Champ188

Sounds like fun to me. Donna and I play weekly, sometimes more.

Nice thing to do, Sore Thumbs. I'm sure it was greatly appreciated after the shock subsided.

Could this have the makings of the inaugural Ozark Anglers golf tourney?

Edwin, yes you are required to have a co-angler with you. Boaters sometimes fish alone in CPA if there are not enough co-anglers but in BASS and FLW, you are required to be accompanied. Let me say lastly that there are some boaters or "pros" out there who I wouldn't want to fish with on a dare, so I too have compassion for co-anglers. In fact, my wife has fished the past 4-5 years as a co-angler in CPA and BFL events. Incidentally, she pays a minimum of $50 in gas money and if the angler refuses it, she stashes it somewhere safe in his boat then calls him later to tell him where it is. Done that several times.

Definitely my two favorite sports as well, gitnby ... both to participate in and to watch. As you said, every niche in life has a few bad apples. I agree with you, though, that they are few and far between in fishing and golf.

Ham, you're right on target and you'd be a fine co-angler to fish with, just like 90% of the ones I've drawn out with over the years. Mic, no way does RM pay for his gear. MAYBE his boat on a delayed billing setup but I doubt that. Far as someone mentioning pros being furnished gas, that usually is not the case. I think Swindle and Marty Stone probably got free gas years ago when Citgo was their main sponsor but otherwise, pros are pretty much on their own at the pumps.

OK, some of this probably won't go over well and so be it. But there are two sides to every coin, and those who fish from the front of the boat in pro-am events spend quite a few coins to do so. I have spent the last five years fishing the front of the boat in Central Pro-Am events, along with the occasional BFL. During that time, co-anglers have won a lot of money fishing behind me. Not sure if that speaks more to the fact that I'm a nice guy or not so good of a fisherman, but you can take your pick. I will say that I make a concerted effort to be sure my co-angler has room to fish and a fair chance to catch some. Our own Jeremy Rasnick here on the forum drew out with me in a BFL tourney on Table Rock. Don't recall if he made a check that day but he can tell you that I treat my co-anglers with respect and kindness. Two springs ago (May 2010), my co-angler WON that division and more than $1,000 from the back of my boat during the annual BFL Ozark Division event on Table Rock. When all was said and done, he didn't so much as OFFER me a penny for gas for the day. And we burned a bunch. Just grabbed his gear out of the boat after weigh-in and left. Oh yeah, I netted every fish for him and gave him a jig when he ran out. In my personal experience with Central Pro-Am over the past few years, as gas prices went up, co-angler offers for gas contributions went down in amount. The average amount that I'm offered is $25. Heck, the gallon of Mercury Premium Plus oil that I burned that day cost that much before I even turn on the gas pump and put $75 to $100 worth of gas in the boat. There's also the fact that if I'm fishing a Central Pro-Am event, by tournament day, I've been there at least two days practicing and was probably there the weekend before and the weekend before that. So, my co-angler friend, a lot of work and expense went into locating those fish you caught today. There's also the fact that the front-end guys pay a pretty penny for the boat, not to mention insurance and maintenance of that boat that co-anglers climb into on tournament morning and out of in the evening without us asking a single thing of you except maybe to wipe your feet and store your gear (I provide an empty storage box) so that I don't trip over it while trying to get around in my own boat. James Watson fished for quite a few years in the back of the boat in Central Pro-Am. He won a good bit of money doing it and learned a lot about fishing along the way. I highly doubt that anything he did during the recent Central Open was done with any intent of hamstringing his co-angler. If he was fishing faster than the co-angler preferred, then maybe the co-angler needs to buy his own tournament-level boat, fill it up with gas and oil, pay his own pro division entry fee and get in the front of the boat where he can fish the way he wants. Tournament pros (or front-end anglers, pro or not) are not guides and they aren't out there on tournament day to tend to the needs of their co-angler. They should not operate the boat in a way to handicap the co-angler, and they should net the co-angler's fish. It's common decency. They should be friendly, although co-anglers should realize that some of us don't like to chatter all day long while we're fishing. That's my 2 cents worth and again, chances are if any of you ever draw me as a pro-am partner, you'll likely enjoy your day and probably catch a good bunch of fish. P.S. Been an outdoor writer all of my life and shared a boat with Roland Martin for the better part of a day back in the 80s. He's certainly no peach to be around.

