Champ188

Our walleye populations (Beaver and TR) are growing but not yet at the point where a zero day is unusual. My jerk baiting is for bass, with the occasional walleye being a bonus. If you zero on bass at TR, you just didn't figure out the bite that day.

Well said, Hodge, and good to know considering your long experience with tournament fishing.

Thanks for the report, Dave. Glad you guys had a big time. Fall fishing is hard to beat some days and hard to figure out on others.

Can't help it ... spooning in 6 feet of water conjures up visions of someone taking stem cells from me and Bo (Merc1997) and creating a hybrid super structure-dragging, bank-beating speed winder capable of covering two-thirds of Table Rock in 3.75 hours with a 1-ounce jig. All joking aside, thumbs up for coming up with a unique way of catching them, cindyjo.

I'm not offended. If anything, I'm guilty of waking the proverbial sleeping dog, poking the bear or whichever beastly reference one prefers. I'm still a pain in the posterior, but at least I'll own up to it these days. Onward.

I would think so down to Horseshoe but probably not much farther down than that. Might try it in Esculapia and Blackburn.

Three words for you, Ham: Bull Shoals Lake

Mark, I should know after a career in journalism that there's no reason to argue with a marketing guy, but here goes my one-and-done shot at it ... How many people follow your entire "tour?" I would venture to guess that not even ONE person fished every event last year or in any previous year. So to the staff, perhaps it's a tour. To 99.999 percent of your anglers, it's a one-off event. Therefore, they couldn't give a flip less about your total payout for the year. My original point was and remains: Your news release is, at the very least, potentially misleading. It says "boat" and doesn't even allude to the fact that you're talking about a total prize purse for the tour/year. What most of your anglers will see is a smaller grand prize of lesser value at whichever event they fish. That's it. I have no personal issue with you. It's no secret that I don't care for BPS, but that's another matter entirely. Didn't say I'd changed my mind about fishing your event. No, I haven't registered yet. Hoping I'm off the unemployment roll in time for Donna and I to do so. Newspaper business ain't what it used to be.

Sounds like they're on the right program up around Holiday Island. My portly posterior just might be up there amongst 'em later this week.

That's a good way to catch a limit up in the river arms in the fall and winter. Plus, you can chuckle at all the trollers crane-necking to see what you're doing so close to the bank --- i.e., catching fish when they aren't. LOL

Absolutely right, Bo. Wouldn't have traded the day on the water for anything. Mostly just amused at how these fish seem to be doing everything except what they should be this year.

The news release says "upgraded grand prize Nitro Z18 performance bass boat." Not "boats." Why should your typical participant care about the collective grand prize value for all 10 events? BPS marketing spin doesn't work on everyone.

Donna and I launched Sunday at 7:30 at Shell Knob and quit at 4:45. Sum total for the day was 15-18 fish with 3 keepers. I hurled that dang baked potato (Whopper Plopper) until both shoulders felt like I'd been hanging from a tree limb for 10 hours and got maybe five bites on it all day, three of which failed to connect despite the fact that I DID NOT jerk it away from them. The two I did catch were a nice 17-inch spot and a 14 15/16-inch largemouth. Also threw a blade a fair amount, scoring one keeper on it. No love on the jerk bait yet regardless of how I varied the retrieve. Credit Donna for putting down the winding baits and figuring out some semblance of a bottom bite. Ended up doing our minimal damage mostly on a Ned and a shaky head. A couple on a jig. Burns my BVD's that we played golf Saturday (sunny) thinking Sunday's clouds and breeze would have them chomping, when the truth was the guys who fished Saturday wore them out on winding baits (spinner bait, square bill, etc.). Oh well, we'll make up for it one day soon. Bright spot of the day was meeting fellow OAFer 96 CHAMP. A very fine fellow, a good stick and owner of what may be the cleanest 96 model Champion boat in existence --- or any year, for that matter. Sure was good to visit with him. Keep after 'em, guys.

Last year's grand prize was a Nitro Z8, which is a 20-foot, 1-inch boat with a 96-inch beam rated for a 250 hp engine. Its base price on the Nitro website is $36,595. This 2016 grand prize is a Z-18, which is an 18-8 boat with a 94-inch beam rated for a 175. Its base price on the website is $28,595. Upgraded, you say?

Oh gitnby, you did NOT just go there. Did you?

Guess it's all relative. I throw a jerk bait all day at least two days a week throughout the winter and never think twice about it. But I fish Table Rock almost exclusively and zero-fish days there are very rare.

Why use 6-pound line on a spoon? I don't use anything smaller than 15 and usually go with 17 or 20. It's a reaction bait. No need for finesse gear.

Man, you guys are some kind of dedicated to those stripers. Nine hours of trolling for one fish?

Best six 18 lbs? Dang near a waste of gas and time, bo.

I'd rather take my chances pitching a finesse jig on boat docks. Just have to make sure you get all the way back to the central walkway on those super bright days with no wind. And you'll catch a lot more fish if you learn to pitch in the gap between the boats and the short walkways. May have to pitch over a lift support or two, but you gotta get em on before you worry about getting them in.

I know some very good spoon fishermen who really like the War Eagle cole slaw or solid chartreuse spoons on dark days, even in mostly clear water.

Dang right, gitnby ... and he better not be wearing a jersey either!

Friday will be the tough day ... second day after the front --- high blue and no wind.

Wow, had no idea they were capable of swallowing something that big.

I actually fished this afternoon in Bella Vista. Yeah, I'm an idiot. But I caught a few. Even the blue herons didn't want to fly in that wind.