bobby b.

There are some left on Amazon.

Wheeler would have done better if his boat had not broke on the last day - he was probably lost with just two bow graphs on the rental.😁

Just watched the drone zero in on a fish on bed fuss with and then take the bait - you could see better than the angler could. - Cool. Bobby

The 50 ft. deep vertical bite I like so much this time of year seems to be gone. In the past it lasted into the middle of March and the WT are actually a bit lower this year compared to last - 47 in the White. I have seen some 51 in the back of some creeks. Also noted some small shad concentrations in the back of some creeks. Fish seem to have moved into the 25 ft. range. I have been catching some on jerkbait, shakey head worm, and Ned on shelf and chuck rock. Caught this nice 5 lb LM the other afternoon. Water clarity in the dam area is very good considering the recent rain. Some floating logs and the afternoon winds makes it harder to see them. Bobby

I am seeing the same at the dam area. I have been going most mornings but not seeing much bait but rather go to the places where they should be or have been in the past and drop down and can get a fish or two to come off the bottom, maybe take the my bait and then off to a different spot. The fish that are caught are all in the 3 lb range and in the last two days more SM than Spots. I haven't caught a LM in a week. always in 50 fow plus.

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I fished the lower end of the White from 7:30 - 9:30 am today. WT 44 deg. I headed for a spot that should produce this time of year but on the way I noted 3 loons fishing in 120 fow, although I saw no bait balls on the graph. I knew of a roll off pretty close to where they were and so tried there first. I caught 14 in less than 30 minutes there and left that place still producing bites as I wanted to get to my original destination thinking that it would be even better (if that was even possible). On the way again I see a couple loons and a bunch of gulls fishing in a short pocket. Although this was not a place I have tried this time of year I stopped and caught 3 nice SM. I tried another place with similar ground but nada as I worked my way to the planned destination. I finally arrived at the original destination about 9:15 am but the deep bite was done. In the end I found three new potential "hot" spots. In total I caught 17 - 2 LM, 3 SM and the rest were Spots - all keepers. I weighted a couple of the Spots and they were 2 3/4 lbs. The SM were 3.75 lbs. All fish caught in about 50 fow. At one point at the first spot my 2.5 Damiki swim bait was tore up so I replaced it throwing the old bait over the side. The next fish I caught puked up both the old bait and a single shad (see the pic). Funny. This was the best day of the year so far after finishing the duck season at the end of January. It was also a beautiful day to be out on the lake. Bobby

Shad on main lake at 80’ to 120’ with fish holding just above them or in the bait balls. Not easy by any stretch. Shad in the creeks 40’ to 80’. Some fish on the bottom. Bill, what is your best guess as to why this is different from last year given the same conditions as Dock and I have pointed out? I am wondering if I can determine waterflow thru the dam last year at this rime.

Fished early morning both days. Yesterday I caught only one keeper Spot and today only 4 fish. Today was 2 nice SM, 1 keeper Spot and a nearly keeper Spot. WT is 44 degrees. Yesterday was pretty darn miserable. It was not too bad when I started about 7:30 am but in short order the wind came up and it was white capping pretty good. I vertical fish this time of year and the wind keep moving the boat in weird ways even on spot lock and my line got hung in the trolling motor 3 times - after the third time of this I headed home. Weather today was not that pleasant either but better than yesterday. This is my favorite time of year for fishing thus I go as long as it is above 32 degrees and the wind is less than 10 mph. This morning I headed directly to my favorite winter honey hole (the creek side of a primary point). The graph indicated plenty of feeding fish but they were slow to accept what I was offering. My go to bait this time of year is the Damiki rig (1/4 head) with a 2 1/2 inch Damiki shad bait . I tried various color shad colors. As I think Dock indicated in a recent post, the conditions (water level and temperature) are pretty much the same as last year, but the bite is not nearly as good. Due to relatively heavy lake draw down, I think the bait has been pulled to the White. Bobby

The Indian Point marina area was all ice. Good news is it will be gone tomorrow.

Yea, I have my boat in my slip this time of year - I prefer moving around the lake on the trailer particularly in the spring but this time of year, a slip is a good thing.

I fished from 7:30 am - 10 am in the dam area today. Usually, this time of year for me the bite is over by 8:30 am but today it started about then or at least that is when I found some concentrated fish on the creek side of a point. Fish moved around allot (would be there and then gone and then back) and although appeared to be active per the graph they were finicky. Damski rig worked. I also tried 2.8 Kitech on a Moon jig and an ice jig but they did not produce. I only saw a couple loons and they were fishing in the creeks and main channels. The bait fish I saw were in 100 plus fow. WT 41 -44 depending on the location. Only saw one other boat. By 10 am it was pretty comfortable. The wind did not appear as forcast - a blessing for sure. I caught 10 fish, lost 3 others. 2 SM, 1 LM and the remainders were Spots. All were nice keepers except for one short. Bobby PS - My duck season ended 1/31/23 (in Arkansas) and the group of 10 guys I have two rice field blinds with harvested 591 ducks. I have not done this well in years.

