J-Doc

No, it's the opposite. We need kids to be involved and share the passion/sport but......with proper mentors and guidance. Sounds like most of the younger anglers did not get any guidance and discovered the love for fishing later in life and simply got caught in the hype and competative nature. I won't mention any member names here but man..........you're starting to sound a lot like someone we all know. LOL!

Saw this and wanted to post this as a reminder. I'm 99% sure most folks here use good sense and judgement and exercise good safety practices but even the best most concious angler can make a mistake. NO ONE is perfect. That's why they are called "accidents"..... http://fishing.scout.com/story/1396512-a-tragedy-slows-even-the-gung-ho?s=197#/story/1396512-a-tragedy-slows-even-the-gung-ho?s=197 Use good judgement, be on the cautious side and respect your fellow boaters. Give the guys in smaller boats the right of way (under power or simply fishing), respect each other and respect the other angler's distance (popular topic lately) and for Pete sake...........wear a life jacket when on plane and at the very LEAST.......use a kill switch! I won't mention any names here publically....but you know who you are! :-)

To all the striper haters (I was one once), see link below. Granted this is a special condition where fish are heavily fed and managed weekly, the point is, stripers focus on smaller forage such as gizard shad and threadfins more so than the 12" spot or largemouth. This guy added muskie to help control the smaller bass population. Yep, muskie, whites, largemouth, and walleye all living in harmony with bluegill and catfish. When an abundant food source thrives, the entire system thrives. http://www.wired2fish.com/building-a-private-dream-fishing-lake/

I would be lucky to simply putt after 27 holes!! Lol!! I can barely make 18.these says. My swing is "mush" after about hole 14-15.

I second that. I'd love to see the footage of OldPlug teaching the young one how to respect his peers. :-)

Cool report! Nice striper too! Man, that would make a lot of gumbo, blackend striper, fried striper, etc!! Man I'm going to have to thaw out some and cook now. Lol

Before I go experimenting, I'd like to take a test sample of such a sauce. Save me a cup full or something so next time I drop by, you can shoe me your skills. Lol

Sounds like a real jerk to me. Nice smallies!!! I always try to respect the guys in kayaks and canoes whether they are fishing for just out for a ride. I try not to wake them or disturb their form of entertsinment. I remember being in a narrow 10ft Jon and it was not the most stable and the wake boats using the slalom in Van Winkle with no regards to me trying to fish the back of Van Winkle. From then on, I've hated wakers and always respect the little guy. I see lots of kayakers out early for a nice stroll across the lake. I try to give them plenty of space and as little wake as possible. That guy was obviously trying to chase you out of what he felt was his spot. Nothing short of being pure a-hole. You can't do anything really and he knows that. Kayak or not, there really wasn't anything you could do short of something that would not put you in jail. :-)

I just need to witness said 60 so I can back it up. :-). Otherwise, the ole fisherman's fallback story "he was this big!" applies. Lol

Totally agree. Which is why I use a spinning rod. I would like to develope my baitcasting skills though.

So you caught 6 then. :-)

Cool report! Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a good afternoon and the weather was great!

Awesome!!! Thanks for the report! My new alum. boat on order can't get here fast enough now. Lol. Ready to take the whole family for a fishing trip for panfish.

My experience at both Elmdale and Lake Ft. Smith was quite different last year. Now that i have a new boat on order, I may give them both another try. I found a ton of crappie on Lake Ft. Smith but they wouldn't bite. All shorts too. I also read that there was a case of mercury poisoning in those fish so I wouldn't recommend eating very many. The AGFC website also has more information on that lake about the poisoning. So beware. As for Elmdale, it's got more pressure on it than Beaver. I saw about 6-8 guys crammed into a bass boat and about 10-12 other boats. I swear I think they use a cast net there. With the new boat, I will have side imaging and I can scan around and get an idea of the lake better. Will do the same thing for Lake Ft. Smith. I plan on renting a cabin down there for the weekend and just having myself a "man-retreat". It truely is a nice place and peacefull. Having the big 115 on that little lake will make me feel like a jet boat!!! lol

Thank you Jon for posting here. We really appreciate your participation and your work. Are there abundant and healthy populations of bluegills in these smaller lakes? My fear is that people are fishing them out as fast as you put them in. I have been on a few of these lakes and the population seems to be hurting.

