fozzype

Misery loves company. I am not glad that the bite is slow, only glad I am not the only one. Got to Long Creek at 2:30 yesterday - the wind was blowing -but I couldn't buy a bite. Only caught three fish and they wouldv'e only been keepers in an overstocked farm pond. Anyway -- fished from cricket to the dam. They would not eat the wart in the dirty water. All fish came from jig in brushy. Could not get them to eat the stick either. Talked with several other boates who said it was absolutely terrible in the afternoon. Must have been the cold front?

My Guess is 7.42 I would not be suprised to see some over 8

Funny thing, caught my first one on a "puke" "gitzit" at the backwater slough at the square turn south of Van Buren. Paco, I bet you know where that it is. Had a BEARS superbowl hat on in the picture. Paco - you may have missed you calling. Short sports stories in the News Leader could be your new proffesion.

Makes you think a little: 1. Slider Grub in Pearl with Jig Head 2. Fish Doctor or Centipede (Green Pumpkin) 3. DD-22 in Sexy Shad 4. Small Spook (Bone) 5. 4" Chigger Craw 6. Wiggle Wart 7. 1/2 once White Spinner Bait 8. 10" Power Worm 9. Spoon (1/2 oz. War Eagle) 10. Tube And yes I fish a jig, but they are not in my top ten - Go ahead and hate on me if you want.

I would have to say "in the water" or maybe "where you find them" In all honesty I would say they are not up any creek - These areas are too pressured when compared to main lake areas. I would say the biggest fish live on offshore sturctures no where near the bank. These big fish only come to the bank to spawn and then go back to their deep water haunts.

I am trying braid with leader for the first time this year for finesse fishing. The reason - "florobraid"-- as Capt. Joe Said, it sinks. (It doesn't sink like floro in my opinion) I like to fish very light heads at deep depths. On spinning gear, the 8 and 10 lb floro stinks and has a short life. Look up the "Albright" knot. I have used it before and it is great. It also is irrelevant to the difference in the line diameters, the surgen's knot has to have lines of close to same diameter. Why would you use 6 or 8 lbs for a leader ? Floro is virtually invisible and using heavy line for leader does not effect the castability and/or workability of the bait. I am using 12 and 15 lb floro on the 20-6lb braid. It seems to catch fish in clear water fine. Any advise to my asumptions is appreciated. And for crying out loud, somebody give me a good wart report so I can fish without thinking !!! Chuck and Dunk Daily if Possible.

Had a little trouble with some 1st run McStick 110's leaking. Talked with (as Bill calls him) "The Beckster" last year and fixed them myself. However, still had some trouble this spring with some, so I called SPRO. SPRO took care of it with no questions ask. Actually sent me some new ones with extras next day mail. First Class people in my book. They said they understood that having the baits quick this time of year was important. Don't think if you had KVD (made in Costa Rica) break you would have much luck. American made makes a difference.

Seeing a picture of Paco with an eye is about as rare as acutual pictures of bigfoot.

The EPA and DNR only deal with pollutants and/or sediment containing pollutants. The DNR or EPA have no control over the actual body of water. EPA delegates the majority of its authority to the DNR at the State Level. It is only illegal to alter a stream that is considered "navigable" by the Corps of Engineers and they have authority to enforce the regulations associated. "Navigable" has nothing to do with boat traffic and a map of the waters is available by the Corps of Engineers. You would need to contact the Little Rock office. However, the Corps solution can sometimes be worse than the problem.

I think everybody should get their panties out of a wad. I agree the smallmouth hang on ledges and gravel. Anyone ever dove in this lake? The smallmouth will relate to very small depressions, rocks, and other cover on these banks when not acitively feeding. I think the small rock piles and stumps could just enhance the fishability of a bank. Pull up catch a few jaws, then a few LM or Kentucks off a brush pile without moving a whole lot. Plenty of pea gravel to go around. At least the MDC is trying to help the bass fisherman and not spending all their money on 6" Trout ! (Sorry Phil)

IT SUCKED TODAY! The ole, girl really humbled me today. Felt like I was fishing in an atomic wasteland. You name it, I threw it or fished it.

