rps

Many people, including some guides, actually net their shad for Beaver in the upper end of TR. As of Friday, the shad were in loose balls at 5 to 10 feet strewn along the channel edge of the flats in front of Holiday Island. Just inside the creek coves also sported shad balls.

I find the "original" models effective, but I have none of the real originals with which to compare. I think the snap instead of the O ring is a plus and I do not change them out. I have bought Brad's Wigglers (an almost identical bait) and they have O rings. They tend not to run true. I do not change all my wart hooks out, but when I do I use VMC Barbarians. http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=743294&type=product&cm_mmc=CRR-_-RLP-_-319894-_-productname_link&cmCat=CRR My 2 cents.

I really shouldn't admit this, but I have lost count of lifetime self inflicted wounds. The combination of clumsy and very sharp hooks is a poor one. Four out of the last five years I've put one in past the barb. In 2010 I did it twice. Fortunately my most common hooking points are my hands and usually I can remove it without assistance.

I was going out yesterday but got side tracked when I put a wart treble in my thumb while getting ready. Of course, as always, it wasn't a standard hook but one of the Barbarians with the technical bend that made a push through something I couldn't do alone. Went to the minor emergency clinic, endured the usual jokes, and then went back to the marina to put the boat lift back up. Today I decided to try again even though it was blowing like crazy. Water was 47.5 in the channel and 50 with color at the back of creeks. I fished a wart, a twin spin, and a finesse worm on a jig head. I avoided a skunk but it was a near thing. Two dinks in four hours. Both on the worm inside creeks. I admit the wind made it very difficult to fish efficiently, I did not run far and cannot report on anything above Beaver or below Stubblefield. Hope you all can do better than this.

When something is wrong with my rig, I am frustrated. However, my rig is for my hobby and not my living. How to you manage to keep from harming someone?

Had a Curado E7 because I loved the earlier models. It self destructed, twice. Bought an Okuma Serrano in May. Fished it hard all summer and fall. Very good reel. The next reel I buy will be another Serrano. Google Tackle Tour and read their review of the reel. I have never fished the JM Gold Series because the lower end reels did not stand up to use. Maybe his upper end stuff is better made.

I agree. Do not use soap or any other solvent on a seasoned cast iron dutch oven or pan. However, we all know that sometimes bad things happen and a seasoned pan becomes rusted or contaminated with foreign material. When that happens, the method I describe is one that professional chefs use to re-season their tools. It is very similar to the original seasoning method used at the factory. If you were just tweaking me, you succeeded.

Re: Don Butler and Okiebug. Don Butler was the first BASS member, according to Ray Scott, and did not win the first Bass championship. Instead, it was in year 3, 4, or 5. That championship was noted for the lowest bag of all championships. I think it was Percy Priest. He ran the SOB (small okiebug) past timber and killed it. He opened Okiebug next to his families lumber business in Tulsa. Morris used to run down to Tulsa and buy goods that he then put on racks in the family liquor stores. Don sold Okiebug (now closed) and retired to Grand Lake after he suffered a terrible injury falling on the stairs to his dock. Re twin spin spinner baits. Go to the War Eagle site and find their twin spins. Imagine them in deer hair. And black. Then they would be perfect. Especially with a green spot pork frog. All of the following are based on personal experience on Beaver, TR, and BS. Method 1: Throw close to the bank and let it fall on a tight line to the bottom. Wait 5 to 10 seconds. Pick it up carefully (often you will find a guest), reel one or two turns of the handle and let it fall again. Repeat all the way to the boat. Method 2: Throw into deep water where fish are suspended or are willing to come up (stick bait water, bluffs - especially at night or in winter) Count down on a tight line and begin a slow retrieve where you can just feel the blade. Method 3: Cold water with color in early spring - throw parallel to the bank and slow steady retrieve bumping the bottom constantly in 4 to 8 feet of water. Method 4: Throw past lay down timber and reel to just this side of the lay down and kill it on a semi tight line. When you kill a twin spin it does not spiral down like single arms. It falls level with the hook upright.

