Quillback

Dang it, I was hoping they were gone.

There - I gave you a "like". You owe me one now. Just looked at the emoticons - looks like we lost those funky Japanese ones.

Rode along today in my buddy Jeb's boat, we launched while it was still dark and got busy fishing. No bites in the pre-dawn hours, but we did see some meteors from the Perseid shower. Once it got light we started getting a couple of bites on the drop shot, but it was tough going. We caught 8 bass, all spots, and a couple of the biggest ones may have hit 13". All but one came on drop shot fished around brush piles in the proverbial 15-25 foot range. One fish caught on a jig. Lots of bluegill around those brush piles and they are biting. We should have brought crickets.

From AGFC: HOT SPRINGS – Fifty of the best bass anglers in the world will converge on Hot Springs, Aug. 20-23, to participate in the Forrest Wood Cup, the championship event for the FLW bass fishing tour. Aside from local amenities for fans and anglers to enjoy, Hot Springs has a lot to offer in the way of its fisheries. Lake Ouachita boasts more than 970 miles of shoreline from the upper reaches of the Ouachita River to Blakely Mountain Dam. Ravines, islands and creeks add plenty of nooks and crannies for anglers to get away from crowds and find a few hidden gems. More than 40,000 acres of clear, blue surface water cover rocky bluffs, flooded forests of 100-foot tall trees and submerged vegetation. “A lot of anglers who have fished here before will remember the deep aquatic vegetation,” said Brett Hobbs, district fisheries supervisor for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. “But the vegetation saw a large die off about six years ago.” Hobbs said the vegetation is beginning to come back in some areas, particularly the Rabbittail and Cedar Fourche areas on the north shore of the lake. “Both of those areas have a pretty good mix of hydrilla and Eurasian water milfoil,” Hobbs said. “Big Blakely Creek on the far northeast side of the lake has a lot of hydrilla and some coontail, as well.” These aren’t the only possible areas to find vegetation and anglers who locate a patch or two away from the crowd may have found a gold mine. In addition to all the natural cover and structure, the AGFC worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Arkansas Black Bass Coalition to place dozens of brush piles throughout the lake in prime locations to congregate bass, crappie and other sport fish. Anglers can visit www.agfc.com, click the interactive map link to zoom into Ouachita and locate the blue fish attractor icons. GPS coordinates are available to download through the map’s tools icons in the top right corner of the screen. “Most of those brush piles were cedar trees placed in the North Fork arm and around mid-lake,” Hobbs said. “I fully expect a few tournament fish to come from some of these deeper brush piles.” How deep is too deep? Hobbs has some advice about that, too. “I recently completed a dissolved oxygen profile on the lake, and across the lake, once you hit 21 to 22 feet, there isn’t enough dissolved oxygen to sustain many fish,” Hobbs said. “Black basses should be holding near the thermocline, but may be located early in the morning feeding in the shallows or chasing shad at the surface at any time.” Other than submerged vegetation, the Rabbittail area might have another X-factor for anglers – a little boost of Florida bass genetics. As part of a strategic management plan, Florida-strain largemouths were stocked from 2007 to 2014 in this area of the lake. “This was something black bass anglers requested,” Hobbs said. While the jury is still out on whether the stockings will have any effect on Lake Ouachita bass, it’s worthy to note that the first of those stockings are now seven years old. “It will be interesting to see if we were able to get some of those Florida-strain genes in the bass population at Ouachita,” Hobbs said. The lake isn’t just an angling paradise, it’s a great destination for wildlife watchers as well. The Lake Ouachita Vista Trail offers 45 miles of mountain biking and hiking paths on the south side of the lake, stretching from a trailhead at Avery Recreation Area below Blakely Mountain Dam. There’s also a special 1.25-mile watchable wildlife loop with an elevated boardwalk that is Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible at Denby Bay. For more information, visit www.lakeouachitavistatrail.com. Be sure to visit http://www.flwfishing.com/tournaments/2015-08-20-forrest-wood-cup for a list of events scheduled around the Forrest Wood Cup, including what could be the largest FLW fishing expo ever.

