Quillback

Nice fish! Caught one today here in Bella Vista that was a solid 15" long. Caught it bass fishing on a Keitech so I can't say it is due to any crappie skills on my part. I'll post a pic once I have some time to get it off my phone.

Had a plan to go to the barbershop this morning and then go work out. Found out the barbershop is closed and so is the gym. Might have to grow one of those gray-haired pony tails if I can't get a haircut.

John, you are knocking the fish off your yet to catch list quickly! Never have caught an American or Hickory shad, but hear they fight really well.

Due to concerns about that durn virus and participants understandably cancelling we'll have to call this off. It pains me to do so, was looking forward to seeing old friends and making some new ones. We'll do it again once the smoke clears. And remember you can still go fishing this Saturday, and post a picture of your big fish and we can name a virtual winner. 😀 Jeff

We'll go ahead and cancel.

Folks, I am going to cancel this thing, really pains me to do so. We'll put out a feeler in the fall and see if folks want to do it then, if not we'll shoot for next year.

Those fliers get much bigger than I thought - didn't know anything about them, but had this impression that they didn't get very big. Congrats on another one for your list!

Boat ramps to remain open, at least for now.

Check this out: https://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/2113784/corps-to-close-day-use-recreational-areas-postpone-campground-openings/

Corps shutting down day use areas in Kentucky - wouldn't surprise me if they start shutting down all of them nation wide. https://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/2113784/corps-to-close-day-use-recreational-areas-postpone-campground-openings/

Nice one, that looks like a hoot!

Wholesale gas futures for April down to 70 cents per today. Another way to isolate yourself is to hop in a car and drive around. Won't cost much to do so.

I can understand if people want to cancel, or maybe postpone until the fall when all this shakes out. But it is up to you folks, if you want to cancel, my feelings won't be hurt and we need to make that decision soon.

Bad news for sure to be put on one.

Don't know the details. Some of the really bad cases get hooked up to ventilators.

Drove into Rodgers this morning to get some dog food. Traffic was light, I'd say about 50% of what you would see on a normal weekday. Stopped by the grocery store - lots of empty shelf space, but I still could get what I needed. No TP or hand soap of course.

Well then there is this one (somebody posted it on BBC). Easier format. Personally I think they all use the same data, they just show it in different formats. https://ncov2019.live/data

I look at this link, numbers seem to match up with other sources, but who knows? https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Yes have thought about that myself - instead of tossing out the TV, we should be tossing out the internet. Or maybe both. Watched a little bit of the guv's proclamation that he was shutting down schools, he mentioned that the CDC said it was not necessary, but due to "concerns" from parents, and teachers they were going to shut down. You can bet those concerns are driven by social media. And maybe it is the right thing to do, but who knows? We've got so many social media experts out there that it is getting hard to filter out the noise.

I like these Evergreen 125's. They walk and spit some. Solid piece of plastic that casts a mile and distance is important. Super sharp hooks right out of the box. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Evergreen_SB_Topwater_Plugs/descpage-EGSBS.html These Yellow Magic poppers are pretty good too. Smaller bait, but the 1/2 oz casts pretty well. May not get you any giants, but works well for the 4-12 lb. fish. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yellow_Magic_Japanese_Popper/descpage-YELLMJP.html A buddy of mine throws Storm Wild Eye shads and does well with those. Redfins work well on top, they aren't the best bait for distance and you should change out the hardware, but one that swims well will get them. Whopper Plopper does not do well for stripers, don't know why but they don't seem to like it. Had a guy in the back once throwing a plopper and I was throwing a walking bait - he couldn't get a bite on the plopper and they were tearing up the walker.

If you want updates from around the country, check out the BBC Lounge forum. Yeah there's a knucklehead or two (including me) on that board, but it's interesting to see what is going on around the US. I just learned that the state of Illinois is closing all state parks and boat ramps and will not let any planned events happen (think tournaments). The governor of PA is calling for a closure of bars and dining in at restaurants (still allowing take out). There seems to be a follow the leader aspect to all of these closings, once a state or two does it, they all start doing it.

Thanks for the info, I like my Birds and I've stared at them for so long that I have become pretty good at understanding what they are showing me, and that's one of the things that keeps me from pulling the trigger on an upgrade.

Well Arkansas just announced the closing of all schools through spring break. I would think it will be a lot longer than that. Something else in good old Arkansas is that the first COVID patient here was put in ICU. Three of the medical people (including a doctor) that were treating that patient in the ICU now have tested positive. Maybe their ICU containment procedures were not followed correctly, or this stuff is pretty darn aggressive and hard to contain. I don't know, hopefully just a random event.

There are others on here that are more knowledgeable about their movements, I primarily will only target stripers when they are on top. My personal opinion is that for top water fishing on the dam end, the prime time is all of May into about mid-June. Every year seems to be a little different, I never know what I'll find when I go out looking for them. Get a nice warm May morning with flat water and you can see them from a long ways off when they come up on top. It really helps if you can get out and look for them, usually a good indicator is seeing some guide boats in the area. I would not surprise me to see some stripers around Starkey in April, might be a bit early, but who knows?

I'm still clinging to my antiquated (8 years old) Humminbirds. One of these days I'll probably pull the trigger on an upgrade myself.