Champ188

Pretty fish, my friend. Great job of hammering out a good sack of keepers against the odds.

Everyone seems to settle into a comfort/confidence zone when it comes to boats. I've made the rounds and have come back home to Ranger. Fortunately, I did so before Johnny Moneybags got ahold of them. Not sure what I'll do next time around but it won't be a Johnny Craft.

Good job of sticking with them and figuring it out.

Yup, that's a good one.

To quote George Cochran, "There are always fish shallow. Always."

I don't snub my nose at anyone except meat hogs. In fact, I applaud you for the nice tutorial on how not to deep-hook/kill these fish. Glad you caught some fish and had a nice variety of species. Hope you enjoyed your trip to the fullest.

There is no pre-Ned era. When Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, a very strong cold front had just blown thru and shut the bite down entirely. Had the boy who supplied the two fish not turned to a Ned rig, the throng likely would've been eating barbecue. Z-Man was located in Jerusalem in those days.

Oh boy, sounds like me when I was his age. He's hooked. For good. Game over.

They are known to make those dining runs into the nether regions of the Ozarks. Good on them for that.

Call me if you want to play golf Wednesday afternoon at Berksdale with me and Donna.

Those who haven't perfected that technique would do well to remember that bass will quickly swallow live bait and you have to stay alert to set the hook in short order when you get a bite. Otherwise, you're gonna end up with a bunch of dead, short fish that have to be turned back to die.

Hope those crawler fish aren't swallowing the bait. If you turn them back bleeding or with a hook still in them this time of year, they're goners.

Aw shoot, he's at home with his feet kicked up in the air-conditioning by 2 p.m. every day. At least that's what I heard somewhere.

He's on his way ... including starting his boating life out right in a Ranger! Only problem is Johnny will have them all screwed up long before he's ready to buy one.

If fishing was slow, maybe he was trying to figure out how to help you catch some.

That's awesome, dblades. Post of the month so far.

That's an interesting idea for sure, guys. I could see something like that working after you got it off the ground. Some of the old guard tournament guys around here talk a lot about missing the old all-nighter events like Cook is doing. Not sure why they were so popular except that there were some big sacks weighed in because of the extended hours. I'm sure a heckuva lot of fish died, too, as a result of being hauled around that long. Seems kinda primitive these days with what we now know about fish care and the heat.

I think those buffs and the darling little hand thingies come in a package deal when you buy a jersey. You know, like a Shaw Grigsby starter kit.

Go ahead and do as you will (within the limits of the law) ... but the bottom line will always be that you can only eat 'em once.

Just don't try that with the Tommy Biffle Nuthuggers. Might injure something special.

Dadgummit MOP, you're blowing my cover!

I grew up in central Arkansas where the Arkansas River was an option during the summer. Too ugly and dangerous to attract many skiers and such, and the constant current kept the bass fat, mean and cool throughout the summer months. You are dead right about daytime fishing on clear, highland reservoirs in the summer --- nearly impossible for any number of reasons. You're equally right in your past claims about our fish becoming pelagic (offshore dwellers/feeders) a big percentage of the time. And being 1.5 hours from the lake, night fishing isn't as much of an option for me because of the long drive home and the dangers of falling asleep (I have sleep apnea). Anyway, summer is a good time for us to work on our golf games and let the boat rest a bit. I put a lot of hours on it in fall, winter and spring.

A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do. How do you think I finance all of my tackle?

Bo, I can't possibly match all of your big uns. I just stay home with my tail between my legs and play golf. May give up fishing entirely.

Be sure and PM me or Donna to apply for a permit to fish the Big Creek area. You're getting into a restricted area down that way.