J-Doc

I may have been. Red Ranger RT188 (aluminum). I was there around 7:30 and watched Stetson Blaylock fish one of the spots I wanted to check. I think around 7:40 I went into Coose. Fished there a while and then came back around 8. I was on the backside of Deer Island and was tying on live bait while the wind pushed me and I looked up and a deep V trolled right in front of me. I was just drifting and looked up and there they were. Right on top of me. I jumped up to try and get out of the way with the trolling motor. The live bait was striper minnows (brooders). I picked up a pound of them Friday evening at HLS and I still have about a dozen of them for the next trip. Simple rig. Live bait on a 1/0 circle hook with a split shot weight about 18"-24" above the hook. Let out about 80-100ft of line. Boat drifts on a contour and catch fish. Simple. Now my quest is....... What artificial baits will they actually bite doing the same thing (drifting with very little trolling motor use). You have to cast with the wind when it's blowing 20-30mph. Even an A-rig doesn't like casting into that much wind. So there are a host of bait presentations that you can fish deep but the question is, will they actually bite them? Deep diving cranks, weighted flukes, c-rigs, etc. etc. The list goes on and on. There are literally entire threads that could be dedicated to "what would work" but only trial and error will tell for sure. My point was......... Fish offshore as I've been saying. All the little ones live up in the brush piles and banks. The bigger ones are roaming deeper. You can use a heavier jig head if you want it to get down to 20ft quickly. You just have to reel it faster with a hi speed reel. Would it work effectively? I don't know. Could. Depends on the conditions. Just have to try and see. How the bait is presented and what angle of approach the bait comes from is far more critical on this lake (I'm told). I cannot say from personal experience yet but it sounds logical and aligns with other things I've read. Whether it's true or not.......I cannot say from first hand experience yet. YET......being key. Learning this lake is an ongoing pursuit. I welcome the challenge vs. running NORTH across the border as so many do.

It's on my list. But I was thinking about bait presentation more so than boat control.

This is my new quest. How do you fish deep effectively when the wind is pushing you so hard you might as well be sailing. I've got some ideas. Several presentations could work. Just depends on if the fish are in the mood to bite. And if wave/wake boats are around. They shut off a bite like a switch.

The Keitech is a very effective bait. Placed in the wrong hands and it will put a whooping on you. :-) YAKFM met me at the 12 bridge ramp and I've seen what he can do with a Keitech many times. Must be something about the retrieve and feeling the bite. Sometimes they hit it on the fall. Sometimes they freight train wreck it and sometimes they just inhale and swim with it. I've got several colors and sizes and I now have a Keitech box just for these baits. Totally agree on the glue. Krazy Glue gel works best for me. I use it for the Ned also. Glad you were able to catch some. I enjoy bass fishing but I enjoy blackened striped even better. :-)

All the fish I caught Friday were chasing shad. I think the mid-lake to upper lake feeds primarily on shad but a crawfish diet is also sustaining. I think the river end on the lower end of the lake is primarily crawfish and baitfish such as sunperch and such. I could be completely wrong in all this. Just a hunch...... I did manage to catch just over 9lbs myself Saturday but it took a while. The first bass was on a Ned rig. Took me 7 times to get him in the boat. He would hang on to the tail end and let go halfway to the boat. So the 7th time I let him munch on it and munch on it until he took off swimming with it and I got lucky. I was determined to catch him after 6 tries. The rod was bent literally 6 times so I know he had it. Now here's the thing.... The quality bass I caught were on underwater points about 20-30ft deep and suspended around 3-5ft off the bottom. They were stacked up pretty good but the wind was pushing my boat just over 1mph with no trolling motor. Just the waves and wind. When I turned back into the wind with the big motor on, I was moving about 1.8mph and I typically run 2.6mph at idle. So the 20-30mph winds were key it seems. The waves were pushing them up on this flat between underwater points and they were aggressive. At the time, I was trolling for stripers with live bait. And 1mph seemed to be the speed they wanted it. My rod went screaming and before I could get comfortable fighting what I thought was a good striper, the other rod bent back and I had a double. One was a 2-1/2lb largemouth and the other was a 2lb smallmouth. On another pass, I got two stripers. Then another good 2lb+ smallmouth. All 5 fish hit the bait hard. It was like watching an episode of Wicked Tuna. Lines started screaming and I was excited running to the line. :-) I would have caught more but when I tried to make a sharp turn in the wind, the line got wrapped around the boat prop (even with the motor off, wind was pushing so hard the prop turned) so I had to dig out line from my prop. IN THE WIND. Which wasn't fun. After that, I decided I'd been out long enough. Although I know I could have caught more. So the moral of this tale is..........larger fish hang out deeper and run with stripers. Chasing bait. I spoke with Scott Martin yesterday and showed him the pics below and he also found that too late in the tournament that fish were schooling underwater and out over deeper points chasing bait. Where most folks don't want to fish. It's hard and takes tons of patience not knowing what you're throwing too, or what's going on underwater. Its like fishing blind. But once you learn how to do it (I'm still learning and still a beginner myself) I suspect it will be much easier and be far more productive on this lake. Funny thing is, they would bite every time when I passed the underwater point. Double hook ups are fun. Oh........ And that 2.5lb largemouth went home with me. HE GOT FILLETED! (He had weird black spots on him. He needed to be culled) Smallmouth Smallmouth Spotted largemouth (black spots....genetic thing?) Happy livewell (I'm happy, they aren't) Pre-spawn Kentucky (1.71lbs) - Yakfm was a witness to the weight of this little gal. She was about 14" (+/-) and on a wind swept point.

