abkeenan

Exactly. Usually nothing a little bend of the eyelet with some needle nose won't fix. Might take 10 adjustments to get it right but you should be able to get them to run correctly.

That's a shame this deal didn't happen. It even made local news here in Saint Louis about the cancellation of this tourney.

Yep. It must be done. There is a point of no return on a backlash....that there is one of them. Best one I ever saw was a friend of mine who got a little too ambitious and reached back too far and got his bait perfectly positioned suspended in the windshield cavity on the console and when he went forward the bait got hung up in the top windshield. Looked like a line grenade went off in his reel. It was HILARIOUS.

That should pick out

Likewise. I rarely lose a bait but when I do its usually because its in a cedar and the line is wrapped up in multiple limbs.

No. It is illegal to fish beyond the buoys from a water craft. Fishing from the bank I would see no issue casting up in there. Believe it or not while I was fishing over near the spillway last year a couple of idiots jumped off the top of the spillway into the water. Bunch of morons.

Good to hear you had some success from the bank. What part of the dam where you fishing? The actual dam rip rap? Spill way? I have always had success near the spill way and that point that runs out just before you the rip rap starts but have never done well in the actual rip rap portion of the dam.

This is a MUST. Not only will it pay for itself almost immediately but when I started using a lure retriever it actually made me a better fisherman because I am now willing to throw cranks and jerk baits in places I may have thought twice about before I had a retriever in the boat.

Nice report Donna. I see that Duckett Micro Magic is serving you well. Thanks for the pics/report.

Yes. The pre-Rapala warts will have "Wiggle Wart" stamped under the lip of the bait. Newer models have "Storm" printed on them.

Coming from the guy that wants to load up on ordinary cranks at $7 a pop from GYCB....... Just kiddin' Champ. Giving you a hard time.

And there you have it ladies and gentleman. Summed up nicely and I never really thought about that last bit about the way smallies "hunt" in which clearer water lends itself to being more visual predation thus better for smallies on the move feeding. Learn something new every day.

<------JEALOUS. Nice report.

Nice healthy fish. Should be a 7+ lb'er in a few months. Congrats.

Send them to me and I will teach them how to work. Then I will send them back once I am happy with how they are performing.

^---THIS.

Hahahhaa. True, but I think you are giving the fish a little too much credit. They aren't that smart! Heck, just look at how one will swipe at it and most likely feel the hooks for a second and then come right back 2 seconds later and slam it again.

This is true. But I also see a lot of cheeseburgers and I rarely turn one down when it comes by my face.

I don't see anything special about these new GYCB cranks. I'll stick to the wiggle warts which are half the price.

I figured. Knew you wouldn't be caught dead with anything other than your Cara's.

Read Babler's latest report just posted yesterday and I would say the fish would stay on that pattern until you come down.If the temps drop and a front is rolling through might have a blade tied on if there is some wind and chop (which there usually is when a front is pushing through). Good luck and hope you and your father have a great weekend.

Nice report Bill as usual and thanks for the screen shots. Your clients bring their own gear or did you decide to try out some Abu Garcia Veritas rods? I know you are a Falcon man but looks like the gentleman has a Veritas in his hand. Thanks again.

I've had the opposite at the BPS here in STL. Took back 2 reels (Quantum KVD hunks of crap) and got store credit for them and got a Citica and Curado instead. Brother broke his Shimano Crucial and just handed it to the customer service rep and she said go pick out another no questions asked. BPS is good in my book on that end. But I guess maybe it is up to each store or manager how they want to handle returns. I have no complains about our St. Charles location here in STL.

Ya the BPS in STL is nicely ran. Ditto on the BPS in Branson as you and others have mentioned. They have just a horrible selection of stuff and never have the most popular items. Stuff that they should have just gobs of in the back during certain times of the year like grubs in the early spring, football jigs in summer, etc. Anytime I head to TR I never stop in there because I know its a crap shoot on if they will have something or not. So I just stop by BPS HQ in Springfield or more recently Sportsman Factory Outlet just because LEWS Speel Spool is right there and like to try to give them some business. I have also bought stuff online from BPS and had it shipped to BPS Branson and just picked it up that way I am not left hanging because they don't have an item.

Exactly. These aren't "fishers" these are "collectors" that will never be removed from the pack.