Quillback

JEB was kind enough to take me in his boat (thanks dude!) this morning, we fished mid lake areas, caught maybe a dozen fish total, mostly spots. Topwaters, C-rigs, and swim jigs did the damage. Here's me with a topwater smallie. I was walking a pencil popper, it was fairly close to the boat, got a hit, missed it, but yanked the popper which went flying out of the water about a foot, and then this guy jumped into the air and grabbed the plug in mid air, it was very cool! Not only that but when I got him to the boat there were another 5 smallies that followed it in, I've seen spots do that but never smallies. JEB caught this dude, we think it's a Meanmouth, it's colored like a smallie but has markings like it's got some spot genes in it. Had a water spot on the lens which blurs a little bit of the pic.

More info: WHAT : Boater Chris Torkleson of Sand Springs, Okla., caught a 10-bass limit weighing 34 pounds, 11 ounces Sept. 18-19 to win $5,137 in the BFL Okie Division tournament on Grand Lake. Torkleson was throwing a jig mid lake in 10 to 12 feet of water near deep points with brush. WHO: The remaining top10 anglers: 2nd: Brad Hallman, Norman, Okla., 10 bass, 29-4, $2,569 3rd: Bob Harter, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 27-10, $1,712 4th: Travis McKelvey, Jenks, Okla., nine bass, 27-3, $1,199 5th: Wayne Diffee, Oakhurst, Okla., 10 bass, 27-1, $1,027 6th: Thomas Canady, Skiatook, Okla., 10 bass, 25-10, $942 7th: Jason Wedel, Lowell, Ark., 10 bass, 23-6, $856 8th: Clayton Coppin, Muskogee, Okla., 10 bass, 23-6, $771 9th: Derek Fulps, Broken Arrow, Okla., 10 bass, 23-1, $685 10th: Jason Gilstrap, Owasso, Okla., 10 bass, 22-10, $599 WHAT : Justin Phillips of Checotah, Okla., caught a 10-bass limit weighing 26 pounds, 6 ounces Sept. 18-19 to win $2,563 in the Co-angler Division. He was using buzzbait and Pop-Rs in shallow water near Wolf Creek and Horse Creek to bag his limits. WHO: The remaining top10 co-anglers: 2nd: Patrick Weir, Broken Arrow, Okla., nine bass, 21-11, $1,281 3rd: Scott Parsons, Bentonville, Ark., 10 bass, 19-14, $853 4th: Don Benson, Eufaula, Okla., seven bass, 18-9, $598 5th: Richard Vallis, Fort Smith, Ark., nine bass, 18-8, $513 6th: Brad Reynolds, Lowell, Ark., nine bass, 18, $470 7th: Kenny Blackwood, Rogers, Ark., nine bass, 18, $427 8th: Jeffrey Bullinger, Sapulpa, Okla., eight bass, 17-9, $384 9th: Parks Pendergraft, Claremore, Okla., eight bass, 17-2, $342 10th: Dylan Duncan, Kansas, Okla., seven bass, 16-5, $299 NOTES: The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings from the Okie Division have now qualified for the Oct. 14-16 Regional Championship on Lake Texoma in Denison, Texas. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger 198VX with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and a Chevy pick-up, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger 198VX.

Here's the link to the results, 34 lbs. to win (10 fish). http://www.flwoutdoors.com/bassfishing/bfl/tournament/2010/6434/grand-lake-boater-results/

Nice pics! Glad to see they are after the fin.

I did a search on BFL, it's Bass Fishing League, part of the FLW. $300 entry fee, winning angler gets $9000. Winning co-angler $4500. Big bass $1500.

JB. that's one heck of a spot for Beaver! Nice photo also, really good pic of a healthy fish.

Excellent report, I appreciate the fishing tips, even though they are for Lake Fork, they give me some ideas for things to use up here.

Well I pulled up to the launch at Monkey Island at 0615 and found several wrapped boats in the process of launching. I did not know it, but there is a big tourney this weekend, BFL. BTW I don't know what the BFL tourney is. Anyway lots of boats out there, several times when I was fishing a point as soon as I left a guy would pull in and fish the same point, had I known there would be so many guys out there I think I would have gone somewhere else. Fishing was slow for me, I caught 1/2 dozen or so bass, but none over 13". Mainly caught them pitching jigs to docks and a couple on c-rigged plastics. Just could not figure out where they were or what they wanted. Lots of shad in the lake, but the fish weren't bothering them much. Sunny, warm, calm day. I did talk to some of the other fishermen, no one I talked to was doing any good, or if they were they weren't talking about it. Those tourney guys can be pretty secretive, not that I blame them.

How many more long TD runs does Jamaal Charles have to make before Haley realizes that the guy is one of the top backs in the league? It makes no sense to have him split carries with Thomas Jones. Charles is a huge talent, I can't figure out what Haley is thinking.

