Quillback

Must have been him, I wasn't close enough to get a good look, they were leaving just as I was pulling up. Well I hope he got into them!

I think it's awesome Can't wait for that first Hog vs Mizzou pussycats football game. Do they play next year?

Launched out of Big M at about 0600 and it was very foggy. Started on a point near the Big M and caught a couple on the black/red flake Ol Monster, one of which was a 2.5 lb. Boga certified, Meanmouth (I believe it's a Meanmouth, but I have set up a poll to get your expert opinions. 2.5 lb. bass is normally no big deal, but a 2.5 lb. Meanmouth would be my personal best Meanie. Went back into a big cove and picked up several nice bass pitching a creature (black/blue Meagabug) to docks, including a 3 lb. LM and a couple of fat 2 lb. spots. The the fog burned off... Once the sun came out things got tough, I picked up a couple of shorts on a c-rigged UV Speed craw. Tried the Drop shot for a bit, only one bite. On the trailer at 1130. Water temp 83. Here's the suspected Meanie. And the 3 lb. creature eater.

I was down that way myself, but didn't go into the Roaring river cove. Saw what looked to be a wrapped boat sitting on the spot I wanted to fish, so I headed back in the direction of Big M.

The fish were fat and healthy, and I do believe those shad make it tough as they are everywhere. There were scattered bass surface feeding, but they would come up just about anywhere. Probably a good time to be a troller I did dredge up a Shad-Rap, SR7 I believe. Had a giant swivel on the front with about 20 feet of braid.

Went fishing in Jeb's boat today, mid lake area, Jeb put a whuppin on me, he caught 8 black bass and I only 1. That's right, only one for me But it's still good to be out on the water! Anyway it was just a fish here and there, drop shot put the most fish in the boat, followed by c-rigged worms. Some decent average size, Jeb caught a 17" smallie for big fish of the day, and a few 15-16" spots. Water temp 81. Not much wind, and there's a lot of small shad out there.

I like the auto-inflate as I am getting to the age where I could have a stroke or something like that and fall in and not be conscious enough to pull the lanyard. Or you could be in a collision and get knocked into the water unconscious.

That is something I've never heard of, but as you say, spooky!

Nice bass! That hat however....

I have a Basspro inflatable, which appears to be a relabled Mustang. Also I've had a Cabelas auto-inflatable. Never have had them inflate on their own, I believe they use what they call "Hydro-static" inflation, they don't inflate because they get wet, but they inflate due to water pressure. Be sure to look at the rating as far as how many lbs. of flotation one will provide.

Only 2 runs last night, I hate batting slumps.

The blight is a bad deal, It's usually a problem for me this time of year, but for whatever reason it hasn't been bad this year. Squirrels have been my biggest problem, but they seem to have found food in the woods now so they haven't been stealing my tomatoes lately.

There's gotta be some big blues in Beaver, AGFC has been stocking them for quite a while. I used to drift fish for blues over at Grand Lake. Net some shad (sometimes netting shad can be tougher than catching cats). I would use bottom walker walleye type sinkers, have about 3 feet of leader and drift along slowly maintaining contact with the bottom, with a whole shad or shad chunk. Usually good for 8 -10 blues on Grand on a good day. Grand, however, has a very healthy blue population.

Wiggle Wart is a unanimous winner!

Very nice looking boat. Front deck on a 921 is big enough to hold a square dance on.

Thanks for the report, I've been wondering if the afternoon bite is better than the AM bite.

I can't remember the details, but there was quite a bit of damage. There was a habitat restoration project in 2009/2010.

Here's another shot, he just would not let me get in front. Heckuva nice day.

BTW, my comment on it being a "steal" was tongue in cheek. It's probably a good bait, but there are cheaper alternatives.

If you've never been to Basspro in Springfield, it's worth a trip, just leave the credit card at home. If you can deal with the 2 hour drive from Branson, we have the Crystal Bridge art museum here in Bentonville. Entrance is free and it's a great museum from what I hear.

They did quite a bit on the White below Beaver dam a few years ago. Floods really blew it out.

New bait from Strike King, runs in that 8 - 10 foot range. No craw colors however. Just wondering if it will work during Wiggle Wart season. Need the opinion of you crankers out there. http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Strike_King_KVD_HC_Flat_Side_Crankbait/descpage-SKKVDFS.html

At $20.99 it's a steal! http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Megabass_Shading_X_75_SP/descpage-MBSX75.html

Shut out last night, the bats have gone cold.

Some nice chunks!