Welcome to the dark side. Lol!

I was escaping the terrible wind early Saturday mor ing and ducked into a cove I'd hadn't fished in years. Found an ideal transition between rock and gravel with a good drop off next to a dock. If a bass wasn't in there I'd eat my own shorts. :-). It was perfect for a Ned or a jig. So I pitched the Ned in there quietly. Waited. Shook it just slightly to feel for weight then stopped and dead stick it some more. About 1min later I felt a few ticks. I tried to set the hook as I had slack line in my other hand feeling for the ticks and I he him halfway to the boat and he let go. This happened about 6 more times. He would let go after he felt me pulling him. The Zman was taking a beating. The 7th time I finally got a hook in his mouth and he made it I'm the boat. Soon as he was in the boat the hook came unbuttoned. I put him in the live well for a few hours as a timeout for bad behavior. :-) Dave is correct. Can't fish it slow enough. The more I fish it, the more I learn to stop feeling for weight, stop feeling the bait, stop putting action on it. Had I just left it there, I may have gotten that bass the first time. I felt him nibble it and let go, nibble and let go numerous times before setting the hook the third time.

Welcome! It's amazing how differently an Ozark lake fishes from a shallow muddy water lake. Had that experience myself recently.

I'm becoming so confident in the Ned that I find it hard to put down. I will definitely have guests use it who don't get to fish much. It just catches fish. Slow is not that slow when you're catching fish. :-) I fished cover yesterday and when I thought I needed to recast, I started reeling it in and a nice spot nailed it on the way to the boat. He had been watching I and when it took off, he said "Stop!" :-)

Give me a shout before next trip and I'll hel you plan ahead. ;-) You tried some good areas. But you were close to better areas.

Hey good luck. The lake has been hit up with dual tournaments this weekend and a tournaments previous to that. If you're looking for bass, look for them on main lake around 15-30ft. Wind is good. Look for underwater points and where bass would be feeding. I was striker fishing yesterday and ended up with more good bass than stripers. Wind was howling and pushing my boat over 1mph with just the wind. Evidently it the bite turned on later in the day.

I wonder if the two nice smallmouth I released there yesterday are about to become famous. Lol!

Most of the big fish hang with the other big fish. I saw it again yesterday. I'll post a report later. I was striper fishing and caught 3 good fish these guys would have loved to have in their livewells this week. Everyone hates on the stripers but they need to start following them if they want bigger bass.

Saw a skiboat trailer back down in a hurry and completely jacknife the trailer. Then he pulled up and then backed down diagonally straddling the two ramps. Evidently he was mas well before all this occured. I had to laugh. :-)

I have not but I'm tempted. I pulled a fully intact craw out of a striper stomach last summer. Must have eaten it just prior to getting caught. Good color indicator and size of Beaver Lake crass. I was surprised to see it there but then I remembered tarpon love crabs. So I could see striper eating craws.

I just wish there was documented proof on why bass is mediocre. And proof on what stripers actually eat and how much. Based on this lake. Not others. As for the FLW gang......I hope they catch em'. Of not, stop complaining and lick your wounds so it makes you better and stronger. Don't be "James Watson" with a sourpuss attitude.

I didn't see a list of lakes.

^^ Bahahahahahahahaa!!!!!!!

