Champ188

Have a safe and happy trip, friend. Donna and I are gonna go check out the topwater bite at first light in the moring.

Hey rps, what's the water temp running up there?

That's some ridiculous behavior alright, bluebasser86. Kudos to you for (1) taking your wife fishing and getting her on some fish and (2) not coming unglued on those so-called "adults" in front of the girls. Had to be hard to hold back, though. A little extra light on the Jonathan Van Dam vs. Denny Brauer deal ... Denny is a 30-year veteran of BASS with a Classic win, an AOY title and 17 career wins. He's 60-something years old and has earned the right to have a young buck like JVD give him room, especially given that this incident happened on the last day of a four-day derby when Brauer was leading and had established that particular spot as his water. Just my opinion, but there's little evidence so far that JVD is cut from the same championship cloth as his uncle.

You should contact the folks at Cape Fair Marina. They keep good track of what's going on with all species and will be glad to help. Outdoor Girl posts the marina's fishing report here on a regular basis.

Thanks for the tip. Being one who prefers to fish shallow whenever I can, I pray for clouds and chase the wind.

Thanks, MOBass. Sounds like you had a fun day. May try to get up there one day this week before all the shenanigans get under way this weekend.

Good report, MOBass. Main lake or creeks?

If I had proposed to Donna there, she woulda dumped me on the spot. Then again, I would've had to have gotten her there to start with.

This topic comes up from time to time and I can recall saying this and having several folks agree with me a couple of years back. Not sure if it bears repeating or not but I feel like saying it again, so here goes. There are some who just don't know any better than to pull in too close or commit other transgressions, and for the most part, you can tell who those are. As Babler said a couple of years ago, might be best to gently let them know they've crossed the line. As for 99 percent of the others, it pretty much comes down to the fact that they just don't give a rat's azz. Whether they are a top-ranked touring pro or a weekend perch jerker in a flatbottom, you are on the spot they want to fish and by gosh they are gonna root you off of it. Ain't happenin here. As we discussed a couple of years ago, we've been way too nice for way too long with these yay-hoo's and where has it gotten us? Things are worse now than ever. It's the old give em an inch and they'll take a mile syndrome. As anyone who knows me will testify, and just as most of you have always done, I give folks way more leeway than is common these days. I'm with dtrs5kprs ... if someone is on "my" spot, I can find another. It's a big lake. Been doing that since I was a teenager and won't stop til I die. But I am done letting others cut me off or crowd me. Unless it's obvious that they are uninformed of how to behave on the water, I am going to let them know how I feel about their rudeness and that I won't sit still for it. I doubt that I am going to single-handedly modify the behavior of any appreciable population of these morons, but at least I'll sleep better knowing I didn't let them have their way with me. This rant is complete. We now return you to our regular programming.

Sounds like a blast, rps. I have a lot of favorite areas on Table Rock and that Holiday Island-Eagle Rock stretch is definitely among them. Started to take Donna over there yesterday but we opted to play (bad) golf instead. Really wish we'd have gone fishin now.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission 2 Natural Resources Drive Little Rock, AR 72205 May 17, 2012 Proposed striped bass stocking proposal for Bull Shoals Lake on hold LITTLE ROCK – Over much of the past two years, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission have been working together to collect public input on a proposed stocking plan that would enhance the striped bass fishery in Bull Shoals Reservoir along the Arkansas-Missouri border. The proposed stocking plan has been placed on hold. The proposed striped bass management plan calls for stocking a limited number of striped bass fingerlings in Bull Shoals to improve a quality striped bass fishery and complement the existing game fish population in the lake. The proposed plan calls for stocking 22,000 fingerling striped bass in Bull Shoals every other year as well as aligning white bass, hybrid striped bass and striped bass regulations between Missouri and Arkansas in Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes. The MDC recently approved regulation changes set to go into effect on March 1, 2013 to better align the fishing regulations between the two states for white bass, hybrid striped bass and striped bass. Both agencies will collect additional fish community information and public input on the proposal. Striped bass are native to the Atlantic Coast, but have been stocked in numerous lakes around the country, including a select few in Arkansas and Missouri. Because of their size, their fighting qualities and their well-flavored meat, striped bass provide a popular “bonus” fishery where they are introduced. Bull Shoals, Norfork and Lake of the Ozarks currently comprise the striped bass fishery in Missouri. The current Norfork Lake striped bass population is maintained through annual stockings on the Arkansas portion of the lake by the AGFC. The current Bull Shoals striped bass fishery is the result of an AGFC stocking in 1998. Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri also receives periodic stockings of striped bass using fish raised in Department hatcheries. The AGFC and MDC will continue to work together to manage border waters like Bull Shoals for the citizens of both states. Future efforts include additional fish community sampling and public outreach efforts to share information and gather public input on the stocking proposal. A final decision on stocking will be a part of these future efforts.

