abkeenan

Pretty much just echoing what everyone else has already said they throw. 1- Jika Rig with either a Big 10-12" C-Mac Worm or full size Zoom Brush Hog 2- Jig and craw trailer 3- Craw on a wobblehead 4- Last time down only threw it for a short time without any strikes (about a dozen casts) but instead of a spinnerbait I threw a bladed jig (one of Bo's Crazy Jigs). Great vibration and if I give it more of a shot I know it will produce. Fish shouldn't have a problem finding it in the dark. It thumps.

Good luck at ICast, Bo.

Hey now! I have a Yeti Roadie 20 in Seafoam! Was a gift. I'd never pay what Yeti asks for them. I should be good though if a bear gets in my boat out in the middle of Table Rock. Won't be able to steal my sandwich and beverages out of my cooler. Not on my watch, bear!

You will like that BuCoo. I would have no problem if every rod I owned was in the BuCoo lineup.

Quantum has been a shame in general. In the early and mid 90's they had some nice stuff. I used the crap out of their Energy line (both rods and reels) as a young buck. Had an old EX500 baitcaster also that was a real brute and never failed in over a decade of service. Somewhere they went wrong and their stuff became junk. One too many Bill Dance combos I guess. They aren't even a consideration for me when I think of buying a new rod or reel. I bought a $100 Quantum KVD baitcaster around 10 years ago. My father and his uncle also bought the same one from BPS. They were all returned to Bass Pro in less than a years time for various reasons. Total garbage. That was the last Quantum product that I have ever purchased. Quantum can't be doing that well when they ended up scrapping their flagship reel, the EXO, all together either last year or the year before. All they have now is the Smoke line, the KVD Tour stuff and then their garbage low end smut. I know a lot of pro's and celebrity fisher-folk like KVD, Hackney, other BM Elites, Bill Dance, the Linder family and others pimp their gear. But it's pretty easy to use their stuff when they just send it to you and if/when it breaks they just send you more. For the people that pay for their gear you need reliable equipment. I know Champ has a bunch sponsors, as can be seen by his rather boisterous jersey peppered with their logo's, so he is the exclusion to that last bit. He never has to pay for anything so his opinions are biased and should not be taken as anything but with a grain of salt.

Good deal. You really can't go wrong with Lew's. I have them. I like them. I still use them. Their CS is 2nd to none if you happen to have an issue. I had an issue with some of the laminate peeling off their paddle knobs on the handle. Shot them an email about the issue (they were already aware that they had that happen on a bad batch from the manufacturer) and I had a couple extra paddle knobs in my mailbox like 3 days later. Lew's is a great company and their rods are making strides the last few years. Wanted to get their Wiggle Wart Special rod but I have so many combo's it's getting silly. I still may get it though! LOL. I've just become a Daiwa man for the time being. It's almost a Ford vs Chevy debate when you get into Lews vs Shimano vs Daiwa vs Abu Garcia. All are putting out quality gear these days.

I have the Type R on my Hammer. It's one sweet setup. Not only from a fishability standpoint but also SWEET looking with the matching black and red color scheme.

Happens fairly often when fishing for "black perch" on Table Rock. Catch a fish and a bass or catfish come up and grab it. Usually its a nice bass when it happens. Nice paint jobs BTW.