Both I think. Bait, lower visibility, pre and post frontal condition. F&F and I fished last Sumner. Not a bite on a glass pond in Rocky Branch. Wind kicked up.....bam. Fish. I guess I don't take it personal per say but I get very defensive over Beaver because I love the lake, I know it has more potential, but people don't understand it and the added pressure just makes it a super tough lake to fish. It's not impossible. It is just hard fishing. Those that do really well on it every trip......they understand it. I once read a comment where someone said once they learned that you have to present the bait in the exact angle and the exact direction that the fish want it, they won't bite. Once you find that angle, you will slay them. That is true on many lakes. The comment that was made was very specific to Beaver. The guy said once he learned this, he started winning tournaments. Beaver is a big 30k acre puzzle that changes hourly. When you learn it, in theory you should learn a ton that could apply to many lakes I assume. I myself am still in 2nd year classes. I hope to work my way up to 4th year and graduate one day. :-)

That's just it. Finding them. If you graph them on side scan, you might locate them. Getting them to bite is tough. I've been seeing a lot more of the lake I never knew existed thanks to trolling offshore structure. I see lots of fish where I would have never fished. Some of my honey holes are no where near where bass anglers would fish. And it holds bass. I'm just usually looking for summer walleye or crappie at the time. But I may have to start catching these bass and start posting pics. For the fun of it. :-)

Okay so call me dumb but..... I told him if he ever caught another one, I wanted to try it. I've heard they are great but I caught a big one two years ago and I couldn't bring myself to eat it after I cleaned it. It's like cleaning a dinosaur. Lol!! I have to say......it was good. Didn't disappoint. And I'm picky. Tastes like chicken, mild steak, and a hint of some type of seafood. All mixed together. Sounds odd. Tastes good. But you're thinking "what am I eating??". It IS MYSTERY MEAT. LOL!!!!

I've seen beds on ledges in 15-20ft before. Last year, weather was crazy and bass spawned in March/April regardless of water temp being low. I learned then, fish know when it's time they are going to do their thing when it's time regardless of what we think we know. The more I fish the more I learn I don't know what I thought I knew. I also learned when I read in articles and magazines it usually doesn't align with what I see in the field from this lake in particular. A) this lake is different B no one really knows if barometric pressure affects fish scientifically, if fish feel pain, if fish have long term memories, etc. It's all theory based. Just like it's theory that stripers eat bass. I once held this same exact theory till I read some info on it where studies were done. I also dont feel they do based on what I've learned about stripers. They want soft spined baits, not a hard spine bait. That's why they love suckers. And.....research was done showing strikers eat shad as their primary good source. Something like 88% or something like that. Some folks passionately feel stipers hurt the lake. They may have but I don't know how they have and I don't have any proof that they have or have not. Neither does the neysayers. No proof exists. Yet. Only the AGFC scientists and biologists know for sure based on sampling and studies. I'd love to know the results of those studies. As for bass behaviour..... They are odd. Patterns change and when you have a lake that has weekly tournaments in large masses, it's going to force fish off the banks and off normal patterns. (Again my theory and opinion). I see tons of fish on sonar. I fish for them. I don't always catch them. It's frustrating. I know they are there. I can see them clearly. Beaver is full of finoky bass and I suspect, it's due to the pressure and boat traffic. It's a challenge. I like a challenge. I also feel I learn more here than I would elsewhere. I also like driving 15mins to the lake vs 1.5hrs or even 45mins to 1hr up north. I will one day. When I have time. But I don't always have that time.

If they'd throw it off the bank, follow the stripers, they might. :-). The bigger bass roam around with the stripers eating same food source. (My theory anyway) My best bass on Beaver have been trolling over 40ft of water and fishing live bait at night for crappie.

I just think the lake is a better bass lake than people think and it gets insulted because people can't learn to fish offshore structure. I'm not a great bass angler. So I discredit myself and cannot show proof or personal documentation but I have personally seen several 6-7lb fish caught recently and in recent years. There plenty of them but they are very hard to catch. The fishing pressure has to have a very negative impact on this lake. I don't have proof of it but my gut tells me it does as much as other's instincts blame stripers as the reason. Funny thing is, stripers exist in some of the top big bass lakes in the country so in my mind, they are not the reason. I used to think this but I'm thinking it's other things. I'll keep fishing Beaver and I love the lake. I call it home.

Yep. The fish and excuses being weighed in is terrible. It's sad. I know the lake is healthy and has far more potential. I like the upside down theory. Reflects what I've seen. And it doesn't fish like other lakes because of all the tournament pressure and weekend pressure (like myself) that it receives. That lake has a bait thrown in it or at the very least has a line with bait I'm 365 at every hour of the day. And I'd say 99% of it is with artificial lures.