Champ188

Larry, no one is out of their league on this forum. You make a great point about those gravel transition points. Thanks for adding that.

Likewise, my apologies for misinterpreting your meaning. Some days my fingers (or mouth) work faster than my brain. I know what you mean about evolution ... 10 years ago I would never have been more than a cast off the bank. Now I am comfortable sitting in 80 feet of water hurling a fb jig up on top of a point or ledge and dragging it down into 25-30 feet of water. I'm even capable of drop-shotting for suspended fish. Didn't say I like it, but I'm capable of doing it when I have to. You have my respect in return for your knowledge of the upper White and ability to consistently catch walleye, including that bruiser you caught a couple of years back. Onward.

The point is that both are far from my normal mode of shallow-water power fishing. Am I on trial here, former lawyer?

Gentlemen, the pic below is proof positive that the ol' mudslinger can actually catch a fish on a spoon. This fine keeper specimen of the largemouth black bass species was captured at a depth of --- wait for it --- 32 feet on the white War Eagle spoon upon which it is impaled in the photo. Further to the world's amazement, two additional fish were captured from the same school, although they weren't quite as large. The last bit of news is that this afternoon I ordered two 9-foot, 6-inch FLOAT N FLY rods. They are scheduled to arrive no later than Friday. I have a feeling that our previously roomy 19-10 Ranger is about to shrink significantly with two of those contraptions waving around. Perhaps I should have ordered a Go Pro camera too. Let the shenanigans begin.

Awesome memories, guys. I'm fortunate to still have my dad although he's not able to fish these days. We still enjoy sitting and talking about it and it was him who planted the seed in me. I know there have been times when he wishes it hadn't turned into such an obsession with me, but he also knows if it wasn't fishing, it probably would have been something much less healthy.

We fished Table Rock all day Thursday. Cold and wet but nothing GoreTex can't handle. It's tough enough getting folks to fish tournaments anywhere these days, much less on Beaver.

I think that's pretty much a given, QB. Just sayin.

Agreed, hook is too big. I'll email them also, QB. They are located on the back side of a strip shopping center in Fayetteville on College Avenue. Sherwin Williams paint store is on the front side of the area they occupy. Might go by there and show them what we are wanting.

I was among those who was a little bit off the bite Saturday. It definitely changed just from Thursday.

I'm just not smart enough to find them every time. But I would have challenged just about anyone to find a good shallow bite yesterday. We've been catching them at a good clip for several weeks. Yesterday I ran all of our very best places from Sweetwater to Shell Knob and whiffed on most of them. It was just one of those days when the bite was deep.

All kinds of trollers on this page. Walleye trollers. Striper trollers. White bass trollers. Crappie trollers. ...

Water has to be getting awfully cold way up the rivers. War Eagle will probably start freezing over next week. I'd guess the winning sack came from Prairie Creek down to the dam. If they had any brown fish or big spots, that would be a dead giveaway.

Slow sink is not always bad. Mike McClelland tunes some of his baits for a slow rise, some for a slow sink and others to suspend perfectly.

This is strong advice. Don't get caught up in all of the fad lures and such out there. There are tried-and-true techniques that have worked for decades and will continue to work for decades to come. Every now and then, something new like the Ned rig comes along and is worthy of sinking your teeth (and money) into. But the things rps just mentioned will keep your rod bent year-round.

Hey Steve, fishingaddiction brings up a very good point about the twitch itself. The warmer the water, the harder you can jerk it. But in general, you don't want a hard jerk in winter. I just give my baits a gentle snap ... more than a pull but not a yank. I have a friend who is a multiple-time Central Pro-Am winner and when the water gets below 42, he will not do anything more than just carefully take up the slack in his line and lightly tug his bait about 4-6 inches at a time ... just enough to make it barely wiggle. His pauses are 10-15 seconds when he's using that tactic. As for cadence, I'm in the camp that in water below 50 degrees, a 2 twitch-pause-1 twitch (rinse and repeat all the way back to the boat) is as effective as anything. Others will disagree, and that's fine. If everyone liked the exact same thing, you'd all be trying to steal my wife, my truck, my boat and my fishing spots. Good luck out there Steve and others who are learning to fish jerkbaits. It's an awesome way to catch em.

Let me just say right now that I hope Jameis Winston sent in his NFL paperwork first thing this morning. I am a proud Florida State fan even today after that shellacking they took from Oregon. But I'm done with Winston and his drama/distractions. He's a true talent, but just like Johnny Football, I've seen 5-year-olds who are more emotionally mature. I'm ready for him to become someone else's problem. Just for clarity, the Razorbacks are my No. 1 passion, but I lived in Pensacola long enough (3.5 years) to develop quite an affection for the Noles.

We are planning on it, although Donna may not be aware of it. Gonna fish USA Bassin on Table Rock and Grand Lake Anglers for Christ.

