Champ188

For sale: 2013 Ranger Z119, Merc 225 ProXS ...

I can accept that, not knowing a LOT about the place.

Easy to sit on the sidelines, be bitter and throw rocks.

Just my opinion, but it seems pretty self-centered to want to deny these kids some Christian direction in life because this camp is somewhat in the neighborhood of your lakehouse. For Pete's sake, there are REAL CRIMINALS walking the streets all around you everyday and a heckuva lot more of them.

Item is sold.

Pretty animals.

The bottom line is you fish what works for you ... from a $4 Academy bait to a $20 (on up to $40) Megabass, and that differs from person to person and from day to day. Before anyone labels me a defender of the premium lures, I personally embrace the $7 Luck-E-Strike jerk baits, with some $12-$14 Spro McSticks sprinkled in. I do own some Megabass baits and I've had more quality problems with them than any other brand. A suspending jerk bait is a tedious creation and some never work right out of the package. I can understand how that can happen in mass production, although I can understand it a lot more at $7 a whack than $25.

Good job of hanging in there and earning some points.

Matt is a good hand. Hard to beat when he gets on them.

Are you sure that wasn't a big ol' slick that wandered down from Roaring River?

Worlds of shad + cool weather + high water = tough summer fishing. We all depend on the heat driving the shad down on the ledges and deep points, and the bass following them. What we don't count on is an overabundance of shad being scattered all over the lake with no thermocline, including a bunch of bushes that aren't normally in the water. Scattered shad mean scattered bass.

Any thermocline to speak of?

OK, good. It will fit. That's exactly the motor it came with. My last two trolling motors on the Champion were Tour Edition 82's. I can drop it off at HLS in Rogers if you like. Donna and I are playing golf this afternoon but you can catch me this morning or this evening on my cell at 479-601-4667.

Hey SoreThumbs, will give you a call tomorrow (Sunday). What model is your MotorGuide?

My suggestion ... get you a spinning rod with 6-pound line, a 3/16-ounce shaky head and a watermelon-red or watermelon candy finesse worm and start casting it around docks. You will get bit.

Lots of fish to catch in that immediate area. Plenty of docks, etc. You'll like it.

I've had good success with the same set-up QB. I bought some of that ultra cheap 70-pound catfish mono (believe the brand is Omni) from Walmart and spooled it on an old 5500C baitcaster that I wasn't using anymore and mounted it on an old rod handle that I cut off below the first guide. One key for me is I use the BPS plug knocker that is fish-shaped and has three little chains hanging from it. Those chains get tangled up in the hooks nearly every time and allow me to pull the bait free.

Ours is not a budget-minded sport.

There are situations when name-brand lures cost more only because of the name and actually do not perform better than a cheaper knockoff. This is not one of those cases. When fishing the ultraclear waters of Table Rock with a lure that sits motionless in front of the fish for long periods of time, it pays to go the extra mile and throw a top-quality lure. Megabass has some of the most realstic finishes on the market today. Cold-water bass can be fussy. Best to give yourself every advantage when trying to get them to buy into the fake food you're trying to sell them.

I'm with ya on the night fishing, sholder02. I liked it when I was younger (in my 20s) but grew out of it fairly early in life. The older I get (early 50s now), the more of an early riser I have become. I don't like to have my entire day blown by staying up all night trying to see where the heck I'm going/throwing in the pitch black. Admittedly, it's pretty out there when there's a big moon. But I'll pass. Hope you surprise yourself and catch em good.

Nothing says you can't stay at home. Maybe low participation would be a deterrent to future night tournaments.

Dang you, QB.

QB, those early bass in the bushes don't leave up in the day. If it's cloudy and/or windy, you can keep catching them on a spinnerbait from the windblown areas. If it's bright, flip a beaver or tube. Falling water levels will pull them out to the outside edge. This is not just conjecture ... a friend has been catching sacks of 18-20 pounds doing this. Flooded grass has also been hot.

Huntest, For flipping, I rig both my tube and beaver Texas style, or Tex-posed I should say. The new grip-pin hooks like Mustad and Trokar are offering with bait keepers just below the eye work great. As long as you don't go bigger than 4/0, you shouldn't have a problem of the hook being longer than the bait. Here's a link to the hooks I'm talking about ... http://www.cabelas.com/product/TroKar-TK125-Magworm-Baitpin-Hook/1307343.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dtrokar%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=trokar&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products Apologies to you BPS faithful out there ... it's a Cabela's link.

Spinnerbaits in the flooded bushes in August ... has The Rapture occurred and we are now fishing in Heaven?