J-Doc

Wish we had one like that at Beaver. Sounds like a great club. :-)

LOL!!! I knew it!!! He's a sucker for new baits. :-) I've had a little info on this new line. I'm looking forward to them. And the other versions too. Like them or not the stupid Flicker Shads catch fish but don't cast well at all. But they will catch anything from a small 8" spotted bass to a 40+lb striper. So these should catch fish also. And Strike King makes quality products. I won't say anymore but someone here knows A LOT about these so I'll let him spill the beans if he choses. :-)

Hey I'm happy to share good food. I'm working on a gumbo recipe too. I posted it here last year but I'm tweaking it a but. Crock pot gumbo with seafood. Everyone that's tried it so far likes it. But it needs a little something heavier in the broth.

Here it is. If this sounds like something you would want to try, go for it. Ease up on the amount of seasoning if you don't want it too spicy. Sometimes it can get some heat on it. Lol!! The key ingrediant is some type of crab boil seasoning. I kid you not. I could cut up small chunks of fish and boil it in crab boil seasoning and eat it just like that. Great flavor!!

Digging up an old thread here. The new season has started and this episode will be airing soon. Lake Conway aired this weekend. Really made me want to try it.

Good Lord you've created a monster list!!!

I'll dig it up. :-) I hate to "toot my own horn" but I was so excited that I shared it here. We typically make a trip to south Florida for summer vacation. I tried some blackened grouper while there first year and I've been a crack-addict for blackened grouper ever since and that was about 9yrs ago I think. So last year, I wanted to try my hand at blackend walleye or striper. Made up a recipe and posted it. Now, I can get quality blackened fish from my own lake and not have to wait for my annual trip to Florida. Some places have awesome grouper, some don't. The last place I ate it was so fresh, I think the fish flip flopped on the plate. Straight off the boat. And it was good too! Definitely going back to that place. I'll find it and post it. Maybe F&F can post it as a sticky. Wait.....maybe he did?

Seal sized striper. Lol!! Bet that got your attention. No doubt the browns live that clear water. Green pumpkin jigs crawled slowly on the bottom. Painfully slow. That's what I was told by a very knowledgeable source. Works too. Let it get up against a rock or something and just wave at the fish. They hate it. Kjackson, I've GOT to get you on some walleye with me. And ones that will bite!! With all the stuff you have me, you pretty much wrote your name in the back of my passenger seat. :-) You're welcome anytime. And I promise we will get you fish next trip vs being "Biced". Haha!

I have yet to make the trip to Grand. But the tales I hear make me want to go. Big bass that are relatively easy to catch on crankbaits and such. Maybe I'll go over this spring finally. And Table Rock is a huge lake and it feels as if you could put Beaver inside it. :-) It also has a healthy population of fat spots and some good largemouth. I myself have not caught any there in my two trips to it. But I'm not giving up. It's a hero or zero kind of lake. She can be tough too. Unless you're like Bill Babler who flies like an eagle in his Pheonix and has them jumping in the boat. :-). Yes a guide there and highly recommended if you want Simone that knows that lake. Yes also an OAF member and active on the forum. He knows his stuff! What Champ is saying is correct. There are other lakes within a short drive to be explored. Lots of them actually. For that matter there is Leatherwood. A forgotten little lake in the middle of the Ozarks. Beautiful scenery!! There are also lots of other smaller lakes like Leatherwood that can be played on. Worthy of investigation. Swepco has been a local winter hole due to the power plant generation of warm water and Florida strained bass. Lits of Beaver guys drive over there because fishing for bass in winter is much easier over therebthsn it is on Beaver. The Bella Vista lakes are good also. If you lived in Bella Vista. This really is a great area to live in for fishing because there are lots and lots of places to go within a reasonable drive. I'm from south Arkansas originally. Nearest big body of water worth trailering to was about 2hrs. And down there, a Jon boat and 10-20hp motor is all one needs. So I've seen the alternative. Thus why I love it up here. :-) Lots of options. Also lots of knowledge here and in other forums on this site. The amount of fishing knowledge here astounds me. Some of these guys are so much better than I could ever dream of being.

