troutgnat

Gentlemen, Most of you are correct. I was actually a Rapala/Storm rep for Mo/Ks at the time this happened. I actually can recall being at the factory meeting at the Rapala headquarters with all the reps as we listened to how proud they(Rapala staff) were about the new 'true' action of the bait! I don't need to tell you what was going through my mind. When I got back from the meeting and hit the road looking to get my distributor "early buy-ins" I got my rear handed to me! Very few wanted the new warts so I tried to load up as many of the old ones as I could but found that very few were left to be had. WHY???..............someone already hit the nail on the head!......Bass Pro, Pittmans and a few other very large distributors and retailers quickly became of the situation and worked very "large" buy-in deals on all the old warts for the spring tackle shows. This left practically nothing left for the mom/pap distributors/dealers. Remember the Bass Pro Spring Classic and the huge dump bins of original "warts" for cheap?; well that's how it came to be!!! I did not have the Bass Pro account so you can imagine how things turned out for me!........Not good!!!! Now for the rest of the story! The old baits were "molded" in two pieces right down the middle! One of the tale-tales of the original warts is the glue line you can see right down the back of the bait. The "new" Rapala versions were more of a machined style. The bodies and lips were made seperately and the lips were then inserted and glued in place. Everyone has heard the saying "Lures are made to catch fisherman not fish", well that was true with the new wiggle wart. Rapala thought they were doing fisherman a good thing and were going to sell a lot more warts. So, So, not true!!! Fisherman knew that the "old" warts weren't always reliable and that occasionally you would get one that just couldn't be tuned and wouldn't for @*&** BUT they were willing to live with this because they knew they caught fish! Old warts weren't reliable and often had a 'kick-out' to them but it's that erratic action that caught fish! It's all about the action(and colors) and that's why they are so hoarded and sought out by us fisherman that know this! If anybody can track down ole' Jim Morton he was the original Storm rep for years and was still at the time that this happened. He can give you the whole life story of Storm and the "wart"........and he knew how to fish them too! So it a nutshell there you have and there is one of the reasons "Original" Warts cost so much now!

I was going to go today but the shop doesn't have the boat ready to go yet..............D

Sam, I must say very creative! Definitely one of a kind, I like the weight theory and the glass bead. I havet used glass beads a number of times in tying trout flies. I assume the flo. orange color I see is the thread underneath the bead; is that correct? What is your weight system?; looks like a reversed worm sinker...................D

Ham, I say walleye and whites but I use roadrunners alot for crappie as well. I have alot of luck tipping them with minnows for all species and I learned from another guy that tipped with 1/2 a nightcrawler and bumped on the bottom walleye like them quite well. These heads are non-collared (bought them that way) so they are unsuitable for using with plastics; I tie on these heads only but do use some barbed heads with plastics myself. When do you typically start looking for walleye for the spring bite, pre-spawn I mean.?

I thought I would help everybody change the subject here. This is one of two boxes I have tied in the last week or so of this nasty weather. This is my box of Roadrunners, 1/16, 1/8 and 1/4oz. I'm ready for the Pothole and upper Bull Shoals when the walleye/whites get rolling. I hope to start looking for some walleye next month. PS: Thanks Phil for some of the marabou and chenille. Get tying Boys, I'm ready are you? No, really I'm curious as to any of you who tie your own marabou or bucktail jigs for whites and walleyes. I have found that marabou and bucktail jigs in the 1/4 to 1/2oz work well on upper Bull when you begin to find the fish stacked in deep pockets during pre-spawn. I troll very slowly with the trolling motor, a rod in both hands and a heavy jig bouncing the bottom. I would like to hear anybody elses techniques.................feel free to chime in!

Steve, With the weather the way it is and freezing temps I would not trust Coopers access ramp. I have not launched there in these conditions but from past experience like you said; water on a boat ramp in these temps is not good. And this ramp in particular is one steep puppy! My advice is to launch out of the public ramp next to Scotty's Trout Dock next to Bass Pro. It's a little further boat ride by water but so much easier of a launch. This ramp is in much slacker water and practically a flat launch.

Getfished, Congrats on a great day. One question here! Define Hollow, I've never heard of this terminology before when it comes to a lake. Thanks.

very nice pic

8# 2oz'r caught in about 14' water on edge of the channel in the heat of August. Caught on a Zoom baby brush hog in smoke/purple at Lake Forest Estates, Lake Ann.

Just my two cents worth here. Look up a couple of my posts on here from back in September regarding Shimano. I own numerous Shimano baitcasters and spinning reels. I broke two Curados back to back in one day setting the hook on the Rock. All it took from me was a nice letter to Shimano stating what happened and my disapointment as a loyal Shimano customer and 7 bucks to ship the reels back. Within two weeks I had both reels back, not only fixed but upgraded as well! These reels were over 3 years old!, hows that for warranty.? Says enough for me!