Ditto on what M&M said. Specific rod and reel setups to fit the lure/presentation you plan on throwing make for a better day on the water. I have more setups than I need but fishing tackle is my vice. I am not necessarily brand loyal and have quite a few rods and reels of various manufacturers. Most of my setups are in the $200-300 as a combo price range. Rods I own: Shimano, Daiwa, BPS, Dobyns, Falcon, Hammer, Duckett and Quantum. Reels I own: Shimano, Daiwa, BPS, Pflueger and Lew's. Of all the reel brands mentioned all have a place in my arsenal but some are just better than others. Daiwa is my favorite of all the reels that I own. Only other reel I have that I like as much is my old green Curado E7. The Lew's are good but just not as good as Tatula's IMO. Especially considering the $100 price point you can find them at Sportsman's Outfitters or other eBay retailers. I have a few of the regular Tatula's and one Type R. My brother just bought a few of the CT's which are a fraction smaller and negligibly lighter. Only a scale would notice the difference in weight IMO. The size of the reel doesn't make a difference to me as I have slightly larger than average hands but could see how it might make a difference palming for someone with small hands. I also have a Daiwa Fuego (not the new CT model) which is the same as a Tatula less the T-Wing system. Can get them for $75 new in the box on FleaBay and they are awesome reels as well. Unbeatable at that price IMO. When it comes to rods I like my 7'3H Hammer the best. Just a nicely made rod, on a very light and sensitive blank that balances well with top notch components. Also comes with a good warranty and I hear the family in Mississippi that makes them are very fine people. Also, they can handle a lot of different baits and weights. It is just like my Falcon BuCoo's with just a nicer finish and components to it. I have a Cara, old BuCoo and a new BuCoo SR. All are awesome rods and for the $100 bucks you pay for them (BuCoo's not Cara). I think they are the finest rods at that price point. The Duckett Ghost that I have is maybe the most versatile rod I have out of the dozen or so rods I own. It's a 7'3 MH and I can throw just about anything on it from cranks to jigs to soft plastics to spinner baits. The rod itself isn't made all that well (cheap guides and they aren't perfectly aligned, some blanks are slightly warped toward the tip) but man it is just a great all around rod. It's a rod that is comfortable to fish all day and I can't say that about all the rods I own. It's hard to say what rod and reel set up would be good for you personally as everyone is different. But if it were me and you want an all around rod to throw a bunch of different baits I would get a 7' or 7'3 MH or H Hammer (their actions are a bit softer than other brands) paired with whatever ratio and model Tatula you want. That would put you right at $275. If you didn't want to go that route my plan B would be to get the the new Shimano Curado K ($180) and then get a Falcon BuCoo SR in the 7-7'3 MH models and again would put you in the ballpark for you budget. Plan C would be to get a Tatula ($100) and a BuCoo SR ($100) and spend the $75 on either more tackle or take your wife to dinner. Maybe TMI there. Good luck with your purchase.

I think I would rather have gravel, or even thumb tacks, in my shoes than have to wear those. LOL.

Agreed. At this point it's just like TV's. How big can we go? I am not one to talk about spending money on tackle just to chase pea brained green and brown fish....but having a boat rigged with 10-20K worth of sonar???? Come on.

Right on. Hadn't seen those. Should be a mandatory item for all tournaments. The old style metal clips should be banned.

For those of you inflicted with Baithoarditis, such as myself. Sneak peak at some of this years ICast gear and tackle. I posted some the things I found interesting. For all baits go here https://www.bassmaster.com/gear/slideshow/199-new-products-icast-2017 The Berkeley Snap Jig looks really interesting for those of you that like the Rapala Ice Jig for vertical presentation and/or the Walter chasers. Freedom Tackle also has their spin on the Rapala Ice Jig: Interesting bait from ZMan designed to be Ned Rigged: New Shimano Curado: New Lew's Hyper Mag - Lightest reel they've ever made at 5.4 oz New Lew's Super Duty which I know is a popular reel on the boards here New CURADO rods. First time, that I am aware of, that Shimano has had a Curado line of RODS: Lew's Mark Rose Ledge Series rods. Some 9 footer models in their lineup: About time someone came out with a culling system that didn't punch holes in fish:

9 Walters in one day on Table Rock???? That's a fine outing RPS. The Walleye Whisperer of the White, you are sir. Thanks for the report, pics and safe travels.

Thanks for the reply Bo. I just picked up some of your bladed jigs off Tackle Warehouse last week. Should be here next week so I can check them out. Heaviest size they had was the 3/8th oz heads which I was I got. Also, I notice that you are fishing the grass jig version over the original/regular head on your Elite/Pro Series models. What's the reasoning behind that? Just curious as you are the man to talk to about jigs and science/physics as to why you do what you do. Always looking to educate myself.

In my experience when conditions are "Blue Bird Skies" you need to be looking deeper and closer to cover (tight to wood and in docks). I also fish smaller baits and SLOWER. Smaller jigs, swimbaits, grubs and Dave's Ned. Being new to TR there is a learning curve. Lots of bank beaters get their butt beat when the shallow fish aren't cooperating. The term "deep" is defined differently depending on perspective and what you are used to. A lot of guys new to TR will think 10 feet when you tell them to fish "deep". I consider that SHALLOW. So when you think you are fishing "deep"..... go out another 20-30 feet. Not sure what will happen with the thermocline this year with the high water. But, it usually starts to set up around now and on through the hot summer months. In a typical year you can look for it from 24-32 feet depending on the section of the lake. Often times that is where fish will hang out in the oxygen rich and cooler zone of the water column. That is sort of out the window right now with all the water being held in the lake. Plus the current being created during generation will also effect how it sets up as well. Maybe Babler can chime in if he is seeing any kind of stratification in the water on his sonar lately. I know he has had some internet access issues the last couple of months and has only been able to post from his phone. Which is a darn shame as he usually has the best insight on topics such as this. All that being said, all the current reports from everyone is that the fish are in the bushes or at the edge of the tree line. That is indeed SHALLOW in Table Rock terms. Good luck.