Yep. They've been in that area for a while. Sounds like they moved down river as they were further south last Thursday. This cold front must have pushed them back a bit. Odd..... Birds are a sure sign "you need to fish there". I was bass fishing Thursday and there was someone already on the school with birds so I didn't want to jump in the middle of it. Or I probably would have tried for a few stripers. One thing is for sure, spook the birds and you'll spook the school and then you're done. Congrats on the striper. I posted a tasty blackened fish recipe here a while back. Blackened striper is as good as if gets.

This thread has certainly been entertaining. Between it and the "Ned thread". I've been reading tons of info while sick at home with a sinus infection. Yuck! The amount of knowledge on the OAF site and how easily it is shared is unreal. Everyone deserves a pat on the back and an "atta-boy" for sharing so openly. Kudos to all. Champ I'll take those crappie off your hands if they are going to upset you so much. Lol! ;-)

And War Eagle spinnerbait. Don't fight it. Just throw it. I've tried almost all brands. They only support local business and want a War Eagle. :-) I usually use a matching grub for a trailer. But those little Keitechs might find themselves as a trailer this year. Those are a hot little bait on this lake. Some of my best fish have been in the spring on a spinnerbait. Love flinging that thing! I usually work mine back to the boat vs a cast retrieve. I make it look paranoid and trying to flee. That gets me more bites.

I'll say this.... Recently I have found fish and dropped a spoon on them. They will only get interested in the spoon if I work it hard and start reeling it in really quick. Water is 46-47 mind you. The fish will rocket up to the spoon on my graph. I slow down to give them a chance to bite it and my body gets tensed up for the strike like a boy about to get his first kiss. Then.......nothing. the fish swim back down. I've got a few new ideas on how to solve this issue and start catching them. Point is, don't give up. Figure them out. It's a challange and that makes it fun. If one can fish this lake and master it, they should be able to fish most lakes. The tricks and tactics applied here should apply to many other lakes. I had the same thing happen to me on Lake Ouchita just a few weeks ago. So I'm on a mission to figure it out. Once I do, I bet I can catch fish almost at will on a spoon. Notice I said......"almost". Lol!! I gotta hand it to Champ though. The man can catch some fish on Table Rock. And his wife is a jig whisperer. I myself suck on a bass jig but I love the darn thing. Jolicious is also a jig master. But can't explain what he does. His is all instinct. I'm too technical with it I guess. I can catch them on a jig but few and far between. Donna is like every trip out!! Lol So techniques that work for you is what you can rely on but learning new ones is awefully fun. I fish from the front of the boat more than I troll. Trolling is how I find them. Then I dropping the trolling motor and attempt to grow as an angler and hone my abilities. There are MANY here who can out fish me and even from my own boat too!! But I enjoy learning from them. :-)

Impossible? Heck no. Tough? Hahahahahahahahaahaha!!! All the way to the bank bud. And not the shoreline type either. I've been fishing this lake for bass for almost 10yrs now. Just the occassional weekend trip. There are things I've learned, baits that never work, baits that almost always work, and baits that I'm surprised catch fish. It's not a paradise. But it is a nice lake with tons of fish. Thing is, it's hard to get a pattern because patterns change almost on the hour depending on weather. One thing is constant. Wind. The more there is, the better the fishing. Really turns them on. But it's harder to fish a main lake point with 25-30mph gusts. Those that can, catch big sacks. Champ has given up on Beaver after many many trips to her. She's not been a nice gal to him. Heck sh hasn't been nice to most of us but when you roll up your sleeves, start watching your graph, learn more about the lake and it's history, things start coming together. Let me know when you get here. I'll be glad to give you a tour.

That's my boy!!! Lol

Little more than a Wal-Mart!! Lol. That's funny. I don't blame her. That are of the country is spectacular but you have to live like a hermit. Talk about a humbling lake..... I heard Bull Shoals can be even harder on you than Beaver. Fish there only bite on a certain line, certain colors etc.