I agree with what others have said. Near the end of its life cycle=Yes! Knowing that, would I personally have kept it for a mount?, well, probably so. Let's consider this: What is your reason for catch and release????? Really, think about. Do you release so someone else behind may joy in the catching of that fish? Do you release because you believe that releasing fish will help sustain the fishery for others? Do you release because you believe from a biological stand point that your are putting brood stock back so they further procreate their species? Depending on your reason I bet would highly factor what you would do in that situation. Here is my opinion and my only. After asking myself why I catch and release I came up with the following conclusion of what I would have done if I was in his shoes. I tend to look at catch and release more from a biological stand point. SO, I know this fish was near the end of its life cycle. I also know that he was well beyond his prime "brooding" years. Your best "brood" fish are those 4-7# and up healthy feisty trout. So, chances are that fish could have past on much more of his genetics were probably slim. Trust me, this fellow has passed on plenty of genes in Taneycomo. I have one 8lb + largemouth on the wall. One in my entire 30+ years of hardcore fishing! Do I feel guilty for that?, NO! Because I know I have released dozens of 3-6lbr's to go back and procreate their species. Also, have I ever caught a trout close to that big?, Hell No! How often do trout this big get caught out of Taneycomo?, Not very often! Would I have probably kept that fish?, well yeah probably so.

Gentlemen, I personally don't need the map either. I am just following up on a previous post I saw on here. Both Bill and Phil had acknowledged that they were or had contributed info to this. I am curious to know what came about it. Phil, would you like to answer this???

Here are pics of the crappie balls some of you were referring to. Yes you can buy the ball portion at Bass Pro or some other retailers. All you have to do is glue in the pvc arms. I repeat please glue or screw this in to better anchor them, that comes from personal experience; otherwise they may be prone to pull out. As you can see you can make these as big or small as you wont too. These of mine are about 10' in circumference!!! Advantage's: Very light weight and need virtually little to no weight to sink. Will not hang up jigs In my opinion work better in a little deeper water Can make them very big! or as small as you like Disadvantage's: Somewhat bulky May need to put together on site May be visible to others if not sunk deep enough

Alright gentlemen I'm going to post pics of what I have done in the past. This first pic is of some pallet beds I have made. This is by far the cheapest and one of the most productive beds I have made. The advantages are: CHEAP Naural Wood seems to attract fish better than other materials Superior for water especially in 6' or less(great for shallow water) Disadvantages: Heavy Need additional weight to sink 2-man operation may hang up jigs Other notes: Old pallets are pretty easy to find. All I do is rip off about 2/3rds of the boards and then re-screw them upright into the main frame at various spots. That's it! Take cynder blocks and you can drop them down over the boards at the corners to sink it! Walla, your done!!!

Guys, I have alot of experience here. I used to live in a lake development and had put out numerous homemade crappie beds with great success. I have pictures somewhere that I am going to try and find and post on here for you. I know several very inexpensive formulas for crappie beds....................D

Just my two cents worth here. Wayne is 100% correct, when your talking habitat for trout, it's all about current breaks. Trout will use these for feeding and resting both. I like the picture of the structure on Beaver. This is ideal but several of these together (a wall of sorts) would be nice as well. As far as boat traffic, structure does not necessarily need to be right in the channel. On the edge would suffice I believe, the stucture will help divert the current anyway. Most boaters know where the channel is. As far as safety is concerned what's wrong with some signs and buoys to alert boaters of "man made" structure. Better yet, if there is ever to be a "Hot Spots" map of Taneycomo or other this would be the perfect opportunity to mark "permanent" habitat! Yes, this may alert some more fishing pressure, however, it's a win-win for the trout and keeps us all safe! As far as "brush" structure or the like. This is a great idea for the lower lake and somewhat deeper water as it would help all species. There is plenty of opportunity to make this work. Everyone please keep putting forth your ideas. Input is the best medicine!

Phil, Bill or anyone else?, I haven't heard anything recently of the map situation. Anyone know anything?, Is it done, in progress, or what? Just curious...................D

Bill, I never saw the fish but I saw one of them fishing a pocket right by the ramp and fishing fairly shallow and he missed one while his partner was backing in the trailer. As they said they caught alot of shorts. Seems to me they could have been fishing quite shallow. Anyway never saw the proof but I agree it is never as easy as it sounds! Well I am going to go back to the same waters this SAT. am and hopefully do a little better. I will focus more on the main lake points. Any advice to get me a little better prepared?

Brian have not yet but will be doing so soon. Thanks for the heads up.

Hey, check your e-mail you provided!

I launched out of Gages (Long Creek) Marina yesterday and I can tell you the ramp is open anyway.

where did you get your report? everybody i know is staying away from B.S.

tkite, I'm in the same boat. I've mostly fished Table Rock and do not have much experience on Bull Shoals. I need to learn this lake also but know very little. Sadly, unlike the Table Rock forum this forum gets very little hits. We need to seek HAM'S help. He seems to be the main poster on here. I have heard that you can pretty much duplicate what you do on the Rock to catch fish on Bull Shoals. It is very similiar. I can tell you right now Bull Shoals is not getting much action from the bass fisherman as it is really high water right now.

Wow Bill thanks for the information. Some of the knowledge you gave is as you said "old school". I should have screwed my thinking cap on a little tighter. I was doing what I have in the past that worked for me. I had been on the main lake points earlier back in Sep/ early Oct and doing well but I thought that bite was over. I know the fish will relate to the creek arms in the fall, have a missed this bite? With the tempature still dropping as you said will they move back the creeks any further? From what you said it seems were still on the main lake stuff. Funny you said that about the am bite. I actually debated that one and gave in to sleeping in banking on that the wind would give me the advantage. Wrong! However, the other guys actually ramped just shortly after I did. Anyway, as always thanks for such great info!