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Man we couldn’t get the crank bait deal going- if you don’t mind me asking: were you on main lake areas or back in creek arms with the crank bait?

My brother and I were the only idiots at the ramp and on the water today- but it was fun. On the water at 7:15. Air temp 17 degrees, water temp 45-46ish. Cloudy. Caught three fish in the first hour. One on a crank, two on the drop shot in 35-40 feet of water. Largest fish of the day came while essentially dead sticking a robo worm on the drop shot. Thought we were into something but we couldn’t put it together again with either one. Probably should have mixed up our DS offerings. We never switched off of the Aaron’s Magic Roboworm. Although we did mark a lot of fish in the 40+ foot range- couldn’t find a lot of willing eaters. Had cinnamon rolls and hot coffee waiting for us in the truck and were off the water at noon. That brings 2017 fishing to and end for me. Good year- got my personal best LM (on Beaver of all places), had a fun spring pitching jigs into backyard trees, worked on my offshore game a bit and started to figure out and enjoy the drop shot. Goals for 18: more trips to the rock, new electronics and more work on my offshore fishing. Happy New Year- thanks to all the great members of this forum who help a guy like me who only can get on the water every few weeks know where to start. Thanks for all the informative advice on equipment, techniques, and all the other information that gets shared here. A few pics from today... This post has been promoted to an article

Crazy how a striper can glow up a pencil poper and not touch a hook... meanwhile if it gets within 2 inches of my pants I have to cut it out!

I agree there is no reason to spend over $100 on a spinning reel. I have the Cabela's Prodigy (currently on sale for $69.99- normally $99) and I have been very very happy with it. Very smooth and drag seems to work very well.

They have a knockoff brand at our Sam's club right now. We bought it earlier this summer have had really enjoyed it. Isn't the quality of a Lily Pad but it works and it was $240 I believe.

Got out to Big Clifty this weekend. Man, I feel lost up there. Lots and lots of steep shoreline and deep bluffs. Also, it was freaking hot! Fished Friday night and Saturday AM and had minimal success. Did manage a few- points at the mouth of coves with big rocks on a drop shot with an Aaron's Magic Robo Worm. Picked up quite a few 12-14 in smallies and some spots. Nothing to brag about really. I am impressed with the number of smallies up there. Just with I could have found some decent sized ones (especially after seeing pictures from the Elite series this weekend!). Every fish I caught was 15-20 feet near huge boulders on points... WT was 90ish Also, seemed like a strong thermocline was set up at about 20 ft. I am gonna put the rods up for a few weeks here... we are deep into the dog days.

With all respect- I think complaints like this about Beaver are a little over done. It is summer time, all lakes get a lot of traffic. My experience on Beaver is most people operate their boats safely and are very nice and even when it is crowded it rarely gets as crowded as some lakes that are major weekend destinations like Table Rock or Lake of the Ozarks. Sure, if you are in front of Prairie Creek it can get crowded and churned up like a washtub but even then I have never felt in danger. I have a 1456 Lowe Roughneck with a 25 HP. It is wide and fairly deep- but still a small boat. I have never had any issues. Get on the water early or late in the evening be smart and careful and everyone can still have a good time.

thanks guys.. Ned will be in the bag for sure! I have been wanting to get a spoon box going too. Quillback: you have any reccos for jigging or flutter spoons in terms of weight, colors, brands, ect... I currently own zero spoons.

How does one have enough time to golf and fish? I spend most of my time on the golf course thinking about what fish might be in the ponds... which I could easily catch since my ball is often near (or in) there anyway... And welcome to NWA Ketchup! I think you will find this is a great place to live.

Headed out to my buddy's property near the back of Big Clifty next weekend for a couple days of fishing. I have been out there a couple times but was always fishing with kids or just messing around. Nothing serious- never really fished back there much and feel a little lost. From the few times I have been there it looks to have a lot of bluffs and a lot of deep water- few tapering points. Anyone on here familiar with the area and have any advice on where to start up there next weekend? My initial thought is to drop shot some bluff ends, deeper dock and what long points I can find. Any input to get started the right direction is appreciated...

A better title might be "WalMart bypasses FLW". It is cool when they come but the reality is Beaver shouldn't be on the list. They only do 7 tournaments a year- they need to get the best fisherman on the best lakes.

