rps

PM mike worley - good guy - even though he guides for a living, he is generous with information.

This thread keeps popping up when I hit the View New Content icon. As I tell my 8th graders, "Play nice, or don't play."

I don't know which will be better viewing - tonight with the drunks or tomorrow with the hangovers.

My wife believes lead should be banned. She knows this because my excessive playing with lead has caused the kind of madness that led me to go out Saturday at noon. I fished until 4:00. Among other things observed: Kid falling off tube (with vest on) and losing swim trunks. Big ol' girl trying to get up on wakeboard - at least 17 fails. An armada of Chaparrals and such - 25 to 30 feet long - traveling in a V echelon up river from Holiday Island that put water into a Lowe semi-v. I was tossed about but my high sided Alumacraft stayed dry. Three couples anchored in a cove where the girls are dancing in the boat and the guys are in the water throwing balls at them. I think, from the yelled conversation, something was at stake. Mr. and Mrs. Joe Cool in one of those small flat bottomed, very loud race boats, out tempting fate by racing between me and the submerged tree line I was trolling - right over marginally submerged trunks. I had a great time dragging a worm harness and catching small bass and small walleye at 22 to 27 feet. I switched to pulling a deep little ripper at 21 feet and caught the pictured fish plus a 17.75 inch walleye.

Typically, I throw the bait, let the rings die and give it the lightest twitch I can. Then I pop it once. Then I walk it to me. It does not walk as easy as a Sammy by any means, but if you use the tip of the rod and work lightly and slowly you can find the rhythm. Once you have the rhythm, you can speed up if you want. Even after practice, it will still two step sometimes - to the right or left on consecutive pulls - but I've come to think the erratic walk is an advantage.

Yes, that is the pink mouth Tim put on the House Bait #2. I guess it works at least as well as the stock color.As far as best area this weekend, may I suggest Aunt's Creek? Edit: Techo loves to fish Aunt's Creek and the above comment was pulling his chain. I guess he had to work and didn't see it.

Go Champ!

This is the fish I said I would attach later. It jumped out of the water to come back down on the lure. Spinnaker: I hope your trip times perfectly with the beginning of the fall bite. Depends on rain and night time temps. I love my current job, teaching, and rarely miss the law. The first two years I was out of law school I tried over 25 little trials - small claims, bankruptcy court, municipal court, as well as district court. About half had juries. I took what I could get. I miss some of that. As my practice matured the quality of cases improved. However, the 20th through the 25th year (my last to practice) I went to trial with a jury only 4 times. What I mostly did was push paper and defend motions filed by the small armies of young lawyers firms would set upon me. I don't miss that a bit.

I fished about an hour and three quarter Wednesday evening between rain squalls. Threw one of my topwaters. Caught three bass and one perch. One of the bass weighed around 4 and was close to 19 inches. I will post the picture later.

Sorry about the very late reply. If you are above Big M and looking for serious fish I can suggest what works for me: 1. start looking for wooded changes - examples include a creek channel that turns to run into a bank or away from a bank and happens to have one or more standing trees or brush in or near the change. 2. find a 45 degree chunk rock bank on or near a channel then look for a place where a hump finger sticks out or a pocket hole indents 3. on long flat points or inside bend flats, look for a place where a ditch or hump runs toward the bank like a highway and fish where that highway dumps in the channel and where it peters out in the shallows. I will also give away a teaser that will entertain many. If you put your boat in the channel where Stubblefield Branch flows in, you can see five very different locations where I have taken largemouth over five pounds. In addition you can see another two locations where I have caught two or more keepers in a single day. All of them fit one or more of the descriptions above. Good luck.

One slip and lift owner to another - I winterize. Although we don't freeze over solid, we do get ice and snow storms. And they always seem to come in time for my weekends off. I almost never fish between Christmas and March.

Mine have been on since June, but I am so far up river no one ever sees them.

If LM is your desire, Kings River or up here near HI are good locations to learn.

As a rule, I avoid tournament fishing. However, if the member guest tournament happens, in order to meet people with whom I correspond on boards and learn a few things, I would be happy to be a non-member guest. If the MSW member wishes, I'll even drag my boat to the lake. Let me know.

