Champ188

Like dtrs5kprs said, no fish up there. No oxygen in the water. They swim up about a mile north of SK bridge and either stop or peel off up the Kings.

Ready for 5-6 inches of really warm rain, all in a 24-hour period. That would get em going.

Good point, Bill. Things can go south (no pun intended) in a big ol' hurry this time of year and it's best not to be alone if they do.

Good job, Cody. Putting your head down and getting that limit is nearly always the smart move, especially in a series with points on the line. Thanks for the report. Gonna be up at the Rock on Wednesday for the first time in weeks. What kind of places are you throwing that Senko? Thanks in advance.

Great info and certainly good for a chuckle. Twenty-three is cold anytime, much less with the north wind whipping up 3-footers. And you said I was tough for bucking the rollers on Grand on Saturday. LOL

Hope that 10-pounder was well cared for and released. I've seen my share of jackpots where it might have ended up on someone's wall. Just sayin.

Brett, I like the Mister Twister (green and yellow) electric myself. I've had one for several years now and it has done me proud. Just gotta be careful cleaning crappie with an electric and not go thru the backbone. They are pretty tender and require a delicate touch.

Pretty fish indeed. Congrats and welcome to the forum.

Again, thanks much guys. It's nice to get the year off to a good start.

Our old gal ... Table Rock, not Donna ... is really kicking out some big sacks. Good to see the fishery in such fine shape. I know not everyone is catching them but that is the nature of the beast this time of year. You either find or em or you don't. Derby results bear that out if you look down the line past the first few places. Congrats to all who caught em and cashed ind yesterday.

Thanks everyone. You're too kind. Had a good day of fishing and sure put the new Ranger and my aging back to the test. Rode honest-to-God six-footers and a few even taller coming back from the dam. No damage to anything but the screws in the base of my Ram mount on the front loosened up from the beating. Those fish over there have been stubborn ever since the Classic and have really taken a beating from derbies and recreational fishermen alike. Last weekend was a 300-boat Nichols Marine tournament. This weekend was BFL plus a 200-boat Skeeter XFL event. Every "pretty" place was covered with boats to the point they could often cast and hit each other, so I decided to go "ugly" and got on a little deal of throwing a RC Stix jerk bait in smaller, unimpressive main-lake cuts. I also made a point to stay in the wind, which made for some darn hard fishing in a 25-40 mph gale but gave me an added degree of privacy since most of the other boats were trying to avoid the big swells. That's when it pays to have a pole seat on the front. Again, thanks for the support. You're a great bunch of guys.

My theory might be that if they room's paid for, might want to make good use of it on such a day. And the TV. Just sayin.

This is a heckuva thread ... a guy would be wise to remember this one and go back to it year after year.

Caught one on the first cast? It's a wonder you got another bite all day! I always make a little short fake first cast to be sure I don't catch one. lol

Don't neglect to drag a PBJ-colored half-ounce fb jig with a green pumpkin twin-tail trailer on the gravel points in that area. It will catch all three species of bass and is tough to beat in early spring.

That's a great way to catch em this time of year on The Beav. Glad you had a good day. That blue bandit McStick works as good as any for me.

Me too, Thumbs. I've put in a lot of practice time for this one and am not done yet. Hoping me and my co-angler both have a big bag.

Nothing like getting factory-direct advice on set-up. Always been impressed with Legend boats. The Texas boys sure like em, which tells you a lot about how they ride and perform in rough water.

We gotta draw him out of hiding every now and then, snakem

Absolutely a good way to learn, Thumbs. As long as you draw out with some numbnuts like me.

Cajun, you are right about the Fury not being the be-all, end-all. I know several people with new-ish rig, myself included, who are running the tried-and-true Tempest Plus and are very happy with them. Congrats on the new rig. Hope you get it set up to your liking.

Wish they hadn't moved this Table Rock tournament up from its former May spot on the schedule. I probably would have fished it but am fishing the Okie Division event at Grand. Love the Rock in May. Co-angler winner was in the back of my boat a couple of years ago. The guy fished an Eakins jig with the biggest dang craw-worm trailer I've ever seen and dip-n-dyed the entire darn trailer chartreuse. We were fishing ledge rock drops 6-12 feet deep and I could see his jig on the bottom most of the day. I kid you not. And every time I turned around he was hooked up again.

One suggestion I would offer on breaking off on the hookset would be to consider your rod action. I use a lighter rod than I did in the pre-fluorocarbon days ... still a mediium-heavy power but fast action instead of extra fast. The slightly whippier tip absorbs some of the shock of the hookset for those of us like me and Bill who can't help ourselves and have to jerk when one bites. My favorite for flipping docks is a 6-8 or 6-10 Shimano Crucial or Duckett Micro Magic. Again, medium-heavy power but fast action instead of extra fast.

Nothing to add to that, Mr. Bill. Darn well put. Donna and I often have the sun go down on us literally while we're looking for that one more bite.

Even the most expensive fluorocarbon doesn't cost $100 a spool unless you are buying bulk spools. A 200-yard spool of top-shelf Seaguar Tatsu or Sunline Shooter that will fill two bass reels is under $50. I'm a fan of Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon for jig or soft plastic presentations where feel is important. It's extremely sensitive and very tough and runs about $20 for a 200-yard spool. For topwaters or fast-moving baits like spinner baits or crank baits, good ol' Trilene Big Game, P-Line or Maxima is hard to beat.