steveearle

Heading down Mon.-Fri. next week with the family w/o boat....Are the whites in upper long creek, Kings, or the James(around Blunk) or has the high water and current messed thingsd up? Probably throw my waders in and wondering if I should bother with the spinning rod and swimming minnows?

I rolled into Kimberling at exactly 3:00 Staurday on my way to Big Cedar so I stopped by Ahoys and watched for 25 minutes or so until the rain started....FYI--Fann's big bass (5.89) was a smallmouth...It was a tank...

Just hang the bag handles on the scale hook. The most important part is getting the scaled zero'ed out every time you weigh fish and then hangin the handles gently onto the scale...(and make sure everyone uses the same kind of bag).

"I'm just writing to say I am totally pumped about getting to fish in the AIA tournament this weekend. It has been a long winter in Iowa with more snow than I have ever seen in my 36yrs. With how bad the winter had been." You need to get used to these winters, global warming and all...er....er....I mean climate change...Yeah, that's it...

Forever if you were born in '73....My real question would be, assuming that these fish have come from flooded ponds, etc...is it an ongoing process? In other words, these fish are typically triploid and cannot reporoduce, unlike the other types of carp that take over fisheries. I guess there must be some kind of steady influx from these ponds, since they are always in the lake but relatively rare...

Its a grass carp and they have been there forever. My brother's first bow-fishing kill was a 29 lber in the pocket that you would run into if you were going up long creek from Cricket and failed to make the right to go under the Enin bridge or failed to go left up long Creek--the cove thats straight ahead. That was 1990-ish.... Also, while catching breaking fish in about May of 1999 (in front of Twin Rivers BTW Bill, since you mentioned in earlier--the neighborhood that is--buddy's dad has a house in there) my buddy hooked about a 30-35 lber (snagged in the back) and we fought it for 45 minutes (taking turns) and brought it to the boat about 10 times before it ripped off. Anyway, they are in there....

I don't know if it is the actual weight or just the balance of the KVD rod but it feels heavy to me relative to the other choices...but I have not fished with it either...

RPS--I've tried the straight Fiberglass style rods like the Silaflex...I just could not make it work. I need SOME feel and I could not even feel a wart or trap vibrate...just was not right for me. In regards to the Falcon, I used to use a 7' Med Low Rider...Had great feel...might be a little fast if your looking for the parabolic action/bend. The Skeet rods are made up of 2 different technologies. The 7' M cranking rods is labeled as "Tri-Gressive S-Glass."

Parabolic was described above, but remember their are still different powers of these rods so you have to base your purchase on the baits you'll be throwing. I fish a 7' MH (mor elike a med.) Moderate action G Loomis for most crankbiats (CBR 845). When summer rolls around, you cannot beat the St. Croix Legend Tournament "Big Cranker" for Lucky Craft D-20s, DD-22s, etc. It is a 7'10" H Moderate action rod. You need to heavier action to throw the bait a long ways, but when you set the hook, it still has a nice slow bend to keep the hooks from tearing out. I have played withg the Cumaras a little and they seem to me to be a very fast action (only the very tip bends). I know they have the new line of rods designed for moving baits but I have not played with them. For an inexpensive option, you may want to look at the new Skeet Reese (Wright & McGill Tessera) rods. All of the rods were designed with a composite blank and the premise of a parabolic bend for all applications. You check out the 7' M for $89.95.... All 3 rods mentioned above have a lifetime warranty...Something your SHimanos also have and I consider hugely important....My $.02.

Exactly. Get a spool of 22 gauge copper wire from a craft store, a pair of regular plier, and a set of small tin snips. Double wrap the copper above the rubber collar, twist the copper tight (gently), and then cut the tag end (behind the head), and either leave the rubber collar on, pull it off with the pliers, or slice it off with an exacto or blade...There you have your hand tied jigs...I do this to all my jigs and spinnerbaits (winter project) because if you have the baits long enough the rubber collar will dry rot off. Also you will get uneven/messy skirts if you catch a bunch of fish, especially on the spinnerbait...

Please don't beleive the "comparable diameter to XXlb. monofilament rating" on braid. Check the diameter itself of the braid on the package....For example, Spiderwire Ultra-Cast's 30/8 is .012, whereas Stren Sonic Braid 30/8 is .009. Thats 33% more diamter in the Spiderwire than the Stren...In other words Spiderwire's 30 lb. braid is the same diameter as Stren 50 lb. braid. Basically, you have to ask yourself whose 8lb. diameter they are comparing it to...and try to match your braid with the fluoro/mono you throw or go even smaller. I like Stren Sonic Braid 14/3 for my drop shot mainline (it is .007) which is .001 smaller than Seaguar 6lb. and the same dia. as Trilene 100% fluoro 4lb....this might be a good place to start. What brand of braid were you throwing? And remeber braid floats...