Very nice, good pic!

If it would stop raining I could go fishing and stop posting here I have heard many economists say that it is WWII that pulled us out of the depression. Not that I would recommend another WW to end this recession, would not even think about it.

I think there is a law of physics that says if an internet forum topic goes on long enough it will eventually turn to politics.

Chief, quite frankly, you're speaking gibberish. Maybe you can write another 3 paragraphs of nonsense in reply. I'll check back tomorrow.

Hey Wormer - I know exactly where that no wake buoy is you are talking about and I had the same question, how far from that buoy does the no wake rule apply? Apparently the enforcement people don't know either! Geez, from what JEB and you are saying, sounds like the folks that enforce the laws on Beaver need a training session so that they know what the law is they are enforcing.

Hey Wormer - I know exactly where that no wake buoy is you are talking about and I had the same question, how far from that buoy does the no wake rule apply? Apparently the enforcement people don't know either! Geez, from what JEB and you are saying, sounds like the folks that enforce the laws on Beaver need a training session so that they know what the law is they are enforcing.

I could live with a lead ban if it was phased in over a reasonable period of time, or a ban on small sinkers, or banning lead in certain lakes or streams where there is clear evidence of a need for the ban. But I could not support this petition to the EPA to absolutely ban lead. The organizations that are asking for the lead ban could probably get support from anglers if they took the time to understand our concerns, but when they blindside you with something like this and try and force it on you it rubs people wrong. Environmental organizations, which in general are well meaning, seem to have a "We know better than you" attitude and because of that they can come off as seeming to work behind the scenes to ditate to us how we will live our lives. We're Americans, we don't like it when orgnizations come out of nowhere and try and dictate how you will live your life, and if you don't like it, tough because it's now the law and we'll throw your butt in jail if you don't conform to the new laws. This issue is also being dicussed on some of the other fishing forums I frequent. Lots of opinions out there on this isssue.

No Chief, not agreed, the 2% < 96% was in reference to brass not tungsten. Do you know anything about the toxicity of tungsten? Maybe you should do a little research.

Yeah OB, lead is evil, but yet other suspect metals (brass, tungsten) which are suspect are OK by you. I think it's an idiotic assumption to assume that tungsten is OK. Better to err on the side of safety.

Yep Ann you are right, to be true friends of the environment we should ban all fishing. And kill all cats

According to this article, if you're concerned about "potential" adverse effects to the environmet, you should not use tungsten either. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/87/8703sci2.html From the article: The metal's toxicity is relatively low compared with, for example, mercury's or lead's, but "tungsten anions are never inert to living things," Tajima says. Chronic exposure to tungsten species by, for example, ingesting tainted water or foods, even at a very low concentration, is probably a more important issue than acute toxicity, he says.

Excellent! How deep of water were you picking up the black bass? Were they near docks or were you getting them on the points?

I like to fish, but putting up with that level of craziness just isn't worth it to me. But, I can now fish during the week (and I am thankful for that). Nice bunch of fish, kudos to you for being able to pull them out in the midst of all that stuff.

After all this, and I appreciate the anti-lead arguments, I will still be using lead. I do use tungsten for t-rig weights, because it's more dense and makes for a smaller weight. If someday, jig and spinnerbait manufacturers offer tungsten lures and they are priced similarly to lead ones, I'll buy them. But I do not see enough of an impact on the environment to support a ban on the use of lead in fishing tackle.

OK, look at the loon study and think about what it says: Diagnostic and analytical findings are presented for 105 common loons (Gavia immer) found dead or debilitated in New York (USA) from 1972-99. Aspergillosis (23% of cases) and ingestion of lead fishing weights (21%) were the most common pathologies encountered. Stranding on land, shooting, other trauma, gill nets, air sacculitis and peritonitis, and emaciation of uncertain etiology accounted for most of the remaining causes of disease or death. 105 loons dies in a 27 year span (1972-99), that's about 4 per year. Only 21 % died from lead poisoning. So in total 22 loons died from lead poisoning in 27 years, less than one per year. In the case of the penguins, again if you read what you're referencing, death by lead poisoning is far down on the list of penguin mortality. And in the Pacific Loon case it clearly states it is lead shot that is the issue. Yes lead is a problem, banning lead shot is good, I can see where a ban on lead split shot might make sense, though I am not convinced that by itself it is an issue. But I see no reason to ban the use of lead in fishing lures such as jigs or spiiner baits.

Still haven't seen any proof or references to how lead used in fishing lures (not lead shot or split shot) is having any significant impact on waterfowl or any fish or animals. The somewhat longwinded arguments I have seen do not quote any studies, which is about what you would expect from a 4th graders paper on lead in the environment.