Champ188

Fortunately I don't think I did so on here, but I said this time last year that I didn't think the A-rig would ever be a factor on clear-water lakes like TR or Beaver. Too darn big and intrusive. I think we all know how THAT turned out. A 6-inch crank bait sounds awfully big to me and I can't imagine how much work that thing must be to crank, but given the way TR bass like to munch on those big hickory (gizzard) shad, dang right I think it's worth a try. Personally, I'd head for Baxter or the Kings with it. Wasn't many years ago that the boy from Texas rang up a heckuva three-day sack to win that Stren Series championship throwing deep crank baits way up the White.

I enjoy these kind of discussions myself and learn a LOT from them. You know, back in the day when bass clubs were big and nearly all the derbies were draw format, the best and most experienced anglers fished together. You were forced to if you wanted to fish tournaments. But this is the team and pro-am age, where the accomplished fishermen all either fish with their regular buddy or fish against each other from their own boats with a co-angler in the back. I fished Central Pro-Am for six years and may be back soon with the new ownership and format change. I can't think of a single fellow "pro" that I didn't at least get along with well enough to hold a friendly conversation, and the majority of them became good friends over the years. But the one thing I always wished for was the chance to fish with some of them. What I would give to this day to get into the heads of Dave Barker, Charlie Campbell and others who've forgotten more about finding and catching bass than I'll ever know. We visited when we ran into each other on the lake, even shared info at varying levels. But never did any of us fish together because on practice days we were on the run looking for our own fish, and in competition we had co-anglers rather than being paired with each other. I think what Bill was saying was that here on this forum, and especially in the coming months when inclement weather may keep us off the lake and on our computers more, we could use this time to learn some tips and tactics from each other. I'm not big on sharing specific spots where I've found fish and I don't expect or even want that kind of info from other anglers. If someone wants to point me in a general direction, great. But I enjoy the hunt enough to prefer finding the specific places on my own. But when it comes to tactics, I'm an open book. I only know a lot about a very few things, but I know a little about most of it. Seems the forum has been down a bit lately, and I'll take my little portion of the blame for being selfish at times. Let's see if we can get the activity back up by helping each other more with subjects like this topwater rod thread. Soapbox dismounted. Everyone have a great weekend.

My personal choice for topwater — Redfin, Spook or popper — is 17-pound P-Line mono, the original CXX in the green box. Also great for buzz baits or spinner baits.

Gunner, are you really throwing a topwater on fluorocarbon? By all means, switch to mono. Fluorocarbon sinks and makes it very difficult to work a topwater. Conversely, mono floats. Try some 15-pound mono such as Trilene Big Game. You will love the difference.

Have you considered hiring guides? Heck, you aren't going to spend much more than you will on boat rental and fuel and you'll be assured of catching a bunch of fish. And no, I'm not a guide. But I know some good ones, including the guy two posts above this one.

Can't beat a day on the water with Bill. I count myself fortunate to say that from experience.

TrophyFishR is right on, Sprint. The lake level can vary day to day depending on flow, but If the water is up in the grass, the bass will be, too. Spinnerbait, square bill or swimming a jig thru the grass will get you bit. Also, do not pass up any isolated piece of wood ... stump, laydown log, etc. These isolated pieces will hold good fish. Have fun and do well.

Nice report, Sprint ... thanks much.

Donna and I spent a classic fall day in the James River arm on Saturday, taking in the start of what promises to be some fine fall color, breathing some crisp autumn air and catching a fair number of bass, although only three keepers. Boat traffic wasn't too bad considering the Sloan derby was going on downlake. We launched at Cape Fair about 7:30 a.m. and ran a couple of miles upriver to start, catching just one or two shorts on a War Eagle spinnerbait off shallow docks. Came back down to Buzzard Branch and caught no one in there but did find a school of K's on a nearby main-lake bluff bank and caught close to a dozen of them from a 25-yard stretch on blade and mid-depth crawfish crank bait. None were keepers but a couple were close. Went downlake a few miles to another creek and managed two keeper LM there and missed a couple of other good keepers, all on topwater and all in 10 feet of water or less. One was a 3-pound fish, our best of the day, and came from less than 2 feet of water. Fishing the Champion derby next Saturday out of Cape Fair so not going to go into intimate detail, but the bottom line is you gotta work for the keeper fish right now. Headed back up Wednesday for four straight days of fishing. Should be fun.

