J-Doc

Not sure on the pattern but Howell won because he found a massive stockpile of big bass. Everyone will want the new proto crankbait he used but that's not the key deal. The key was his stockpile of fish he found and he picked it apart and figured out a way to catch them. I'm sure the bait had a lot to do with it but I attribute it to the angler and not "Livingston Lures". If that proto bait didn't work, I'm sure something else could have been figured out. Might not have had the same results but I don't put that much stock into a bait itself any more. It's more about the presentation and how it's utilized. Although, color and size was a key feature I'm sure. It still took the angler to know what to throw and what the bass were feeding on there. Seemed like a classic case of craw forage on rip rap so he through a medium diver crankbait and got reaction strikes. Forty fish on one single crankbait is pretty amazing though. I agree..........he's a nice guy. I watched him on Zona's Awesome Fishing Show this weekend (rather Ironic?) and he was a really cool dude. Fished professionally since he was out of high school. Dude has definitely paid his dues.

Not to regurgitate this but this song is now stuck in my head. Since you guys posted so many stupid videos and now that this one is stuck in my head............You should share in my dread. http://youtu.be/g55SloahAj0

Nope. No one tried the fluke that I know of. But every fish caught was a fluke if that helps. Lol

It's not just any white spoon either. I tried that. Didn't work. They want a specific spoon. Short fat profile. I tried to match but it wasn't working for me. Nick was behind me and they caught a good mess. He may have been live baiting though. I could see that working too.

Nick caught like 14. They outfished me for sure. I had 2 small bites all day. Still had fun though.

I feel bad for Gerald Swindle. He had a lot of pressure put on him. I bet he barely slept last night and then he struggled to catch a small 2lb bass. I bet he barely sleeps tonight too. Will be hard for him to put on a smile and talk to fans and support sponsors tat the expo Sunday if he doesn't do better. Poor guy. He's a great angler an d great guy but he pulled the short straw today.

Ole E-squared came out of no where and in 2nd place. I think the marshals are just not checking in all that quickly with some. Adds to the refresh rate and the suspense! LOL

I'm familiar. It was my idea. I wrote Bassmaster about it 3yrs ago when they were in New Orleans. I thought a live GPS view showing where anglers were was a great idea. You felt more connected and like you had an idea what was going on. Now whether or not I originated the idea, I don't know for sure. But I like to think I did. Lol.

Wish I could have walked through on media day. Lucky dog! I attended last year's classic. It was awesome. I so want to attend another one.

That's crazy! Must have been the wind and Sun that did the trick. Glad you guys can get back in the water now. Maybe fishinwrench will stop taking motors apart and reassembling them just to keep from going insane and get on the water for a while. Lol!!

Other than fishinwrench using tehe extreme wild card approach.... There sure are a lot of weights around the 70 mark. We just cursed ourselves because of that. Now it's going to take like 80+ to win! Lol

Way too dangerous to be out there right now. I'm sure it wasn't blowing that bad when you launched. :-)

A lobster in Cajun country goes into a boil and then peeled/eaten like a giant crawfish! LOL I hear ya. It's a regional thing. I've grilled trout like you said. I wasn't a big fan. It was good but just a bit too fishy/gamey for my taste. However, my taste in seafood is changing I think. I'm more tolerant of the fish flavor now than I used to be. I've had my horizons opened with more salt water species and that's got me hooked pretty good.

You really are a gumbo junkie!

Those suckers are way to slimy for me to put on my grill with the skin on. Darn things are oozing slime like they have a sickness!! LOL

It's a Cajun thing you wouldn't understand Stumpy. LOL!

Thanks for sharing. I can't go due to short notice and all but I do know of someone that may be interested. I'll pass it along.

I was impressed how tasty simple boiled meat was with a little boil seasoning. I cannot believe how good it was. Add some rice pilaf and you're set. Grilled is good with the right seasoning/rub and a little liquid sauce concoction I usually whip up. That's next on my list. I also have some cut up into strips for frying because that's the only way my family will eat it.

Where is yours?? It's all gone. I barely got 3 bowls myself before the wolf-pack cleaned the crock! It's what you get for posting photos of your catch all the time. Someone else needed to post something to balance out the forum. LOL

I actually made two batches of roux. You have to let it scorch just a touch to get that red color. It's a balance for sure. If you stir too much and too quickly, it's peanut butter. If you slow the stirring, you will see a few red spots. That's the scorch starting to occur. That's when you start stirring faster. An art form.

I'm posting this over here in the General Angling Forum in case there are others who do not visit the Beaver Lake specific forum. Feel free to drool. I know I did all night as my house smells of gumbo-goodness!! I want more!!

