Champ188

We (the taxpayers) already paid for those ramps and we continue to pay $30 a year (annual pass) or $4 daily use fee. I, for one, will use MY ramps when I'm ready, regardless of whether there's money to fund some ranger running around in a truck checking my pass. Don't mean to sound militant but that's by gosh how I feel about it.

Shimano has an over-the-counter, full replacement policy on their rods. At least they did for several years and I haven't heard that it's been changed. Donna and I have exchanged a bunch of 'em at Hook LIne & Sinker in Rogers and Bella Vista. They are bad to break about 18 inches down from the tip ... Crucials and Compres both.

If anything, cold fronts hit the river areas harder because of their shallow nature. I don't have any data to base that on other than a lifetime of experience, but I can testify that my younger years of tournament fishing were spent praying that a cold front didn't blow through and erase any advantage that I had built in practice by locating shallow fish in the river arms of whatever lake I happened to be fishing. I'm told that when barometric pressure is high, as it is after a cold front, that the air literally pushes downward. This can be felt by the fish and affects their swim bladder. The shallower they are, the more they feel it. Again, that's what I'm told and have read. Not saying it's gospel. I do know that it's generally best after a cold front to fish deeper, as those fish seem to be less affected by the pressure change.

Better days are just around the corner, folks. The deep guys are having to move in closer all the time to catch their fish. I don't mind sitting out and dragging or even drop-shotting ... I do it every fall. Just frustrating when there are bait balls the size of a school bus by the hundreds just wandering around over 120 feet of water and half the bass in the lake are out there following them around. Can't drag for those and drop-shotting suspended fish is tough at best when they aren't positioned on cover. Shad and fish both are starting to move into the creeks and cuts, though, which will only increase with another cold front or two. Get ready for some good fall fishing. It's almost here.

I think QB is on some sort of commission plan with them.

He does write a good report, huh rps? Light, tight and bright. I think Donna and I are gonna roll into Shell Knob about daylight in the morning and proceed to see who we can catch. Got a few pet places I need to check on.

I'd rather catch a magnum spot than a 5-pound LM any day. Just love those things.

I'm sure the Central Pro-Am boys learned plenty by trolling this thread. LOL

I can appreciate your feelings for sure, abk. Thing is, it is just the opposite down here. Our local Cabela's is incredibly neat and organized, especially the fishing and boating departments. Probably has more to do with management than anything, as the fishing/boating manager here runs a tight ship, so to speak. He once owned his own tackle shop in Rogers, then worked as a manager at Hook Line & Sinker before hiring on with Cabela's. On the other hand, the BPS in Branson is pretty much a joke. More times than not, they've been out of the staple items I needed when I'd drive up there from Kimberling City ... things like 15-pound fluorocarbon line (not even a spool of their own BPS fluorocarbon in 14 lb), common lures in common colors, etc. And trying to get help from anyone who knows anything is just as difficult. Just my experience but I don't apologize for being truthful.

He's fibbin. Spinnerbait won't work in the Kings. Never. Ever. Especially in the fall.

Don't know that I've ever had one go dim. I've sure had the display go completely out. That was a bad problem with the last few years they made the Pinpoints.

abk, do they not have a Cabela's in STL? The one down here carries a great selection of rods ... Duckett, St. Croix, Shimano, ... etc.

Got that right about Coach Phillips.

Nice report. Thanks for sharing, CHAMP.

The web designer did a Photoshop cutout of the lure and it was a lot easier to cut the hooks out than to cut around and include them. He/she should have taken the time, though, to clone out the hook reflection on the belly of the lure. Sloppy.

Yes, that's almost bound to be the same one but are you sure it wasn't Cutter-Morning Star? Brady and his sister Kerri both attended Cutter and she was actually a better athlete than him. She was an All-State basketball player and champion track athlete, too. Brady's dad is Freddy Meredith who is well known as a tournament fisherman. He won a lot of money on Ouachita, Hamilton and DeGray and fished the pro circuit for a short while in the 1990s. I used to live just inside the front gate of Hot Springs Village, so I know quite a few folks around Jessieville. Heckuva good bunch of people. The football coaches Don Phillips and Don Pierce were a couple of my favorites.

abk, I use the BPS Crankin' Stick and love it. I believe mine is 7-6. You might also look at the Duckett Micro Magic rods. They have some models specifically designed for that application. I'm using several of their other rods and am really impressed with them.

The guy who won the tournament the first year is a longtime friend named Brady Meredith. We are both originally from Hot Springs, AR. He caught the fish on a buzz bait above Holiday Island in the White River.

Thanks for the heads-up. Empty now.

Same here on the rebuild. Mine was 12 years ago and the shoulder is still good as new. Best advice I can offer is be vigilant about the rehab. Prayers for a safe and successful surgery.

I had a couple of 15-20 pound days last winter on Beaver with the RC Stix. Nuff said. If it'll work on Beaver, it'll work anywhere. And oh yes, I placed sixth in the BFL on Grand last March ... again throwing the RC Stix all day long. Buy Megabass if you want. I own some. They work. But the RC Stix work, too. If you don't like the hooks and split rings, it's easy enough to change them.

I'm not to be trusted with sensitive info, QB.

X2 on every word of this.

I use green pumpkin, except for when I change to green pumpkin. You could also try green pumpkin.

Same here, Jeb. A good quality FC like Trilene 100% FC will not break on the hookset unless (a) it has been nicked or tied improperly or ( someone simply jerks too hard. Today's jigs (the ones worth throwing) have such high quality hooks that it doesn't require a broomstick and braided line to securely hook a fish.