J-Doc

Didn't know there were any in swepco. I bet that lake is about to become a bass boat flotilla in about a month.

Ha! He's wrong. NOthing to see here.......move along. Everyone knows stripers live near the dam and eat small children and bass. Nothing is shallow this time of year.....keep it moving. Repeat.....nothing to see here folks. No shallow fish in coves...

I tend to melt and deform in the heat myself. Man I'm really not contributing to this thread at all.....

Only if the planner boards look like shark fins! Then it could get VERY interesting....

Tell me about it. I got a new boat last July. New full sized truck last month. And my tackle collection gets bigger and my rod locker can only contain so many rods. I find myself packing per trip only for what I need that day. It's a vicious cycle.

(Silent observer eating popcorn and waiting to learn)

He didn't provide an image so I assumed he was seeing much the same thing I've been seeing. Lots of arches around 40-50. Some are schools of whites roaming around at all depths above the thermocline. They like to move around a lot. Yes a solid line indicates thermocline.

I have two boxes dedicated to trolling baits. The Flickers box is dedicated strictly to Flickers. I read others having luck with colors I don't use. When I try them, I don't have their luck so experimentation is key. Find what works for you and build on it. And if you think you're going to hook a striper, change the hooks. Factory hooks bend easily. I pulled both hooks on a 35lb bruiser earlier this summer after 15mins of fighting it on a spinning rod on 6lb line. It was a blast. Till it got away. I saw it 3 times too so I know it was a good one.

Yes and no. Big fish arches are fish. I saw lots of marks around 50 ft Sunday morning. And they were fish. Not algae because I could see the fish on structure scan. Clearly stripers or gar as they were big arches on sonar and defined arches on structure scan. Water is turning over so fish are moving all around.

Better than me lately. I have commitment issues. Can't stop changing baits or moving around too much. Lol

I bet that was a total fire drill because 18" whites are not easy to land trolling and trying to keep lines from crossing each other. They pull like big smallmouth. LOTS of fun!

I used to be anti-Merc and was very hesitant buying one but the folks I know that have them rave about them. At only 1yr now, I am very happy with mine. Unless it gives me a reason to go back to disliking Mercs, I'll keep enjoying it. I'm not totally loyal to a brand itself. And all I had to do was lift the cowling on a new Etec to know I didn't want one. Too many electrical parts and wiring. My new Merc seems simple and reminds me of my old 79 Rude. Less parts to replace. :-) I think all outboard brands are pretty good these days. They all have their quirks, they all have their issues but the newer outboards of TODAY seem pretty good from what I've heard from most. A few years back, not so much an even playing field. Seems they have all stepped up their game. Obviously I'm not mechanic and I bow to your experience/knowledge. I'm basing my opinion on user feedback of all brands over the past year plus from other forums I've been on. I shopped long and hard before buying my boat. Research is key.

I never said they would help me catch fish (not that I recall anyway). Until yesterday, they have ALWAYS helped me find fish. Compared to my old units, these are worth every penny and I love having the ability to cover more water looking for fish. Once I find them, I try to figure them out. And being self-taught, that takes A LOT of time on the water trying different things. Not everyone has 4-5lb pets in their backyard and has the ability to hold "Management Meetings" on the water whenever they feel like you do.

The wind was nuts for the first few hours. I went for a while yesterday morning (church Sat. evening service!) Usually, you find a good bite on main lake points with wind like that and the only bass boats I saw were fishing mostly main lake flats and points and secondary points & flats. I only active fish I found was in one location and they were biting on topwater very early over 40ft in the back of coves. The only fish I graphed (& caught) were smaller bass and hanging around the bottom around 20ft range way off the bank. There was not much surface activity yesterday morning but the ones I saw were fat and large! I also looked for stripers in the Rocky Branch to Coppermine area but the spots I typically find them were a no show. The only big fish I graphed were down around 50ft over the deeper water at the mouth of coves. When I see them deep like that, they are super hard to catch and not active. I saw water temps from 69.3 to 70.3. I also covered quite a bit of water looking in several areas. I could have looked more thoroughly but I was pressed for time. I have learned this summer that my HDS7 lies to me. When I think I have found a school of active bass, they turn out to be about 6-8" active bass. The arches on the graph look huge........the fish......not so much. Guess I need to start looking for super fat arches instead of wasting time trying to coax little ones into biting. At 20-25ft, the little ones sure make bit arches though. I did land a super fat football shaped spot on a dropshot. He inhaled the bait and I barely felt the bite. Super subtle and I felt weight so I set the hook. In my mind, the bite was pretty slow yesterday morning for a while. I was off the water by lunch so I don't know how the rest of the day unfolded.

