Quillback

Today was the last straw. I am not going to fish crawlers again anytime soon. I caught a few bass on them today, a couple of them were keepers, but it was slow even for spotted bass. Really wanted to get a walleye, but no takers. Got a couple of scrawny bluegill. The few I caught were out deep in the 25-40 foot range off gravel. Sure was a nice, cool morning, even had to breakout the hoodie. WT was 84.

Man, that is a sweet looking canoe!

That's great - I haven't been able to find any top water action at all the last few times out. Sure is fun when it happens.

Some great fish!

I hate no wake zones, but they ought to make that channel, from bank to bank and two hundred yards in either direction, a no wake zone. Having those wakes roll in on a boat launch is downright dangerous.

From what I have seen, it is more about changing the way they are fishing more than increasing bag limit size even though Lee Livesay put together a pretty impressive bag on Fork last year. Livesay was fishing a jerk bait and using the FFS to target individual fish and I have seen quite a few of the other pros use them during tourneys where they are fishing jerk baits, the guys using it aren't casting unless they see a fish. Edwin Evers fished an event on Grand on the BPT and he was using it to target fish with a jerkbait. He was offshore looking for them, no way he would have been doing that without FFS. Funny thing was, the winner (I think it was Bobby Lane) won that tourney flipping cover and docks, old school fishing. But Edwin was in the hunt, Edwin was having hookup issues too - he'd get bit but the fish would get off. I don't know if I will ever get it myself, but I rarely fish tourneys. I have fun fishing the way I do, I don't know that having FFS would make things any more fun.

It's been strangely quiet at the Big M ramp lately as far as fishing boats. I have been the only one there early the last couple of trips and when I come back there's usually a couple of pontoon rigs parked but that is it. When I was getting ready to leave yesterday at 1045, wake boat came down the lake and about threw me into the bluff, another boat was sitting outside the entrance to Big M deploying a couple of those inflatable couch deals and getting ready to run - I got out of there before they got cranked up. Couple of pontoons with a bunch of people in each were coming out of the marina also. Once it gets close to 11 AM things start to get crazy. As always about this time of year I start looking forward to November. I noticed the Big M marina has some rental pontoons now.

The problem with the early morning bite this time of year is that if you have to spend time figuring it out, it doesn't leave you with much productive fishing time.

Giant Bison gone too. Neat read. Former Oklahomans Giant Bison Roamed State 10,000-Year-Old Bones Found

Used to be leg quarters were real cheap at the local grocery. Not anymore. It was weird, you could get half a dozen leg quarters for less than you'd pay for a half dozen thighs. Same size thighs on the quarters as the ones by themselves.

I agree with Dutch.

Launched at 0600, it was a little cold, felt nice. Warmed up quickly however, by 9AM with no wind out there it was getting toasty. Today I fished jigs all morning. Got some good reports of some solid fish being caught on jigs, so I fished them. Got quite a few bites, real light bites, but there were some that wanted that jig and would hit it three or four times until I hooked them. Missed a lot more than I hooked, but at the end of the morning I had 13 in the boat with 3 keepers. The fish bit from when I started until 9 AM or so, then it got real slow. I caught my biggest bass of the day at about 1030 right before I left. It was on a bluff end right across from Big M. One of those one more cast before I go fish. Fish were deep and scattered, caught them on gravel in 20-30 FOW, dragging jigs on the bottom. 1/2 oz Green Pumpkin jig with a craw trailer. Got checked by the warden. Eagle Rock Tom was close by at the time and got checked too. He asked the warden if he'd seen anyone catching any and the warden mentioned he'd checked a "retired guide" that had a couple of keeper walleye. A bit later I saw a white Phoenix heading towards Shell Knob. Might have been someone we all know. Sure seemed to be a lot of traffic on the road between 86 and Roaring River. Might be a busy weekend. Full moon had the deer out, saw a lot of them on the pre-dawn drive to the lake. Mostly does and fawns. Saw one 6 point buck in the Big M park. Didn't check the WT.

Congrats on the walleye!

Connell hung in there. One of these days when circumstances allow, I plan on doing some traveling and fishing some lakes, will have to put Cayuga on the list.

Haven't watched any until just now. Connell is putting some distance between himself and Wheeler.

Nice fish!

Gulp Minnows, not a bad idea.

From Loon Lake WA (again). Angler Catches Potential World Record Tiger Trout | Field & Stream (fieldandstream.com)

Well I armed myself with crawlers and crickets and went out in pursuit of the elusive bluegill. Not quite as bad of a fail as last time, I caught 3 gills big enough to keep and a 10" redear. Picked up 10 spotted bass here and there. Fished a lot of places, just can't find them except a few here and there. Saw Mr. Babler on the lake, he had picked up a few bass early. Seemed to be quite a few fishermen out there today.

Nice one!

I'll have to try some apple vinegar on the pork and chicken. If you want to try something different, marinate a steak in 1/3 soy sauce, 1/3 Balsamic vinegar and 1/3 olive oil for about 8 hours then grill it.

Must be some in the family background, we have just about everything.

If you want to try something different on your fried fish, sprinkle some malt vinegar on it.

Nice gill, that is what I will be looking for next time out.

Looks like one to me. Curious if the bass were eating them.