Whack'emGood

I agree 100%.

I know some guys like to fish around lighted docks for the very reason you mentioned (and do well)-- but I don't really do that. I have certainly caught some nice fish near lighted docks, but most of the fish I target and catch aren't even near docks. Try bluffends, secondary points, humps, brushpiles, standing timber, and mixed chunk rock banks near deeper water. During the Spring and Fall, the fish don't really move up (so to speak) at night because they are already relatively shallow during the day. During the Summer, when the fish are deep during the day, they will move up at night to feed. When they move up at night during the Summer, the shallower depth that they move to will be relative-- they may move all the way to less than 10 feet, or they may move from really deep up to 25 feet deep-- shallow on Table Rock is a relative term. They primarily feed on crawdads during the Summer at night-- but will also eat bluegill or baitfish if they can get it. Crawdad imitation baits (jigs, plastic worms) and black single-spin colorado blade spinnerbaits are great at night. Fish dark colors. Hope this helps. Whack'em

1. Smallmouth Bass 2. White Bass 3. Spotted Bass 4. Largemouth Bass I don't have much experience with Hybrid Whites or Stripers but I know they fight great. My .02. Whack'em

I want to clarify that I, personally, do not agree with the fellow that said you were lying. I said it was an oddity that they were TR rookies (so to speak) and caught such huge fish fishing "wherever they were" because they were lost. It is not easy to catch one 5+ pounder, much less two-- escpecially when you don't know where you are, and are limited to where you can fish because you are lost. Glad to hear that they survived the evening and made it back home in the end. I wish they wouldn't have kept (especially) those two trophy fish, but that's another matter altogether-- legal is legal, and to each his own. Your story was certainly an unlikely and remarkable story, but I do not think a lie. Whodat seems to like to stir the pot regularly-- don't mind him. Whack'em

This time of year, fish the same areas at night that you find them during the day. If it happens to be near a lighted dock, then so be it. They won't really move (relatively) up much at night this time of year because they are already up-- if you know what I mean. Good luck. Whack'em

Why?

Saturday evening we put in at Mill Creek to practice for our upcoming first night tourney this Friday. We tried crankbaits before dark, but there is just too much moss to fish them effectively. We also threw grubs until our arms just about fell of with zero bites. We switched to the jig and started catching some. We caught alot of little males with a few decent female keepers mixed in-- then just after dark, I caught a big one- 6.83 lbs weighed on a dependable scale. She wasn't (relatively) very long, but grotesquely fat and (obviously) full of eggs. I wish I would have had my camera-- she was a beautiful fish. We also had a KY that went about 3lbs, and some decent 2.5lb fish also. Our best 5 would have went around 17-18 lbs. We didn't exactly tear them up, but that big one really helped. All fish were released unharmed. Water temps from K.C. to up past Baxter: 50-53. Depths: 5-20 ft. The color of the jig was green pumpkin. Hope this helps someone. Whack'em

This whole thread is odd to me... not to mention disturbing.

You know what cracks me up? Whenever something happens (no matter what it is), there is always a bunch of guys saying "Whats next? They're gonna go to this extreme or that extreme next!!!" and "Next thing you know, they're gonna do this or that!!" Guys say things like this-- when the facts are that just the one thing is actually happening. Anybody can imagine a step (or 20 steps) further in their minds, but the truth is that this is just one little step. The bottom line of all of this is-- 1. Lure companies will have developed workable and affordable alternatives by the time we need them. 2. They're not going to outlaw all fishing. 3. The sun will come up on the lake tomorrow (and the next day, and the next day, etc.). This new law, which is good for the environment in which I live and fish (that is a good thing), is not going to make me lose one second of sleep. Whack'em

What does the lead ban have to do with courtesy docks? I have been out of town for a few days... did I miss something? Whack'em

Exactly Chief. A guy could go on all day with that reasoning eh?

Yes-- so does crude oil and natural gas... but that doesn't make these things safe for humans or animals to ingest.

I'll bet we would be surprised how many tackle companies are currently engineering alternatives to lead tackle. You can be sure that they knew about these regulations long before we did, and are working on workable and affordable alternatives and have been for quite awhile. It sucks... but I agree with Al in that I can kind of see where they are coming from. I like birds, and there is nothing wrong with helping the outdoors in which we all love to spend our time. We will soon have the tools we need to comply... it will be okay. Whack'em

Thanks guys. It is very much appreciated, as always. Whack'em

I wonder why they would be charging so much more for one with a trolling motor mount transducer? I don't know about Lowrance, but my Humminbird came with the standard transom mount transducer and I exchanged it for a trolling motor (puck) transducer. Humminbird exchanged it for free... all I had to do was ship it to them. Whack'em P.S. Adamarnold-- I have the 585c and I really like it... I think you will too.

Thanks Bill. Sounds easy to me! Whack'em

Thanks for the report Bill. Congrats on a great day. Love those types of days! If you don't mind sharing just one more little morsel of info... How long were you pausing the sticks? Is it still a very slow bite where you have to basically deadstick it or can you kind of keep it coming? I am not a very good stickbait fisher... I need all the help I can get! Thanks again! Whack'em

I agree with Techo in that I like weather.com, but I like Weather Underground (wunderground.com) better, IMO. It breaks down the day into segments as far as temperature, wind speed and direction, and cloud cover and precipitation like weather.com does. Pretty accurate too... relatively that is. Those two and also noaa.gov are all good IMO. My .02. Whack'em

All I need is a cell phone and a weather radio. Worst case... on TR you are always close to homes. If you get into trouble you can get help quickly. Whack'em

You drew "The Squirrel" eh? He seems to be a really good guy with lots of personality... Oh, did I mention he can really catch'em? Should be fun!

I will third that. You can't go wrong.

Hey Coyote... was that creek full of "Brown Trout?"

Maybe.....

There is a spot on Stockton that we have fished for years and years. It is adjacent to a campground and, more specifically, a campground restroom house... thus, my grandpa named it "The Crapper" and then it evolved into the "Crap Hole." It has even been referred to as variations of those two names that involve a harsher word for Crap. Some of our others include: Fungus Point, Knife Rock, Rooster, Cedar Alley, The Stob, The Stickup, Hot Hole, Blue Hole, The Lighthouse, The Pigpen, Hawg Heaven, Brownie Point, The Forest, The Road, and The Craw-- just to name a few. I aint tellin ya where they are though! Fun topic Denjac. Whack'em

I know I really appreciate the accuracy and honesty (good or bad) in your reports Bill. A BS or embellished post full of misinformation would be counterproductive. I know when I read a report from you, Bill, that I can take it word for word straight to the bank (so to speak). You will never truly know how much the vast majority of us appreciate your tips, info, and reports. Thanks. Hey Techo-- me and dad have one spot that we call "Lookout." It was a spot that we found on the map that we had never fished before and wanted to try. We were night fishing and it was very dark with no moon. Long story short... dad was driving the boat, got disoriented, didn't realize that we had already arrived, and almost run us right up onto the bank getting to the spot. I yelled "lookout!" and he got it shut down just in time (I still don't know how)... hence the name of the spot. Whack'em