Way easier to control depth and "feel" the bait, bottom, and bites with the spinning rod and 6 or 8lb. line, depending on diameter. I thrown 6lb. Trilene Fluoro....I will throw a 3/8 oz. fishhead spin (same pattern basically) with a super fluke jr on my crankbait rod (soft) and 10lb. mono or fluoro....

They are just running up the creeks to get to stained water that is a little warmer and where they can fish relatively shallow ...The clear water on the main is 39 in the morning...Its still in the low 40s up the rivers. The earliest I have seen fish try to bed was in the spring of 07 (I believe), when we had 70-80 degree weather around the last 1 1/2 weeks of March. The trees were blooming, the water got to about 61, and big big females were roaming around shallow (they looked totally lost). A week later Easter weekend (about April 1st) in was 19 degrees in the morning and blowing 25-30. Water temp went to 51 and we blistered the fish on a grub (after the 10 minutes it took to get the boat unfrozen from the trailer). Lost the trolling motor both days about 3:00 and they were still biting....

Drug the boat down and fished with a buddy on Sunday and Monday. Launched at State Park Sunday @ 8:30 and headed toward Long Creek. We got 3 bites all day-2 chunk spots and a keeper largemouth....the 3 weighed about 8 lbs. Funny story though.....got up around Long Creek Marina and there was one local in a green/silver Champion on the other side of the lake....he starts idling up the middle, sees us catch a nice spot, and just starts lurking toward where we caught it and as we go around the point, I look back and he is 75 yards behind us, gets right in our track, "beep,beep GPS waypoint saved, and then idles back to the other side of the lake and just sits there. I guess he thought we were big guns b/c we had a friend's shiny red Ranger that looked similar to 125 other boats down there.... Launched at Shell Knob ramp on Monday morning and ran the mouth of both rivers...Got 7 bites...keeper spot, keeper LM, short LM, 2 walleye (17.5" and 20") and lost 2 other bites (I'm pretty sure they were walleye also). Caught all of our fish on the 5" XPS grub in smoke/purple on a 1/4 oz jighead..They wanted it dragged on the bottom (almost like a split shot/C-Rig)...very light bite, and then came in like a gallon ZipLock full of water...Fish were on the roll offs on the side of gravel point very near the channel.... BTW, FLW guys were fine....polite, professional, and curteous....Can't say the same about that tool of a local (Does not really matter 'cause I won't be back for a while and the spot he marked is, maybe, the most obvious grub bank in the entire long creek arm of the lake)...

Joe-- To each their own but I think you may be missing out some things, such as the super sensitivity of fluoro. Many of the formulation have changed and you should give some different brands a try. I think you can overcome the cold issue, but there are some things to watch for. For example, most people think fluoro has virtually no stretch, this is not true-it simply stretches differently. It does not stretch like rubber band (mono) it stretches under heavier pressure, elongates, and then stays that length. This is why the line will break easier after you've pulled on a snag. Try some Trilene in the cold and let us know what you think. What Wayne started to elude to is that alot of these lines are different. There are 2 forces (or 2 mind sets) working with fluoro. One is making a very pure, super sensitive fluoro with very high abrasion resistance (this is what initally killed the market until Seaguar came out with its product--they were simply too pure, too stiff, and too expensive). Lines like SunLine Shooter and Toray Super Hard fall into this category. This makes them great for flipping but a nighmare on spinning equipment. Other manufacturers have gone the route of mixing/coating their lines for castability and handling on spinning equipmet. Seaguar has examples of this within their own line and you can actually feel the difference. The Carbon Pro is more pure, feels rough, and is more pure. InvisX feels caoted and is made for smoother handling and better knot strength. Trilene and some others have done a good job with mixing the 2 trying to get the best properties out of the line for all applications. Like many other things, you get what you pay for, although there are some exceptions. The fact is there is not one single line is cure all, just like the other things we fish with. Everything has it own application/s. For example, I have in my arsenal: 6, 10, 12, 15, & 17 lb. Trilene 100% for finesse & bottom applications, 25 lb. InvisX for flipping, 10, 14, and 17 lb Stren Origial green for crankbaits and spinnberbaits, 20 lb. Stren flourescent for night fishing (LOZ), 14, 30, and 50 lb Stren Sonic Braid for drop shot main-line, topwater, and flipping....and thrown in some 6lb. BPS Excel for crappie....

Ditto on the Swimmin Minnow. I dont think anything works better when they are in the creeks......

