Champ188

Love Broken Bow. I have a very good friend who guides there.

Gorgeous boat, Hunter. I know you're proud of her. J-Doc, we just don't have any Charger dealers in NWA. Then again, we don't really have any dealers at all to speak of. I had to go to Warsaw, MO, to get a decent deal on my Ranger.

:XD:

Dang, you're no fun! I wanted to rassle!

Just want to bring up one point about trailering. This is a big bass-only derby, and many such events allow trailering, including the big Oakley tournament that awards a $50,000 boat for first place. Doesn't matter either way to me other than my main priority that day will be to practice for another tournament the following weekend. And I'm intending to practice in a completely different river arm than the White. If required to launch at Eagle Rock, we'll probably forgo the OAF derby and try to show up for the social time afterward, depending on how our practice day unfolds. I'm just not inclined to spend a bunch of gas/oil/time running from the far upper end of the White all the way to another river arm for a trophy and bragging rights. In that same vein, if the concern is cheating, is someone really gonna go to the effort of being dishonest for a trophy in a no-entry fee event? And if they do, and they can live with themselves, I say let 'em have it. Thing is, I hate to see anyone be left out of the fun because they couldn't trailer their rig. After all, Eagle Rock is not exactly a mainstream area of the lake. That's my 2 cents and then some, probably. Onward.

Just a matter of time -- and probably not very long -- until they get it there. Bet you could find some on the hull of the Branson Belle right now.

In 2010, Tim Sainato and Steve Redford brought in a five-fish limit of smallmouth that weighed over 18 pounds in the Central Pro-Am team tournament. I remember it well because Donna and I finished second with 16 pounds and change. Tim was catching his fish from deep (invisible) beds on a grub and I believe he won the pro-am event the day before, too. Of course, he was fishing gravel runout points on the lower end of the lake. Donna and I were on a Redfin bite in the middle section of the White River.

Not at all out of the question, Jozark. You may have seen it, but Dan Morehead (from Kentucky, of all places) caught a 6-pound, 12-ounce spot during an FLW Tour stop on Table Rock a few years back. Just a gorgeous fish.

Back in the early 1980s, I did a story as a very young outdoors writer for the old Arkansas Gazette on winter fishing on Bull Shoals. Was fortunate to be guided for two days by Jim Nolan, the former head of PR for Ranger Boats and a successful Bassmaster Tournament Trail angler. Great guy and a really good hand at deep fishing. He had a warm-water spring that was 70 feet deep in one of the main feeder creeks. Dang if I remember which one, but it might have been one of the Sister creeks. Anyway, while we were dropping 1/8-ounce brown hair jigs to these fish, which were congregated practically on the bottom, I caught a spot that weighed 4-15. It was a tussle like I'd never experienced on 4-pound line and a medium-light spinning rod. Spotted bass have held a special place with me ever since that day.

Glad they were smart enough to let you try them out the way you planned to use them. Don't know if you bought them there or not, but I'm sure you wouldn't have if they'd been reluctant to let you walk across the store with them.

Good idea. Be interesting to see how Cabela's handled that since they keep their good glasses under lock and key. They darn sure have enough sales people in there that one could walk with you back to the graphs if they were afraid you were gonna steal the shades.

Denny, I bet you could get them to make you some yellow nylon frames to match your Skeet sticks and yeller shoes. If not, you could get some white frames and douse em in chartreuse Dip'n Dye. Just don't use any of that JJ's Magic dye. Even that hot rod Phoenix won't be able to outrun the garlic smell.

Certainly nothing wrong with Oakleys, especially since they purposefully got into the fishing market with the Angler Specific series. I would bet they have pretty darn good customer service, too. Can't recall ever hearing anything negative about them and they have a really big market share among golfers.

Those are a couple of hammers, Rick. Everyone seems to love the brown ones and the green ones, and I have nothing against either species. But those spots are my favorite fish.

Not just you, Tanderson. I use the amber lenses all the time. The older I get, the less I seem to be able to see much of anything with the gray lenses. The lenses in both pairs of the Costas I just got back are the green-mirror 400 series (not the super high-dollar 580s). For my eyes, the tint is just perfect for either sunny or cloudy weather, although if it's dark cloudy I usually only wear them for running the boat.

Redfins are awful. Hooks and hardware on them suck. Eight out of 10 won't run right. Complete junk. Wouldn't waste my money.

That sucks. I wonder if you called Costa if maybe they could direct you to another Ozarks-area dealer who could help with your issues.

I bought the glasses through a dealer, Phil, but dealt with them directly during the repair process. Donna spoke with them on the phone a couple of times and they were very friendly and professional.

This is an unusual post, but I wanted to share with everyone some reassuring words about an American-based company that makes a darn fine product and then stands behind its lifetime warranty of those products. I bought my first pair of Costa sunglasses (the Harpoon model) about 7 years ago. I enjoyed them greatly until doing something stupid (can't recall just what) and breaking them in half at the nosepiece. Pretty sure I sat on them or something of the sort. Thinking that making a warranty claim would be more trouble than it was worth, I purchased a new pair (the Zane model) and enjoyed them just as much until dropping them recently on my concrete driveway and cracking one of the lenses. At this point, I boxed them up to send in for new lenses (Costa insists on replacing both lenses for quality assurance). Cost was $65 for new lenses and new temple arms. Not bad, I thought, for practically a new pair of top-shelf sunglasses that retailed for over $200. While I was at it, I included the Harpoons just to see what could be done about the broken frames. When the repair form asked what happened to them, I honestly replied "Been broken awhile. Don't remember." To my great surprise, they sent me a completely brand new pair of Harpoons --- lenses too, although the lenses in the broken pair were fine. Retail price on them is $190. So now I essentially have two new pairs of Costas for $65 total. Because of this outstanding customer service, I will never buy another brand of premium sunglasses. And no, I am not sponsored by them, have never been and I do not receive any kind of discount on their products.

Now there's a man with a firm grasp on the situation!

Thanks for the report, Duck. Glad you got out and got bit.

I'm with you, QB. That hour's drive is no bother at all, not even the hour-and-a-half to Kimberling City. Blessed? Yes we are.

Fine me all you want, I have nothing to say about anything.

Should probably plan a trip to Hartwell for the Bassmasters Classic in a few weeks. I can hang out all week with KVD in the Strike King booth since he won't be fishing. People will hardly be able to tell us apart since we'll both have jerseys on. We'll have to turn around so they can see our names on the back.

I would but I'm still waiting on a PDF of your company logo so I can include it on my jersey. Since I bought some Ned heads and like them, I'm now sponsored by you. Right?