J-Doc

That last part is hysterical!!!!! Man that's a big mudbug. Cool find.

I don't think anyone "wants" to throw a 5-gallon bucket (a-rig) all day. I know I don't but I have. That's a good price on a Castaway rod by the way. I looked up my rod last night. It's a 7'-11" St Croix Mojo bass with weight capacity up o 2oz. I believe it's the in-shore series. It's an incredible rod and it's a multi purpose rod for me. If just an a-rig rod only, $40-60 is all I would spend. It's only good during winter and certain times. When its good, you can't put it down. When its not, you quickly put it down. Lol!

Springfield has a Sportsman's Warehouse???????? I didn't know that.

I’ll have to look up the model number because I can’t find it online now. I want to say it was a saltwater series in shore rod. It wasn’t “dedicated” to the A-rig. Nothing was at the time I bought it. Everyone was simply finding the biggest rods they could. That’s why I like this one. It’s light enough that you don’t feel like you’re heaving a big catfish rod and still has a good sensitivity to it that you can feel a subtle bite (not that an A-rig bite is ever subtle but can be). I literally run out of line on a good cast. I’m using an Academy Sports Mettle baitcaster and it will out cast my Shimano reels. I bought it because it was cheap and it’s actually become a favorite reel so I bought 4 of them. J

I got my St Croix for around $100 at Bass Pro. And yes Bill. A stump finding bucket at that! Darn things find everything in the lake which is why I use 50lb braid. Just reel down and pull straight back. A strong reel seat is just as important. I pull using the reel too. Less stress on the rod.

I bought a St Croix Mojo bass rod that's 8ft long and handles up to 3oz weights. It's a lightweight pool cue and I can run out of 50lb braid in a cast. It flat launches an a-rig or a deep diving crankbait. It's still sensitive enough to be used as a c-rig rod too. Good for big heavy 1oz football jigs too. Great rod and lightweight considering its backbone strength. Highly recommend it. You definately need a rod that can handle up to 2-3oz min. Take a 1/8oz weight, multiply times 5 (or 3 in your case for MO) then add 1/4oz for the main weight, then add the weight of the plastics and you're around 2.5-3oz easy.

Agree. Loosen drag. Shouldn't break hooks or snap rings. They do pull twice as hard as their size. Which makes them so fun.

Now we're talkin. That's something I have to try again.

There's a good tip. I'm not a fly guy but that sounds like a good strategy and a solid plan.

I haven't fished that Lake yet. Any tips on fees when the office opens etc?I think I'm going to take the kids there soon so I hope it clears up.

Dynamite. :-) In all seriousness, you are not alone. Try rooster tails or small blade baits that resemble the forage. Once they are locked in a a specific target, that's it. Won't bite anything else.

Here are two nice screenshots showing the schools I found. (map has been filtered to protect the inoccent! LOL)

I didn't notice much difference yesterday in water clarity or debris on the upper end around 12 bridge or even Horseshoe Bend. In the past, it takes 1-2 days for the debris fields and muddy water to show up on the upper end of the lake. If they generate a lot at the dam, that really kicks up the speed and increases the amount of silt thus muddier water.

I'd give Wolfe a call. Cabelas is 2-weeks out min. and you have to get on a list or something like that.

Does he still give out suckers and tell you he's prepping for surgery and everything is going to be okay?? He's a crack up!! I like him. Just slower than molasses in Maine in the winter. 1.5hr to 2hr visit min.

I only referred to them as pirates in good fun to paint the image of a smaller vessel chasing a larger vessel. I hope I didn't offend anyone. Don't think I did but you never know. I couldn't tell if they were trolling or what. They did seem to jump right on top of my path I was trolling when I would catch a fish. There's plenty of lake for all of us and they are in a tiny vessel and I'm in a bigger one. I can easily move to another spot however, it did appear they were feeding off of some spots. I could be completely wrong though. It was just my first impression. If you were South of the bridge, you must have seen me make a trolling pass there too. I dropped lines out around Beaver Shores and didn't see anyone else but a party large with swimmers. Literally. There were little to no fish there either.