I grew up with a "pound the bank" kinda style. Then fished smaller lakes in Colorado similar to you- shallow fishing or pitching to structure. Been here 8 years and realizing if I want to fish these lakes and catch fish year round I have to stop being drawn to the bank like a bug to the light. Deep water and offshore is a tool I need to sharpen up on. Luckily I am at the phase of fishing where I can go out, try new things, learn something- and even if I don't catch anything still have a lot of fun and not feel like it was a failed trip.

Nice report Quill... Not to hijack but:if I can tag onto yours our report from last night at Big M: Got on the water at 6:00 fished until 9:00. Stayed close to Big M all night. Tried flipping some bushes and finding some shallow fish with one or two small fish to show for it. Went to a gravel point of a cove and it was stacked with fish in the 20ish foot range. Although we are not great off shore fisherman we stuck to that group of fish for a while and managed to teach our selves some new tricks and coax a few bites. My bother lost what seemed like a very good fish on a deep brush pile on the point (upside was we found a good deep brush pile and continued to fish that pile for a while). He was throwing a 10 inch worm. I caught a few on a drop shot and one on a deep crank bait. We kept waiting for them to come up to the top as the sun went down but it never happened. Can't seem to buy a topwter bite on TR or Beaver this year!! So many wopper ploppers in the box going to waste!! At the end of the night moved back very close to Big M and again found an area stacked with fish in 15 or so feet of water. Connected with a couple there, again on the drop shot (with an aaron's magic robo worm). Ended the night with 7 or 8 fish total, nothing big, mostly spots and 1 LM. I think if we had stuck with the drop shot bite a bit more instead of trying a bunch of different stuff it would have been better catching. But it was fun to work on our offshore game (which needs some serious work) and some techniques we don't usually try but need to learn and have some success. I have limited experience with the drop shot, had never caught a fish on a deep crank and we never throw the huge worm. Caught fish on all three last night and it was a lot of fun.

Nothing on this list is as ridiculous as the $40 Yeti 5 gallon bucket!

Nice report! Curious: How deep were you dragging the C-rig? I am headed over there tonight after work.

Glad you are ok and glad you wore your vest. I am still pretty young but have starting wearing my inflatable all the time. 2 years ago I heard a guy who had just pulled a body out of Beaver Lake say something like "I have yet to recover a body that was wearing a life jacket." It isn't a guarantee of a safe return home but it eliminates 95% of the risk.

Lance- you are my crappie fishing hero man. Always on them! Nice job.

Also- still a lot more logs in the main channel down there than there is north of the bridge.

Hit up Monte Ne before work for a quick trip this AM. On the water at 5:00 AM and off at 7:15. Rough morning- not ideal conditions full moon, zero wind, zero clouds, bright and sunny. Results were predictable: marked a few fish, caught one dink and not much love. Tried topwater, dragging and flipping a jig, swamp a keitech. Nothing. Water there is stained but still has probably 5-6 feet of visibility. (saw a bucket on the bottom when I was in about 6 feet of water). Saw a few whites schooling but it was fairly scattered and always brief. But: it was a beautiful morning on the water and a great way to start a Friday!

Thats a good morning!! Early bird gets the worm on the top water stripers for sure!

If you ever get a chance to come in late april/early may that is usually (unless of course we have epic rains- mud and crazy spring weather like this year) a little bit better time for the top water striper bite. I don't mess with live bait or chase stripers with the dedication of some on here and in early-mid may even I can go out there with some top water lures and put a few in the boat in the morning/evening. This year was a little odd due to the rain, lake elevation, water color...

Tex: That's a good week!! Great job on the Walleye- what a nice fish! Beaver is a beautiful lake and fun to fish- but it ain't easy. For you to roll into town and get on them like that is good work! Cool when a forum like this helps contribute to someone's experience on the lake. Something fun about a place where you can catch bass, eyes, striper, and trout! You are spot on the early/late thing. That is when Beaver is at it's best as far as I am concerned.

Certainly not clear like usual. It was fairly stained but not close to chocolate milk either. I should have looked to see how many feet of visibility there was but I didn't

What's going on this is Ron Burgundy posting but it shows bfreg was the poster??