Champ188

Me and ol' Bo went round and round a few times on this subject. Sure miss him. Did an article on finesse fishing once with the late Ricky Green on DeGray Lake in Arkansas. We fished timbered bluffs on the lower end of the lake in April, when most of the fish were postspawn. We did some experimenting with 10-pound test down to 1-pound test (yes, not sure about now, but in the 1980s, Trilene made its XT (blue box) line in 1-pound test.) There was a marked difference in the number of bites we got by reducing our line size to 6 lb and then even more of a difference when we switched to the 1 lb. test. There are points for and against light line fishing but for me, I'll always be a light-line proponent.

That's a beautiful largemouth. Look how healthy! Good indication there's a great forage base. Don't know how with all the pressure it gets, but our playground that God so generously gave us just keeps pumping them out year after year.

Happy Thanksgiving and go Cowboys!

Beautiful view. North shore of the lake? Trying to determine where I'm looking down from and what part of the lake I'm looking down upon.

You don't want to be fishing 47-48 degree water when temps are in the mid-50s in other areas of the lake. It'll be cold all over the lake soon enough --- take advantage of the warmer water while you can. Also, as you mentioned, that upper-White water is crystal clear because it comes from the bottom of Beaver Dam. Strong-flowing clear, cold water is difficult to catch fish from.

Steve, I would listen to this guy. He knows his stuff when it comes to spinning rods.

That soup looks incredible, Chef Bill. Just needs one of Donna's oven-baked grilled cheese sandwiches (they are ridiculously good) and the feast would be on!

I've always found the combination of fall, low water and bright skies just about impossible to overcome on that lower end. Then again, I'm mostly a river rat, so what do I know?

Suspected as much.

Pretty sure Shell Knob ramp can be used at just about any lake level on the low end of the spectrum. Might have to back out on the gravel.

That's a studly one right there for sure. Up shallow. In dirty water. No livescope required.

So, what's the over/under on too much to spend on a fishing rig? Who gets to decide whether my Ranger is extravagant or if another guy's $1,500 kayak is too much? After all, lots of guys spend $2,500 and more on yaks. Or are you just taking a shot at bass fishermen who enjoy the comforts of a nice boat?

Good job of grinding on them. Mixed bag for sure ... just needed a meanie to complete the TR quad-fecta.

I would strongly consider the Denali Lithium Pro series. They retail for $219 and are lightweight with excellent sensitivity and plenty of power (the 7-0 MH Shaky Head model is an excellent and versatile stick for Ozarks lakes). You can check them out at denalirods.com

Well done, sir. Same buzzer you usually throw?

Sounds like the fall dock-pitching bite is on up the KIngs. Funny (and brief) story ... Got that bite going one year in the old Champion owners derby. Was catching em up to 4 pounds pretty regular couple of days before the derby. Went to bed the night before the first day feeling crappy and woke up coughing, blowing yellow/green snot and feeling awful. Didn't say anything to Donna coz I wanted to fish but by 10 AM I had 102 fever and chills. Kept clanging my jig off dock supports, boats, etc., .and that's not like me ... among my few talents is pitching a jig on docks. Still scraped up 14 pounds and could've done better. By weigh-in I was too sick to cart them to the scales so Donna did the honors and we were in the top 5. Went back to our cabin at Schooner and couldn't hide my sickness anymore. She stuck a thermometer in my mouth and that was it ... we were headed home the next morning. Good thing we did ... turned out I had pneumonia. Took a month to get over it and lost my voice for 6 weeks. Oh well, what might have been!

"Wish you could taste it"? And pics, too? That ain't right. 😂

I use 12 lb. Sunline Sniper when casting rocky/woody areas and 15 lb. when pitching docks. But I'm using 5/16 ballhead finesse jigs exclusively. You can go up to 20 lb. for dragging football jigs. Too bad Bo isn't still around to post his usual poo-poo on my feelings about line size.

Hey, Randy .... happy birthday! Better late than never, huh? Well, except in tournaments. LOL

Another fine example of Johnny Moneybags demonstrating his overwhelming passion for the great outdoors ... and cutting out the everyday man in the process.

Well shoot, I was hoping you'd at least bring us some rain!

Well done, you two! Nice to see a report from you. And you did all that in under 5 hours without even darkening the door of Aunts Creek! :)

Ain't that the truth!!!!! Furthermore, if I dare pull hard (not caring if I break off a jig), the friggin' line will without exception break inside the reel rather than at the knot.

If you don't do it in a derby ... and you of all people would not ... you are guilty of nothing. As you said, all's fair in fun fishing.

Another of Uncle Johnny's smooth moves.