Donna G

Good deal. Just one of the reasons I don't like deep fishing. I'm afraid I'll have to fizz a fish. I've seen it done and I've done it myself, but I'm always concerned I'll mess up and it either doesn't work or I hurt the fish worse. I can't stand losing a bass. They give me so much pleasure in the catching that I want them all to swim away. We occasionally keep a few small fish to eat out of the Bella Vista lakes or from Eucha. Well, and of course crappie and walleyes anytime. They don't swim away. Thought that might be you sitting out deep by a buoy. Seems like you were there for awhile. Must of hit the motherlode.

lol - thanks. Seems like the older I get the more I battle with the splits on my fingers from winter fishing. I'm on the computer a lot for work and it's no fun hitting the keys with my boo-boos. I always keep a bottle of New Skin or Liquid Bandage on hand and it gets me through, but that stuff will set you on fire when you first put it on.

Tough two days for us. Went to Grand yesterday and aside from a magnum limit of "Big Purples" (drum) we didn't do that well. Champ finally figured a little something out and we managed to catch a few of the right species. Went to the Rock today. Cold, gray, cloudy with some wind later in the afternoon. Dropped the trolling motor after launching and caught two right away one on crankbait and one on a jerkbait off a small secondary point with some wood. That pumped me up, but it was pretty slow after that. Finally ended up with 15 - a mix of spots and LM with four keepers. Most on jerkbait on bluffs up close, but near deeper water. I caught a few spots in the afternoon dragging a Jewel FB jig with a twin tail in 25-35 fow. If you look behind Champ, you'll see the type of water we were fishing. I started catching the FB fish when I paralled the bluff down the treeline you see in the background by throwing on the outside of the boat and dragging the jig through the trees. Champ says they're not all 60' deep. I don't have girly hands anyway, but they are a mess right now from winter fishing. I had to quit throwing the Ned rig because feathering the line out of the spinning reel was ouchy when casting.

Good job, but isn't catch-and-release on those LM a little tricky out of 60' of water?

Can't wait!

Who cares what boat you're in? Bring it. Oh, and the grill, too. Fish don't know what you're in.

Bo, on occasion I would turn around and throw a swim bait very close in and was able to keep a pretty tight parallel back to the boat. No takers on the swim bait, though. I only do that when I'm fishing something weedless. However, like Champ said, he left me the inside lane and it was fun!

Good job. Your better half looks like me. Loving fishing, but bundled up.

Thanks. Champ is always good to take a pic before I release my catch.

That's quite a collection. Sorry to hear about the theft.

They do seem healthy. Hope it stays that way. This one was definitely heavy for it's size

Followers will drive you crazy. Nice Wart fish. I think I've had 3-4 Wart "skunk" trips now. It seems that most folks are catching fish on it, but I can't get bit. Our primary weapon yesterday in the Kings was a JB. Caught a couple on blade and swim bait. Other than that it was JB all day. Felt like I gave the Wart a chance on some good looking stuff and Champ through it, too. Same on the jig. Everyone knows how much I like a finesse jig, but no takers. Funny, one of the keeper JB fish I caught had crawdad antennae sticking out of it's throat. lol Nice pics and thanks for the report.

Merry Christmas,Jerry.

It was us. Champ said that must be someone we know in the Stratos. Good job on the crappie. Released to the grease?

Pretty decent day. I'll let Champ188 write it up later. 23 total mix of spots and LM with 10 keeps about 13lbs for our best five. Left the house at 5:30 this morning and still trying to get home. Who knew the Cassville Christmas parade was THE event of the year and happens tonight. Lol

He's pretty handy with that little jig he makes, too. I drew him at LOZ when he put on a clinic for me with it.

True for us, too. You won't catch more than one or two in any spot. We haven't tore 'em up shallow this fall like we wanted to, but it hasn't been terrible. We're just not fans of fishing deep if we don't have to.

That's right. If James Miles said it, I don't doubt it a bit. He's an accomplished angler and a mighty fine person.

Good job. We noticed fish stacked in the middle of pockets toward the mouth as we were trolling from one point to the other 25-40 fow. I commented to Champ188 that we might be able to drag a FB jig or spoon, but neither of us wanted to switch gears at that point. Sounds like it might have been a good idea.

Yes, thank you Phil for OA. Thank you all for keeping the TR forum active and putting up with a girl. . Golfing tomorrow, but fishing Saturday. Haven't decided where, but probably Grand. We haven't made much use of our Oklahoma licenses this year and they expire Dec. 31. Blessings to all and safety on the water this weekend. Happy Thanksgiving.

Slow day for us but we fished until 4 p.m. Seven total with three keepers. All brownies except one keeper spot. Most caught on blade or jerk. Wind was temperamental - blow for awhile and then quit. The only constant was the nonstop rain. You'd think with clouds, wind and rain there would have been a better bite. Launched at Cow and worked down to North Indian. Water temp 55. Later we went up as far as point 7. Tried Warts, jigs FB jigs, swimbaits and buzz baits, along with the blade and jerk. Flat points and gravel weren't cutting it and nothing in the backs of pockets. Mostly main lake and secondary points with 45-degree chunk rock. Champ188 did connect with a bruiser brownie pushing 5lbs on a blade. He leaned on it a bit and it came unbuttoned. That rascal boiled and porpoised like a big brown behemoth. Enjoying the fire and dry house watching the Razorback game on top. Did make a run to Harter House before leaving TR and stocked up on their good meats while we were in the neighborhood. Steaks on the grill tomorrow. Yum.

We were surprised about the blade, too. Yes, cadence was quick. Twitch-twitch and then 4-5 count. Not like the mind-numbing slowness later in the season.

Thanks, Bo.

Thanks. We went through some coffee. lol Glad we have two thermoses.

And they were smokin' it, too. Sometimes you'd feel a tick before they took it, but other times they just slammed it. Much fun. Champ had a fish come completely out of the water at the boat chasing the bait.