On Monday, up the creek was terrible. However, with all this new water and mud in the lake all bets are off. I would say the creek could be very muddy after the rain. Probably will pull them into the junk, but who knows.

I actually went Monday. I decided to try a little power fishing up long creek. Does every big boat and tuber think up the creek is where to be? Had people past Cricket Creek pulling tubes. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid - Lots of pole timber near the surface. Anyway, it was my worst day since January - no fish, no bites tried everything from powering CB to DS on the main lake. The fish would no even look at spoon, DS, or anything else. The lady has a way of humbling you.

It would be my guess the rain and colder temps could have put the kabosh on the early AM whites at Moonshine. Haven't been down in a couple of weeks and have some friends coming in who don't fish often. Like to put them on a few. I don't want to waste a possible good AM topwater or jig bite on whites if they aren't there. Could somebody help me out? I really would appreciate any reports or white bass gossip Brett

Went out at daylight the other day. After the trip, my new guide told everybody she could catch more fish than me. This was our first trip without mommy. A summary of the trip is below: Equipment: Fiberglass Barbie Pole with Built in Reel Bait: Nightcralwer on Slip Bobber Result FUN ! FUN !!! FUN !!! BEST DAY ON THE LAKE THIS YEAR, HOPEFULLY MANY MORE TO COME !!

Didn't want to seem like a jerk by editing the bait. But this is one of the go to baits that has made me several dollars when it gets tough. I have never hardly heard of anybody throwing it around here. It is black and red and thrown on 1/8th oz. head. If anybody wants to know, PM me and its all yours.

Fall topwater is "STUPID" ?

Fished the Mill Creek Derby on Friday Night. Caught a few good fish during the tourney, but nothing great. Had bad luck and lost 3 really good fish at the boat, simply being stupid. The fish would swim under the boat and before I could get around, jump and spit the bait. The pattern was simple, brush and breaks. Decided our 3 keepers were no good and decided to fish a little while the boats cleared out. A few minutes after the tourney decided to downsize a little and ..... The fish hit solid and on the hookset I thought it was a good fish. The fish jumped behind the boat and I knew it was pretty good. It actually got under the motor and came up near the surface and I could see her (I thought it was a 5 lber) I trimmed the motor and puller her up as my buddy netted her. He freaked out! He jumped and yelled like a 3 year old. I guessed the weight at 6. We let her calm down a little in the livewell and I took a closer look. The widest bass I have ever seen. The back would have made some 2.5 " thick fillets. Well, My X tools scale showed 8 lbs 5 oz and the Berkley Scale showed 8 lbs. 13 oz. She was 23.5 inches long and the width was about 9". I did not meausre the girth. Started to take her to the taxidermist, but just too pretty. The fish looked very health and young? She did not have buggy eyes or the pooch belly. She still swims today!

I need a working Lowrance GPS Module 3000 or 4000. Will pay good $ and come pickup. Call Brett 417-230-0343

Just to start out- Love Lowrance products when they work - Hate everything else about them. I have a LMS 520 that has went through 2 antennas this year. Lowrance will fix them for $ 85, but it takes you two days (8 hours on hold) to get a someone on the phone and 5 months to get your antenna back. So, I am going to switch to Hummingbird for the GPS at the console and possibly upfront. What is learning curve on swithing? Are the images viewed much the same in 2D as lowrance? Does anybody have any ideas about their reliability? Also, I have heard of an adapter that will allow the Humminbirds to use Lowrance tranducers. This would be great, becase changing it in the floor of the boat is a pain. Thanks for your help, Brett

I feel your pain. I would say the pumps are your culprit. The newer motors require a lot of amps to start, and that robs reserve power in the makeup of the battery. Also, do you ever slow charge your battery. Even long runs with the big motor do not "fully" charge the battery. A slow 2 amp charge can greatly add to the reserve power. I am going to spend more $ on better batteries next spring. You also may just have a "bad" one. Brett

