rps

It was a pleasure to meet you!

Thank you Phil.

@kjackson: I have not built a bead only spinner in three years. I use float beads and a size 1 or 1/0 worm hook. I rig the crawler Texas style even though it squirms.

Friday was my last teaching day until August. Sunday was the first day I could celebrate by being on the lake. I started before 6 and found the water rise and weather had changed things. Instead of a n easy top water bite, I had to work. The places I fished (up river from Holiday Island) did not have aggressive fish. Not one fish hit a walked bait. They wanted a twitch/small chug. None were large. Some whites exploded around me, but they too disdained my top water. Their forage was 2 inch bait fish, and they didn't seem to want anything larger. Only caught two. Since things were so odd, I decided to skip fishing soft plastics. I went straight to walleye fishing. First I tried trolling I put a Flickr Shad under the bait fish at 9 and at 14 feet. Nada. I tried Lindy rigging night crawlers at 10 to 18 feet. Nada. Finally, around 10:30, I began to fish one of my chartreuse crawler harnesses. I found them at 10 feet on a sandy/gravel inside bend moving at 1.1 to 1.4 mph. 10 walleye, 1 channel cat, 4 bass, and 3 bluegill before I quit at 2:. I long distance released 2 other walleyes. Two of the walleye were barely keepers but all the rest were over 15 inches. One of those not great days, but can't complain.

Thank you for the link.

I am 63 and have retired once already. I left the practice of law after 25 years because it was killing my spirit. I am now 11 years completed in my second profession and still love it. In between I took some time and we moved to live on the lake here. I will continue until it no longer is fun. I must admit I enjoy the weeks off in the summer.

Of course there will be runoff between the dam and White Hole, but nothing "major" enters in that stretch. In addition, discharge comes from the lower levels of the lake which is still clear. That will tend to clear up any local mud runoff - or even better - to create a mud/clear line. I say go for it unless a local who knows more than I adds more accurate info. Besides, it is a nce drive and if its muddy you can swear at me all the way back.

I built one and have another under construction of a 7"6" MHX salt water blank that would fit the described properties very well. Oddly it was not an expensive blank.

Now there you go. Sharing information again.

Ton of info here: The Falcon Cara line represents the highest quality for the price you will find. To find a better rod, you have to make your own or begin buying what many call "enthusiast" level rods. I looked at the models and the MMC-5f-172 sounds more like what you want than the MMC-6-174. Take a reel spooled with 12# line and a 5/8 jig with the hook cut off.to the store (be sure you check in to avoid problems trying to leave) and get permission to rig the rod and toss the jig. In Rogers at HLS they will accommodate you happily. I bet both the Bass Pro and Cabelas will say ok. I can't speak for Sportsmans as I have never been there.

Good on you for arranging a special weekend! Nice fish, too!

bfishin, you make excellent, valid points, and many people do exactly as you describe. I have experimented with keel weights and a leader. I have used both bb's and three way rigs as well. All three effectively put the baits deeper. Unfortunately, much of my trolling area is brush and tree infested. All three weight methods substantially increase the likelihood of snagging. The snags even cause me to avoid certain really effective baits because they seem to hang more often (example: Bandit's banana shaped walleye crank) The line length does slow down the bring in and put back out, but with a 4 fish limit on walleye, that fact rarely impacts my success. The worst part of long lining is learning to plan and change your boat direction to put the lure on target. When I need to take a bait deeper than it wants to go flatline (examples: 5cm flickrshad to 25 feet, minnow sticks to 18 feet) I have one rod rigged with Suffix 832 lead core.

I bought a large spool from Sears. I just checked and found a 1500 yard spool of 10#(2# diameter) for $132 with free shipping. You can flatline a 7cm flickrshad to 18 feet on 10/2 line with 175 feet of line out from the rod tip.

Excellent information here. Every word is correct, except .... the reel advice. I became disenchanted with line counter reels. The budget and mid range models quickly lost accuracy in the count and weren't really that good in the drag area. I advocate you buy PowerPro Depth-Hunter line and use a dependable reel (I use a Shimano Citica I have had for years and an Okuma Citrix). http://www.powerpro.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/power_pro_v2/products/PowerPro_Depth_Hunter_.html

Not clear water? YoZuri Hybrid. Clear water? YoZuri Hybrid green.

Went out at first light this morning and found a decent top water bite on an inside bend flat that is cut by a creek. Mixed bag of large mouth and spots. No great size but fun. Two times I had fish on consecutive throws And then I doubled: Finished with something close to 20 fish. After that I went walleye hunting. I found one runt before the traffic and wind declared an end to the trip.

Very well done and an excellent report for the rest of us! Thank you.

We will have about a month of good early and late top water. Maybe 6 weeks. Bill, after many hand hook ups, I no longer pick up fish with any thing other than my boga grip. I know it may look wimpy, but I do not care. Train yourself to only use the boga and reduce the number of sticks you receive.

I am totally sold on the rig.

As scientific as I can be: Whitish belly with a green, purple, or blue top plus orange or red accents. That is what I ordered from Tim Hughes. What do I like best? The green top with white bottom. He calls it House Number 2.

I fished from 9 to 3 today. I concentrated on the Stubblefield to Rock Creek area. 6 almost keeper spots off ledge/point areas on a Jikka rigged craw creature. One almost walleye as well. No keepers. When I targetted walleye I only caught bluegill. Water temps 66 to 70. First wake board boat of the year today. Many once or twice a year types at the marina fixing up their rigs for next weekend. Be careful out there.

I fish the bait on 10# Yozuri Hybrid. Flouro sinks and gets in the way. I change the cheap Norman hooks out for Daiichi Death Traps. I tie a light feather and tinsel tail on the new rear hook. The bait as my avatar is a Tim Hughes repaint. I bought 20 baits direct from Norman, stripped them, sent them to Tim, and then rehooked them including hand tied tails. Worked out to about the same as a Gunfish or Yellow Magic. So far my largest was 23.5 inches. My best day was 63 with 12 keepers. I am sold. BTW someone (I think Champ) said they throw like a potato chip. He was right. And yes they skip a beat here and there. They also sometimes dive on the back and forth. I think it all adds to the attraction.

Fishing a slider or a Ned rig using some variation of Charlie Brewer's Do Nothing will work. Just like Billy Westmoreland's fly and rind method will work. All three feature small, stream lined baits fished slowly and without fanfare. I will say I hang up less on the Ned, but I have yet to have a "great" day on it like I have on the other two. It is just a matter of time though.