Sounds like fun. I've thrown the Ned once. Hung up a lot and I grew impatient. Went back to jerkbait. Will want to pick it up again soonthough.

I thought I had posted photos of the Ranger console as a comparison. My apologies. Here is a photo comparison of the Ranger vs. the Lowe. I'm 5'-7" tall so I held the phone at my face at eye-level so you can see what I see from my perspective. I think the comparison is accurate. I know the Ranger seats feel much firmer and more confortable than the Lowe also. I'm sitting in a Ranger RT178c and a Lowe Stinger 195 Ranger Lowe

No, War Eagle was never in the running. :-)

Here's an update for any potential new boat buyers. Particularly to elaborate more about my earlier ergonomics comments about the Merc controls being umcomfortable. I have a video below that I made sitting in a new Lowe Stinger 195 (not the Ranger but clearly the exact same issue). I sat in a new Ranger after this vid and it was the exact same thing. I even sat in one with an Evinrude E-Tec and same issue so it's not specific to a Mercury motor. It's the same feel and odd configuration with either motor Merch or Rude. I don't blame the boat manufacturer either. It's the flush mount controls vs. the old school box. The flush mount control arm is angled outwards toward the driver. Old school control box is straight up and down. Either control, it's mounted a bit lower than what I'm currently used too. I think the video explains it and speaks for itself. NOTE: I was sitting comfortably in the vid. If I move my leg over to allow room for the control, it felt awkward like I was not sitting forward but more at an akward angle. http://youtu.be/FypooJT_XIY Now, here are some photos of the Lowe Stinger 195. This thread is about the Ranger test ride but for anyone considering a Lowe..........DON'T. Unless you're as big as the Jack Links Sasquatch and want a steering wheel that's at a strange 40-45 degree angle and a cheap plastic steering wheel with a soft composite plastic overlaid on a thing fiberglass console supported by an aluminum bracing support (or strut). This is at my eye-level looking at the console. I can't even read the in-dash fish finder! Same eye-level shot but looking forward. Not only is the console far away for me (being only 5'-7" tall) but the steering wheel feels like you're driving a Freightliner truck because of the odd angle. The Lowe a GREAT storage layout. Two large rod lockers with enough room to hide a 5gal bucket and a full sized livewell in the front and a big open storage container that extends towards the front of the boat a ways. Awesome storage per cubic foot on the front of the deck. Rear storage is a bit smaller but typical for aluminum boat. The Ranger has the largest of rear storage from every manufacturer I have seen so far which includes Tracker, Lowe, Alumacraft, War Eagle, G3, and Crestliner. Here is a shot of the storage on a Lowe below the seats. Not water tight for sure. These boats sit outside without a cover. Here's a disappointing shot of the hull. It's a slightly modified flat bottom jon boat in my opinion. The angle is only about 7-8 degrees slope from being flat. The Ranger has far more slope and a deeper V shape which will allow a better ride in rough water.

A Shoreline on Beaver? LOL!! (think dislexia fellas)

THat's a bit surprising. Wamer than I expected and surprised fish are just moving up. I hear it's warm next week. That should finally kick ole mother nature in the teeth and turn loose of those hungry fishies!! :-)

You can forget Fayetteville. I trolled that entire lake fishing over hot spots and using a contour map with 1ft intervals. I combed over that place pretty carefully and checked for small gamefish for the same reasons (taking the family) and that lake has been fished out really hard by people using nets. I've fished that lake many times in years past and there was a healthy fish population. What I saw last summer made me never want to go back. Water was terribly stained and super green. No game fish in the back of the coves. I was very disappointed. Even while trolling, I hardly marked fish at all in all kinds of depth ranges and checking little recessed pockets where fish would suspend in years past.

Up river. I was going to go but can't. I was going to start at Blue Springs and work my way up.

Because I still like to bass fish and I want to be able to go into shallow water. A deeper V boat would not allow those options. It is a temptation that I have wrestled with a lot. I love the idea of wearing a Captains hat, some big aviator sunglasses watching my 12" Lowrance graph in a big plush captains chair watching the rigged lines waiting for the big bite!!! !! I figure..hey if you're the captain......embrace it and enjoy it.