Champ188

Good job, Ketchup. Sorry about the big one.

Very impressive. And proof positive that our lake has the forage base to support a larger bass population.

Super-nice fish, Ben. Congrats!

I kind of envy you guys who can fish for 2.5 hours. Takes me that long to get settled in.

Nothing to laugh at there, Ben. Great job and obviously lots of fun. Keep it up.

And that, folks, may be the most insightful statement made in this entire thread.

I bought one of these last year. Works like a charm. http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Z-Launch_Watercraft_Launch_Cord/descpage-EZLAN.html

Masterfully stated. And a bone worth chewing.

Seems like a lot of trouble to turn the back electronics around when they could just turn them off if they didn't want you to see them. Also kinda stupid to be shooting multiple transducer signals. If I'm drop-shotting or doing anything that requires a clear view up front, I turn off my other units.

I often fish in the foulest of foul weather. I live for it. Still no one would've wanted to be on Grand yesterday. It's a different animal entirely when the wind gets up above 20 mph.

That's why God gave us GoreTex.

Well, the rain never materialized but it would've been purt-near impossible to fish today in that wind. As Bill said, there were 4-footers on The Rock, which means there would've been 6-footers on Grand. Even an old windbag like me doesn't want to be out there in that.

Great report, Dewayne, and again, it was very good to see you. Members like you are what puts this site light-years beyond any other fishing forum on the internet. Good luck the rest of the season and stay in touch.

Quit messing with me. I played bad golf yesterday and today both. Was planning to fish tomorrow and now they're calling for an 80% chance of severe storms.

I remember the guy you're talking about. They were catching some on a Wart but I think the yellow bait was another kind of critter. Can't remember. I do know that I was catching some about that same time pretty far back in Big Creek on a jerk bait and a spinner bait once the water started to warm into the 50s.

Glad you're back and able to make it, Pepe. Look forward to seeing you Saturday.

Good thing is that when they come thru Beaver Dam, they are in trout waters and seldom venture very far down the lake.

Don't buy into his poor-me schtick, abk. He's as wiley as that ol' coyote. Probably just punched the enter key on another order to Acme Distributors, Inc.

Believe me, I've seen it change in just the 15 years that I've been fishing TR. To catch them shallow consistently, you have to love fishing that way enough to grind and grind and grind some days. Even then, it takes some tricks up your sleeve and years of trial-and-error that not everyone has. Sprint21 and a couple of others around here know the deal. And then some days you just have to get out there with the Bo's, Bablers and Becks of the world and hope they'll scoot over and let you in on some of the deep fish.

Very informative report, Mike. And a refreshing attitude toward your boaters. I knew Brian was top shelf from competing against him over the years. But good to hear the same about the other two. Congrats on a great showing and best of luck going forward.

QB and I both live smack dab between Grand and The Rock. It can be a tough decision which way to go sometimes. The thing I like is the diversity --- between the two lakes, you can fish polar opposite patterns in the same seasons. And some of you thought an old right-wing conservative like me couldn't even spell d-i-v-e-r-s-i-t-y.

Obviously, the aging factor of the lake itself is making this a solid pattern just about any time of the year on The Rock but it seems even stronger with the low water we have now. Learn to catch suspended fish and you will rarely have a bad day on this lake.

Jerry, I well remember the worm rig you are talking about. We threaded it on open-hook style because the spring-keeper system that is so popular now was a long way from being conceived. Locally, it was known simply as "the little green worm." First time I saw the setup was with a grizzled old guide named Tuffy Owens. He had old Zebco Cardinal 4 spinning reels and he liked Tennessee handles on his spinning rods. For you pups out there, a Tenn handle is a straight cork handle with no reel seat. The reel is taped on using many wraps of black electrical tape. Little did I know that those rods and reels were state of the art at the time. Being brand-new in the 1960s, Ouachita began to see an influx of coontail and hydrilla in the 1970s, and the little green worm really shined then. You could pull up on a point or hump where that grass would grow out the 18-20 feet deep and just hammer those bass.

Jerry, I well remember the worm rig you are talking about. We threaded it on open-hook style because the spring-keeper system that is so popular now was a long way from being conceived. Locally, it was known simply as "the little green worm." First time I saw the setup was with a grizzled old guide named Tuffy Owens. He had old Zebco Cardinal 4 spinning reels and he liked Tennessee handles on his spinning rods. For you pups out there, a Tenn handle is a straight cork handle with no reel seat. The reel is taped on using many wraps of black electrical tape. Little did I know that those rods and reels were state of the art at the time. Being brand-new in the 1960s, Ouachita began to see an influx of coontail and hydrilla in the 1970s, and the little green worm really shined then. You could pull up on a point or hump where that grass would grow out the 18-20 feet deep and just hammer those bass.

Ditto on wishing you could make it Bassmod. Communication can be hard, even within families. We will see you another time.