roy_eros

What a fun week! I've been able to make it to weigh in every day. Me and a buddy put in at Diamond City on Friday. Saw Elite boys roll into that area by about 7:00. Polaniuk and Myers are fishing the same small creek. As for the fishing we spent half our time watching and half fishing. Pulled in 60-70 fish with 25 or so keeps. Best 5 were 14 pounds and lost one 6 pound class fish right at the boat. The crank bait bite is absolutely nuts, the fish just absolutely murder it!

Bass...Monday and Tuesday I was consistently catching 2 1/2-3 1/2 pound females that looked like they were about to burst. A c-rig with a variety of watermelon plastics has been my best bait on secondary points towards the backs of creeks.

Caught a couple nice ones tonight that were definitely pre-spawn, could get interesting this weekend...

Nothing to see in long creek...move along

Got to figure the weekend pressure will pick up a little tomorrow and tremendously on Saturday. Look to see the total number of fished weighed to drop across the board, but probably a few hefty sacks all the way through.

I'll put my money on Robbie, 2guys will probably stumble on a 20 pound bag today.

Bill is spot on with his advice on rod care.. Might want to reconsider which rod everyone is using to sling the wind chime! Rod companies calculate the percentage of rods they expect to replace into the price you pay upfront, never feel bad about getting a rod replaced that has a warranty.

I drove down by the buzzard roost ramp today and it was chocolate milk with debris everywhere, be careful out there

Thanks for the pointers, that stupid rig definitely looks like it will be worth a try.

I have never heard anybody talk much about when, or where the Smallies spawn? If anybody has any experience they would like to share I would be interested to know more about this.

I mainly fish Norfork these days as I live about 1/2 a mile away from it. Last fall and here in the last couple weeks I have seen numerous schools of LMB hanging around the backside of docks or in empty dock stalls. These schools of fish have been 6-12 inch fish and anywhere from 10-50 fish. I think we can all agree this is a very good sign for the future of our fisheries.

Bill..are those spin-tech hooks you are throwing?

I can't believe I just looked up a YouTube video on how to do an English pendulum cast...what is this world coming to?

I didn't make it, got registered before Christmas but Im 62 down on the waiting list...bummer

I have been slinging 40# power pro on a Abu revo winch, with a 7'3" falcon amistad rod...great set up in my opinion

The speed clips work great til you get a bad hang up, get to pulling real good and wind up reeling in a bent out clip...I have only had that happen once though so I'll probably keep using them.

I keep hearing of clubs and tournament organizations banning these rigs or banning multiple lures altogether... I'm not opposed to this and I think any group of anglers has the right to make there own decisions, my question is going to be is this just going to allow for more cheating in these tournament? Say somebody wins 3 or 4, is it going to turn into everybody saying well they must be throwing an a-rig? I understand why tournaments are considering this ban I just wonder if the positives outweigh the negatives..

Another idea for you Missouri guys, I thought of this idea but haven't tried it out yet, I was thinking of using one 18-24 inch wire just as dtrs5kprs used above, and another that had one regular arm, and one just about 3'' long. I would fold the three long wires into a pyramid or triangle, and use the short one in the middle with a blade..just a random thought I had that might work..

Very nice! Love the name, I'm going to start using that! I don't see how bait companies are going to even sell these things for $10 much longer.. These really are easy to make guys, and just as effective and durable in my experience

I got into a nice school of Smallies on bull shoals a couple weeks ago, caught two that were right at 4 pounds. Yes EWG hooks in 2/0or 3/0 work well with the swimming flukes and fluke jrs. I have been running the same 5 baits I haven't really experimented with mixing them up. This does decrease the weight of the rig, making it easier to cast, and you can really slow roll it without getting to deep. For those who haven't tried this rig yet, be aware of your casting motion, and how much torque you are putting on your rod and wrists. I have had the best luck using a slow side sweep to toss the bait out, not as hard on you or your rod. Next time I get a chance to build some more I will add some pictures of each step, I have been tinkering around with several different designs and I really like the latest design. Might save some of you guys some time and materials.

Thanks, yeah I have been hanging up less when I Texas rig the outside 4 baits

Just put a spare key on one of the wires of your A-rig..

In this picture you can see kind of how I have been making my rig.

Thanks, I thought it was a striper, but wasn't sure because it had such a deep body and a little bit of break in the lines. Got to love the Alabama Rig!

I have been using 240 lb leader wire, it doesn't say the exact diameter, but it is the same size wire you find in the original rigs, or like on an average spinnerbait. I have been drilling out a 1/2 egg singer with about a 5/32 drill bit, then bend about 1/2" of each wire into a U. I hook the U onto a snap so I have a clean line tie, and so each wire is directly secured to the line. It is a snug fit and i have to use pliers but then I force the 5 U's into the egg sinker. Not sure if any of that made sense? I'll try to upload some pictures of the rig.