I need a little help from someone in the OAF family. I have a LMS 520 Lowrance that the GPS has stopped working. After numerous conversations with Lowrance and Marine Repair I need a little help. No one can tell if it is the antenna or unit itself that is the problem. Before I let Lowrance have it for a no telling how long, I would like to find it out. If any of you have a LMS series graph with the 3000 antenna, I need to hook up with you. If I could switch graphs for 10 minutes from one boat to another it would help me solve the problem. Send me a PM and I'll give you call. I can offer bad fishing reports, lures that don't catch fish, and cold pop for someone who could help. Thanks, Brett

I have 1998 Extendend Cab 3rd Door Chevrolet Silverado. Has only 98K miles and is a daily driver. This truck is in excellent mechanical condition and needs absolutely nothing. We actual just took it to Florida! The truck has the ledgendary 5.7 L 350 Vortec Motor and the heavy duty trailering package. I only pulled my 22' bass boat a couple of times and it did great. Has the gears to pull anything you want. Averages 17-19 mpg and drives great. The interior is 9 out of 10 with no rips or stains. The exterior does have a few minor dings/scatches. Have the wife a new truck and this one needs to go. The truck is 2WD YOU WILL NOT FIND A BETTER TRUCK FOR THE $$$$ !! Just look at what $4900 will buy you. CALL ME AT 417-230-0343 The truck has the following options: 3rd door Power Bucket Seats with center console Power LockS, mirrors, windows, etc. Cruise and Tilt Snugtop matching Camper Shell with bedliner (over $ 2000 new) Heavy duty tranmission cooler and reese hitch.

Went out and fished from Cow Creek to Indian Point from 6 to 11 on Sunday Night. Have been out of town for a few days and had a bad itch. Finally caught a few in the clear water. When Barry caught a 4lb smallie and then a 5.25 lb black (according to my scale) I knew it had to be a good night. I finally got in the action with a couple of 3.5 to 4 lb blacks. All in All, caught nine keepers and according to my X-tools scale, the best five weighed 20.75 lbs. Probably should have left them alone, but it was too much fun. Fish were fairly deep 25-30 feet on pea gravel points with some flat rocks, a long way from the bank. Found bait fish and found bass. They were scattered, but when you found them you could catch several. Small hair jigs after dark and C rigs before dark with a little hunk of straight rubber were the ticket. Have been struggling, so this was fun. Took them home and fried them up Good Eatin' Just screwing with everybody, all were realeased unharmed!!!

I kinda feel left out not posting anything. I am on the beach in the gulf and wow, what a lot to sort through. Glad I don't have anything better to do. Lets just face it, some people (and a lot more than you think) fish to eat fish. I don't keep bass very often (maybe 10 small K's a year) and when I come home my wife will say "did you catch any" If I say "yes" she will often ask where they are. I reply "in the lake" With a sarcastic tone she nearly always reply "why would you go if you do not keep them, thats just stupid" A lot of people think just like my wife and honestly, there is not one thing wrong with that. However, most of these "meat hunters" don't target bass anyway. They are too darn hard to catch. Like has been noted, most people's first few times fishing involved cleaning and eating fish. My Dad started taking me to the Current River in a jet boat when I was four years old. We kept every keeper smallmouth we caught and cooked them on the river bank. They are experiences I would not trade for anything and help make my love for the outdoors what it is today. However, I have not ate smallmouth bass since I was 12 years old and I don't even like keeping them in tournaments if I think they might die. I will agree that when it comes to this forum and bass fishing most people are not meat hunters. People are all passoniate about something and on this forum it is generally to perserve and pursue the bass species in Table Rock Lake. When people are passoniate, sometimes thier emotions get the best of them. Also, it is easier to type on a computer than talk face to face. Honestly, lots of fish ran around the lake in livewells die in more numbers than people filleting them. I still fish tournaments understanding a few fish might die. The fish in this lake are one of God's gifts and it is all our jobs to protect this gift. Keeping a few fish once in a while to eat should not be a big deal. However, as Arsenal probably understands by now, probably just don't post it on this forum. "Sticks and Stones", "Sticks and Stones"