Huntington Parker

This was my fourth time to throw the Midwest Finesse Rig "little rig" on Table Rock (2x with Barry Vanden Berg and 2x with Dave). Although I still consider myself a novice with the technique, it is a terrific way to catch fish....lots of fish....and great fun at the same time. Table Rock is becoming visually stunning; blooming wild flowers on the banks, blooming dogwoods on the rocky hills, and beautiful new green leaves in the hardwoods contrasting spectacularly with the darker cedars. As spring arrives and the water is warming to the low 60's, it is also obvious that the quantity and quality of bass continues to increase. There are a lot more fish to catch when probing in shallow (5-10 feet) versus the 10-20 feet haunts that were the norm in early April. Dave caught a moose smallie and several other keeps almost on the bank. If the shallow bite slowed, they were still eager to hook up out in 15 feet or so, mostly right on the bottom. My time watching and talking with Dave has been priceless, and I think I broke the code on why he would consistently catch more fish.......I'm growing a beard as we speak LoL!! I'm working on a video testimonial to the Days With Dave; if you follow my You Tube Channel "Winkiedoodles" I hope you enjoy the show when it is posted. Don Baldridge, Springfield P.S. Oh, almost forgot: although Dave seems to have a gift of catching big gills and monster crappie on the little rig, catching this Google (ha) eye was fun!

What a great comment! Those big smallies and angry Kentuckies deserved Woooo Weees and Hot Diggity Dogs for sure! Speaking of Crap Squatches, Dave was such a gentleman and didn't complain a bit when I was whining and ranting about not catching a single crappie yet this year (ha). I'll be chasing the crappie on L. Spfld shortly; Woooo Weeeeeee!!! Don

Dave, excellent report.....Whoooeeeee! Those were some dandies for sure. It was an honor to fish with you and learn lots of new things. As a novice to the Midwest Finesse Rig style of fishing, it was all the more assuring to see those 30+ bass (and especially the large smallies) ripping around in that beautiful water with the little rig in their mouth. I hope the video footage will adequately show how much fun it was. Suffice it to say, I'm addicted to alluring (ha)! Many, many thanks for a great back deck day. Your friend, Don

Thanks for the report; have been wondering what's happening at Stockton with the crappie. I didn't see any comments about them being in or around docks so the water temp might still be an issue.

Enjoyed all the comments on rings, shrink wrap, etc. for wacky rigging. I've used a wacky rigging system with good success called the Wacky RIG'R from K&J tackle. The O-ring applicator works great and the system has worked good for middle of the bait applications as well as a nose rigged variant. Also, a custom 'quick sinking' hand poured stick bait solves the sinking issue real well. Let me know if you are interested in a source for these; I buy mine on line from a small business in Walden, NY.