motoman

- Skeeter, sounds like a good day overall. - Just curious about your partner throwing a deeper jerkbait. I don't hear much about the deeper diving jerkbaits here on the boards; but people talk about trying to get jerkbaits down deeper. Did he have much luck with the deep diver?

Man, great report kbillb! Keep the info coming. These are great reads for those of us who can't get out regularly. You are on 'em!

- Yah, keep us posted fishhead. I LOVE reading these reports since I can't get on the water for a while. - Last year this time we fished the Blunk Road area and had a blast!!!!!

Great report Phil. That brings back some memories last year. Catching those whites on the James in the same area. We were struggling on The Rock, so we went to The James for some action. Thankfully a kind local put us on fish after he caught his limit. - And you have a video too!?!?! I can't wait!

Reading your post, I was thinking the exact thing you posted at the end. Nice day to give it a whirl.

That's very cool Doug, way to go! Any pix?

- Oh mercy Phil, I have accidentally oepned quite a can of worms that's WAY off topic.............lesson learned.

- I agree Phil, not a lurker at all. And even those who do lurk; no big deal. I didn't mean to cast any dispersions on the casual reader; who may not feel like they have much to post. That is perfectly is not at all who I was referring too, as I am the same way on other boards. - To be more specific, by lurker; I was referring more to those big boys, who fish the big tournaments, blow through town; simply 'use' the local resources (OAF included), then take off and leave. With little regard to anyone or anything behind them.............until the next Ozark tourney. - I don't get down to The Rock nearly as much as I used to anymore; due to family obligations. But, my mind always drifts back to the The Rock. - So to the casual readers, who may not post much; do not take offense, nothing meant towards you. - (yikes, I just noticed my original post and corrected where I posted the word lurkers, I meant 'members'. It was 2:00 a.m., and I was a bit sleep deprived................what a typo! )

O.K., last time I'll throw anything further in here. But, the more I read about the FLW event this weekend, the more this kept smacking me in the face. - Remember, Brent Ehrler won the 4 day event by 13+ pounds. Granted, he had a great spot............but............ - "........Tied to the baits was 12-pound braided line and a 7-foot, 8-pound fluorocarbon leader............" (from flwoutdoors.com) - I think the reason I bring this up, is I have a personal irritation for a few skeptics (actually lurkers on the boards here). I've had countless anglers down at The Rock tell me it's completely unnecessary. Which, I understand, and it's just a personal preference for me. But, what sticks with me, is one guy, actually had the nerve to tell me it was "F'ing stupid" to use Fireline with a fluoro leader. - So as you can see, this is an issue that 'sticks-in-my-craw'. Although I don't know where my craw is, it's rather irritating. Maybe I should run to Walgreens and get some ointment for that or something?!?!?!..................WHAOH!...............that was a bit much! - Rant over, I feel better. - Goodbye braided line thread; nice knowing yah.

Here's a bump for yah Joe. Stinks I don't live closer, I'd help out. Good to see some companies out there doing some great work for the community.

- -A bit off topic, but speaking of the power of the forum; if one takes a look at the number of members on OAF vs. the number of people who post on average, one will quickly realize there are THOUSANDS of members. And of those thousands, I'm sure a good majority of them love to brag to others about fish THEY claim to have found. (translation: fish other OAF members found, and were courtious enough to share on the boards) - No big deal on the lurkers, but I wonder how many of those people use OAF for info, but never post anything, and return the favor? - Just thinking out loud here. Maybe I'm just sleep deprived?

Not to conjure up an old thread, but he's some info from Mike Wurm who took 2nd place today on the FLW tour at The Rock. Something for the skeptics to consider. - (from flwoutdoors.com) - Wurm is running 45 minutes one way to get to his honeyhole. This area is large and within it he has four different points and banks he focuses on. Once he’s there he pulls out an Eakins’ jig with a Zoom Critter Craw trailer and fishes in approximately 25 to 30 feet. “I love to throw a finesse jig on a spinning rod and now I’ve figured out how to make it even better. I’m using 10-pound braid with a 10-pound fluorocarbon leader and that is the difference. I’m setting the hook quickly and it’s going directly into the top of their mouth.”

- Yah, I fianlly got a chance to catch up a bit on some of the sites, and looks like the theme seems to be a morning bite; except for a few. - Looks like some guys are doing the shallow thing too?!?!? - I woulda thought it was a bit early in the season for that? But, clearly that's why I'm 4 hours away getting things rolling at work and not fishing against those guys.

- Thanks Bill, I wouldn't a thunk that.

Anybody hear about what tactics the top guys are using? (I imagine it'll be hush-hush until sunday/monday -- I'm just eager to hear)

- Someone mentioned it in another thread. But, in this day and age where most people have cell phones; most with cameras (video/still), i like the idea of video taping the pros poor behavior and report it. If not to the tournament director, e-mail it to their sponsors. Seems like a great way to curb their behavior?

Just finally got to finish Bill's Stickbait seminar............FANTASTIC! Lots of great info to help with fishing stickbaits. Thanks for posting this up! -

- We come down yearly the 3rd weekend in April, and fishing has always been good. Like snakem said, watch the boards closely, and you should get some great insight. - If you can, read the boards 'minutes' before you leave for up to the date info; or better yet........if you can get internet access at the lake, check it while you're at the lake for realtime reports.

Those really are some FANTASTIC pix Martin. Thanks for posting those. Very cool!

Awesome! That's where my thoughts were going. Once again, I greatly appreciate the info.

- That's great Eric, I appreciate the explanation. That makes plenty of sense. Exactly what I was looking for. The numbers are good enough for me; not necessary to mess with the graph. - Question for yah Eric; do you pay close attention, or plan trips/locations around generation schedules? (I've always understood that the fish move out to different spots on the lake when waters moving quicker?) - And how closely do they stick to the generation schedules? - Glad you had some interest also Mike. I thought this may have been some info everyone already knew about; or had little interest in. Very intriguing to me though.

I tried searching, but couldn't find what I was looking for. - Could anyone tell me how to interpret the generation schedules and charts in the links below? - http://www.swpa.gov/gen/wed.htm - http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17240 - (I'm mainly interested in trying to determine if there are certain times, or hours here-and-there throughtout the day where more water is being pulled. i.e. any type of current on the lake..........and maybe fish a little differently)

- One other thought that's always worked well for me. I've always understood that when you put line on a spinning reel, it's best to lay the line spool flat on the ground (or have someone hold it, spool label facing you to start), and make sure the line coming off the line spool, comes off the same direction it feeds on the spinning reel. - If the reel feeds clockwise, and the line coming off the spool comes of counterclockwise; flip the spool over. - As opposed to just feeding line off the front of the line spool, and let it spin on an axis, coming straight at you. Supposedly that's a no-no on spinning reels? - (although, after a few days fishing, I would think the line would correct itself?...........who knows. I've always done it that way and have no complaints.)

- Nope, I'm with yah techo. I've got a few of the Shimano Sidekicks in the 2500 series (not sure if they're even available anymore?). Got 'em from Cabelas for under $30 a piece; and they are just as smooth as my higher priced Shimano egg beaters. - A few years in and they're still kicking. - Oh yah, did I mention I'm very Shimano loyal on spinning reels? I've been a Shimano fan for about 20 years. Very dependable, even the couple that got neglected a bit.