I found this recipe (below) online and I have to say, I’m a bit impressed. While I admit, I embellished it a bit and jazzed it up some as well. I’ve have tasted my share of gumbo including the famous “Gumbo Shop” in New Orleans French Quarter. This is not that good 9that's hard to beat) but this is pretty close for an easy homemade batch. If you are in New Orleans, this is a must see restaurant by the way. One of the ingredients is this big guy below (the fish, not the blue eskimo). I’ve never had striper before and I have to say, it’s pretty tasty!!! I got 4-5 bags worth of meat off of one fish so I thought I’d send try it with homemade gumbo. VERY glad I did! I thought I would share with others. The other KEY ingredient needed is (File')......pronounced "fe-lay" or "fillet". I did not find any in NWA so I may have to order some online. File’ is ground sassafras leaf and it can be substituted for bay leaves but I prefer the original. Remember the song by Hank Williams?? “Crawfish pie and a file’ gumbo…son of a gun we’ll have big fun, on the bayou” Yes, that’s file’! Here is the recipe (with photos!) (Note: For a large crockpot, double the recipe) CROCKPOT GUMBO Ingredients: 2tbsp of File’ (or more if you prefer) 3 tablespoons flour 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 pound boiled fish (striper or crappie or walleye) 2 cups frozen cut okra 1 large slice of onion, chopped fine 1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped 1tsp of garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 can (14.5 ounce size) diced tomatoes, undrained 1 package (12 ounce size) frozen pre-cooked shelled deveined medium or extra small shrimp, rinsed 1 1/2 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice (Uncle Bens!) 3 cups seafood stock (the water used to boil the fish or shrimp) 2tbsp of Fish boil (I used Red Lobster fish seasoning) Directions: This is the vital part….making the Roux!! In small saucepan, combine flour and oil; mix well. Cook, stirring slowly and constantly, over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. This is your Roux. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes or until mixture turns thick and reddish brown. Between cherry and mahogany is best. Place flour-oil mixture in 3 1/2 to 4 quart Crockpot. Stir in all remaining ingredients except shrimp, rice! Boil shrimp in a boiler and add 2tbsp of fish boil seasoning for 10mins (low boil, medium heat) Boil fish in a boiler and add 2tbsp of fish boil seasoning for 10mins (low boil, medium heat) (Cook species separately to prevent crossing flavors between species) Once cooked, you can refrigerate for later. Add 3 cups of stock (water used to boil shrimp and fish) Cover; cook on low setting for 7-9 hours. When nearing ready to serve, cook rice in water as directed on package. Just prior to serving, add shrimp & fish to gumbo mixture in crockpot; mix well. Cover; cook on low setting for additional 20 minutes. Serve gumbo over rice. Now for the photos This is the roux (pronounced “roo”) This is the striper boiling with seasoning (man that’s good fish just like that!!!!!!!) This is the ingredients mixed together (without the stock) Gumbo base after cooking all night And this is the results after taking my new recipe to work. Evidently, it was pretty good. ;-)

No laughing but in all honesty, I attribute the following: Bill Dance, Orlando Wilson, Jimmy Houston, & Hank Parker. I even told Bill Dance that when I was able to meet him at last year's Bassmaster Classic. He just smiled and I could tell it meant a lot to him. He's given back so much to a sport he loves passionately. As a kid on summer vacation, I would watch TV and I would find these guys fishing shows on TV. It was just so fun looking and while I had gone on a few fishing trips for special events like Cub Scouts, the rare & occasional outing with my Dad (who was not a fisherman), the appeal took to me pretty strong. So I would jump on my bike, take a Zebco 404 Ugly Stick combo and a Zebco 33 rod combo, tackle box (which I still have to this day) and ride to my neighbors farm pond. Once there, I would fight off the cotton mouths and fish. The pond had some decent catfish but were very hard to catch. A lot of little perch but nothing of any size worth keeping. I didn’t care. A bobber and a crappie jig was all I needed. Later in life, I would fish here and there over the years but really didn’t know what I was doing. Then I moved to the Ozarks after college in 2002 and since I was but a few miles from a major lake, I wanted to rekindle that love for fishing and it’s been a downhill spiral with a jetpack on my back ever since. It’s not only a hobby……….it’s a passionate obsession! I can’t stop thinking about fishing. I’m completely hooked. I’ve been bass fishing since about 2004. Learning what I could along the way. I would say I have decades of knowledge to learn but that’s part of the fun.

Great idea. I don't have a pond but admire the idea. Good luck!

Seems like I saw a pelican up here in NWA. I was thinking......"Dude? You should have taken a different route because you are say too far from home" Not sure why a pelican would be this far from shore and in such a cold climate at that. It's winter, not summer.