Champ188

Thanks for the post getfished. Donna and I are headed up there Friday night for the weekend, then going back Tuesday night and be there Wed-Sun for the pro-am. Sounds really tough. Definitely going to start our search around the Gravois and work toward the dam.

One other thing, Slabhunter ... if you catch a good windy day (even better if it's overcast), don't forget to throw a spinnerbait on main lake points and secondary points in the creeks. You want to fish the ones where the wind is blowing in. My personal favorite is a quarter-ounce War Eagle with double willowleaf blades (one nickel, one gold) in gold shiner, green shad, mouse, lavender shad or cotton candy skirt colors. If you catch a couple early on it and like that style of fishing, I'd put everything else up and throw it the rest of the day. Persistence is the key with spinnerbait fishing. That bait will cover tons of water and produce some great reaction strikes.

KVD's leading? I wanna show you something. It's my shocked face. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqVBKO_QM3o

LOL Bill, I'm skeered to even go into Aunt's Creek these days and if I launch there, I make sure to run hard and fast outta there lest I get caught and get hot coffee poured on me. On second thought, hot coffee poured on me might feel pretty good these days.

Tritonbass, Look for a big tall guy in a red/white Skeeter. Follow him. Everywhere. Like a lost puppy.

Thanks for the report, Fishrman. Had to work 6 days this week and wanted to go badly on Sunday but just not tough enough to withstand 30-30 weather ... 30 degrees and 30 mph winds. Hope to get out there later this week.

Slabhunter, my strong suggestion would be to put back a little extra money for this trip and hire a guide. Two that come to mind immediately are right here on this forum regularly ... Bill Babler and Don House. Not only will you catch fish like never before, you'll come away with knowledge that will repay you year after year when you come back for your annual trips.

I think everyone here has made valid points. My contribution would be this ... because it's a darned expensive sport at any level and especially at the top of the tournament food chain, you have a certain amount of young, rich spoiled brats who feel they're entitled to do whatever they wish while they're here. Heck, they're leaving in a few days so what do they care what we think about their actions or about them in general? What they don't think about is the lasting impressions they leave on the sport itself with everyone they come in contact with. While these guys may not be the majority, there are certainly enough of them that the general feeling they leave behind is of ill will toward FLW and bigtime tournament fishing as a whole. I have been an outdoor writer all of my adult life and covered many B.A.S.S. events back in the days when Ray Scott and tournament directors Harold Sharp and later Dewey Kendrick ran a tight ship. Not that they always knew about it, but when they heard of someone behaving as many of the young guns do now, the offender got a butt chewing. Besides that, the old hands on the trail would take him aside and give him a talkin' to. You'll never convince me that Charlie Evans gives a flying flip how anyone behaves. He's interested in nothing but making a buck so he can buy more hairspray.

XP, I can also personally vouch for Capt. Don House and Capt. Bill Babler. Have fished with both and not only are they great guides who will work their tails off to get you around fish, they're just fine darn folks.

Lucky Craft also has introduced a RC 2.0 this year. Looks like it could be a perfect fit between the 1.5 and 2.5.

Hey Techo, what kind of running dog are we talking about and at what distance? Pretty sure I could nail a Saint Bernard or maybe a German Shepherd on a good day at 50 feet, but not sure about a Jack Russell. Also, I would imagine you might need to factor in dog speed and of course, wind speed and direction.

You can renew in person or by mail. You should receive a renewal notice in the mail, I believe. Here's a web site that might help. http://www.dmv.org/ar-arkansas/boat-registration.php

OK, I'll jump onboard the stink bus, too. Donna and I fished 8 a.m. to dark Saturday and had two bites that we know of ... a giant LM that I missed on a spinnerbait early while there was still a bit of wind, then Donna caught a 12-inch SM on a Pointer around 9 a.m. Only threw the spinnerbait about 5 minutes, spent the rest of the day practicing different poses on the front deck while waiting 15-30 seconds between jerkbait twitches. Did drag a grub, fb jig and throw a Wart a little bit. They weren't having any of that either. Put in at North Indian and fished pretty near every dadgum bluff end between there and the Mill Creek ramp. I'm blaming part of it on Donna making the following comment at our first stop: "We can't not catch them today. Conditions are too perfect." LOL I'll be back this Saturday for revenge.