I like Dr Hull. I should probably go see her again soon.

Wrench will probably thank you. Yes not a Yami fan. Lol Try Wolfe Boat works. However......since you are far away from Wolfe, is there nothing near Eureaka?

You know, live bait in theory seems like a slam dunk. It's not. When they fish take your bait tail first, it doesn't matter that you used a nose rigged circle hook. They just nip it off the hook and say thanks. I've had this happen several times. Ok.....pretty much every time. So much that I'm going to stick with what works for me.

Was that you in the inflatable? You should have spoke up. I saw two guys out there near a path I was going to troll and didn't think I was crowding. If I was, my apologies. I had 3 boats jump right in front of me between me and the islands. If that was you, you're braver than I. The wake traffic is hard on a big boat much less an inflatable. Be carefull out there and carry a flag to wave and a compressed air horn to get their attention. I think I'm going to carry one in the future. Next time you see me, say hi. Or "get out of my spot". :-p

No. These are all I kept. I didn't use a crawler harness. I used live minnows on a split shot rig and this is not the first time they failed me. I only fished from 7-11:30. After messing around the 12 bridge area, I went to an area where I found hundreds of fish earlier in the week but they had gone. So I went back to 12 bridge area and then the boat traffic was getting worse. I left because I had other commitments that afternoon. And it was expected to storm by 1.

Yes they are. I use the Bass Pro brand (Worldwide Sportsman) as it is significantly more affordable and just as good. The pants are co vertible to shorts and the thin material helps breathability and wicking.

What can I say? Gear makes the difference in comfort. When its in the 20's and water temp near freezing, I stay warm which makes me more productive and prevents it from being miserable. And I'm not Ralphie's little brother (A Christmas Story) and can't move because I'm over dressed. I can still move around easy enough. In the summer, I'm not hot, I can fish with 98% humidity and 90-98 degree air temps without sweating a gallon of fluid. Comfort and skin protection are my thing now. I've done it the other way. Fishing without a shirt, sunburn, sweating gallons, etc. No thank you. Dry and not too hot are the way to go.

Yep. I started wearing a Buff mask a couple of years ago and I was amazed that they keep you warm in winter and cool in summer. This new mask kicks things up a notch by feeling like an ice cold rag covering you. Really takes out a lot of the heat. Add in a big Columbia Omni Shade hat (not shown above) and it keeps the sun off of you and helps cool you as well. When I saw landscapers wearing Columbia Omni Shade hat, I knew there was a reason.

