bobw

This will be our 2nd year for our Cape Fair Sunday Bass Tournaments. These are open buddy tournaments with no membership fees and 100% pay back. We register at the marina store starting at 6:00 am with tournament take off at 7. We have some great sponsors again this year including Ulrich Marine, Extreme Outdoors, Sport Boats USA and Joe Bass Tackle, Branson West Marine and Ozark Chevrolet. If you like fall and winter tournaments please come fish with us.

Looking forward to it, Boat #10.

It's been crazy down there. We have been getting down there about 5am to get a placce to park. Then leaving before noon. We must have meet 20 boats headed that way Saturday about 11:30, couldn't figure out where they were all going to park? I guess that is the only place on the lake pleasure boaters think they can pu in? It is crazy busy down there any more.

I will be at Cape Fair in the morning, I'm running a new ZX225 Skeeter, Red, Black and White. Plan on fishing till about noon or so, depends on when and how many big boats get out tomorrow. It's a zoo up there of an afternoon.

The 10XD will work, I did throw one some but the fish were not that deep. And at $15 a pop vs $5 for a 6XD you really don't want to throw a bait that will run 20+ and hang it up and break it off. We did loose a few 6XD's to stuff you couldn't see under the water. The 10XD really works good when the fish are way out off some of the long sloping points and you can't get to them with any other crankbait. That would normally be the case now if the water was a normal pool.

Most everything we caught was 12-13' of water. So the 6XD was on the bottom. I don't know if there was any water running Saturday or not? But for the most part everything was on the down current or down lake side of a point. The fish were really schooled up, if you got one to bite it would fire the entire school up. My partner had 3 doubles on one crankbait. For the most part we were throwing it on 12-15# fluorocarbon line, 7' 10" Bass Pro Cranking Stick and a 5.1:1 reel. They were not on every point, you just had to look for them, but it didn't take but it din't take long to find out if they were there or not. I also used the new 8XD some and caught several on it. It will get down to 20', and I was using it out deeper to see if I could get a better Largemouth bite when we were catching Kentuckies up in the shallower water. There is no magic to it, you just have to have the right equipment and hit points till you find them. Once you do its a ball.

I think they really work, my Skeeter came with them, and I know a lot of Pro's use them. We also used the G Juice which is supposed to be made to use in conjunction with the Oxygenator. I'm sure othere products work just as well. But I know several guys that have used it and swear by it. We kept ice in the wells as well. I guess it all helped, they were very alive to weigh.

I'm not a Ned Rig, finesse, shakey head drop shot fisherman. I will if I have to but I grew up power fishing in the James River. I don't do real well if I have to fish that other stuff, I know there are times when you have to but if they will bite something else I would much rather do that. This same bite has got to be going on in other parts of the lake as well i would think? Kings, Long Creek, up the White. Just need to look for it.

Thanks, we caught all of them on a 6XD and 8XD. I know the Fann's said they caught some on a shallow running crank and a jig, but we stuck witht the deep one all day.

My partner and I eneded up winning the Joe Bass Saturday. We had 18.60 lbs with a 6.06 for big bass. We did go to the James River. I was up there Friday and you couldn't get above Cape Fair. Saturday morning the wind must have changed direction, you could get all the way to Bear Den. The bite was to say the least was Phenomenal. We had some where areound 70 fish with maybe 25 keepers. That bite hasn't been like that for years up there. And because there was still quite a bit of floating stuff it kept the big boats away, it was like fishing on a week day instead of a week end. 2nd place also came from that area, the Fann brothers had 18.21 I think and I believe 5th place was up that way as well. It was a day every bass fisherman dreams about, numbers and quality. The only draw abck was it was so hot. We had all the fish we weighed by 10:00 and really had to work hard to keep them alive till the weigh in at 3. But the Skeeter live wells work great, kept the aeator and the Oxygenator going all day and they survived just fine.

11.80 was last place in teh money, we had 11.60. Just like everyone else needed a 3# bite but never got it. Weighed 2 largemouth and 3 spots. Caught 40-50 fish on topwater and shakey head, just never got a good bite.

It's still a month a way. Never now what the weather will do between now and then, Bull could be 20' high like it has in past years? Headed down there tomorrow, not Thedosia, I think we will go to Buck Creek. Fishing should be really good!

Seems like just over 100? But I bet there will be 100+ this year. I have talked to several people that say they are going to fish it that haven't in the past.

We are boat #17. Look forward to this every year. White River does a great job putting this on!

Love my new Skeeter ZX 225. This is my second Skeeter, had a TZX190, for an 18 1/2' boat it had a great ride, but this New ZX is Awsome. Dry, rides great, and plenty fast with the 225 SHO.

