Champ188

Well done, sir. Surprised you managed to catch anything in Big Creek. Probably the worst creek on the lake for fishing. I'd recommend against anyone else trying to duplicate Steve's success. Nothing to see here --- move along, please.

Payment sent for me and Donna.

Had an older friend in Arkadelphia, Ark., near DeGray Lake who had pretty much given up bass chasing for crappie fishing. Was out fishing in one of the major creek arms on the lake one day and had seen this friend spider rigging out along the channel drop. Soon I heard the damndest bunch of banging around and cussing going on and wheeled around to see what was happening .... a school of hybrids (wipers) had swam directly under his big ol' SeaArk flatbottom and had totally wrecked his minnow spread. He had one on every dang rod (8 total) and they were breaking one pole after another. These things average 5 pounds and frequently reach 20 pounds in DeGray. He lost 5 rods and saved 3 once he finally thought of grabbing some scissors and cutting the lines. He was never a fan of hybrids and sure as heck wasn't after that. I fished until around midnight and laughed off and on the rest of the night about that. Talk about mayhem. LOL

Bill getting ready to spider rig ...

They only HAVE to beat them if they want to save their season ... if they play like they have the last few games, they won't come close. Musselman has to get Anthony Black's attention, regardless if it takes whacking him upside the head with a 2x4. He seems to be a good kid but he's a freshman and sometimes acts like a thug. That series of technical fouls near halftime of the Vandy game should've been called differently. Black was to blame for all of it with his act of standing over an opponent who had fallen, taunting him and trash talking. That's not how Razorbacks handle themselves on or off the court. Whatever is wrong with this team seems to be rooted in the locker room but, as is always the case, is manifesting itself on the floor --- e.g., Black's gangish behavior, Kamani Johnson's whining about every foul call, Devo Davis repeatedly and recklessly trying to drive inside and losing the ball. There's too much talent on this team to be losing games because players are putting far too much effort into acting like children instead of playing basketball at the level it takes to win against SEC competition. Go Hogs!

Yeah, ol' QB is ia pretty good feller. 👍

I think the bottom line is this ... nature alone cannot keep pace with not only the amount of pressure we are putting on our fish, but the quality and intensity of that pressure. It is MY OPINION that our great sport is headed toward over-running the resources that provide us with so much enjoyment. The technology we use to locate and capture fish has improved to a Star Wars level but it SEEMS TO ME that conservation efforts have not kept pace. I'll never be convinced that fishing pressure in the 70s and 80s was anywhere near what it is today --- neither in terms of number of anglers or the quality of equipment. The old Central Pro-Am circuit, the annual Olympia or Champion owners tournaments and the Heartland derbies had far greater numbers than today's tournaments for a single reason ... there were not half a dozen shootouts to pick from on any given weekend. We paid higher entry fees because the choice was to pay them or not fish a tournament that weekend. So many anglers these days are willing to fish a 10-boat derby just to have better odds of saying "I won!" than if they were fishing against top-caliber competition. I'd be willing to bet that the Corps doesn't turn down half a dozen regatta applications during the year, so the system is not there to police itself by limiting the pressure on the resource ... it's there only to collect permit money. I'm not anti-tech by any means. I don't have Livescope but I do have three sonar units --- two are brand new and top-notch --- on my boat that will do everything else for me. I also don't believe that the "catch and kill" folks are our biggest enemy. What I do believe is that we will not see any improvement in catch rates (numbers OR average size) until some steps are taken to reduce the amount of pressure on the fish and to study and/or supplementally stock these little green (and brown) creatures that we all love to chase around.

Thanks for sharing this info! I'll have to keep an eye on this site.

Been too many of these the past couple of years. Guess it's just part of the journey but certainly not a pleasant one. Prayers for his family and friends.

So ... what is this store?

Arkansas needs to get over this Nick Smith thing --- kiss his NBA-obsessed butt goodbye and get on with their rat killin'.

Still a big, big crappie. A 2-pounder is huge. Lots of people honestly THINK they've caught one when the fish actually only weighs 1-8 to 1-12. I was fortunate to catch a 3-4 once on a private lake in Hot Springs Village, Ark. Was throwing a Shad Rap in winter and reeling it quite slow for bass when the thing inhaled it. Heckuva fight on 6-pound line. Never got a pic because the marina was closed and it was pre-cellphone days. Just couldn't bear to kill the thing by dragging it home for a pic.

Yep, some of em have no regard for possession limits. They probably don't know that a game warden doesn't need a search warrant to enter your home. Would like to see a few of em get popped for packing those freezers. Not throwing darts at those who have it, but livescope units may well be more detrimental to crappie than any other species given their tendency to occupy open-water areas during all parts of the year except the spawn.

Nice job, Jeff. Happy new year!

Nice job, guys. Proves that FFS is only a tool and not a requirement to be competitive. Nothing will ever replace knowledge, which comes from time on the water, not a box.

Nailed it. It's nothing personal against BBT and yes, fewer fish are touched in this format. The fish are also handled more carefully than many other tournaments, and that's a very good thing. My pipe dream, which I will advocate for until my dying day, is that MDC officials would come to the table with concerned fishermen and hear us out on fishing pressure --- particularly during the spawn. Arkansas Game and Fish officials sat down with anglers many years ago concerning a similar situation on Lake Ouachita and the result was better fishing for all in the long run. There are lots of us out there trying to catch fish and we all have our own opinions about how things might be made better. Hey MDC, maybe at least hold some public forums and hear what we have to say?

I'd forgotten that but good to know. Agreed that life is waaaaaay too short for getting riled up over the little stuff. I've lost two close friends over the past week ... one to a case of pneumonia and the other to a brain tumor. He was just getting set up on home hospice and expected to have a few more months but a sudden brain bleed took him. Not to be a Danny Downer around Christmas ... just trying to underscore what we both are saying about not letting a little poking get to us. It's a fishing forum and beneath all the banter, we all want the same thing ... to catch another fish, and hopefully sooner than later.

I see you guys' point and retract my statement about ulterior motives. Yes, it would be bad business not to take advantage of such tax breaks. Still have my own opinions of JM and always will, but I was wrong to make the statement in question.

For your edification ... although it's generally prudent when you start throwing rocks (e.g., "has been") to either have a thick skull or be able to duck quickly when your target returns fire. 😂

That's the beauty of an internet forum and freedom of speech --- take what you can use and leave the rest. You guys can defend JM all you want ... you are just as entitled to your opinions as I am to mine. Or you can take the low road with Bullshoalscat and say things like others' opinions are "the DUMBEST thing I've ever heard." At the end of the day, none of us are likely to change the opinions of others. It's the nature of the beast we call the internet. And it's generally more a good thing than a bad one.

Once again, Ol' Moneybags had an ulterior motive for doing something for which he was credited as being a conservationist of angelic proportion.

Yep, same guys whose primary "strength" is the ol' bent-pole pattern. They see you catch one or more and you won't be lonely the rest of the day. Possibly one or more of those on this thread.

Bet he'd be glad to share GPS coordinates to where you can buy a brush/rock boat of your very own.

Hey Willy, I like the 65-pound PowerPro braid for frogging. I remove the pitchfork from the end of my gigging pole and tie the braid into a slip-knot noose, then carefully reach out with my pole and encircle the frog's neck with the noose. Meanwhile, Donna dangles a can of Bud Light on another pole in front of the frog and when he reaches out for the beer, I yank upward and snare him around the neck. Don't try this with any of those "craft" beers though ... these frogs are only interested in BUD-WISE-ERRRR.

Good to see you guys getting together. Speaking from experience, Jeff is great company in a boat. 😉