First, I have to brag on the new boat. After running a 79 Evinrude with 2-6gal cans for fuel on a little glass boat for several years and then go to a fuel injected fume sipper...........I'm simply amazed at the fuel economy. I ran from Prairie Creek down to Horseshoe Bend area and back at wide open throttle and really didn't notice much difference on my fuel gauge. I had a half tank of gas when I made the run and it was just under half tank when I returned. Simply loving it!!!!! Ok, now for the fishing update. I was following the weather reports and expected 30-40% chance of thunderstorms. Woke up and sky was clear and no rain until 1pm predicted. Great! Thanks weather forcasters. I slept in a little expecting to not even go (I don't play with lightening). So left the house around 6, stopped in at Hook Line & Sinker and got asked for brooders (he gave me crappie minnows instead and I didn't notice till I got to the lake) So I drove out to where I know some whites and other assorted species hang out and dropped two lines with live bait expecting to drift fish. KIcked on the trolling motor ro around .6-.8 mph and no bites for about 30mins. So I tried drop shotting with live bait down directly below the graph. Watched the bait fall right on top of fish. Some fish would swim up and the bait would go crazy. Then nothing. No takers. Sometimes they would get the bait right off of the hook. I had circle hooks so they were biting tail end first and not the hook. The circle hook would have made them hook themselves if they bit aggresively. After that, I got frustrated and started trolling. Fish all over the graph but my baits were just a bit high and above where the strike zone was. So I made a short run and started all over with the live bait after finding brush piles with crappie. Darn bait swam into a brush pile got me hung. I got it un-hung with a bait retriever and moved to another pile. Then I see a white bass boil. Probably 6-8 fish. Kicked the new Minnkota 80lb Fortrex up to "skint-back" speed and motored over to the boil. Threw in a live bait on a split shot rigged circle hook and nothing. Boil died as I got there. Typical...white behavior. Occassional surface attack near boat. I wasn't bothering them. SO I decided to create an advantage and "chumed the water" by throwing a few of the minnows overboard. That worked. THrew into the boil and I got a big white bass. After another 30mins of nothing......back to trolling. Dropped baits, opened the reels and set my course for a trolling run. Once i got out to 30ft depth, I started seeing fish. I got a back to back fish and had 3 in the livewell. Turned around for another pass and got another one. Meanwhile...........a couple of guys in an inflatable dingy with a trolling motor was following me around like Somali pirates. Everytime they see me stand up to reel in what felt like a keeper walleye and resulted in a 16" class white, here they would come on the attack trying to get to the spot where I was catching fish. Not willing to show them what I was doing or where the fish were.......I left. Plus I needed to make a run. I can't sit in one spot too long. I enjoy boating too much! LOL I made my long run to where I had found crappie and hundreds of fish just 2 nights before and they were no longer there. Odd........I know it's Beaver and all but man. That was fast. They moved on to another area awefully fast. Played around there for while, tried flipping jig for a minute and nothing. Started getting hot so made my run back to my productive spot and the "Somali Pirates" were still there. Made a couple of passes and nothing. Motored out to an open area and found more fish. Some were in my depth range with the #9 Flicker Shads and some were deeper than I could reach. I trolled several hundred yards without a bite. End results of the day..... 82-83.5 degree water 12 Bridge Area & Horseshoe Bend Area Live bait (no help for me........fish just were not that interested in them) #9 Flicker Shads in Pearl White & Sexy Shad color on 10lb floroucarbon set back to 160-170ft back (not getting extra depth, just wanted further away from a noisy prop hub) Trolling around 2.6-2.8mph. Slowed down to 2.4-2.5 but did not notice a difference. Seemed like 2.6-2.8 worked better for me. Air temp..........HOT! Humidity..........Rediculous! I recommend covering up with a dry wicking material and splashing on some water to cool off during these dog-days of summer. Oh and I have to give a plug to the new product I'm trying. It's the EnduraCool Towel/mask from Lowes. I saw an infomercial and laughed at it. Saw something like it in Bass Pro Shops and still was not very interested as I use a "Buff" mask typically. I thought "same thing". Well......not quite. The EnduraCool is made to be wet and then "popped". After soaking it in ice cold water from my cooler, then placing it on my head.....its like fishing in the AC. Cools you down and I pretty much do not sweat hardly at all now with moisture wicking clothing and a head buff or now the Endura Cool. Give it a try. I think it's worth it. Yes, I look like either a skin cancer patient to most folks. I pull up to the dock fully covered including fishing gloves like Rick Clunn and people are launching "shoreline erroders" (wake boats) wearing as little as possible and enough sunscreen that I can smell them from 100yrds away. They all look at me like "Who's this guy? "Why is he wearing a mask and long sleeves?" Well yuppie boater...........I'm not sweating. I'm comfortable. And at near 40yrs old, I choose to minimize my freckles and skin cancer chances. Have fun frying your brain and drinking/boating before the lighting show in about 1.5hrs. (yes, I do not like wake boats for many reasons) I must look like a skin cancer paitent to them or I look like a Florida salt water flats fishing guide. LOL! http://www.lowes.com/pd_563706-49433-108008_0__?productId=50159259&Ntt=endura+cool&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dendura%2Bcool&facetInfo= Here are yesterdays (sorry for the late report) victims. And if you see this masked "Ranger" on the lake, wave and say hi. And if you own a wake boat.......DO NOT CROSS IN FRONT OF ME. Had that happen too many times yesterday. Had to honk the horn at one guy 30ft in front of my troll. He just smiled and waved oblivious to what he was doing. (Moron)