8pounder

Had the “other big three” yesterday. Walleye was an inch short of swimming in the grease.

For me, it’s a very difficult time of year to catch fish, let alone a big one, at the Rock. I bet there will be a lot of 2 lb fish in the money.

I’ve been tempted to try those grillgrates but skeptical about the claims and advertising. Didn’t feel like wasting the kind of money they want and getting burned on a gimmick. May have to re-think my position now.

A couple of screen shots from last fall.

I have been fishing this lake every spring for nearly 40 years now, and have seen it this clear only on a handful of occasions. I’ve never had a 3-4 day stretch of fishing like I’ve just had with a higher keeper ratio - 59 w/35 keepers. There was nothing new or mysterious to what I was doing, dragging a Dr or French Fry back to the boat, chucking the 3.3 keitech, an occasional fluke offering, and when conditions warranted I’d go Red Fin or Buzz Bait. Didn’t much matter whether it was pea gravel, fist size rock, basketball size, or boulders there always seemed to be fish looking for a meal or pizzed that something was in their space. Timber in the vicinity helped slightly. My boat was never in water more than 18-20 ft and many times I worked down the bank in 10 fow. Smallmouth were predominant, but I did catch a few Spots and Large Mouth. All released to swim another day. Bite yesterday in the higher and rising water didn’t change. Nice to see the future dock crappers out swimming with mom and dad too.

There now. Thanks Phil!

Did the pinned graphs get moved? They’re not on the forum anymore.

Made a run to the back of Spring Branch Friday afternoon and on the way I passed a ski boat that was stopped in the middle of the channel regrouping or whatever it was they were doing. I motored past them 2 or 300 yards and started fishing. As I fished I heard a boat approaching and it was slowing down. I turned to look and it was the ski boat I'd passed earlier. My first thought was perhaps I didn't give a wide enough berth as I passed him. He slowed almost to a stop and to my surprise told me he was going to the back and would be pulling his daughter out just one time and he wouldn't bother me after that. I smiled and waved and told them to have a great time. There are a few considerate folks left, and I got lucky Friday afternoon and met one!

i downloaded the MO Fishing App last night and loaded my 2017 fishing permit. I suppose had I purchased my license on line, I wouldn't have had to input the permit number in the app. With the permit on my mobile device at least I'll always know where it is...no more fumbling in various niches in the wallet anymore. Did a screen shot too so I don't have to open the app if I'm ever checked, there's a few spots on the water where I might not be able to get to the app. I guess my collection of hard copy fishing license will end 2016. Lasted longer than the S&H green stamps.

Wasn't targeting walleye but this 3.3 lb 21 inch big boy found my rock crawler the other day in the Indian Point area.

Get a Rocket

Flipping boat docks??? Guess all the points and pockets will be void of boats next year but you'll have to take a number to get near a dock.

We've been doing the spring thing fishing since the end of March and have caught numerous fish. We've fished the OBBT for the last 4 years because it's fun and we like the chances of cashing a check. We know going in there will be lots of boats on the water and finding an unoccupied honey hole would be difficult but during our time this weekend I can say we never did have a problem finding fishing water. Sure there were a lot of boats out there and points and pockets were packed many times but we managed to find fishing water. Never once were we cut off during the event. Now I will say I was cut off a number of times earlier this spring by non tournament boats and on one occasion was cut off by a guide boat. Not a big deal because I moved but to bash the participants in this event when it happens everyday is being a little unfair. Now it's time to go home for the summer and turn the lake over to the wake boats, plowing cruisers, and the little buzzing jet skis. They have as much right to this fine piece of heaven as we do, just glad they like the warmer weather and not the early spring or fall fishing time!

I finally got mine in from TW and wasn't too impressed. Had to be fished fast to get much movement. Might not have given them a fair trial. Be back next week and may give them another chance.

Thanks.

Richy, are you close to Deer Run?

Fished Big and Little Indian today from noon to 5. Water temps 60-65 in places. Seemed to be clearer today too. Fished 18-23 fow in the pockets and off points. Ned, Dr, shakey head, grubs, french fry, hula grub on chunk rock. Keeper ratio for the 4 of us took a hit today 34-5. Different water tomorrow.

Four of us fished the Jake Creek area after the rain this afternoon. Very slick water. Fished mixed rock pockets and points with the Ned, Doctor, french fry, and shakey head. 18 fow and shallower. 47 fish and 20 keeps. Mostly big healthy spots and a few nice smallies.

4 of us fished from Beardsley to Spring Branch yesterday mostly shallow and had 60 fish 21 keeps. Brownies, spots, and LMs. Caught them on grubs, hula grubs, lizard, the Ned, the Doctor and one blind LM on the $30 stick bait. Mostly mixed rock banks and it didn't seem to matter whether you were on the points or in the backs of coves.

My best was 8# caught on my very first fishing trip to TRL 30+ years ago. It was on the last cast of the evening and I was using a Sassy Shad. Thought I was hung in a tree branch until the line started to move. Still have the fish on the wall and the ABU 2500C reel I was using that night.

Ditto on the Lake House on Indian Point....and there's a new BBQ shack opened in Notch. Texas style BBQ. Right next door to the shuttered Wooden Nickel.

I pulled this unit out of my console on a boat I sold last fall. It was working fine when I removed it but I left the cables and transducer on the boat in case I didn't like the Hummingbird unit I had installed. It's been sitting in a box in my garage for a year now and i want to get rid of it. I'll sell it for $40 and buyer pays shipping...I think that runs $7.95. Product Information The Lowrance X125 is a feature-rich sonar fishfinder. This Lowrance fishfinder exhibits a 5-inch LCD display screen which displays data in split-screen format at 480x480 resolution. The 16-level grayscale of this sonar fishfinder shows you the difference between soft and hard bottoms, so that you can easily find the location where fish is hidden. The backlit screen and keypad of the Lowrance X125 lets you comfortably view the info on display even in darker environments. With the 2,400-watt peak-to-peak power, this Lowrance fishfinder can easily penetrate up to a maximum of 900 feet. The Lowrance X125 automatically adjusts the ping speed so that you can trace fish even while traveling at faster speeds. Product Identifiers Brand Lowrance Model X125 UPC 042194523279 Display Display Type LCD Display Size 5 in. Display Resolution 480 x 480 Features Backlighting Keypad, Screen Features Temperature Display Sonar Properties Sonar Depth 900 ft Maximum Sonar Output Power (Peak to Peak) 2400 watt Maximum Sonar Output Power (RMS) 300 watt Energy Supply Power Supply 10-20 vDC Transducer Type Single Frequency Dimensions Width 6.9 in. Height 5.4 in. Depth 3.4 in.

For years I've had my boats insured through my homeowners policy. I like the agent I have and they've been very fair with me, but I'm wondering what others are doing with their coverage. My boat is in a slip on the water a couple months in the spring and again for a month in the fall. Most of the other times it's on the trailer in my garage. What companies are the most economical, offer the the best customer service, service claims fairly and promptly, and have the best reputations. With the cost of electronics and gear on and in boats these days I'd hate to think about having to replace any or all of it on my own dime should the unexpected happen. I'm not sure I want to make a change but if there's something out there that's a good deal I'm willing to explore it. Thanks

Face looks like a moray eel.