No problem. I haven't posted much all summer. Been a tough one for me. I bounce around too many species and my ADHD kicks in. Best to do one thing and stick with it. And cover a lot of water. Once you find good groups of fish, stick with them and find a way to make them bite. That's where I've struggled this summer. I find them. I just don't get the bites like I should. I've thrown the sink this summer it seems. Seems the more I know, the less I know. Over thinking I guess.

Opposite. Pulling into coves for fall feed. They've been on main lake all summer. Now following bait into coves. Check secondary points in main lake coves.

I was always told they go shallow. Especially during the fall bite. So I'd look shallow.

I just picked up mine today for its first annual maintenance and water pump replacement. I had 137.5 hrs on the motor and they gave me a printout showing hours logged at what rpms. Didn't ask for it but they just knew I would like it. And they were right. I was going to ask. I guessed I had 130hrs and I had 137.5. I like to track it and keep up with it. I've had nothing but good things out of my shop who is also my dealer. John Wolfe is the manager there. Always friendly, always wants to help, and they all seem to strive to do great work. Everyone has a "guy" and someone will recommend a few local shops but I can say, I've been very happy with my dealer and they did fantastic work installing my stereo and speakers. Took there time and did it right. Now if fishinwrench was not 4hrs + from me, he would get all my business. For a local dealer in Rogers for repower, I can definitely recommend Cabelas in Rogers. The hourly rate is very competitive and the work is great. They were repowering a boat today with a new motor. The difference in a 2000 Merc and a 2015 Merc is pretty different I'm told. WAY quieter, and more fuel efficient. I can launch at Prairie Creek, run to Cliffty and back with full throttle and burn less than half a tank. Probably 4-5 gallons burned? 20 gal tank, 1/4 tank of gas. During break in, I launched PC, drove to Cliffty, back to PC, down to 412 bridge, back to PC just so I could get the hours. I also had several detours inside long coves too. I still had 1/4 tank of fuel. Most rpms were around 4k for break in. I have the 115 ProXS. Good luck on the situation but I'd go repower myself.

Yep. You've gone into hardcore troller now with the rod holders. Nice setup.

Yep. That's him. Ole homely.... Glad you got the joke. Lol

So thankfull to have Notropis here. :-) And thanks Stump for the explanation also. I forget that they don't move around that much in the summer.

I questioned the skinny walleye back in the spring and Notropis said it was due to post spawn. Seems they have not fattened up yet. Literally, all other species (especially the spots) are putting on weight. I would like to see some healthier walleye. That's all I was saying. It's not the first nor the last skinny one I'll see this year I know. I catch one almost every trip.

What is the deal with the skinny walleye? I know they are typically long anyway, but man..........that thing reminds me of Snoopy's cousin that lives out in the desert. HA! Every walleye I've caught all summer has been lean. Like super lean. And it's not showing any progression when everything else is fattening up for the winter. Not picking on your fish Bferg, just noting an observation I've seen on my own fish. And others. I'm ready to get my daughter out fishing but I just don't think she's quite ready. Her ADHD is worse than mine. LOL!

I had a good 4 or 5 pounder attack a topwater bait over 40 ft in the dead of summer with bluebird skies. They will definitely bite topwater in sunny skies. Hate I missed this one. It's one of two that I'll fish.

I'm doing the usually Saturday morning trip. All I can ever seem to get. (Sigh) All species. .......correction. all species except the walleye who seem to have a tape worm or something are getting fat on the large bait population. Fat fish indeed!