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When I was a kid growing up in Colorado my dad always had a few wiggle warts in his box. Not something you need much in CO- A couple of times a year he made the trip back here to fish the Rock. -And for the first time since I moved here 7 years ago I know why he loved cranking the Rock! We finally got on a decent big fish crank bite. My brother and I pulled out of Bentonville at about 5.15. We got to Big M at 6:00- first trailer in the parking lot- greeted by cold air and freezing fog. We only had the morning to fish and were worried about the reports that said fishing

Nice Quill! My brother and I are heading over to Big M Friday. I hope the cold front on Thursday doesn't mess them up too bad!

Kaitechs- worth it. Put a little glue on the head and I run them pretty much until the tail falls totally off. They are soft and do get beat up- but that only seems to make them better. I did pick up some new z-man paddle tails that I am excited to try.

Low 50's at sidewalk hole- and brown stain- petty dirty.

Put in at sidewalk hole at 6:00. Marked a lot of fish in the channel right by the ramp. I don't have the best electronics and am no expert in reading the sonar but my guess is the whites are loaded up in there. Water temp was 50-52 and it was pretty dirty. Ran way up the river- as far as we could take the boat. Water cleared up the further we ran. We flung clousers at all our usual spots- nothing. No whites up the river right now. We did catch a few nice slabs up there but they were all in one spot- never a solid pattern. Also caught a few small green fish. Talked to an old timer at the ramp on the way out who said he caught 25 crappie but only 4 keepers. It was a cold morning! I think there will still be a white bass run- it is still early- but we will see. It certainly didn't seem to be on just yet.

Some additional advice: go to twin on the weekdays. It gets crazy on the weekends. Skip some classes and hit the river. Someday you will be a working stiff like most of us- reading some Internet forum while you are locked in your office during the white bass run. I can promise you this- when that day comes you won't regret that you missed a couple of history lectures!

Awesome report guys. Sounds like an awesome day. I'm hoping the white bass run holds off until Spring Break- I'm taking a few days off then. But at this rate it looks like that might be a stretch!

I got out to Monte Ne for a little this afternoon. Chocolate Milk! Water temp was 49-51ish. Lots of birds and marked quite a few fish- many were active and seemed to be up high in the water column (less than 10 ft) or down lower (30 ft) suspended in deeper water (40+feet). I was dragging flicker shads and couldn't get a bite. Had my little girls with me and the wind was pretty strong so my options were limited. Not bad for Feb but I have never figured out Beaver on muddy water. Talked to some guys bass fishing- said they had a rough day and had run to the dam this morning looking for cleaner water. Told them they need to go the other way.

Clouser for sure. The only fly you need but you need a lot of them. When the run is really good and you are catching them you will go through a bunch. My brother and I try to have 100 tied up between the two of us. All different colors but white/grey, white/blue vapor, white/chartreuse, white/red are some of my go-to's. That being said- when the run is on any baitfish imitating streamer will work. A 5wt will work but I like a 6 or 8- never know when a big Walleye or Striper will be in the mix. I prefer to use a slow slinking line or neutral buoyancy line but floating line with a sink tip will work- especially on Richland creek. Again- kinda depends on water levels. As for Twin- depending on the rain/water levels yes it is wadable but not crossable in most places. Go to the other side of the bridge from the boat ramp and walk down the trail to get to Richland. It gets crazy crowded there on the weekends. If you can get in a weekday/evenings you will have a lot more freedom. Also- don't forget about the beaver tailwater. (If we get any wadable water there this spring.). There is a decent run up there and offen it is after or at least lasts long than the run on Beaver. You can catch whites into June there sometimes. Finally- stop by McLelland's. They can make sure you have the set up and point you in the right direction. Solid guys and very helpful.

Scope is a Leupold VeriX-II 3x9 50mm. No, I don't have any ammo with to inlude... I mean, whatever ammo I have I will gladly include but that is probably only 1 box.

I am looking to get rid of a gun so I can buy a new bow. Selling a .300 WSM with a Leupold scope. Rifle and scope are in great condition and has been fired less than 50 times. I am asking $600. Would also consider a trade for a bow... Send me a message for more details.

Awesome idea...I will try to join.

Thanks for the report- that's all I needed to hear to get out there early tomorrow AM for a couple hours!

