Champ188

I'll take your word for it, abk. Never had the slightest reason to doubt anything you said. But as you underscored, the general rule is you get what you pay for. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. Glad the PQs are solid performers.

Hope you're right, Alex. Ready to see that water temp start to climb a bit so I can put those new Rock Crawlers to the test.

The best Ned lesson (and others) you could get can be arranged right here: http://whiteriveroutfitters.com

No problem, Alex. Appreciate the info. Mine are the gold ones and like I said, they aren't worth a crap. May look into that trade-in deal and see if I can recoup some of the money I wasted.

So you exposed the manatee "expert" as a fraud. Shame on you. I'd have probably asked him what a professor was doing working as a tour guide.

I just can't imagine how you could get the kind of casting distance required to be consistently successful on Table Rock with a $50 reel. With horizontal presentations --- football jig, jerk bait, Wiggle Wart, swim bait, spinner bait, etc. --- if you aren't casting halfway across the lake, you are simply not catching the fish that you could be. If $50 is all you can afford, that's one thing. You can make it work well enough to catch some fish. But if you're just trying to save money by buying cheap equipment, you are only cheating yourself. Not saying you have to buy a $600 Daiwa Steez or even a $300 Shimano Core. But if you're not at least in the $150 range (list price), you are giving up valuable performance in terms of casting distance. I bought a couple of the top-shelf Johnny Morris Signature Series casting reels a few years back. Absolute junk. So I do have some experience with BPS reels.

Good job, snakem and nice to see a report from you. I think we have discovered a different look for cold water.

Yup, well said Wrench, per usual.

Thanks, kdk. Just that tough time of year.

It'll get better someday soon. Thanks for the report. Always helps to know water temp this time of year.

Dang abk, sucks about the motor problems. Hope it's nothing serious. Indeed that was our GMC truck. Dirty rascal, huh? LOL

Nice report, Enforcer. Glad to hear you had two good days. Pretty special this time of year.

Will piggyback off your report, QB, if you don't mind. Donna and I started out at Old 86. Late start (lines in at 10 a.m.) and really struggled to get anything going despite water temps being 45-46 everywhere. Had wind, too, perhaps a little too much for this time of year. Ended up catching two keeper LMs in Cow Creek around 1 p.m. on a stickbait. At 2 p.m., decided to load up and start back toward Bella Vista, stopping at Sweetwater up in the Kings. Been catching some grub fish up there and was pretty sure the school would still be around. What I didn't know was that the recent rain was enough to muddy the water up there, so it was 41 and very dingy when we launched. Ran downriver to just below Viola and managed two short LM on the stickbait and a short K on the Ned. Lost a big fish just before dark on the stickbait. Never saw it but it "ticked" the bait pretty good like a big LM or walleye. Never saw it but got it halfway to the boat before it pulled off. By the way, if you have a blue/silver BassCat with a Yamaha and you came racing upriver about 4:30 p.m. and stopped on the bluff end right below Viola Marina, learn some manners. Amazon surely has books that could help you develop some common courtesy. Inside 100 yards is too close to another boat when there's all kinds of other places to fish.

Better watch that anti-BPS blasphemy. Lots of disciples of Johnny around here. Some even have jerseys.

Exactly what the real pros fish in except on days they have to wear the bling. And before they had TV cameras on them all day, most of them fished every tournament day in inconspicuous clothes and only put their jersey on for weigh-in. You're gonna enjoy the site, Split. You won't agree with everything said, but you'll enjoy the ride. And don't forget to post your fishing reports. Even if it's nothing more than water temp and things/places you tried that didn't work, it helps the rest of us.

Welcome aboard, SplitG2. I don't know where people come up with the idea that I'm opinionated, fussy, cynical or just plain ol' cranky sometimes. Is it so wrong to want no one to walk away wondering what you're thinking? And abk, you leave my dadgum goat out of this! Split, do you happen to have a tournament jersey?

Trying to comprehend how much fishing knowledge was in that one bay boat ... The Bills + Mr. Ozzie = A Whole Darn Bunch. Glad you two old buds got to spend a day out on the big salty pond being treated by someone else. Good stuff and sweet memories.

Good luck in the derby, OldMillRoad. Not sure yet where Donna and I are going to go but leaning toward the dam area. Figure the water has to be a bit warmer down that way. About the eagles ... certainly has been a lot of them this year. Love seeing those dudes.

Jerk bait, jerk bait, jerk bait. There are also some deep spoon and grub fish, if that suits your style, but you'll have to find them on your electronics. Donna and I will fish Saturday and post something Saturday night.

Donna says the ones at SWEPCO feel like "warm puppies." Can't disagree this time of year.

Last I heard, water temps were still 44-45 in the dam area. Don't know what kind of precip might have fallen Wednesday night, but otherwise should be good to go.

Oh, come on. Man up and go to the big pond! Anyone can catch those "pets" at the hot lake. I need a report before I head north Saturday morning.

Ditto. Good stuff, J-Doc.

Larry, just be aware that keepers don't work too well with Elaztech material. It's just too soft and spongy to hold. Better stick with the glue, pun intended.

Can't resist sharing a Wheel of Fortune funny from YouTube. Not a big South Park fan but this was a hoot.