Thanks guys, Ryan and I have fished togather off and on for several years. We are looking forward to the fish off.

We caught 15 fish, 14 were keepers. The big fish was our second fish we caught, it was about 3 hours before we caught another one. The bite has been all day for us but we just can't find a concentration of fish. You can fish one bank with nothing, move to the next cove or pocket and fish a bank just like it and catch 2 or 3 then its another hour before you catch another. This weather is killing them too, 45 one day 10 the next. There were a tremendous number of fish shallow before New Years, but ever since then there have been fewer and fewer. When the weather stabilizes they will move back up, but till then it's a grind. Just have to cover a LOT of water to get a few bites and hope they are the right ones.

We took 2nd in the Winter Bass Series Saturday, also had big bass, a great looking 7.67 lb fish. Very healthy. All of our fish came on an A Rig. Talked to some of the guy's that are good with a jerk bait and stuck with them all day and they did have 11-12 lbs. Don't know what it is but the A Rig is out fishing a jerk bait 10 to 1 right now for us. And you can throw it in the wind where a jerk bait is tough to throw and tough to work in wind like we had Saturday. It's just an awsome bait right now.

We fished the tournament at Capr Fair Sunday, several rigs parked on the ramp, we were told the Ranger drove by and looked at the rigs to see if they had corp passes, he did not stop, didn't give any tickets out that I know of. There were 11 boats of us that fished. We used the ramp but parked the truck in the dock parking lot. If you have a yearly pass I don't see any way they can give you a ticket. There was no sign, no baracade no nothing saying the ramp was closed.

$60 for entry and both side pots.

Dang, forgot what the topic was, I have 4 of the Lew's bait casters and 1 of their spinning reels. Great products. Purchased 3 of the bait casters at the Classic Show in Tulsa, they had some pretty good deals there, haven't regreted the purchase, they are as good a reel for the average guy as there is.

Central Pro Am died when Ernie passed away. Say what you want about Ernie Daughtery but he MADE the Pro Am go. The econmy is another factor that has basicly killed all of the tournament circuts. Midwest Outdoors, Heartland, even the benifit buddy tornaments don't draw like they used too, the Hospice, (I don't think they havea any more) the Trooper Tournament, and on and on. These all use to draw a 100 boats. The sponsers are not there like they used to be. They have all gone to the National Circuts, BASS, FLW and PAA. I really don't think anything is going to bring our local tournaments back to where they were in the 80's and 90's. Speaking of boats, last August I purchased a new boat. I looked at The Nitro Z7 and the Skeeter TZX190. I went to Bass Pro twice to try and get a demo ride in a Z7, both times I was told they didn't give demo rides, if I wanted to ride in one I could go to Big Ceday adn rent one for 1/2 a day. I bought the Skeeter! Sports Boats was only too happy to meet me at the lake. The boat had a full tank of gas and the guy from Sports Boat said to run it all out if I wanted to, they wanted to make sure I was happy with the boat. Honestly, I have been told several times I made the right decission. The Skeeter is a way better boat. Hey I buy a lot of stuf at Bass Pro, you don't generally have to worry about not having what you want, just go in get it get out, like someone said, the Wal-Mart of bass fishing.

Stained above Cape Fair till you get on up in the James and Flat Creek. It clears in a hurry, and cools off in a hurry. Water temp in Flat Creek above the first bend is 38 degrees. It's a little warmer in the James but not much, 38.5-39 degrees. The weather this week will help the water temps, depends on how much they pull the lake to help the water clarity. Several boat up that way yesterday, not sure if the Whites were running or not, didn't see anyone land anything.

Cape Fair Area fished well Saturday. We had 26 boats in the derby over there. Several 5 and 6# fish brought in. My partner and I won it with 4 that weighed 21#. It's a 4 fish limit in the tournament. We caught 9 keepers, culled down to a 3.2 was our smallest fish, 7.89 was our biggest. Had one over 4 and one over 6 to fill out our 4 fish limit. Never happen again like that. Oh, well the big fish came on a jerk bait, the others on and A Rig. Best day I have ever had on the A Rig. Wasn't much of a fan of it till now.

Well picked up the boat Friday afternoon, took it to the lake Saturday morning. The boys did a great job. Once I changed props from a Yamaha 23p to a 25p Power Tec, the boat gained 4 mph and the new prop made the Skeeter lift like is should. Very nice people over there, would recommend them if you want to get a little more hp out of your rig. Oh, they also do high preformance work on Mercury's too.