Those look good Bo. Question for you. Are you using a trailer on that bladed jig?

I agree with the back pack tackle bag. Makes all the sense in the world. My brother uses a regular backpack not designed for fishing for his gear. I just got this Browning bag 2 Xmas's ago because it holds more 3700 boxes (10) than anything else I could find and is made pretty well. I searched and SEARCHED........AND SEARCHED SOME MORE for the biggest tackle bag that was a back pack style that was large enough for my needs. I looked at Shimano, etc. There just isn't anything on the market that suited what I wanted to do with it. I looked into military back packs, ammo back packs and various other styles of back packs. I thought about making one myself but I am no seamstress. I guess there isn't a market for idiots like me that want to load around 100+lbs of tackle into a bag and haul it around. Well....... there might be one other person in this market aside from me and he lives in Kansas.

I actually don't mind at all hauling all of my gear back and forth from the dock/boat slip to the house. Might change my tune when I am 50. But, I consider it a blessing to have immediate access to the water with a private 2 slip dock by it's lonesome in a cove. That is until Alex "raids" it and catches all my pets.

I think I get better work outs when I am on vacation at Table Rock than I do during the week at the gym. From our house to the dock is about 80 yards down a winding path of native gravel. Lugging about 8 rod combos, a back pack loaded with soft plastics, my sonar gear in a pistol case, a backpack cooler, an extra draw string Trokar bag filled with stuff I don't really need and then my 50 pound Browning top loader tackle bag with my hoard of hard baits/terminal tackle in ten 3700 Plano's plus accessories.....I could probably survive for a month on Everest with my fishaneering gear. I usually make this trek twice a day up and down the 20% grade due to the thieves. I am huffing and puffing after making it to the Garage Summit. Some times I need to stop at Base Camp B to get a breather. I often times think about downsizing to make things easier on myself. But that cowardly thought only lasts for a split second. This journey gets tougher each year as I get older and because my "tackle issue" is always adding weight to the arsenal. All of this of course done in ONE trip. It's like unloading groceries from the car.....two trips is for the weak! For extra bonus torture I like the no breaks double five gallon gas can farmers walk to the dock. It's a real forearm and traps burner.

Doesn't look like you have any welts or puncture wounds. Must not have fished my dock this trip. Nice fish Alex. You truly are a Hog Snatcher.

I think the fish doctor/centipede is even worse because you really only have contact with the sinker. The free floating plastic on the leader length can get inhaled and you can't really feel a strike often times. By the time you load up or see the line taking off, they already have it up to their posterior.

I haven't thrown tubes in years. I know they are highly effective but they are fish killers. No way around it. Too easy for them to gulp it down. I will throw a jig or other craw imitator in place of the tube. I also have gotten away from throwing the fish doctor/centipede split shot/mini-carolina rig for the same reasons. Both are great fish catchers. Not knocking anyone for using them but I grew tired of hurting fish and going through the gills to remove my junk from their gullet. Just too many times hoisting a 13" smallies out of the water and immediately seeing blood running from their gill plates, down their beautiful bronzed sides and the bait basically coming out their rear end.

I am a penny pincher. I am allergic to paying full price on things no matter if they are large ticket items or a Snickers bar from a gas station. I regularly shop at JC Penny and am not ashamed to admit it. I wear a lot of the St. John's Bay or The Foundry brands that they carry in their stores. For the price they are every bit as quality as my Polo brand polo collared shirts. I actually went there last weekend and they had the St. John's Bay fishing style shirts with the double front pockets and vented cape as you describe for $13 on clearance. Got one for my father and can't be that price with a stick. They also carry the Columbia brand and you can get steals on their gear if you hit it right.

I couldn't disagree more. Sticky, moisture retaining, old cotton.....nope There is a reason why you see every NFL, NBA or any athlete these days sporting the UA, Nike, etc "dry fit" type athletic apparel. Reason could be from the screen printed logo. The latex or whatever material that logo is cut from then silk screened on makes it hotter and will stick to your skin. That Tatula logo on the back is a pretty good size from the pic I saw on the paperwork to send in to claim your shirt. The shirts I have from HUK have minimal lettering so they don't do that. Could always take your shirt off to be really cool in the hot months.....but then the "Bikini Dock Pattern" could dry up pretty quick and Net Monkey 2.0 could be pretty upset about that bite fizzing out.