I have gravitated toward the Trilene 100% Fluoro. One downside is they dont have 1000yd spools...only 200 or 2000. The one thing to remember if you change...Base your applications with your lighter lines on diameter, not strength rating (lb. test). Seaguar has some of the smallest diameter (by the way, that does not mean that it is the strongest)on the market in small tests. For example, I used to use 8lb. Seaguar for many finesse applications (.009 diameter) and I now use 6 lb. Trilene 100% (.010 dia.). THe 8 lb. Trilene is more like Seagaur 10, etc.... 12 is close and by the time you get to 15, the diameters are the same...My one bit of advice...Don't EVER use Berkley Vanish-it will make you cry at some point..To look at some Fluoro studies, check out the following link (this was pre-Trilene 100%). Look for a line with a high tensile strength that handles the way you want. BTW, XPS Fluoro does VERY well in this study.... http://www.tackletour.com/reviewfluorocarbontest.html http://www.tackletour.com/reviewfluorocarbon2.html Here is there line only page as well..Gives some good insight on some of the imports that many people are totally unfamilair with... http://www.tackletour.com/menulines.html

Ditto on the foul-hooking issue (can't keep while sight fishing), but keep an eye out for this...State laws/regulations trump tourney rules and remember that California state regs say that any fish hooked outside the mouth must be returned to the water...Remember Steve Kennedy throwing back fish up to 9+ pounds on Clear Lake that were just BARELY outside the mouth the last time the Elite Series was there. It will be interesting to see if it happens again next month....

We did a mid-March(college spring break) trip from a 16" flat bottom with a 30hp for 6 days. We were able to fish 3 days of the 6 from the 16-footer. We got a 4th day on the water b/c we had a guide. We basically would have been 3 for 6 due to the wind, had we not had the guide...I did whack a 20 lb. bag, on one of the days the wind blew, from behind the dock (not big for Fork) at the campground on a big Rogue, keeping my rod tip high, as it was only about 4' deep...Like Mo Packer siad, there are some sheltered spot in Mustang and a couple of other places. Get a map and look the forcasted wind direction and be careful...When it blows down there, it blows hard...

I've tried most. I like the Lucky Craft replacment trebles, but they are about $1 each and hard to find. Got to where I use them on LC only (D-20 crankbait in particluar. I have settled on the Owner stinger (ST-36)for most others. Size 6 for wiggle warts, size 2 for Spooks, etc. The 2x owner stinger (ST-41) is great for big baits. The 2x owners are heavy like the LC hook, and I like to use for bigger crankbaits...Size 2s for DD-22, LC D-20, Fat Free Shad, etc. I have bought hundreds of triple grips and I think they are OK for smaller baits. My opinion is that the bigger ones have a little too much flex for big biats. Have not tried the new KVD triple grips. The heavier wire and shoter shank may help this issue. The black nickel Mustad round bends are pretty nice as well.

This is the system that I am sold on for drop-shotting..... First, I went with a lighter rod (G Loomis Shakeyhead Rod SHR 821-the lighter one). Spool the reel with Stren Sonic Braid 14 lb. line(3 lb.-ish diameter), then a small black barrel swivel, then approx. 6 feet of 6lb. Trilene 100% Fluoro...I use a 1/4-3/8 oz d-shot weight of some kind and have adopted the Gamakatsu size 1 (usually) EWG worm hook fished weedless regardless of cover. I have found this hook loses fewer big spots than a small nose hooked worm...If you get snagged and break off just grab your spool of fluoro, take about 7 feet off (a little more than a human wing span) and after you tie your knots you have about 6 feet of leader left...The braid does not twist much at all and easily lasts a full season +.

You can basically get away with 2 colors based on water clarity. The White Shad (white w/black splatterback) for clear water and chartreuse perch (chart w/ black splatterback) for dirtier water. That is really all you need but I have caught a bunch of fish on the copper green shad. The 1.5 gets the most bites. The 2.5 and 3.5 are great but remember they are not just bigger but also go deeper. I got a great lesson with these baits drawing Rick Clunn on day 3 of the 2006 Kentucky Lake BASS event (the one Morizo Shimizu won). Clunn threw the White Shad 3.5 most of the day. As a side note, I really like the Lucky Craft BDS 3 in Tenn Shad. It is similar but has an elongated, more-shad like body than any of the RCs or BDS baits.

I tie the improved clinch for mono and fluoro. Check out tackle tour and their flurocarbon showdown part 1 & 2. The palomar usually does not fair as well as some others. I tie the Uni on braid for no slip and a double Uni to connect lines (reel backing to fresh fluoro, etc). Tied the snell for heavy flipping with braid...Lot of practice to get it perfect... Also, this is cool..to learn knots http://www.animatedknots.com/indexfishing.php

Kevin Crane (Crane Taxidermy, who is a friend I have hunted and fished with, in Columbia did these but he is trying to get out of the duck business and concentrate on other things (deer mostly). If you want to see AWESOME taxidermy work, check out birdman studios (.com). I got my poses for both these birds from their website. I have also been told that Brad's Birds in Godfrey, IL is very good...BTW, you think these guys are upset that that I/we hijacked a fishing website...Sorry.... Maybe we can talk about a hunt trade next year...Been wanting to get south (Trock, etc.) to extend the season. Ended early in the middle and north zones this year with the weather. We dont have any big secrets but have some good public water hunts north of you......

Duckdoty... Those Goldeneyes make great mounts (you have any?)Here is my goldeye and bufflehead mounts for the same trip 2 years ago..both from big public water