DADAKOTA

Jealous of you river rats. I used to be one myself when I lived in the Lou and in St. James. Love catching those smallies.

New water makes you think again. Use your knowledge of fish habits, time of year, weather, water temp, clarity, visible cover and vegetation, etc. to identify likely spots. Then utilize the baits/lures that you brought with the proper technique to fish the spots. Start shallow early and move deeper as the day goes on unless the water is dirty whereby they may stay shallow all day. LOZ largemouths around the 50mm are shallow all day right now. Buzzbaits early, spinnerbaits and jigs is all you need. Best spots we found were backends with water willow.

Go fish a new body of water.

Can't wait to get down there mid day on Memorial day as everyone is leaving. Will fish for 3 or four days. Hope the walleye are biting.

Heard it only took 12 pounds to win Shriners 2 day derby

As long as it isn't illegal it is up to their own conscience. I'm not a fan of spearing or arrowing game fish, but evidently some folks like it, In regard to big fish not tasting good, most folks have no idea what a certain fish tastes like because they hide the flavor with spicy breadings, tartar sauce, etc. Just think of all the big bass hanging on peoples walls gathering dust. Makes no sense to me to kill a trophy when a picture and/or replica would work..

Safety should be the number one concern of boaters, fishermen, tourney anglers, etc. It absolutely amazes me how many folks throw caution to the wind and totally disregard their own safety as well as that of others. Dense fog should only be run at idle if you are already on the water unless you have radar on your boat. If you are not on the water let it burn off. Folks out at night that either don't have lights or don't turn them on are a serious danger those running down the lake. High winds, lightning, etc. should be treated with utmost care. Dad always told us if it gets real bad to put it on the bank and hunker down. Worst case you can always walk out if you need to. When fishing a derby if the lightning starts we quit fishing and take shelter if we can. There is an entire group of boat owners that should not have a boat as they do not know the navigation rules, common courtesy, or how to properly drive their boat. Talk about hazardous. Then you have the weekend KVD wannabes who risk life and limb to pursue a limit of derby bass in the hopes that they will actually cash a check. Very few of these folks can win enough money to offset their derby expenses, yet they will stand up with their graphite lightning rod in hand and keep on fishing while the lightning goes cloud to ground around them. If they value their own life so little they have no care about yours as they fly through the fog. Bottom line is take care of yourself. If conditions are not safe to run then don't take the chance. Losing a little fishing time is a small price for being safe.

Do you think a bottom bouncer rig like you'd use for walleye would be a successful presentation?

Don't matter how stupid they look. They can either catch fish or they can't. Never really took notice of anyone's outfit when I'm tourney fishing. Way too busy trying to catch fish for that.

Should be plenty of trout in the Rock now.

Dandy mess of eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you don't have a limit in your well you are releasing not culling.

Not sure leaving a trailer in the water all day is good on your hubs/bearings. Would think you are inviting water inside the hub.

Oh my. Thanks for bringing back the memories of my wife's Grandpa Clarence Cavender. Before Table Rock was built he owned the drug store in Galena, MO and sold fishing gear as well as set up and guided float trips on James river. He later was on the Lake Committee when Table Rock was being born and was at the dedication. Later they moved to Stockton where he was head of the lake Committee to get Stockton put in. He had a couple old tackle boxes that held many of the lures they used to sell in the drug store including several of the Peck and Shannon baits. His favorite river bait was a lucky 13. I watched him catch some nice bass on the Sac with that bait. He was also a great woodworker and built display boxes for the old baits. Unfortunately one of the local antique dealers caught wind of these boxes and she made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Luckily she didn't get his old glass minnow traps, one of which resides in my man cave. Thanks again for this topic as I remember him, the times we fished, and stories he told me.

Made this last Friday and it was outstanding. Decided to microwave the last of it for lunch today. It tasted the same, but totally lost the thickness and creaminess of the original. It was this like soup, but was still very tasty. Any ideas as to why the change from chowder like to soup like?

Not surprising from OT. There docks are in poor shape. Check the online reviews of that place. State Park and Mutton Creek are really well maintained. Sorry about your boat, but I doubt you get anything out of OT.

Let Wingman spend some time with her.

If you have one of Easton's pups you are indeed a lucky man. Finest duck dog I've had the pleasure of hunting over.

Good looking dogs John.

If the work is on the downstream side of the dam, why is there an impact on water level?

Sounds like a great couple days. Congrats.

17 hours ago, fishinwrench said: In hindsight I can say with 100% certainty that following my gut instincts and my totally unfounded hunches has paid off way more than any of the "science" I have ever tried to apply to fishing. Gut instinct and hunches are developed and honed by time on the water. We frequently recall the variables on the days we did well and go back to how, what, where, and when we caught them. One also has to be willing to try something different or utilize a tactic or lure in some cases that others aren't doing.

Could not agree more. Cured and smoked 10 pounds of bacon a few weeks ago. Turned out fantastic. That pizza looks awesome. Send it up and I'll toss some bacon on it.

I used to use vanish but it breaks too easily, then went to the Cabelas brand for a long time and really liked it. Using a stop above a sinker and bead just shredded it. Switched over to AbrazX and have never looked back. Tough, durable, smaller diameter, and little memory. From 10# to 25# that is what I use along with Trilene XT for my topwaters. Been buying the 1000 yard spools to save money. If you keep an eye out the bulk spools go on sale every so often. Surprisingly Walmart.com carries the bulk spools and are usually one of the cheapest. Keep your line in a cool dark place and it lasts a long time with no issues.

I'll share information with a few real close buddies and they share with me. With that said the information goes no further.