There are more bass in that lake than you could count. Lots of them. It's taking 16+ to win a tournament right now. The challenge is learning how to catch them. About 95-98% are bank anglers and never fish offshore structure. I myself cannot catch a 16lb bag if I tried. That's not to say it's impossible. It's not. Because people are doing it every week in the winter series and last year it was 20lbs. There are probably more spotted bass in that lake than there is bait. And the bait population is crazy strong right now. So much that the AR Game & Fish are monitoring and tracking. We had a lot last year and again this year. Should see bass weights going up in the spring. Crappie fishing is excellent. Lots and lots of crappie. Stripers like crappie and other forage but mainly gizzard shad. The larger bass are often found where the stripers are roaming around in open water chasing the same gizzard shad. Walleye fishing is really turning on and it's no longer a secret. Now lots of people are catching them. Mostly bass anglers beating the shore with jerkbaits and swimbaits looking for bass. That's how I was introduced to them. It was aggregating too. Then I finally cooked one and now I target them often. I watched every boat I saw last Thursday fishing the Polar Bear Tournament and they all fished the bank somewhere. I was out in the middle of the cove and fishing a specific spot (offshore structure) which is a style of fishing that's not for everyone. Saw several fish on the graph but never got the bite I wanted vs the other guys trolling 1 mile of shore line before racing to another area because they didn't get a bite. Point is, the fish are there, you just have to learn how to catch them. And that...........IS Beaver Lake. The most humbling place on the White River chain. It's a mystery and once it's solved, a whole new world opens up. I myself am just peaking into the Pandoras box but plan on opening it fully in the coming years. I have logged sonar this winter and recorded new maps of areas I had no idea existed. And I understand now why they are so good. Now I want to find more of these magic areas and study it to learn why and how to catch better bass. The fish are there and lots of them. They just are not usually in 10ft of water or less. Not to say they don't, that's silly. But the big ones......well they are like unicorns here. You have to hunt them down.

Next time you throw the spoon, just hop it off the bottom about 6" max. When they are deep that is. In the dead of winter in 34 degree water, they will bite it if you irritate them enough. Sometimes you have to change to a smaller spoon too. The green ones for seem to like the War Eagle I'm told. Must be supporting local business. :-)

Hybrids on 8 and 9ft B&M crappie poles with 6lb test. That's about what that's going to feel like. And it's a hoot!! Pulling drag like baby Tarpon. I have not tried the float and fly. I just don't know if I have the patience for it but the rewards are big.

I was so reminded of this clip. Too funny to not share as it's meant with good humor purposes. It is one of my all time favorite scenes. Jackie Gleason was a genious. Now.... Smokey and the Bandit (10/10) Movie CLIP - Bye By:

Well I'll be...... Must have some correlation to the Cowboys winning too. :-p

How long do you wait between checks? And is the thing free falling? And does it have action just sitting on the bottom? If there is no action, I don't see how this thing will work to attract attention. Just sitting there on the bottom. It needs to give off some sort of vibration on the way down and the wiggle or so.etching once there.

I'm like QB. I'm a "feel guy" too. Lol But I'll have to give this more effort.

Yep. They all pretty much covered it. The 412 area fishes like a river. Because it is a river. The mid lake area between Hickory to Rocky Branch is a best of both worlds scenario which is why it's where I stay. Rarely do I venture up near the dam or past Clifty area. Rogers is a good mid location and there are lots of property out by the lake. When it snows in winter, they shut the roads down for a while so there is that to deal with. Rogers is close enough to lots of things to do and places, shops, malls, food, etc. And there is the very popular Crystal Bridges Museum that rotates installations regularly. Now I'm no museum guy but.......this is a really cool place to visit. It's got something for all ages and some priceless artwork. If you like architecture, there is one of the Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian houses being relocated to the museum grounds as well. That should be completed in the summer. Welcome read the fishing reports from years back as well as some of the history and fish facts above in the sticky section of this forum. If you need a realtor, I know someone.

I don't. But I know a guy. And a Lady that used to build houses in Tue area and lived on the lake. I hear it's gorgeous. I've seenn it once. Looked pretty cool to me almost 13yrs ago.