I'm with Martin, it's gotta bust loose sometime. It's a fact of nature that fish feed up for the winter. Maybe it has something to do with the incredibly hot summer and water temps/oxygen levels. And after the great spring we had, no one can dispute that the fish are there. What makes me think it's related to the summer weather is that it's not limited to Table Rock. Grand is fishing unusually tough, too, and so is Beaver. Not sure but bet it's the same on Bull. Whatever it is, I know we're all ready for em to snap out of it.

Fish seem to be mythical creatures lakewide right now.

That would be upper end James.

LOL, ya know exiledguide, there is a cold front forecasted to come thru Monday. Sunny Tuesday with highs only in the 50s. I kid you not. Check the Weather Channel forecast.

Fine report indeed. A good frost or two would help a lot.

Really good thinkin on that pipe rig, Sam. Bet you're right that someone will perfect and market that someday.

Amen and amen on the buy local/support local and going with Pro Guide. I have the 225s in my boat and haven't had a single issue. Can hardly run those big boys down and Bill can tell you, I stand on the trolling motor pedal when I'm throwing a blade.

Curious about the Matt Jones traffic stop deal and whether that was the work of one of Kimberling City's kiddie cops. I mean come on, you really need to harass a poor guy who's on his way to the lake to fish in the top 10 of a major tournament over some friggin paperwork? Get a life, dude.

Good info there, Bill. Not quite what we'd LIKE to hear but tons of good info. I'm betting this slowness is nothing a few good frosts won't fix. The fish could use a break from the pressure too but not gonna get that til after the BASS Central Open boys are gone at the end of the month.

Glad you caught some and got some confidence in that blade. It's very productive this time of year, provided conditions are right.

Lucky guess, abkeenan.

I say the two-day lead will be 27 pounds.

That's a great fall pattern and one I look forward to every year.

Glad I could help a little, along with some of the other guys who are every bit as good as me with the blade. The best bite is yet to come this fall. Keep slinging.

Bill, when the outdoors section was my baby, I always tried to get the Sloan pre-tourney info in the paper (managed that most years) but hardly EVER was able to get results after the tourney. Lots of organizations want pre-derby publicity and then will hardly bother to give out results after the fact.

No plastic trailer for me in clear water. I fish War Eagle spinnerbaits exclusively and half of the skirt on them is cut long, providing a built-in trailer of sorts. Many times I'll even trim that part completely off for a more compact profile. It's easy to overwhelm fish in clear water. Trailer hook depends on the cover I'm fishing around. This is mostly a spring thing, but if I'm tossing my blade back into the bushes or other wood cover, I don't use a trailer hook — even in a derby. Neither do I use one when working a blade over and around cedars, like we often do year-round on TR. Nothing is more infuriating to me than to make a good cast and have it ruined by the trailer hook snagging on a limb. As few fish as I've missed or lost over the years for lack of a trailer hook, I'm not willing to take the chance of spoiling a promising tree or stretch of bank by having to barge in and get my hung-up spinnerbait loose. That said, if I'm fishing rocks, dock corners or other solid cover — even sparse wood — I'll generally use a trailer hook in a derby. Never when fun fishing, though. As Fat Boy said, they'll sometimes get that stinger hook deep or in their gills and no sense in taking a chance of injuring or killing a fish for no reason. The retrieve speed question is just a matter of experimenting. When water temps are above 60, I usually start with a medium-fast steady retrieve, keeping my bait about 3 feet deep. I may flutter it occasionally around cover, but for the most part I keep it steady. I know that KVD strongly advocates an erratic retrieve and that obviously has helped him win millions of dollars, but over 30 years of developing my style of spinnerbaiting, I've come to favor a steady retrieve. Hey Edwin, hope you get some wind or cloud cover this weekend. If not, could be tough going. Might try pitching a little jig down into the hearts of the cedars or in boat slips with 10-20 feet of water under them. I'm sure there's some kind of drop-shot bite around the deeper docks, too.

Guys, for what it's worth, I wouldn't suggest anything different than the Mouse and Silver Shiner that Bill is throwing. There are oddball days when slight color changes seem to make a big difference but for the most part, I find the following colors are pretty much interchangeable: Mouse, Blue Shad, Lavender Shad, Green Shad, Firecracker and probably a few others that my feeble mind isn't recalling right now. For the most part, with clear-water spinnerbaiting, a guy needs to tie on the one he has the most confidence in (long as it's close to natural shad color), pray for some wind and possibly even some cloud cover, and sling the thing til Da Boss sez get your butt home. Or better yet, do like me and take Da Boss with ya.

Ham's right about that, and she'll really throw you a major curveball in the fall. A baker's dozen by 1 p.m. isn't all bad, keepers or not. But of course you have to go again. Can't stay stuck on 13. It's bad luck.