Very good report, indeed. Congrats on a great day and thanks for sharing.

Here's a link to a page here on this site. It's not the old factory tournament but it sounds like fun.

Hey Edwin, we still need to get up that golf outing for the forum. Donna and I are gonna play Thousand Hills a week from Friday. Never been there so looking forward to it.

Fish are very unpredictable when it comes to fall cold fronts. Last I saw, Saturday is supposed to be cloudy, windy and cold. The longer the clouds and wind stay around, the more apt the fish are to be active. Undoubtedly, there should be some shallow. Seek out windblown banks — particularly those transition areas where bluff rock moderates to chunk rock, or where chunk rock turns to gravel — and throw small crank baits (Bandit 200 in craw-orange or rootbeer thrown on 8-pound or 10-pound line is a killer) or your favorite spinnerbait. A topwater like a Zara Spook Jr. can work too, provided the waves are no bigger than a light chop. If the fish won't chase moving baits, slow down and throw a finesse jig (can't beat PBJ with a green pumpkin Zoom Lil Critter Craw) or a green pumpkin shaky head worm. Don't pass up a good point or bluff end either, provided there's not a tournament boat sitting on every one of them. Have fun out there and let us know how you do. I'll be in the James myself Saturday and will post my results, although maybe not in complete detail since Donna and I are fishing that Champion owners derby up there the following Saturday.

Not familiar with the 488VS but a very close fishing buddy back in Hot Springs, AR used to have a 481VS with a Mercury 150 EFI. That was one fine fishing machine. Ran like a scalded dog, took rough water very well and fished really nice. Always enjoyed going with Gary.

Welcome indeed, Buddy. You will find things refreshingly open and honest here.

Got me back on the water quickly during a CPA weekend once. Fred has been a friend to fishermen for many years.

For what it's worth, here is my 2 cents. Every lake has places that hold fish year round. They just live there ... eat there, sleep there, make whoopie there and do whatever else fish do right there. For me, many of those places on Table Rock also have cedars. Many are pockets (some big, some not so big) or small creeks with a defined channel, meaning they have both deep and shallow water, cover and usually food. Others are points or bluff ends, which also provide both deep and shallow water and usually food. Thus the reason they live in these places. No reason to leave. When I'm looking for bass around cedars, a couple of things catch my eye. One is an isolated tree. Just like when fishing docks, it is easier to pinpoint fish on an isolated tree than in a forest. Same with a small clump ... pretty obvious where the fish are gonna be if they are there and it doesn't take long to find out. Another thing that gets my attention is a larger tree among smaller ones, be it a bigger cedar or a hardwood among cedars. This is a common occurence on Table Rock and is very well worth being on the lookout for. As far as spending a lot of time looking for bait or getting overly technical about it, I don't generally find that necessary. Table Rock is rich enough in shad that if they are around, you won't have to side-scan for them in the trees. You'll see them on your standard downscan and you'll probably even see some flipping on the surface. Of course, if you've spent any appreciable amount of time fishing Table Rock or other clear highland reservoirs, you know that clouds and wind are your friends. If the surface is too rough for a Fin or a Spook, pick up a spinnerbait and go to work. Might even reel a squarebill thru the cedar tops. Have fun out there.

Glad to hear that about the cedar tree bite. Very good advice for those looking to score some darn nice K's and an occasional good LM.

My apologies for misinterpreting your meaning.

Jason, people who don't want to work don't have to ... our increasingly socialist government makes sure of it.

Luck has nothing to do with Bill staying busy. He works his tail off year-round to stay on top of the fish and treats his clients like gold.

Good to hear the blade bite is starting.

Fun day and a nice report.

Wrong page, I know, but they bit pretty good Friday at Beaver ahead of the front ... Donna and I fished 7 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and had a dozen or so fish of all four flavors — LM, SM, spots and meanmouths — with 10 keepers. Best five woulda been 4 brown ones and a spot for 12 pounds. It was strictly a bottom bite on hula grub (green pumpkin/purple/copper flake) and a football jig (PBJ with a Yammy green pumpkin double-tail trailer). The fish were surprisingly shallow, with all bites coming in 10-18 feet on main lake pea gravel-to-big rock transitions. Presence of timber didn't seem to help or hurt. Glad I was wielding golf sticks instead of a fishin' rod Sat/Sun. Those first couple of strong fronts every fall sure put a crunch on the action.

Pretty fish. Good job.