Fished early again this morning, WT 47 degrees. I saw just a couple loons but they did not help me find concentrated bait nor fish. Since my old spots did not work every much, I had to drive around looking for new spots. I found some bait and fish in 50 fow over a 100 ft depth in a bay off the main lake. Unbuttoned fish were minimal today using the same damiski jig heads. Caught 5 keepers (4 spots and 1 LM). After the sun came up it was a very comfortable morning - water was glass smooth and I never saw another boat and I drove around quite a bit. Saw a bunch of bufflehead diving ducks. Great morning. Bobby

Dock, both 1/4 oz and 3/8 oz have 2/0 hooks (see pic) - I was out for just one hour early this morning before Church - caught one Spot but had 4 or 5 disconnect just after the bite - this has been happening lots this year - I changed to a sifter tip and tried waiting a moment to set the hook. It doesn't seem to happen with the Mooneye hooks.

Last thought - after all that whining just posted, I need to say that I was fishing early morning the last three days and never saw another boat. Awesome.

I haven't been fishing long enough to know if TR fishing has declined or fishing in general has declined (other lakes). I do know that there is allot more people (pressure) fishing. This is also true of my favorite outdoor activity - duck hunting. It's as if lots more people stopped watching sports on TV, playing cards, or playing golf and changed to fishing and hunting. The wakeboats aren't helping either. I built my house here in 2006 and was a weekender until 2016. In 2006 there was a McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Walmart and Freddies gas station and a lousy Mexican restaurant (where Tequilas is now) in Branson West - now it looks like the Kansas City suburbs where I came from. If you needed some boat repair, Fred Ulrich would have it fixed in 2 days' time, now it can take 2 months. The development is the thing I don't like - on the streets and on the lake. I am satisfied with the fishing but without those fancy electronic I would probably be out of luck. If I wasn't so old and had a school age child that likes Reeds Springs school, I would be looking at BS or moving to Truman which would put me closer to my adult children.

Fished the lower end yesterday from 7:30 am - 10 am. It was not as good as it was in previous days but I was able to scratch out 5 keepers and one short - all Spots. One fish (pictured) went close to 3 lbs. WT 47 degrees - 2.8 kitech on a damski head worked the best. Secondary points and a little bit inside the creek/cove. Bobby

I've been duck hunting for the last month but our duck lease area in NE Arkansas got flooded (see pic of flood road in front of the cabin) so went fishing this morning keying off recent posts by Dock. I could not mark any fish at my usual locations and there were no loons or gulls to show me the way. Around 8:30 am on the way back to the dock I stumbled across a couple loons and gulls. There was a good bit of shad showing on the locator. I marked some fish about 100 yards away and the bite was on. One after another - all nice fat keeper Spots. Any swimbait or spoon would work but I used 2.8 Kitech mostly. I noted two things: 1) if the fish moved to lower in the water column the bite slowed but was still good and 2) all the fish bit hard but allot came unbuttoned halfway up even though I set the hook hard and reeled fast. WT 47 degrees. I loss count of the number of fish caught. The bite slowed but continued on past 10 am which Dock will tell you is unusual.

Dock, I haven't started the winter fishing deal yet. Was able to get into an Arkansas lease this year as the drought messed things up in Missouri. The season runs through January. Son (pictured) and I shot 3 days limits Tues - Thurs this week. The lease group have harvested close to 400 ducks so far this year and there is a whole month to go yet. I am torn from going ducking or fishing.

I have a decent lawn (at least for this poor dirt in Stone Co.). Two years ago I killed 14 but only 3 this year. My neighbor tried to use my store-bought trap but not much luck. IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET A PIC OR SOMETHING SO I COULD SEE WHAT HE DID. THANKS BOBBY

Falcon Cara and St. Croix Premier.

Bassins recent post regarding White River boat ramps prompted me to think about all the TR ramps at low water levels. I determined (with the help from OAF) which ramps were available during high water levels but now I am thinking about low water levels. I searched OAF but did not find a discussion. So the question is - Does the concrete ramp typically drop off such that a trailer can get stuck or damaged? If so, do you have some general guidance (lake level) or some specific info for some ramps? Thanks Bobby

A deer den should be approximately 5' high by 4' wide and 10-12' deep, with rushes instead of straw on the floor. And a SOLAR powered heater in case it really gets cold.

Fortunately, the "Nanny State" is taking care of these guys but unfortunately the rest of us as well. Bobby

At least I will know to move on rather than stick it out waiting for the fish to get hungry. I noted that in watching MLF that at times these guys will stay in one place forever without bites because they know the real deal is there.