crazy4fishin

My 2 cents - I wanted to make sure that I understood drop shotting so I googled it. It took me to a website called ehow.com - I have since used the site to explore other fishing methods. One thing that I like is that it is specific to what I am looking for. What I dont like is many times the video is just not that great quality and the close ups are blurry etc. Another thing that would be helpful is if the instructions were downloadable that way I can take them on my laptop and watch them when I am supposed to be working

Ribtips - I have to agree with you. On our yearly treck south we always stop at the Queen Mother of all sporting stores and feast at Hemingways. Mostly we hit the breakfast buffet and then do the store tour making sure that I have purchased everything that I need for the $50 that the wife gives me They wont let me in the boat area anymore - it was too hard for them to keep the boats clean since I was drooling on them all the time.

I envy you guys - my trip will not be until the week of Labor Day, we stay at Lilly's every year. One of the best things I have learned to do when I get there, other than checking out this blog, is talk to Curtis. He is usually up to date on what ever is hot at the time no matter how you want to fish....from fly fishing to power bait colors and the locations. And he normally knows the generation schedule. And like Ribtips I to hired Buster at the beginning of the trip - great guy and he was able to help me with the pattern that made the rest of the week successful. Good luck out there!!!!!

Thanks Captain Joe - good info here. I had never heard of using multiple line but after thinking it through this makes sense as it gives you the ability to change to depth as you mention....all though depth isnt really a problem here in the Cornhusker state. What we call a lake up here you folks would call a deep puddle created from a hard rain.

Thanks much for thei info!

Guys this is great information - for whatever reason I really struggle with drop shotting......like golf I think it is in my mind. One question is if one is drop shotting but dragging the weight on the bootom are the guidelines still the same on the way the bite works? Thanks in advance for the answer

I am from Nebraska and I would also recommend Dana's we eat there everytime we are in the area......the O rings are fantastic. The only thing to watch for is that there is so much food that food coma sets in right after eating So I would find a nice place to lay down and enjoy the aftermath.

Well according to legend if your rear hurts you were probably abducted.........

Congrats Z22 on making the jump to TRL......If I could find a job down there I would be right with you! Until then I will have to settle on the once a year trips and envy you guys the rest of the time.

Great story and I can relate - I have 3 girls with the youngest 22 now and a Mom. I loved to take them fishing and the memories are priceless. Now I have 2 grand daughters and I cant wait to take them. Thanks again for sharing

Here are a few pictures of the event - The one with Tim Horton was after we had worked our selves in some back water that I would have never even thought a 20' Bass Boat could go. We were bumping stumps, trees and there were many a time that he would pull the trolling motor up a bit to get over a log. The second one is Skeet Reese. The interesting thing is that most if not all of these guys were right out in the crowd after they finished weigh in. Maybe it was because of the smaller venue at Ft Madison and there were not as many people as there would be on some of the larger lakes. Either way it was great.

Well I was able to be a Marshall at the Elite event at Fort Madison Iowa.....I have to tell you that it was worth every penny of the $100 that I put down to be a Marshall. In essence you have a back stage pass to the event and you are rubbing elbows with all of the pros that you see on TV. Oddly enough they are regular guys........who knew! They treated each of us with respect and patience, I didn't see a single pro act like he was any better than a Marshall. One thing that was neat was the pros would let you either unload their boat or drive their truck and trailer to assist in the loading and unloading of the boats. The first day I Marshalled for John Murray from AZ. We were in the third wave and man the rush to go out with 20 other boats at the same time was incredible......thank goodness for the "o crap" handles. We went to a back water on the mighty miss and fished that area all day - and it was a slow day...the fish had lock jaw until noon....then they finally started to bite. John was throwing a Texas rigged sweet beaver running down a bank tossing it at every twig, branch and bump. we hit the same area 4 times before they started to bite. John did get the big bass of the day.....that won him $2500. The second day I was with Timmy Horton. He told me right out of the gate that he was a focused guy and might not talk much......he was right I bet we didn't share 20 words all day. But I have to tell you that it was worth every second of silence to watch him fish and see how he dissected the area. Unfortunately he didn't catch a single keeper fish until the last hour and he ended up with only one for the day. That wouldn't help him make the cut so he was headed home after Friday. If anyone gets the chance to Marshall I would say jump on it! I do have some pictures that I will post later on.

Congrats Phil - I kow that with you and Bill working the place it will be successful

Techo is right about the choices - I am down there late august or early sept. every year and they will be deep so I would recommend night crawlers on a drop shot around structure.....usually 20-30 foot deep. If you throw the jig I would recommend a football style and work the flats - I am sure that you will catch a few. Depending on your finances I would hire a guide for 1/2 day to give you the insight to what is happening on the water at that time. Best of luck!

Great vids - thanks for sharing

I just had to thow my $.01 in here. Thankfully my wife is a fisherperson, the good news, but she is stubborn, the bad news. She used to fish with a Zebco and had continual trouble with it. (truth be told it was more the operator than the reel) I kept trying to tell her to swtich to a spinning reel, but of course since I was recomending it that was obviously the wrong thing to use. Until we were with a guide on Table Rock and he only had bait casters and spinning reels.....she had to go with the spinning reel - he basically kidded her so much that she had no choice but to learn to use the spinning reel - now she wont use anything else. I ended up buying her one of the low end BPS models and it works great for her. The moral to the story - get a friend, relative or complete stranger to make the recommend to your wife or girlfriend. Then you should be good to go. Best of luck on your quest

Bill thanks for the fantastic report - I always enjoy reading what you ahve to say since I am only able to come down a couple of times a year. Starting sunday I am going to spend a few days up on Lake Mozingo - outside Maryville Mo.....now I wish I could have talked the wife into driving a few more hours south. O well........ Thanks again

John we will keep her in our prayers! Please let us know what happens

Thanks Doc, good advice. I was looking for something int he 6'6" MH but would consider a 7' - what would you need for your rod?

So Bill what rod would you recommend? I purchased a Johnny Morris signature on Ebay a couple of weeks ago and am in the market for the right rod. But I dont want to spend a trillion $$$$$ - my budget is in the $50 - $60 range; or should I say that my wifes allowance for me is in that range. Any comments appreciated.

ET84 - I have fished frogs before. Not necessarily around Springfield. There are many type but I prefer SPRO brand. I have a few colors depending on teh time of the year. I mainly fish them around vegetation pitching them to the shore line then erratically retrieving them. That seems to trigger a great reaction bite. As far as the jig-n-pig Uncle Josh makes a good "pig" and all I do is hook it through the flat part of the jig....not threading it through the body. If you would like more information I would recommend that you go to the BASS website and do a search. Good luck

A boat, a dock or the bank I think it is good to get away from the "busyness" and take in what the good Lord has blessed us with.