Champ188

I'd be perfectly happy to sit in one spot and catch them all day but Table Rock doesn't often offer that luxury. That goes double after a major spring cold front that pushed water temps back down by 5 degrees in some areas. Going to Big Creek was a mistake. But like Ham accurately said, I realized it quickly and adjusted.

Oh, there are plenty there. Enough to scare all of us, I'm sure. Was just saying I don't believe there were any published reports of 9 pounders last year.

That's a beast. I don't believe the lake coughed up any 9's last year.

Donna and I floated the Ranger at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at SK bridge and after rigging some tackle made our first casts around 10:00. Had four with two keepers at 10:30 on the Rock Crawler and RC STX stick bait. Had six an hour later when some big fat guy got the bright idea that we needed to be downlake at Big Creek. Considering the cold and raw conditions, it made more sense to load up and trailer down there, which we did. Upon arriving, we discovered the water temp to be 48. Fished about 15 minutes, said to heck with this and loaded it back on the trailer. Next stop, Viola. Splashed the boat AGAIN around 1:30 and proceeded to catch a dozen more fish in the next few hours with a good ratio of keepers. By 5 p.m. we had 16 total fish with 8 keeps. Best 5 would go around 14 pounds. Water temps ranged from 48 to 57. Fish were caught on Rock Crawler, RC STX, single Keitech swimmer, War Eagle spinnerbait, jig and Wiggle Wart.

Awesome day and not bad on Saturday. You were one big bite away from winning.

Hey chi0082, thanks for the report and especially for being man enough to say I didn't catch squat. Wish everyone rolled that way. Reports like these help every bit as much as the 50-fish-a-day reports. Ninety percent of fishing is find the darn things, so reports like this help guys steer away from areas where it just isn't happening at the time.

Yup, my usual "client" is not a danger to get near a bank. It's not every day that Mr. Bill gets someone he can get near the bank. Or a boat dock with a weather vane on top. Hey Bill, is that once-brand new War Eagle still up there clanging in the wind? LOL

Speed Trap has been a low-key player on the pro tours for many, many years.

It's rare for me to differ with a guy of Bill's ability, but gonna do so here on the caution against muddy water. Caught a couple of our best LM on Sunday right against the bank in 55-degree dirty water. Not chocolate milk, but visibility no more than 15 inches. One on a spinnerbait, the other on a jig.

Great stories, guys. Spent a fair amount of time around Rick during my newspaper years and he was always one of the most cooperative and appreciative anglers around when it came to giving up time for the media. In fact, I could call on him on the phone and talk for an hour or more anytime I wanted. Still could, I imagine. Really happy to see him get this win. A quick story of my own: Most of you know that Rick won the 1984 Bassmasters Classic on the Arkansas River at Pine Bluff, AR, with a record-setting catch of 75 pounds, 9 ounces. The final-day weigh-in was attended by President Bush (Sr.) and then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. It was with them lookiing on that Clunn gave his brief "chasing little green fish" speech about fishing thru the pain of his father being on his deathbed. Anyway, Clunn's remarkable win was 100 percent accomplished within sight of the launch ramp at Regional Park in Pine Bluff. No one gave a thought to jumping in a boat and crowding anglers on the water back then, but there were probably 150 people on the bank when Clunn pulled up on his hole that morning. It was basically just a channel bend that hit up against the bank and had created a washout. I was paired as a press observer with Jimmy Houston that day and we had started on a brushy bank straight across the harbor, with Jimmy throwing an old Fliptail floating lizard around the bushes. Within minutes of Clunn putting the trolling motor down, he was hauling in 4-pounders left and right, and the crowd's cheers just echoed across the water time and time again. After about 10 minutes of this, Houston turned to me and said, "I may not be able to stop him from beating me like a drum, but darn if I have to sit here and watch and listen to him do it. We're out of here!" He punctuated the statement with one of his big trademark giggles, yanked up the trolling motor and off we went to quieter surroundings.

I think you have to take the high-dollar baits on a case-to-case basis. Some are no better than cheaper alternatives while others will flat-out catch em. If I believe a $20 bait will give me a leg up in a tournament or will simply put numbers of fish in the boat on a fun trip, I'll buy it. Probably buy two of em. Not suggesting anyone else should follow suit. That's just my take on things. Thanks for sharing the video on these new lures, Hunter53. Look forward to seeing you and your far fairer half at the lake soon.

Love it. Good to see the old guru still has some gas in the tank.

Agreed in full except I prefer the 36v MK Fortrex.

For clarity, the Lew's spinning reels that I had problems with are model number TS300H. Looking at the Lew's website, it doesn't seem that model is offered anymore.

Agreed in full on the culinary value of whites/stripers. I'd far rather eat crappie, walleye or bluegill.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news Dakota. It was definitely enough to turn me off of them. Frankly, there are a lot of decent rods out there in the $100 to $175 range. I used the Shimanos simply because of the fantastic warranty. I've been moving over to Duckett for several years now.

The warranty on Shimano rods has now changed to a one-year deal. They will honor the lifetime warranty on rods purchased prior to 2014 but only once and you must have a valid sales receipt. http://fish.shimano.com/content/sac-fish/en/home/customer-service/warranty-info/_jcr_content/bodycontent/download_2/downloadFile/file.res/Shimano%20Rod%20Warranty.pdf

Only thing I take up more of than the average bear is cubic feet of space.

Good day for sure. Lotta fun when those river fish start munching on winding baits.

Clown-colored Rogues are always useful on Ozarks lakes. I made a good check a few years back throwing one in a Central Pro-Am on Beaver. You'll have to play with the weighting but there should be plenty of info on the Internet about how to get it right.

They make great coon/possum/vulture food.

Powerheads are upwards of $6,000 these days. That's the price that should concern you. A water pump isn't going to break the bank but it can sure break your motor bigtime if it isn't working right. That's my 2 cents.

I wonder the same thing. Different production companies? I don't know but this is the second of three Lew's spinning reels that I've had issues with. I did get an over-the-counter replacement on the first one but I'm still pretty much done with them. I bought the $79 (middle price) version each time. Probably should've gone with the top-shelf reel but usually you get a pretty darn decent spinning reel for $79.

Aw man, that sucks. You must have done a number on it. Boat and motor damage both?

Glad you guys got into them. Thanks for the report.