They are very versatile. You can make them spit like a spitting image, you can pop or chug them, and you can walk them. I typically throw them out, then pause for the rings to die. Then I quiver them, then I pop or spit them once, then I walk them back to me. Their walk is irregular like a gunfish but very tight so they spend a lot of time back and forth to go a foot toward you. Their down sides: their flat sides make them sail on the throw so casting to spots in cover is tedious; the walk is not as easy as a Sammy so you must pay attention. Check out my posts since June and you'll notice that most of the top water fish came off these or a Spro Dawg.

Have Tim Hughes paint a couple for you. He is really good.

ouch. Actually, I have been changing the hooks on the stock models. No, I don't expect the paint job to increase the numbers, and I don't think that anyone can really prove that a paint job makes a difference on a day in/day out basis. On the other hand, I've always wanted to have a few custom baits. By starting with the inexpensive, proven fish catcher, I could. Think on the true addicts who have their Sammys and Pointers customized.

Try jannsntecraft.com. They come in packs of four. They may very well be the same hook as on the Lucky Craft. I can't tell the difference. Here is the picture I promised. See my review in the Product review section.

I have grown very fond of Norman's Top Dollar lures.In the last two years I have caught hundreds of quality fish on this top water. However, they are a typical Norman inexpensive, mass produced bait - mediocre paint job and very average hooks. I decided to try something I had always wondered about: a Tim Hughes repaint. The attached picture does not really do the work justice, but should give you an idea. From left to right the color schemes are House Bait No. 2 (the main color is green on white), Gizzard Shad (Gray and Green), Slimmer (the color looks like gas on water), and Blue Shad (light blue on white with iridescent pink/green flecks) The quality is excellent. His web site says six weeks for return, and I received my baits in the mail in five. The hooks you see are Daiichi Death Trap trebles and the feathers are my poor effort. With all costs included, the baits are just under $20 apiece. Compared to what some of the Japanese companies are charging, I can live with that. Now I just need to get over this disgusting cold and go try them.

Look at the Falcon Cara Reaction series. They make a 6'4" MH with MF action, 10 - 20 pound test, 1/4 to 1/2 ounce bait that might work for you. Short eough to target cast spinner baits in trees and brush, but long enough to throw and fish a jig.

You are killing me! My package of Tim Hughes painted topwaters arrived today. The bite seems to be on. And I have a rotten miserable head cold some germy kid gave at school. (Happens every year - they bring new germs and something nails me in the first month.) I am so snotty and tired, I haven't even put the Daiichi deathtrap trebles on yet. If I get out of bed tomorrow, I will try to take and post pictures. Hughes does great work. BTW - primarily spots or LM?

Check out my avatar.

If both units are on,you can take a V-bottom to the dam, but need to be careful. No water = 86 bridge is the limit. The guides that work the area either use the classic river johns or drift boats. Unless the water is running full, I suggest you rent a canoe or kayak, then beach it and wade fish. The Dam Store on 187, south of the dam, has both for rent and staff that know what they are talking about as far as river conditions and fishing. If you want to splurge, Zach Hoyt, a forum regular, is supposed to be a good guide for the area.

If both units are on,you can take a V-bottom to the dam, but need to be careful. No water = 86 bridge is the limit. The guides that work the area either use the classic river johns or drift boats. Unless the water is running full, I suggest you rent a canoe or kayak, then beach it and wade fish. The Dam Sore on 187, south of the dam, has both for rent and staff that know what they are talking about as far as river conditions and fishing. If you want to splurge, Zach Hoyt, a forum regular, is supposed to be a good guide for the area.

I went out this morning, hopeful I would have a good day to celebrate the last day of my summer vacation. I had a great day, and the fishing was ok, too. I started with a top water at the mouth of Rock Creek. Caught two, but one was worth taking a picture. 19.5 inches long. Around 9:30 I stumbled on spots chasing shad on top and played with them for a while. Nothing of any size. I was not successful in finding a keeper walleye. I only caught one, and it was the classic 17.5 inch throw it back fish. During my search for walleye, I found the bass at 26 to 30 feet on flats that roll off into the channel near by. I am back to weekend fishing status now.