Champ188

Hackney will be right in his element.

Indeed no need to apologize. Your intent was pretty obvious from this angle.

Good grief. Sounds like we'll all be fishing semi-close to Kim City this weekend.

Donna and I are planning to drive up Saturday morning. Does anyone know which ramps might be accessible? Also, I presume that Hwy. 86 from Cassville to its junction with Hwy. 13 near Kim City is clear by now but would like to know for sure if anyone has that info. Thanks much in advance for any help.

I just answered the man's question, Techo. That's all.

Brad, The way this winter has been, you should feel right at home. We primarily fish suspending jerk baits and 5/16-ounce finesse jigs like the Eakins Jig that time of year. Look for bluff ends and channel swings on both the main lake and river arms. The fish MAY start thinking about moving toward spawning areas but they'll still be staging. Hope this helps.

You're welcome to hang out here anytime, edyer. Glad to have ya.

Jimmy, That's a subject that's been batted around the park till the cowhide is thin. To answer your question, yes it's legal for tournament anglers to fish beds. Is this detrimental to the bass population? Well, it certainly can't help. But as long as tournaments are held during the spawn, pursuit of the almighty dollar will prevail every time. Yes, I'm a tournament fisherman. I don't purposely sight fish in competition during the spawn, primarily because I don't think it's a wise use of my time. But if I come across a large bass on a bed, I will attempt to catch her. I'd be robbing myself if I didn't.

Those Megabass hooks with the outward-facing barbs are mean ones. Denny's a fishin buddy and my tournament partner in the TR winter series. He's plenty tough. But I've had hooks in me, too, and there reaches a point after a few minutes where the tissue swells around the hook, the nerves get super touchy and it hurts like hell just to touch it. At that point, it's doctor time. But yes, $335 is absolute highway robbery.

I'm with you, rps. Don't want one of my size 13's in my mouth.

If it's not still frozen, it's dang cold up there.

I'm late too but happy birthday, you old goat. Think the world of ya.

LOL, Techo. And we can complete the circuit with a good, healthy roundtable discussion on bed fishing.

Gitnby, like you, I varied mine quite a bit — mostly from 10-20 seconds. i just can't go much more than 20 seconds, especially if the wind's blowing like it was yesterday.

There are lots of things worse. Besides, expecting solitude in the month of April on one of the country's best-known bass fisheries is a bit presumptuous. This old row about visiting tournament fishermen vs. crabby locals surfaces every spring on the forum. Looks like it's off to an early start this year.

I can report that rumors of a Spook/Red Fin bite in the Eagle Rock area are greatly exaggerated. Seriously, I fished that area Wednesday and found it severely tough. Caught one short LM and and a surprise rainbow, both on a McStick jerk bait. Water temp was around 42. It was good to get out.

Jerk bait is my guess, gitnby. Maybe a finesse jig along steeper (60-degree) banks with big rock. And there's sure to be a spoon bite along deep channel ledges at the mouths of the creeks. I'm thinking about getting up from this computer and heading up to Baxter in a bit. I'll post a report if I do.

I think there's a natural resistance to higher-priced lures. None of us wants to pay $25 for a jerk bait, including myself. But the fact is, that's the price and no amount of complaining is going to change it. Frankly, those who are setting the prices know that their target market will likely buy them no matter the price. This isn't gasoline, groceries or clothing. You don't have to buy them. If $25 for a Megabass is too much, buy a McStick for $15. If that's too much, buy an X-Rap for $8. If that's too much, buy a Suspending Rogue at Wal-Mart for $5. If that's too much, buy a H2O at Academy for $3. One may be best on a certain day, yes. But fact is, the better the quality of the lure, the more fish it's going to catch in the long run. There's nearly always a bit of truth in "You get what you pay for."

Tim, the B.A.S.S. Central Open is on TR the last week of April. May get a little crowded out there. I hope to be among them, though.

Hey Quillback, I went over to Lake Ann about 2 hours ago hoping to catch a few on a jerk bait. Wrong. Darn lake is froze over.

Just back her on down J.E. It'll stop when the back tires get to the water. Ain't froze past there.

I prefer 10-pound Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon for both crank baits and jerk baits. A cheaper alternative without losing much in performance is 10-pound Trilene Big Game.

Cool pics. Thanks for the post.

I'm a Shimano guy through and through for casting reels but I own three of the Johnny Morris Sig Series spinning reels and absolutely love them. They retail for $99.

Jason, to get back to your question, I've had my best success with Megabass jerk baits in the GP Stain Reaction and GP Pro Blue colors. The guys do make a good point about the McSticks ... I'm very fond of the Blue Bandit and the new Ghost Table Rock Shad.