Champ188

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?

Floating debris will be a very minor concern in the Indian Point (lower lake) area. Come on down, go fishing and flip some fish out of the bushes. Chances are you'll find both LM and SM in them. Flip a green pumpkin or watermelon candy tube or Sweet Beaver in there and hang on. Jig will work, too, although you may have a few more hang-up problems with it. Contrary to what you may have read on this forum, Table Rock's banks serve other purposes than just holding the water in.

I don't see the place being used either. It's almost always a Saturday or Sunday when I'm on the lake and there's never more than a truck or two there and usually none.

Posted this on the buy-sell-trade page but also wanted to put it here in case any of you guys are interested. Thanks ... New-in-box MotorGuide Gator Mount 20.8. FW (Fresh Water) mount for Tour edition MotorGuide trolling motors. Bought new trolling motor just before trading my Champion recently and just used the old mount. New boat has a Minn Kota trolling motor so I am selling the new MG mount. List price is $259 on the MotorGuide outlet store website. Will take $150. Includes mounting hardware. PM me if interested, please.

New-in-box MotorGuide Gator Mount 20.8. FW (Fresh Water) mount for Tour edition MotorGuide trolling motors. Bought new trolling motor just before trading my Champion and used the old mount. New boat has a Minn Kota trolling motor so am selling the new MG mount. List price is $259 on the MotorGuide outlet store website. Will take $150. Includes mounting hardware. PM me if interested, please.

Thanks for the report. Way to take one for the team.

I'm like Phil on Duck Dynasty ... I think our youth are going soft and turning into a bunch of yuppies.

Wayne, I'm talking about fishing in general losing participation. Many states across the country have reported declining license sales for both hunting and fishing over the last couple of decades. Obviously, license sales are a direct indicator for the sport in general.

I'd be interested to see some numbers on how many people are camping now vs. 20-30 years ago. I would bet the numbers are down significantly. Seems there is more development in terms of condos and lakehouses and fewer people towing campers and dragging tents to the lake. Certainly no shortage of drunken revelers out there in ski boats, wake boats, etc., but we do know from the stats kept by various fishing organizations that our own numbers are down and shrinking by the year.

Thanks for keeping us up to date on the James River bite. And you are right about staying with your confidence baits. It's good to try new stuff or polish up on something you aren't very good at sometimes. But when you really need to catch em, better reach for what you believe in and stick with it.

I wouldn't be so quick to say "forget" anything that rps advises. He has probably caught more and bigger walleye from The Rock than about anyone. He targets them and knows from whence he speaks.

Glad you're getting another bass boat, Josh. I know you'll enjoy it.

One thing about the new 2-strokes is they don't suck the gas and oil like they used to. I doubt if any of us could afford to fish the way we do now if we were running the old carbureted 150's that a lot of us used to have. I saw a HUGE improvement in fuel consumption when I bought my 2004 Champion with a 200 Merc Opti, and our fuel bill dropped even more last December when we bought the 2013 Ranger with a 225 Pro-XS. Just sayin, these new motors sure don't burn the juice like the old ones did.

This reply is kind of irrelevant since most of us aren't deep-pocketed enough to own a 250 SHO. Even those of us with new ones have to settle for those ol' cheap 2-stroke black motors.

Bella Vista to say, H ramp at Baxter and back, is around $50 in the truck. Add another $50 in gas and oil, even though I, too, am a 3,000-4,000 RPM guy. I use the brown Mercury DFI oil on my mechanic's recommendation, which runs a minimum of $30 a gallon in new jugs (nowhere to buy it in bulk around here). So there went a Ben Franklin, plus whatever eats and treats me and Donna may consume along the way.

Absolutely, undeniably out of control.