Used to be you could talk a few fish into riding around in the comfort of a nice aerated livewell for a few hours on the weekend, especially if you dumped in some of that "bass crack" medicine that makes the water turn blue. But hell, boat traffic has gotten so bad that they don't want to get beat up in the big wakes.

Nothing to see around Viney. Move along, please,

Best wishes for a great summer, rps. Always enjoy keeping tabs on the upper White by reading your comprehensive reports.

Pretty sure I heard denjac say he thought he could crack 9 pounds after a promising practice last weekend, so I'm going with 9.18.

Couldn't agree more, dblades. Then I'm always coming from the west.

Like Edwin, I am not a fulltime fisherman or guide, but I'm slightly north of age 50, meaning I've been fishing better than 45 years now. I've learned most of what I know the hard way and wouldn't trade a minute of the effort it took to get where I am now. That said, in fishing pro-am tournaments and talking with/observing my back-seat partners, I think the biggest mistake I see is they get too wrapped up in particular lures or techniques and they forget the most important thing --- you gotta know something about the dadgum fish that you're trying to catch! Techniques are important and at times it is downright critical to be throwing the right lure, but the one constant in bass fishing is that no matter what lure you have or how good you are with it, you can't catch squat if you aren't around the fish. Learn their habits, their seasonal patterns, and as much as possible, learn WHY they do what they do. Hot lures and techniques come and go with the wind, but learning the stuff above will serve you a lifetime. And I couldn't agree more with the guys who recommended hiring a guide. Just be sure and hire one who wants to see you learn something and who isn't out there to impress you with how much HE knows. Bill Babler would be a heckuva good choice.

I would suggest keeping a bait in the water that the fish are truly apt to bite under just about any conditions. My picks would be (water 50 deg and up) a watermelon candy or green pumpkin finesse worm on a shaky head and 6-pound line — or in water cooler than 50 deg, a 5/16-ounce finesse jig in PBJ or green pumpkin/purple with a green pumpkin Zoom Lil Critter Craw trailer (yes, use the green pumpkin craw on both color of jigs). There is nothing like getting bit for the ol' confidence level. Plus, those two lures will tell you whether you're around fish or not. There might be other lures that would do a better job of catching bigger fish, but you can experiment after you first locate some fish period. With those two lures, you will locate fish.

Got that right.

Gotcha, Gone Fishing. In your case, it could be very well be worth the investment.

It costs Donna and I around $1500 to fish one of these derbies. That's leaving town early Thursday morning and coming home Sunday. Entry fee, truck gas, boat gas/oil for four days, lodging, meals, tackle, incidentals, etc. With only 30 entries, I'd absolutely have to win the pro side of the pro-am derby on Saturday to get a check for $1500. Same goes for the team derby on Sunday ... only first or second place would produce a break-even check. Gone Fishing, if those guys indeed won $2300 in the last team derby, they had to split that, so each actually won $1150. By the time they subtracted expenses, there couldn't have been much left. Can't speak for others but it just isn't a good investment for us.

One tip on a Fin ... throw it on nothing less than 17-pound line. Nearly any topwater tends to work best on heavy line because the bigger the diameter, the better it floats. I would throw mine on 25 except at some point, you lose casting distance. And with today's smaller-capacity reels, you're limited as to how much big line one will hold. My personal choice is 17-pound P-Line mono. That's my contribution, other than to agree with Bill ... the World of Fin is not so simple but can be one heckuva fun (and profitable) deal if you are willing to put in the time and money it takes to figure things out. Then again, that can be said for any aspect of fishing.

Be sure and holler next time you see us. We slowed our derby fishing down the past year or so but are getting the itch to get serious about it again. Planning to sell or trade the Champ this fall/winter for something new ... not sure what just yet but looking strong at that Nitro Z8. I am 110 percent committed to fishing that BASS Central Open next year on Table Rock, provided they come back, which is pretty much a certainty as long as BPS is presenting sponsor for the Open series.

Donna and I are in. Paid yesterday. Me trying to catch a big bass on Beaver should make for an entertaining day.

Glade to have ya in the hood, Dwayne.