Donna G

Thanks! I'll tell the captain. I'm geographically challenged, particularly on water. I'm a real catch in a pro-am because I bring sandwiches and I can't tell anyone how to get back to your stuff. Sometimes I even get the lakes mixed up. That's why I like being the back-boater. The dude up front has to find the fish. I only have to catch 'em.

Uh, ya'll are funny guys. However, if they come and clean every week, it might be worth checking out. You can bet the current hacienda doesn't get the once-a-week treatment. Gone fishin'. Oh, and abkeenan, you would never see the boat in front of our house, anyway, because it's in the garage. Champ says trucks are meant to sit outside, but boats have to be inside because fiberglass fades. At least that's what he's been telling me for 19 years.

Thanks, Quillback. Fished until dark today. Didn't get too awful warm, but had some good clothes on. Caught a few. Catching any at Beaver always feels like a win.

Champ figured out the posting problem was because we were kicked out before we hit the post button.

We will. We're fishing it. Champ188's usually pretty good at finding the results and posting them for our area tournaments. Speaking of fishing it, I went to Cabela's today and got some wool socks and new winter headgear. It's going to be nippy. High 35, winds NNW 11 mph, cloudy, 10% precip. Low on Monday will be 23. May take a while to warm up to that toasty 35 on Tuesday.

Me and Champ188 are both having trouble staying signed in and getting error messages when we try to post. Something about security key.

Hot dog! The console is out. Just in time for Polar Bear at Beaver next week. Man, it was a pain. Having the glove box right there and an old-lady handle for getting up and down was nice, but neither was enough upside to keep the console.

I don't know about a website. There was a little information posted on FB - This tournament will be a buddy event with a $70.00 entry fee. Entries must be paid in cash and will only be accepted the morning of the tournament. Take off position will be determined by entry.

To be fair I'm not going back on the weight I posted, but I was making my prediction on a 5-fish limit. nwaoutdoorsman is correct - limit is 6 and no A-rigs allowed. Life jackets on plane.

How much will it take to win this year? Seems like the last few years it's been 16 to 18 lbs. Not a bad winter bag on Beaver. For fun, reply with your guess on the winning weight and primary pattern / bait. I'm saying 15.67 and jerk bait. Think the long-range forecast is calling for high temp of 39 with 24 degrees the night before. Light wind, light clouds and 10% chance precip. Water temp was 53-54 degrees Saturday and Sunday, but I'm sure it's dropped since then.

lol - Champ probably agrees. He's not a Beaver fan. She's been pretty mean to us, but we are planning on fishing the Polar Bear New Year's Day. Jerk bait, jerk bait, jig and - oh, yeah - jerk bait.

Thanks, Quill. Caught a very nice spot on Grand, of all places, with a jig Sunday. I did try to branch out and threw a square bill, blade and crankbait. Guess you catch them on what you have confidence in.

There sure as heck weren't any swimmers in Aunt's Creek yesterday. I'm sending a complaint letter to Techo. False advertising. All that "move along, nothing to see here" was merely intended to pique our interest so we would mosey into Aunt's Creek. Wonder what area he was really trying to steer us away from?

The second console is just a pain. All that wasted space for a glove box. lol I've never found that they offer much protection from wind or rain unless you crawl underneath anyway.

It's Ranger's 45th anniversary color package. I really like it.

That white Champion was not us. I repeat, it was not us. Seriously. Really.

I hear there's one in Aunt's Creek, but Techo says it's password protected and you have to join a secret society to get it.

Interesting. Thanks for the info, Mitch. Looking at some of his videos on YouTube now.

First I've heard of it. Googled it and found it on perfectstriketackle.com. Looks odd with that double weed guard, but they've got a YouTube video posted demonstrating how it supposedly has a better hook-up percentage than "traditional" jigs. I wouldn't mind trying it. Have you seen it at a retailer or just online? All Alpha Jigs™ feature a "cam head" design that works with the specially designed heavy wire 4/0 Mustad UltraPoint hook to rotate the hook to an upright position in the fish's mouth, putting it in position to hook it every time - the perfect strike. It features dual appendage weed guards and flat eyes, giving it a natural appearance. The Alpha Jig™’s offset shape gives it a lifelike falling movement, and it makes a great swimming jig because it stays upright at any retrieve speed.

We slept in and golfed this afternoon. Watching football now. It might have been tough today.

It was fairly clear in places, but there was enough color and lots of wind where I was throwing it. I haven't had much success with a Wart this year, although I hear of others doing well with it. Water temp was 56-58. Champ likes a Wart better in colder water. On another note, I heard it took 18+ lbs in the Winter Series today. Don't guess our measly 12 would have done any good.

Good luck. That would be JUST awful to have to throw a blade. lol

Didn't get on the water as early as we planned. Started around 8:30 a.m. Fifteen minutes later Champ188 had two nice keepers on a blade. Wind howled all day. That combined with temps in the low forties made for a chilly day. Same as last week - best bite for us was on the steeper vertical stuff. Couldn't get too far away from main lake points before we lost our bite. I threw a Wart a fair amount when we got around sloping banks on gravel or chunk rock. No takers. Champ threw the evil rig some (Alabama Rig). No luck. He dragged a C-rig a little bit, too. No results. Lot of standing timber on the bluffs with the water low. Hard to weave in and out of it and fight the wind. Around 20 total with 8 keeps. Best 5 probably 12 lbs. All but two of the keepers came on the blade. I caught half or more of our total number on a finesse jig,but not the same quality as the blade. I had one nice keeper brownie and a fat spot. Rest of mine were short spots and mean mouth. Champ had some LM. Fish still wanted no action on the jig. Throw up to the bluff wall and let it fall. For the most part wood didn't seem to make any difference on the jig. PB&J 5/16 oz. with smoke dressed with a green pumpkin Lil' Critter Craw. Sad to say, but I didn't really pay any attention to what skirt / blade combo Champ was using. You'll have to hit him up for that. Last keeper (and it culled) hit the blade as we were coming back to Big M marina. Put it on the trailer at 3:00 p.m. Tard and cold. Drove 7 hours round trip the day before to spend Thanksgiving with the family. Well, Champ drove. I rode and slept.

James tried a spoon a little bit on some he saw on the graph. No takers. They were schooling and going back to the bottom. They ignored the topwater offering, too. Frustrating.

We fished out of Big M yesterday (Nov. 18). Enjoyed the time and, in spite of tough conditions, caught them all day. Around 30, 12 keeps probably 12-13 lbs. Mostly fat spots. A couple of LM and two meanmouth. One was a bruiser and beautiful. Bright sun and slick most of the day. Had a little wind off and on, but not much. Had to be on some pretty vertical stuff to get bit - bluff walls, steep big rock. Champ188 couldn't get any takers on the blade, even when there was some wind. Caught nearly everything on a finesse jig and shaky head. Being the jig fan that I am, I just HATED that. Really. Stayed on the water until 5:00 p.m., but didn't start until after daylight. Saw a big dang bobcat crossing the road as we were going in to the ramp and nearly whacked an 8-point with the GMC on the way home. Oh, and saw a mink running the banks. Quite the wildlife day. I'm a lucky girl.