That's my theory ... shiny in the sun, duller colors under the clouds. Try a Spro McStick in blue bandit if you have one or a Pointer in chartreuse shad. Hard to beat those colors when it's cloudy.

Just wanted to echo what Donna said in thanking everyone here for the support during this trying time last year. We've made some true friends here. God bless each and every one of you in 2010. I hope you all have your best year ever — fishing and otherwise — except on the days we're fishing a tournament against you. :lol:

Good to see you here indeed, Captain D. Hope all is well and a Merry Christmas to you and the family.

Vacation, Had a Pinpoint do the same a couple of years back. I was told it needed major repairs and wasn't worth fixing. Sounds like your Eagle should be under warranty, though.

Donna and I had wanted to get up there this weekend and drop some spoons on those whites but had a team meeting early Saturday morning and decided against it. As Bill said, spooning offshore structure in gale-force winds isn't an easy proposition, especially for those not practiced at it. Sounds like the K's are making their move to the bluffs like they USED to back in the day when it actually got cold in December. We may be in for a long winter. Oh well, won't hurt any of us to have a longer season to work on our Wiggle Wart, spooning and jerk-baiting skills. Just glad I found some decent new heavyweight thermals in 5XL-Tall size on the Cabela's web site. Looks like they're gonna come in mighty handy.

I've been using War Eagle jigs exclusively for the past year ... both their football and heavy finesse jigs ... and have become very fond of them. Color selection is good and they have a heavy Mustad UltraPoint hook that you can count on. www.wareaglelures.com

Hey Tim, to heck with the hat ... I'm more concerned about Troy's apparent choice in trucks. What's the old saying? Oh yeah ... Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Fords.

dtrs5kprs, I do fish a lot of derbies but I know what you mean about enjoying "just fishing" too. I reach the point every fall where I am longing for derby season to be over so I can just go "fun fishing." I greatly enjoy the competition including all of the prep work that goes into every event but sometimes there's nothing like just kicking back and fishing without all of the pressure, including making some good ol' fall-winter crappie or white bass trips.

Sam, I popped off a bit with my last comment and I apologize. Having been an outdoors writer all of my life, I have several close friends who are professional derby fishermen and I know from trying it myself for a brief while (less than 2 years) back in the early 1980s, it's a brutal way to try and make a living. TV and magazine coverage glorifies it, focusing only on the catching and the winning. And yes, unfortunately there are a few jerks out there, and they are the ones whose impressions on the general public tend to stick. But there are a few jerks in the crowd everywhere ... at our work places, at the mall, even at church Sunday mornings. Yes, it's irritating to have someone sitting on your spots anytime you go fishing. I get aggravated, too. But the FLW guys will be here and gone in a short while. If you're on the lake during that time, I hope you don't run across any of the jerks. And you certainly have it right about the timing of the visit ... weather conditions could be terrible. Someone wasn't thinking or just hasn't experienced the lovely conditions that March can bring on TR.

I'm sure the derby guys appreciate the extra space on the water, too.

Brett, My hat is off to you family guys. Glad my kids are grown and that neither has chosen to procreate yet. Given the option of (A) going to Silver Dollar City or ( removing my own spleen with a butter knife to get out of it, the choice would be simple. Glad you got to catch some fish.

Techo, please do not be one bit concerned about offending Donna. She will find your post as big a hoot as I did. No thin-skinners around our house. Glad you and the Mrs. got some time on the water. Donna and I are relegated to Beaver this wkd for a college bass team fundraiser Sunday. Pray that we don't fall asleep from boredom, fall out of the boat and drown.