Champ188

Haven't been to TR in months but I'll try to help ... football jig on long gravel runout points and just inside spawning pockets can pay big rewards in that area of the lake. Keep your colors basic ... PBJ with a green pumpkin double-tail trailer is sufficient every day. Ned rig in the same areas will work great, too, especially on tougher days. If you don't get bit on the points, work your way back into the pockets with the Ned, a spinnerbait, a perch-colored squarebill or a fluke. For those so inclined, a splitshot-rigged finesse worm or a shaky head will work, too. Yet another option is to swim a grub or small swimbait in the guts of the pockets. Please do the fish and your fellow fishermen a favor and refrain from throwing a Carolina rig. A fb jig or Ned will get you just as many bites and you won't kill your catch. Those brown fish especially are notorious for sucking that thing down their gullet, thereby committing suicide. Hope you have a great trip! Let us know how it goes, please and thanks.

Naturally, I have to partially blame Johnny Moneybags for bringing so much national attention to the lake with his big palooza derbies. The fishery is holding up well so far, but it can't weather the kind of pressure it's getting forever. What will Johnny do then? Probably throw up a new mega-complex overlooking Bull Shoals and start ruining that lake, too.

Thank you, buddy.

Bad deal.

Those are some good fish. Nice job!

Nice work!

Just my opinion, but holding a kayak tournament on the state's busiest tournament lake during its busiest tournament month (April) just seems to be inviting tragedy. Do we really have to learn this lesson the hard way? And it's not only the bass boat vs. kayak issue ... the big boats are coming out now, too, many piloted by drunken garden-variety idiots.

Many places prefer that you buy the parts from them, therefore allowing them to make a little money on the retail end. If you bring your own, they're gonna make it up on labor. Can't blame em there.

Thanks for being thoughtful and letting it go promptly. Need all the new baby fish we can get.

No livescope required. 😆

THIS. ^^^ Maybe Nomolites will weigh in. He's a fisheries biologist and an oft-contributing member here. My vote is a LM/K natural hybrid.

Now WHO could that be? LOL

Voice-operated, forward-facing sonar capable of delivering accurate and detailed images of fish 75 feet deep from up to a mile away at 85 mph. It's the future of fishing. Embrace it. 😂

Probably the wisest words in this entire thread. Mixer had some great info, too. Stay alive out there, guys. It's fishing, after all. Not worth dying over or killing someone else.

Understandable, given your occupation. 😃

Watch it, old man. I weigh over 300 ... but not for much longer, as I'm still dieting and losing steadily. Down 100 pounds from a high of 430 two years ago. And even with every storage box stuffed full and my life partner onboard, our Ranger Z-119 will do 68 (GPS speed) in the right conditions. It's done 70 in the past with less gear onboard. However, with that said, I rarely run that hard, even in a derby. You have to push it hard at takeoff or you'll get run over. But after that initial run, I rare push it over 4700-4800 RPMs, as that's where my Pro-XS 225 likes to settle in and purr. Just not worth the safety risks, not to mention unnecessary wear and tear on our rig. Being primarily a "winder" vs. a "dragger," my total number of casts for a day's fishing is probably going to approach 1,000. If I can't catch a good sack in that number of casts, risking life and limb to squeeze in a few more ain't gonna make any difference.

Agreed. This is a "forum" and as long as it's America, everyone has a right to tactfully express their opinion regardless of what the radical left may do/say.

Grab up them scopes and get on out there in the middle of the ocean, boys. Big-bag potential in shallow water is growing with every ka-ching of the cash register. 😁

I'm not defending the exhaust pollution stance but let's be factual here ... I don't know of any modern outboard that doesn't exhaust thru the prop hub. Wrench?

Fish 24/7 can correct me if I'm wrong, but my take on the thief comment was that the presence of large tournaments often draws thieves to said lake. Has happened quite often in the past. Just ask Vernon or any number of victims at tourneys on LOZ.

I always tell Donna that cows laying down means they're tired and cows standing up grazing means they're hungry. And nothing more. LOL

No, you did not. Thanks for that. I have one definite pet color for crappie and the unmentionable one works best for bass/walleye. I presume you are referring to our guide friend in the Sooner state? (Although he's a Pokes guy all the way).

Shhhhhhhhhh. 😅😂

SILENCE! I KEEEEL YOU!

Nice report with great detail. Thanks for sharing!