Champ188

MDC has been on the cutting edge of black bass management since the 1980s, when it was among the first such agencies in the country to introduce length limits. Unlike their neighbors to the south, the Missouri boys have far more sense than to wreck a world-class fishery by introducing a non-native, forage-depleting creature that God intended to be in the ocean.

Danger, there was plenty of slime is some areas but it was of the floating variety. Pretty much seems to have broken loose from the bottom as Donna didn't have much problem at all with it getting on her jig.

Donna and I fished noon-7 p.m. Sunday, launching at the SK bridge. Fished down to Big Creek then back up to mouth of the KIngs. Bucks were literally thick on the banks out to 10 feet. Caught 60 or better, although nothing over 4 pounds, on a War Eagle blade in green shad, trick worms in bubblegum and watermelon-red/chartreuse tail and a Bass-X finesse jig in Beaver Craw/Purple with a green pumpkin Lil Critter Craw trailer. Shaky head in watermelon-red also produced a few fish. We fished mostly off the main lake because of 30 mph winds. Fish were primarily on large rocks and big wood. Get out there and getcha some. It's a blast right now.

Thanks indeed. Very good report.

Hope you guys are giving polygraphs. One of your hourly winners yesterday is embroiled in an ongoing controversy down at Beaver Lake, which escalated a week ago when he and his partner won the annual Buddy Bass for the umpteenth time. See related post on the Beaver Lake forum here on Ozark Anglers. It will be interesting to see if either of them show up in your weigh-in line again today.

Very cool. Thanks for the heads-up, Phillip.

I'm 105% with ya on that one, T. I'd like to see both April and May made that way. It would be a completely cost-free management tool other than what little they might spend on education and enforcement.

Bunch of those bed fish gonna get yanked off this weekend with that Oakley Big Bass derby.

Gotta love spring. Thanks for the nice report.

Nice info. Thanks.

Bundy is from Harrison, AR. A few years ago after he and Hagood won the Buddy Bass for one of their multiple times, I asked a very respected tournament fisherman from Harrison if he knew anything about him. His answer was that Bundy has pretty much been blackballed from fishing any tournaments on Bull Shoals.

lol - Champ has been using my laptop because his is in the shop. Didn't realize he was logged in to OA. Donna G

Well, Beaver kicked our butts again. We were in the first flight with a 6:00 a.m. start time (2:00 p.m. check-in). Had four in the box by 6:45 a.m.on a topwater and swimbait and only one K, which was a nice one. Never caught another keeper until an hour before weigh-in, then couldn't seal the deal with a limit (6). Put the five back in the lake and headed for home. Champ188's snoozing in the recliner and I'm ready for a nap, too. Hard work not catching fish.

From what I know of other states' theories, spots are pretty much unwanted. Oklahoma has removed all creel and size limits on them except for a few rare exceptions with individual lakes. The thinking is that spots are aggressive and will out-compete LM and even SM for forage. I enjoy catching spots and I enjoy eating them because I'm personally convinced that I'm doing no harm to the fishery from whence they came. In fact, I'm likely helping it. I'm with F&F on the subject of catch-and-release. In some cases, we are loving our bass to death. Game and Fish can pass all the regulations and work their tails off to stock our lakes, but if we don't harvest some of the legal fish then it all goes for naught. Harvest is a critical part of any management plan because every body of water has a per-acre capacity of how many bass it can support based on forage. Again, I think Stein and his colleagues are looking in the right direction in order to boost LM and SM populations on Beaver. F&F this is where you quit reading .... Now if they'd just cease and desist with the striper stockings!

LOL Quillback, yes of course I was joshing about the jointed Fin. Love that thing to death. It's put a lot of fish in the boat and a pretty fair amount of $$$ in me and Donna's checking account over the years. Appreciate you guys putting up with my sense of humor.

Thanks, Buster. Always good to have a second opinion to keep Babler honest. Can't trust those guys with the same first and last initials.

Always a straight-back Fin .Always. Jointed one is junk. Just complete junk. They won't bite it. Ever. I promise.

MoPanfisher is right. Some of us do get a bit uptight at times, myself included. But even at those times, I'm thankful to have this forum and the friends I've made here. All in all, a very good bunch of fishin folks.

The 5 inch will work just fine, Sore Thumbs. Whether a Kalin or Yamamoto, the grub is only 5 inches if you grab both ends and pull it completely straight. Stick it on a darter head, hurl it out there and get to catchin em.

Same here Jason from me and Donna. We are very sorry. Hang in there and let God comfort you.

Good info, thanks for sharing.

Edwin, Mike Webb runs an organization called KAST (Kids Are Special Too). Website is webbsguideservice.com.

Donna and I will be in the same neighborhood in a white/silver Ranger Z119. Oh crap, did I just innocently start another Nitro vs. Ranger fray?

Overall, agree with lots of what you said, amboyduke. As a point of clarity, you obviously use the term "top prize" loosely in reference to the Ranger that was awarded at the end of the 2012 Central Pro-Am season. That boat was awarded by draw, which was a point of contention among many, as the recipient (Mike Webb) took home a boat rig while the classic champion received a fraction of that. Also, KVD's brother Randy owns D&R Sports in Kalamazoo, Mich., which is a Tracker/Nitro dealership. Doubt he'd snub his own brother to change boat brands.

Brett, you need to be careful throwing around big words like ignorance. I didn't say the payout schedule wasn't online. I said the payout itself isn't listed with the results, as it generally is with any tournament series with which I've ever been associated in 35 years as a news and outdoor writer. And part of those years included being editor of Central Pro-Am magazine. Some might consider complete ignorance to be paying a $300 entry fee to fish a glorified jackpot with less than 40 boats that doesn't even pay back 10 places. The regional circuit that I'm fishing draws 125-150 boats per event, pays accordingly in CASH (not BPS food stamps) and, oh yeah, gives away a truck and a boat to first place in its year-end NO ENTRY FEE regional championship. There's even Ranger Cup contingency money that isn't available in CPA. Now, I'm done.