Champ188

It's not so much the members as the lurkers. This post already has over 200 views but very few comments. Of course, these days, anyone who sees you catch a fish is likely to pull in right on top of you and start flinging. It's the way of the world.

More reason than ever to report any permit-ignoring, outlaw jackpot tournaments. You know the ones … weigh the fish on the tailgate of a pickup truck, then literally stand on the bank and chunk em back in the lake to float around and die.

Good job, Sprint. Most of the guys who struggled seem to be the ones who failed to recognize the shallow bite. Glad you did. Us mud-holers find a nugget every now and then.

Yeah, now that Johnny bought em they're using untreated pine. And the lifetime hull warranty has been reduced to 6 months. LOL Sure glad my Ranger still carries Forrest Wood's signature. And I'm sure the same is true for Dave. :)

December works for me. Great fishing that time of year.

😝 I'll entertain bets on the winner.

I couldn't agree more. I hope it was clear that I was talking about retaining a single injured fish for a couple of hours and then releasing it --- away from the launch ramp --- when it recovers after treatment with Rejuvenade. I don't doubt a word you're saying but I don't know of a single tournament that doesn't bar the possession of more than a tournament limit at any time. Culling at the weigh-in location should be grounds for disqualification. Of course, you're probably talking about jackpots with basically no rules. Your lake (LOZ, for those who don't know Wrench) is like Beaver in that it gets hurt more by tournaments than other lakes because darn near every derby is held out of one ramp … PB2. Can't keep relocating every tournament fish caught for years and years to a single area or eventually the rest of the lake is going to feel the effects.

Posts like this make me realize just how blessed I was that a young sportswriter and a blossoming Arkansas pro who needed publicity crossed paths back in the early 80s. That guy, who became a great friend and went on to win two Bassmaster Classics and a Forrest Wood Cup, taught me that even on Ozarks lakes, there's a relatively shallow bite year-round. You just have to know where to look and have the patience and faith to figure it out. A little bull-headedness doesn't hurt either. 😁 Like Quill, I have two old 900 series Birds and a Lowrance 5 HDS and they serve my purposes just fine. I'll keep the $20K for other needs.

Revenge of the critter kingdom for the groundhog incident a few years back? 😆

Frankly, I'm not sure it's the best idea right now for a big bunch of us to be gathering and sharing chow and airspace. I'm not a germaphobe in any sense of the word, but I'm just wondering about the common sense aspect of this. JMO.

Good job, guys. Nice to see OA members out there nabbing some of those derby dollars. :)

But good ol' Johnny has done SO MUCH for the sport of fishing! 😁

I second the motion for Buster. Heck of a Table Rock fisherman.

Not bad for an old fishin' guide. 😄

I don't know if that was intentional, bo, but it's funny as the dickens. I have a new name for that contraption now. 😆

A fine feller, for sure. Didn't mind sharing information with anyone. Kinda like someone around this place.

That's part of the beauty of it … I keep a jar in my center console and I've used it even when we are fun fishing and happen to hook one deep. We've carried them around for a couple of hours in Rejuvenade livewell water and then released them healthy as they were when we caught em.

Well done, sir!!!

Donna fished with Powroznik several years ago in an FLW Tour event on Beaver and he saved a deeply hooked bleeder by pouring Rejuvenade directly into its throat.

Maybe green Shad 😁

Am planning to fish a couple of them but not this Sunday. And we will most certainly take tender loving care of our fish. Archdale is all over it with his recipe of ice plus a quality additive in the morning and recirc the same water all day.

54 degree water and wind? Say no more. I’m there Saturday. 😁

Bill, from a professional editor, that's the best of many, many articles you've done here over the years. And for free, no less. Wonderful narrative and perfectly illustrated with your great pics. I can't emphasize enough to every member here the value of what Bill contributes to this forum. Not only does he frequently share his own lifetime of experience on the Rock, but he passes on the knowledge of probably the best fisherman/guide to ever fish this lake. It's a great tribute to Bill Beck for his brother in arms to continue to share his rich knowledge on OAF.

Sad day for some of us when there's no KVD, Davis, Cochran, McClelland, or basically anyone else of note in what once was the undisputed world championship tournament.

Very nice report and great pics. And you don't have to worry about me being on any of your spots. LOL