Thought it might be fun to compare how families spend the holidays. It seems there is no limit to the odd and interesting family traditions. The underlying theme here, though, is my hope you all have holidays as warm and wonderful as what we have planned. I'll start: The mother in law arrived yesterday; she is a spry upper 80's lady who actually wanted to fly from New Jersey to join us. She is also the last parent we have left. Younger daughter arrives from Savannah late this afternoon with her blood hound, Blue. Older daughter asked if it was ok to cruise with her husband, and saying no would have been wrong. We will put up and decorate the tree once the daughter arrives, and I have a lobster and bubbles dinner planned for afterwords. Our guests will be with us until just before the New Year. Lots of jig saw puzzles, reading, and catching up. We will avoid metropolitan areas and stores - unless the daughter decides to drag the wife out.

How to revive an old DO with gunk, rust or whatever: Scrub using anything you want including soap. The final scour should be a dry one using rock salt. At the end of the scour, fill the vessel with more rock salt and bake at 400 for more than two hours. This will leach any and all foreign matter and moisture from the pores. After the vessel cools, pour out the salt and discard wisely. Fill the vessel to the brim with refined peanut, safflower, or canola oil and bake for two hours at 400. Do not use olive oil, lard, or unrefined oil as 400 is above their smoke point. At the end of two hours turn off the oven and Do Not Remove the vessel until it has cooled. Safety, right? When the oil has cooled, pour it off, your call on whether you save it. It will be slightly salty and will have a bit of "used" taste from the heat. Wipe the vessel down and bake empty a couple of times per the advice above.

The majority have been deep since the mid or end of October. The few I caught after the middle of October were 30+ feet down. As long as there is oxygen, they seem to prefer the dark. Mike Worley - a walleye guide on Bull Shoals - belongs to this board and would be the resident "expert". I do not night fish in winter, but those who do find shallower walleyes that move up to feed on shad during the dark. In another 4 to 6 weeks, they will stage for the spawn and begin to move shallower... windy rip rap, King, James, and White rivers and large creeks.

a google search turned up eric prey's name as one who was sponsored by Fall Creek. Maybe he has information. PM him.

You are probably remembering my thread about having my favorite topwaters painted. I used Tim Hughes. There were beautifully done and arrived earlier than predicted at the time of order. http://www.hughescustombaits.com/

Bang for the buck comparisons on rods always draw many opinions. In the last 15 years, I have purchased 12 or 15 rods and made 5. Other than for trolling (where you would be foolish to spend more money than an Ugly Stick), I have found the highest quality for the money in Falcon. BTW - I almost posted a heads up in your reel query. My Curado went belly up last Spring, and I bought an Okuma Serrano. I fished it hard all summer. I love it. The comparable reel to the Citica would be the Okuma Cayenne and it's on sale several places for $70 to 90.

I guess I should expect BS and TR will be super clear, despite the outhouse and other effluents, in the next several years? OK. As a slip and lift person, what else does that mean?

Best wishes to all for the holiday.

Fished this morning and early afternoon. About half the time I fished for bass and found scattered fish shallow on wind blown rocky banks. 8 fish with three nice keepers, 16 to 18 inches. Bone wart did the trick. The hits were aggressive, but I couldn't find a concentration of fish. The other half of the time I hunted for walleye with no success, although I did pick up a couple more short bass by accident. I probably would have stayed out longer for the wart bite, but the wind wore me out.

I know very little about wood and boats. I asked the question only because it seemed like you had to change grains and lines. It looks beautiful.

I fished from 8 to 2 today, all up river from Holiday Island. Threw a blade and a wart for about 2 hours with zero success. Probably was a jig day. When the wind came up I switched to walleye hunting. I caught one 16 inch walleye on a rig in 13 feet of water about a mile down from Houseman. That's it. One short fish. Somebody report they had a good and post pictures please.

At Eufala I used to use blades - almost exclusively. If I had to fish there right now, depending on water color, I would fish large blade willow with smaller Indiana in either black or yellow blue green skirt. I would look for places to pull the bait right to cover and kill it. I would also have a buzz bait I didn't have to burn to keep up.

good luck you two

Oh, her kids will. The key is whether her coworkers will.

Yes. It is perfect.

Welcome Ralph. Hope you enjoy the board.

If you were to start over, would you start with the center bottom strips and work out and up?