Bill- I think I saw you guys. We were in the green Lowe Roughneck... J-Doc- if you don't like her walleye why don't you go catch your own? j/k I know what you mean. To be fair- that picture sucks. It was just me and my 7 yr old trolling- trying to manage both our lines, drive the boat, watch the graph, work the net, and help her reel... It was a rodeo- pictures were low on the priority list. It wasn't as skinny as it looks- but it was certainly not as fat as the eyes I have caught out there in the past. There is plenty of Shad that's for sure...

Got one of the girls up early this morning for a little Daddy Daughter time. Went to the back of PC and messed around for a little casting some top water at about 7:00. No bites so we ran out to the islands and trolled some flicker shads. No luck there either. About 9:00 AM headed back to the back of PC- this time trolling flicker shads. Proceeded to have a great 2 hours and made a great memory. We kept running the same stretch of bank over and over and caught something on every pass. I was excited whene we hit the "Beaver Slam" (Striper, White, Smallie, Spot, LM). But then she caught a 19 inch walleye and I caught the first drum I have ever caught on the Beav. We were only missing a catfish! The wind started picking up just a little right at 9 and that is when the fish started biting. No real size on any of them except the walleye (who was released to get a little bigger). Smallie was nice and fat but only about 14 inches. Striper was 12 inches. Interesting- the shad colored Flicker Shad which is usually my top lure got no love. Blue Tiger and Uncle Rico caught all the fish... Guess they wanted a little more color. Marked a lot of fish back there today...

Thanks everyone for the input. I don't have rails to mount on- at least not the round kind. I just have a channel down the gunwale- like in the picture above. I think those extreme fishing mounts look perfect. I could easily take them off when fly fishing. I might even be able to mount them where they will be out of the way from stripping anyway. Great idea on the laundry basket for netting. I have seen the netting before but didn't even think of using a laundry basket.

Need some expert help- you guys will have to do;) I have a Lowe Roughneck that I want to add some rod holders to for trolling. The key is they need to be easily removable. I use my boat for fly fishing quite a bit and I don't want anything that could catch lines- a huge pain when flyfishing. So the mounts have to essentially be clamps I can remove. Any ideas for where what I need? Is there something that goes on the rail? Or is there a clamp style for the side? Any pointers would be helpful... I am new to the trolling gear. Also- any advice on economic but quality rod holders? This isn't my primary way of fishing so I want it to be reasonable but want something that works.... So I guess my question is- best removable trolling set up for an aluminum boat? Thanks and Happy 4th of July!

Well we were only on the water from 5:30 to 8:15. Saw two other boats... (Keep in mind this was Thursday)- most people were at work. This time of year get out early (or late), get a little bit away from the major marina (especially PC) and you can have an enjoyable time.

Ended up going to Monte Ne as I had to be home earlier than planned. Nothing much to report- caught some fish close to docks- including a nice keeper on a Ned rig. Did find a few crappie suspended at about 15 feet in 30 fow....they seemed eager to bite...

Yeah, plan is to be on the water by 5:30 and off by 10. Should avoid the worst of it.

I'm heading out to Rocky Branch area tomorrow morning for a bit. Anyone been out there is the last few days?

Well I was kidding about the report thing... I know we are in the middle of the summer where fishing is rough for all the reasons mentioned above. But we had Monte Ne to ourself this morning. Next Thursday I have a day off and I am thinking of heading up to the dam area (which I have hardly ever fished). Any help on a smallie patter up there would be much appreciated. Or I might head to Rocky Branch...which I am much more familiar with. Any reports from either area?

Does anyone on this site fish anymore!? I needed a report this week! Finally got out for a couple hours this morning before work. Fished Monte Ne from 5:15-7:30. Water was high and stained and 83 (ish) degrees. I was really looking for a top water bite and stuck with that for most of the short time I was out. Not a single taker. Fished a few docks as well, got desperate and threw Ned for a couple minutes and that yielded one very small spot. Not sure this helps anyone much as my time on the water was limited...

Thanks guys...didn't even think about the big worm. That is some good info to get me started. I will let you know when I get out there. Could be a couple of weeks.

So on my summer bucket list is a night fishing trip to Table Rock... Probably will put in at Big M. My current night fishing experience is pretty much limited to buzz baits, black spinner baits, and throwing a jig around docks....all at Beave Lake. Any pointers for a novice? What type of structure or area should I start to focus on?? (Points? Docks? Ect?). Any specific techniques I should start with? Not looking for specific spots or secret lures- just some info to get started... Any help is much appreciated.