MOsmallies

Very cool.... Hope to see more... You guys have a great eye for film!

Great to see you post again zipstick... It had been a while. The pics are nice! You guys put the hammer on some nice ones!!

Awesome video... we were out that day but only braved it for a couple hours

Was able to make it down to the lake last weekend (11/14-11/16) with a good fishing buddy and fellow OAF member, Pat Magee. We had followed reports and the weather for two weeks leading up to our trip and despite the massive cold front we still had high hopes for a killer buzzbait and spinnerbait bite..... Well the cold air temps dropped the water temp 6 degrees over the 3 days before we got to the lake. Water temps were still 55 degrees and suitable for a fall buzzbait bite but we didn't know if that quick drop would put em in a funk. We got to the lake around 2:30 pm on Friday and were casting by 3:15 pm. It was cold but we brought the right clothes and were comfortable. No wind at all.... which worried us a little. Fished until dark, concentrating on chunk rock banks and secondary points in the 1st 1/3 of coves. Also tried some rip rap near the back of a cove. Mostly chucked a black buzzbait and a mouse colored spinnerbait. Threw the jig a little as well. Only had two bites, both from small fish and neither one was landed. It was a little disheartening, but we thought the lack of wind hurt us and it was only an hour and a half of fishing. We still had plenty of weekend left. Knowing it was going to be cold and cloudy all day, we slept in a little and hit the water at 9:00 am. Started off on secondary point and Pat nailed a small white bass on his 4th or 5th cast... on a shad colored buzzbait. Wasn't what we were after but it was a bite. Had quite a bit of surface activity on that point and for a moment we thought we were in the middle of some feeding white bass. Never materialized though. Fished until 12:30 pm concentrating on Mainlake banks and banks just inside the main lake that had busted up rock and wind. One bank just inside a mainlake point had wind howling in on it. I decided to try the jerkbait... Had two fish absolutely crush it but both pulled off almost immediately. Thought they may have been white bass slashing at the bait. I caught a small white bass on the back side of a windy mainlake point shortly after on the same jerkbait. Fished one more stretch of bank before heading back in to grab lunch... Landed a 13" Kentucky on the spinnerbait. Rough morning to say the least and we had no pattern to go off of for the afternoon. Headed back out about 2:00 pm and tried a few more secondary points and busted rock banks to no avail. Decided to try a long, skinny, deep pocket that is mostly free of docks. The rock on this bank was a mix of pea gravel and baseball sized rocks. Pat tried several baits and I tried the squarebill for the first 100 yds of this pocket. I decided to pick back up the buzzbait because if I wasn't going to catch many fish I might as well have the best shot at a good one... About 10 casts later my buzzbait got sucked under and I was able to land one that went 4.16 lbs. About 10 minutes later I landed another one about 14.5" and 20 minutes later added another dink. All on the buzzbait. I thought the bite was picking up, but that was just about it. The weather was perfect for a good bite... Cloudy, windy, some sleet and mist. Just never got em going. Wind died down late in the day, so we picked a stretch of rip rap around some condo docks and each caught a short on a jig. Another lackluster day but one good fish helped us feel a little better. Woke up sunday expecting snow and snow we got. Ate breakfast as it started and then headed out again. Only stayed out for a couple hours as the bite was just not on for us and the snow was coming down pretty heavy. It was beautiful to be out in though. Pat nailed a drum on his jig and we called it a trip. Overall, the fishing was slow, but we had a great time shooting the $h!t and slinging baits. I'll be back down for Thanksgiving, and hopefully I can find a better bite.

Absolutely awesome info Wrench and 96 Champ! Glad you guys are hammering them

Glad to hear someone's able to get on the river. I haven't been since July!! Glad you were able to catch a few

Unreal LOZ Walleye! Just awesome... Thanks for sharing

I use and highly recommend Dwain Batey with Baitwerks as well. I just sent him 30 baits last week as he was running a special in September (30 baits for $200)... You can't beat $6.66 per bait!!!!! He may have a new special running now, but call him and see if he can work out some sort of deal. He does amazing work and paints for several Elite Series pros. He estimated his turnaround time to be about 5 weeks right now, but if you don't need them until next spring that's not bad. I've heard a lot of good things about Tim Hughes as well, I've just never used him.

Unfortunately I never fish spoons so I don't have any real suggestions. My only suggestion would be to pose this question on the Table Rock Forum. Lot's of knowledgable guys and some really good spoon fisherman. Good Luck!

I've caught three in the past year... 17", 19" and 20".... I'd be all for a slot limit as well. How much did that 28" weigh?

Nice!!! They seem to be showing up more and more! I caught 3 this past year bass fishing. You get this one trolling?

I would prefer to not have micro guides, but Falcon does not make the Umbrella Rig Rod with normal guides

Nice fish.... I absolutely hated the action on the Waketail 85 to the point I banished it after 5 casts and sold it.... I didn't even want to look at it anymore!!

It definitely takes quality baitcasting gear and a lot of practice.... A LOT!!! That's awesome... Did you fish this years tournament as well? If so how'd you end up doing?

I'm looking for a similar setup for A-Rigs and 1-3 oz Swimbaits. I've settled on this combo and now I just need to go buy it... 7'6" Heavy Falcon Bucoo Micro Guide Umbrella Rig Rod http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Falcon_Bucoo_Micro_Guide_Casting_Rods/descpage-FBMC.html Lews Super Duty Speed Spool SD1H (6.4:1) http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lews_Super_Duty_Speed_Spool_Casting_Reel/descpage-LSDS.html

Aaron, you are killing me!!!!

Looking to buy a used, but in good condition Falcon Bucoo Micro Guide Umbrella Rig Rod 7'6" Heavy. PM me if you have one you are willing to sell. I'm in St. Louis. Thanks, Paul

Nice report... Glad you got into a few!

1/8 oz or 3/16 oz... Green Pumpkin, Brown, and Black... on a football head.....Killer for winter river smallies! The silicone is a cool idea, but I know a lot of guys just want the hair for cold water.

Simply Awesome!!! Congrats Mark! That's a hog!!!!!!

Hahahahahahahahahahaha

Anyone attend the Spotted Bass Round Up on the Bourbeuse last weekend? Was hoping to hear how it went. Any numbers on how many spotted bass were harvested? What was the biggest one? Any big Smallies or Largemouth caught and released?

Great info WHARFRAT.... Trolling can turn a tough day of casting into a good day of fishing/catching.... The multi-species thing is fun as well

Sorry - I just saw this this morning. I would have loved to been on a creek or river somewhere, but my wife's whole family was heading down to the lake so I headed that way too. We had to leave the lake yesterday morning because my wife had to work last night.... Otherwise I would have loved to try and meet up to fish a river stretch. I'm trying to plan a weekend in November with a couple guys from here (Scott and Mitch). If we can get something planned, I'll let you know and maybe we could meet up and fish a bit or at least drink a few beers. In regards to the lake fishing, we were relegated to fishing near our house as my father-in-laws big motor broke down. Something with the carburetor he believed??? We only caught three 15-16" keepers all weekend and probably ten 12-14" shorts. Shakey Head (Trick Worm) and Jig... And my father-in-law caught some on a weightless senko. I can't get him to put it down but he's still catching a few on it.

Not catching many this weekend but caught the shorts good tonight on the shakey head.