -> Trolled Crank Baits Early Winter -> Who knows?

1. A walking top water bait in which you have serious confidence. 2. A jika or jig head for a worm/grub/beaver/spider grub 3. A white War Eagle spoon 4. A wiggle wart (brown or green). 5. A black or white spinner bait, but the set up (twin spin vs. single spin vs. tandem spin) causes arguments. Now if I were a guide and had to put clients on fish, I would add two. 6. A good popper top water. (Many clients could not walk the dog.) I might change this to a Jitterbug or a Torpedo during some years. 7. A drop shot set up to dangle small plastics and live worms. Honorable Mention: 8. Jerk Bait 9. Carolina rigged lizard.

A floating worm on a jika rig. You can rock the weight and dance the worm without moving it.

Soon. The floating ice house has begun to make trips up river, but he's not on consistent fish yet.

Go to the point where Leatherwood Creek (the creek that makes the bay that almost make Holiday Island really an island) runs into the White River Channel. Stand as far out on that point as you can on the marina side. Throw your net toward the marina office. The break into the creek channel is about ten feet from the present bank and the shad usually pile up in the channel mouth. Unfortunately the channel break is much farther out if you throw straight out from the point towards the buoys. Good luck.

If we promise to apply what you have learned at the opposite end of the lake, you will share?

There for a moment, it looked like this thread was headed to a positive discussion of games yet to be played and coaching. Then poof ... BTW, the comment that the Sooners have less this year than normal is deadly accurate. Still, somehow, Stoops and his staff found a way to win 10 games. I didn't think they could do it. And for their sins they have been blessed with a chance to play one of the very best. Frankly, they have more chance of beating Missouri than they do of beating Alabama. I am a Sooner fan, but this might not be the year to brag in advance.