Good stuff, Dave. Thanks for chiming in. I think we gave Steve a plateful to chew on.

Danger, if you have time and want to mess with it, Donna and I could use some 3/16ths bucktail jigs in gray. The longer the deer hair, the better, although I realize there is a limit to the length. The single wire weedguard would also be great. Thanks a bunch and hope all is well with you guys.

Boy, I'm in big trouble then. I am a drum-catching machine on Grand. Just ask Donna. If I don't catch a 25-pound sack anytime I'm throwing a jerk bait, I've had a bad day.

I've actually found the stock hooks and rings to be of pretty good quality. I do change them out for Daichi Deathtraps for tournament fishing, staying with the same size rings that are on there, and have not had any change in action or buoyancy.

Ham, I did not deviate from the RC STX. Probably should have in hindsight. We are going back Saturday and I'm definitely going to throw a McRip and a Jackall Squirrel 79SP. I think getting down a bit deeper may yield some positive results. I just had a feeling driving home last night that I wasn't getting my bait down to a lot of the fish. I hate when the water starts getting so cold that you can't hardly get bit.

Steve, I will answer the jerk bait portion of the question and leave the Ned Rig to those more knowledgable/capable with it ... calling dtrs5kprs I've become a decent hand with a jerkbait over the past decade and I can tell you this about it ... all of my better days with it are when I commit completely and throw nothing else. I know that's hard to do when you don't have much confidence in something, but it will definitely help you start getting bit on it. If you don't think you can commit a full day, how about 4 hours? Here are what I consider some basic conditions for a good jerkbait bite ... Wind (seek areas with at least a ripple on the water and preferably a chop) Cloud cover (not a requirement but it helps; on sunny days, you can create your on "darkness" by seeking out shady banks) Surface temps of 40-55 On Table Rock, you can nearly always find winter bass on 45-degree chunk rock banks. The presence of standing timber is optional but usually a plus. Personally, I concentrate 99% of my efforts within 150 yards of where the bank ends in a point or bluff end. I know some guys will get on a long bank and spend hours fishing all the way down it, but I find that staying within 150 yards of where it ends is more productive. Be sure to give extra attention to transition areas ... where the bank gets flatter or deeper, the rock changes from big chunks to gravel, etc. The right equipment is also critical to success. I prefer a medium power, fast action rod in a length of 6-6 to 6-9. If you use a medium-heavy power or extra-fast tip, you are likely to pull the bait away from the fish or pull the hooks free during the fight. Next, you want the smoothest, highest-quality reel you can afford. Long casts are essential to success. I spool my Lew's Tournament Series reel with 8-pound P-Line CXX monofilament (don't use fluorocarbon; it sinks and will take your jerkbait down with it). The 8-pound helps with long casts and also allows the bait to dive to its maximum depth, and since it doesn't sink, it doesn't affect the lure's delicate balance that allows it to suspend motionless. Finally, bait choice is also very important. On Table Rock in water temps of 45-55, I strictly throw a Spro McStick 110 or the 4.75-inch RC STX made by Luck-E-Strike. In the Spro baits, it's hard to beat the Blue Bandit color. Other good ones for me are the Chrome Shad (best on sunny days), Norman Flake and Ghost Table Rock Shad. In the RC STX, some good colors are Black Stardust Shad, Pro Blue, Herringbone Chartreuse and French Pearl. Below 45 degrees, I often go to a smaller-profile, deeper-diving bait like the Jackall Squirrel 79SP or the Spro McRip 85. Favorite colors in the Jackall are SG Threadfin and Chartreuse Striped Ayu. The Spro McRip colors the I favor are Blue Bandit and Chrome Shad. As for cadence, sounds like you have the right idea already. The warmer the water, the shorter the pause between twitches. Yesterday where I was fishing, it was 44-47. My pauses were 5-10 seconds. Seemed about 7 was perfect. I make the longest cast I can, then reel down hard for 7-8 turns, giving one good twitch at the end of those turns to ensure I'm at max depth. Then I work my bait pretty much all the way back to the boat ... some days you get short-lined at the boat quite often. If that's happening, you may want to try lengthening your pauses. Last thing is boat position ... if you are alone or with someone who will share the front deck with you, you may want to sit your boat within 15-20 yards of the 45-degree bank you are fishing and throw basically parallel to the bank. This will help keep your bait in the strike zone longer. I find that most of my jerkbait bites come in 10-30 feet of water, so I try to keep my lure in that zone most of the time. Steve, I hope this helps you get some more bites (and confidence) in your jerk bait fishing. Remember, commit to it and don't put it down after 30 minutes and no bites.

Thanks for the info, smbasser. In tournaments that allow A-rigs, someone is gonna catch a 20-pound sack just about every time. Again, appreciate your info.

Thanks for the info. Figured it was about time for the A-rig bite to get good. Dang it.