Donna G

Techo, you don't know the half of it. The big guy uses a giant spoon, too.

Teri has updated her Web site rescheduling the Winter Series Championship to Sunday, February 13. http://winterbassseries.com/

The float-and-fly was illustrated in the January/February 2011 issue of FLW in the article 'Cool Tricks'. I told Champ I was intrigued, but it does sound cumbersome. It reminded me of crappie fishing with a float and jig somewhat. On Toledo Bend in Texas we used to take a clear Tiny Torpedo and tie a leader to it with a white crappie jig on the end for schooling fish. Someone's always innovating. Pretty cool.

You can't ever tell about us. We might stumble over there Saturday. Warts and jerk baits or spoons and drop shot when you caught the two 5lb?

We didn't stray too terribly far from Prairie Creek. Temps around there were 45-47 on the flasher. The graph usually reads slightly different. See my reply to Stump bumper on how we did.

ANYTHING that didn't require casting would have been better. Reeling didn't hurt, but casting was painful. I couldn't keep up with Champ188, but then I usually can't anyway. We had four keepers between the two of us and a few shorts. Three keepers on a Wart and one scrubbing a grub. The shorts were on jerk baits and warts. We started late and quit early. Probably not going to fish the Polar Bear.

We're going today. Haven't been in awhile. My first outing since carpal tunnel surgery last Thursday. Oh boy! Temps in the forties? Dang it's moved on down. Jerk bait! Not sure my hand is ready for cranking a Wart. Maybe I could 'drag' a drop shot. lol

Not yet. Having carpal tunnel surgery today. We may not get a practice day in until Christmas Eve and then the Monday after Christmas. You been at all?

I like the way you think Quillback! We're planning to fish it. Sort of a tradition with us. We're pretty tame. No rowdy New Year's celebrations for us. Freezing our butts off for 12" spots. That's the way we roll.

Shimano has a lifetime warranty on their rods and an over-the-counter exchange policy, no questions asked. It's the best warranty in the business. We have a lot of rods and 99% of them are Shimano, partially for that reason. Take your rod to a tackle shop that is a Shimano dealer. They should exchange it on the spot. If they give you guff, try another dealer or you can send it back like cyclonebass said, but we've never had to do that. The dealer sends the broken rod to Shimano. We have made exchanges on numerous occasions. We have Crucials and Compres. They are good rods in terms of feel, etc., but they do break easily for the oddest reason - setting the hook on a short fish and so forth. Good luck.

I forgot about the big fish! I can't remember. I bet Champ knows. I didn't get to fish January 2009 because I was recovering from kidney cancer surgery. I think that's the year they had a record 110 boats and I believe it's also the big fish year. Guess I should skip more often.

We're probably honor bound to fish the Polar Bear since we usually do and will catch crap if we don't. Unfortunately, Beaver usually kicks our butt. Anyone else fishing it? I haven't heard what the entry fee is this year.

Too little time and not enough space to include all the things I am thankful for - Champ188 my best friend, fishing buddy and husband of nearly 17 years; the usual, but not-to-be-taken-for-granted blessings - warm home, job, vehicle, health and so on; the opportunity to fish ... Like I said too little time, not enough space. As for OA I am grateful you guys have welcomed me. I have seen forums where women who attempted to post were treated very badly. OA members have been more than gracious. I try not to clog up all the topics or go on ad nauseam, so maybe that helps. At any rate, thank you all. Happy Thanksgiving and warm blessings to you and yours.

We decided to stay home Saturday and work on the rig and the house. Weather looked better for Sunday anyway. We're going to launch at Lost Bridge.

Here's the regatta link. Just put in the lake of your choice. http://www.mswp.dps.mo.gov/regattas/regsearch.asp I wouldn't let the trail-type events put you off. A lot of anglers just potshot individual tournaments on a circuit schedule at a lake of their choice. You don't have to fish the whole series. Of course, many of these require an annual membership fee and you might not want to pay that, plus entry for one tournament. Some of the membership fees are pretty reasonable, though. Good luck.

Thanks! We're going Saturday ourselves. We'll look for you. We'll be in a 2004 Champion white with silver, black and red trim. 200 Merc Opti with red OA sticker. White GMC Z71 with big War Eagle sticker on the back windshield.

You're welcome. Yes, Roger does run a good tournament. Haven't fished his in awhile because we are usually fishing winter derbies at Table Rock. Heading to Beaver this weekend for a little fun fishing, though. Haven't been in a long time. Know what's happening with the bass? Depth? Main lake? Creeks? Structure? Baits?

You might call Hook, Line and Sinker in Rogers 631-8118. They keep up with most of the local tournaments. I'm sure anyone could tell you, but I'd ask for Chris Johnson if he's in.

Thanks!

We got on the lake around 8 a.m. Saw some fog driving over, but we didn't have any issues with it. Launched at Shell Knob. Pretty frosty first thing, but we were peeling layers all day as the sun was bright and not much wind. Truck temp showed 21 degrees coming through Roaring River early this morning. Tougher day than we had last weekend. I mostly just took up space on the back deck. Champ caught a fair amount, but not a lot of keepers. Couldn't really nail anything down. I caught a few on a drop shot and swim jig. Threw a finesse jig, shaky head and spinnerbait, too, but no takers. Champ had one nail a Wart, but he thought it was just a cruiser because it came in 20' almost at the boat. Fishing AiA tomorrow. Supposed to have some more wind. That would be good. Hope we're not fogged in long.

Techo must have left the country. Otherwise I think he'd have something to say about your group invite to invade the Aunt's Creek sanctuary. Shame, shame.

Me, too, Denny. The one they're biting.

I don't know how smart Champ will prove to be since AIA is Sunday. lol Sorry, darling. Couldn't resist. Glad you had a good day, Bill. We certainly enjoyed ours. It was especially satisfying to catch the last fish of the day just before going in. Not a keeper, but I pitched a War Eagle heavy finesse jig in the Pond Scum Perch color all around this big rock after Champ hit it with a spinner bait. I just knew there had to be a swimmer there somewhere. Sure enough, it finally decided to eat. That's a lovely way to end the day. Wish us luck Sunday. Think we are going over Saturday and spend the night at Harpers. Their off-season rates are so cheap that it's silly to drive back home. Take care. Donna G

Different lake, but came across some finicky schoolers this weekend chasing little bitty shad. I ran a very small salt and pepper grub through them on a spinning rig. Connected with a few. When they used to do that in Texas at lakes like Toledo bend, we'd tie on a clear tiny torpedo with a white crappie jig behind the torpedo on a 3 or 4' leader. Saw a crappie fisherman Saturday land a really nice bass in front of a dock. I didn't see what he was using, but I assumed it was a jig.

Was it just my imagination or were they running away from you in the pic? I don't know what would make me feel that way. I'm sorry. I just could not help myself. Sitting here listening to the Temptations and it's your fault that I'm going to be singing their tunes all week.