Champ188

Looks like the stick bait bite is on bigtime on Bull Shoals. This from the Baxter Bulletin newspaper on Monday ... Fred Hale and Waco Johnson brought a tournament-record five-bass limit totaling 29.19 pounds to the scales at Buck Creek Marina on Bull Shoals Lake Saturday to win the Winter Bass-O-Thon event. The duo from West Plains, Mo., also hooked the big bass of the day with a 6.42-pounder and won a combined $1,750 on the day. Lynn Luther of Viola and Anthony Gates of Tuckerman finished second with 19.32 pounds, while Jason Davidson and Darren Tilley of Protem, Mo., placed third with 18.45 pounds.

This from the Baxter Bulletin newspaper on Monday ... Fred Hale and Waco Johnson brought a tournament-record five-bass limit totaling 29.19 pounds to the scales at Buck Creek Marina on Bull Shoals Lake Saturday to win the Winter Bass-O-Thon event. The duo from West Plains, Mo., also hooked the big bass of the day with a 6.42-pounder and won a combined $1,750 on the day. Lynn Luther of Viola and Anthony Gates of Tuckerman finished second with 19.32 pounds, while Jason Davidson and Darren Tilley of Protem, Mo., placed third with 18.45 pounds. The next tournament is Jan. 29 at Buck Creek. For more information, contact Darrell Mitchell at (417) 546-4522.

I'm with you guys on the split grips ... awkward and no good for ham-handed folks like me.

Hope to be able to get in on the pro side. Should be a strong spawn/post-spawn bite going on and maybe even a few pre-spawn stragglers depending on the weather.

Sorry, meant to type Sprint.

Glad you got in, Spring. Anyone know if the boater side is full for the TR event? I've heard conflicting reports.

Darron, my advice would be to buy the best you can afford, then follow thru on your plan to take some guided trips and learn to set it up and use it properly. There are a number of guides on TR who are excellent with electronics. Bill Babler, Don House and Mike Webb come immediately to mind.

Hey Mike, I was by myself the other day. Donna was at work and she's still getting over some carpal tunnel surgery she had a few weeks ago. Procedure was very simple and low-pain, and she got immediate relief from the numbness she'd been having in her hand. The acid test will be when I go into the rod box this spring for a spinning rod and the handle hasn't been moved to the right side, which makes me nuts. LOL Afraid we're gonna be in for a long, cold winter, though. Sure looks that way so far. Sore Thumbs, I thought about picking up a spinner bait and slow-rolling it the other day and would have except I was catchin' em good on the Wart. I'd say this latest cold front is gonna put the kabosh on any kind of blade bite til spring.

Surface temp was 41-44. That's a darn pretty 188, Larry.

Fought gale-force winds for about 7 hours Friday and ended up having a decent day. Had five keepers that would total 15-16 pounds, best one going about 4.5. I'll take it for my very first bass of the new year. Probably caught a 8-10 shorts and lost several fish, including a couple of pretty good ones, while battling the trolling motor, 3-foot swells and the wind. Oh, did I mention that every fish was caught on banks directly hit by that dastardly wind? Every fish was caught between Big M and Shell Knob on a Wiggle Wart on 45-degree banks, close to points, in the wind. Timber made no difference.

Very nice fish indeed, Edwin. What did you have for surface temps?

No, this is the Indian Creek on the north shore of the lake between Kimberling City and the dam.

This is secondhand info but I hear the mechanic is top shelf at Rogers Outdoor Sports on Walnut. They're an Evinrude dealer, too, so he'd be up on the ETEC engines.

That would be all the info I needed, dscott. Thanks. Good to have a couple of law enforcement folks on the site.

I'd suggest that you strongly consider El Salto but do so with a reputable outfitter. Here's a good place to start ... www.rickygreenadventures.com

Fat Boy, I'm a major fan of Rob McGilvrey at Fall Creek Lures when it comes to custom painting. I don't have a contact number for him but I'm sure someone on the forum does. I believe he's in Aurora.

http://www.batteryoutfitters.com/ Doesn't give prices but gives all store locations, hours and phone numbers.

I use the 225-amp Pro Guides and love them.

Here's the article about the 10-pound, 11-ounce fish. It was caught Dec. 1, 2007. BEAVER LAKE LARGEMOUTH THE BIGGEST IN YEARS A 10-pound, 11-ounce largemouth bass caught from Beaver Lake on Dec. 1 was not only the catch of a lifetime for Aaron Adams of Springdale, but also the largest reported from the lake in 15 years or more. District fisheries biologist Ron Moore with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in Rogers had to probe distant memories to recall a bigger bass. “The only one I can recall is an 11-pound bass we shocked up while electro-fishing in War Eagle Creek, and that was at least 15 years ago,” Moore said Friday. According to my own memories of Beaver Lake bassin’ over the past eight years, the biggest bass have been a 9-pounder caught the Monday after a FLW Wal-Mart Open several years ago and an 8-pounder caught during the annual Buddy Bass Tournament in May. Adams’ big bass came off a main-lake shoreline between Prairie Creek and Rocky Branch, suggesting it may have been released after a bass tournament in recent years. Most lunker largemouths come from the lake’s White River arm. Adams and his partner, Ronnie Bell of Hindsville, were casting crank baits along a short stretch of rocky, wooded shoreline where they had already caught largemouths of 5 pounds, 3 ounces and 3 pounds, 8 ounces. “I threw between two standing trees in about 5 feet of water and she hit right between the two trees,” Adams recalled Friday. After hitting a phantom orange-colored Original Series Wiggle Wart, the bass went down and stayed down, giving little clue to its identity. “It felt so heavy, I thought I had hooked a big catfish; I had never fought a 10-pound bass before,” Adams said. It wasn’t until the fish was netted that he saw what he had. “I was totally shocked and amazed,” Adams said, adding that he was glad he didn’t know it was a bass until it was safely in hand. The big largemouth was exceptionally healthy and beautifully proportioned for its weight, with a length of 24 1/4 inches and a girth of 22 inches. It also was strong and lively during its short stay at Prairie Creek Park for weigh-in of the Christian AmBASSadors Bass Club tournament that Adams and Bell won with a six-bass limit totaling 22 pounds, 12 ounces. Adams said he would be more than content with a replica mount of his fish and was grateful for the $150 donated toward the cost by Aaron Jolliff at Hook, Line & Sinker in Rogers.

Guys, I will look it up when I get to work (at the newspaper) and post again, but as I recall, that 10-pounder was caught during a small club tournament. It was wintertime but I don't believe it was during the Polar Bear. I do definitely remember that it was caught on a Wiggle Wart in phantom brown.

Shimano Compre is right at $100 and has an over-the-counter free replacement warranty. If you break it, take it to any Shimano dealer and they hand you a new one, no charge. They come in all lengths and power/action ratings. If you want a good all-around rod, the 7-0 medium heavy/fast would serve you well.

The new Lew's Speed Spools are out and the SS1H model is commonly selling for $89.99. I looked at one yesterday at Hook Line & Sinker in Rogers, AR and they seem pretty smooth. Even though it's the budget model of this revamped and revived line of reels, it has 10 stainless steel ball bearings. HLS had both the 6:4:1 and 7:1 models and there's a 5:4:1 for cranking. There are also some new Lew's higher-end reels. http://www.lews.com/reels.htm

Nice bunch of meat, chipper.

I know some places I wish there were one. lol

Yeah, it's New Year's Day. Always great to kick off the new year by getting my butt kicked on Big Beav.