Lamberts getting sued. Sheesh... Missouri may soon have its own version of the infamous Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants hot-coffee lawsuit. Lambert's Cafe, the Sikeston-based restaurant chain proudly known as the "Home of Throwed Rolls," featuring servers who lob dinner rolls across the dining hall to guests, is being sued for a roll-related injury.The suit was filed yesterday against the Sikeston restaurant by University City-based attorney William Meehan on behalf of a guy gal named Troy Tucker. Tucker claims she "sustained a lacerated cornea with a vitreous detachment and all head, neck, eyes and vision were severely damaged" after being hit by a roll during a September 2014 visit. [see editor's note at the bottom of this post.] The practice of throwing rolls is deemed a "defective condition" of Lambert's, and the suit claims that the restaurant knew (or should have known) about the danger of this practice. Tucker now seeks an award of at least $25,000 to pay for her medical bills and legal fees. The restaurant's "carelessness and negligence" has already caused expenses totaling $10,000, the suit alleges, and who knows what future medical costs may emerge from the assault of the freshly baked bread. But we have to wonder how much of a case Tucker has. After all, in June, the Kansas City Royals and their mascot were deemed not to have been at fault after a thrown hot dog hit a man in the face and tore his retina. In that case the "baseball rule" was referenced, and the jury found that the man assumed some responsibility for personal awareness by entering a baseball stadium. Might the "throwed roll rule" become established legal precedent? After all, "Home of Throwed Rolls" is plastered on massive billboards all over the state. Shouldn't diners at Lambert's be responsible for some level of situational awareness when entering the restaurant? And if not, does that mean the end to throwed rolls in Missouri? What kind of country are we living in when a restaurant can't toss a freshly baked dinner roll at a man's head? Editor's note: Our story was picked up by Fox-4 in Kansas City. After talking to the plaintiff's lawyer, however, the television station reports that Troy Tucker is actually a woman. We have changed our story accordingly. We welcome tips and feedback. Email the writer at johnnyfugitt@gmail.com.

Just doesn't seem right to start school before Labor Day.

Good job on finding them!

Yep, definitely will not get hung up as much as a conventional jig. And when you do get them stuck, if you can get on the other side of them, you can get them out.

Cool, thanks!

Thanks for the report Bo - Excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by a spin jig? Is that another name for a fish head spin?

Good deal. I really like the UV Speed Craws, usually I fish them on a Carolina rig or as a jig trailer.

Yep, intimidation - keeps the guys off his spots. Also does a fine job of cutting Zinkerz in half.

Here's a pic of Dtrs fishing one of those 3000 Daiwas.

I'm pretty sure you still need the permits, but I'd have your tournament director call the COE and State patrol to verify. If you are launching out of a private resort you would not have to pay the COE event fee (only if you have more than 25 people participating), but I think you'd still have to do the permits.

Something to keep in mind is that if you hold a tourney on Table Rock, you'll need a Corps event permit and a MO State Patrol Regatta permit.

That is one HAWG gill!

I haven't fished Beaver in a while, probably won't get out there until the weather cools. My fishing lately has been once or twice a week over here on the Bella Vista lakes very early in the morning for a few hours. I'm hoping there's a good fall bite on Beaver.

Looking through the Outdoors workshops that they have at BPS in Springfield and it looks like Eric Prey will have one on dropshot fishing on August 18th. 6:30 PM Tuesdays with the Pros Aug 18, 2015 Freshwater Fishing Workshop Welcome back to Tuesdays with the Pros 2015 Season! Our Pro for the evening is Eric Prey, and he will be speaking on& ... Welcome back to Tuesdays with the Pros 2015 Season! Our Pro for the evening is Eric Prey, and he will be speaking on Summertime Dropshot Fishing at 6:30pm down in the Marine Department! Remember to bring your questions for our local experts! We hope to see you here in the Springfield, Missouri Store!

Bull Shoals also keeps 5 FOW to allow for minimum flow in the White below the dam. I think this was implemented 2 or 3 years ago. Section 132(a) of the FY06 EWDAA authorizes and directs the implementation of plan BS-3 at Bull Shoals for minimum flows. Plan BS-3 reallocates 5 feet of flood control storage at Bull Shoals Lake for the minimum flows release of 800 cfs. This target flow of 800 cfs will consist of 590 cfs of minimum flow releases through one of the main hydropower turbines, as well as 50 cfs of existing releases through the house hydropower Station Service Unit and existing flows of 160 cfs from normal leakage through the closed wicket gates. The top of the conservation pool elevation will be raised by 5 feet from 654.0 to 659.0; and the top of the seasonal pool held from May to July for water temperature releases will be raised by 5 feet from 657.0 to 662.0. The top of the flood control pool will remain at the existing elevation of 695.0.

I'd call that some pretty good fishing, especially for this time of year.

Outstanding!

I always look for fish using the graph when I'm drop shotting. I have my drop shot milk run on Table Rock, I'll pull in on one, drop the trolling motor and start moving around slowly glancing down at the graph, I'll flip the rig out there 30-40 feet and let it drop, and slowly bring it back towards the boat, if there's fish under the graph cone, then I'll work it in to them and keep it there, dragging it a bit, and giving it some subtle shaking with the rod. If they are there they'll usually bite. If you don't see any fish (or shad) on the graph after covering the area, it's time to go. The guides are real good on catching the suspended fish in deep water, it helps if you are going to do that, to mark your line at 10 foot intervals so you can drop down to the depth you are marking fish. You'll get some bites on the drop also, watch your line when you throw it out there, if it stops falling a bit early, a fish has grabbed it. I don't fish a DS that much on lakes that are primarily largemouth lakes. Usually I'm fishing it on Table Rock, and mostly I'll get spotted bass with it, with some largies and smalles thrown in. There's a ton of drop shot videos out there.

Nice healthy looking wallies, especially for August.

I've been waiting a long time for a "RAB" system bait. Finally, it has arrived.

Well I am hoping that either you or Champ pick one up a let us know how it works.