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Well, I have some spare time on my hands due to rain and COVID-19. So I thought I would report back on a reel that I took a $69.99 gamble on last month. First of all, I have had 2 Abu Revo-S reels that I HATE. Here is why these Revos Suck in my book: - These things have a centrifugal breaking system that requires you to unscrew the bar on the reel to open the side door. Maybe the worst idea ever on a reel. - The breaking system isn't very adjustable for my casting. I think everyone casts a little differently and maybe I just suck at it, but I was constantly fighting these Abus with backlashes. Now, I didn't want to spend a lot and I have been reading and watching a lot of reviews on both KastKing and PisciFun reels and I decided for $70 it was worth the gamble. I have had the reel for about a month now and had it on the water twice. Here is my review: First, when you unbox the reel Piscifun sends you a neoprene reel cover. Nice little touch. As you can see from the pictures below, the reel is flat black with neon green accents. The design is nice, low profile, fits well in the palm, if you care about the aesthetics of your gear this thing looks pretty good. But the first thing I noticed about the reel was how light it felt. Now, the actual weight of this reel is 5.7 oz. I don't know how that ranks compared to other reels, I just know it felt light holding it- but not in a cheap way. The reel has a machined spool and handle to help keep the weight down. The handle is comfortable, however I would say I think the handles are a little small for my liking. I will add some Winn grips to mine. Now, the big reason I decided on the Piscifun over KastKing in my quest for a good cheep reel was because the Piscifun has a double breaking system. There is a 6 pin centrifugal breaking system that is VERY easy to adjust (suck it Revo-S!). Press the button, open the side panel, click, and done. There is also a magnetic break, adjustable from 1-10 on the exterior of the reel. Finally, the spool tension knob "clicks" as you adjust it. Long story short, I have been messing with this thing and you have to work to backlash it. Very customize-able, very adjustable, everything worked as it should right out of the box. Last thing: the reel has an oversize oval shaped line guide. Ok, here is my experience on the water: First the bad: the reel is noisy when casting. I have done some research and apparently this is common on these reels and pretty easy to fix with a little gear grease. I will do that before my next trip and report back if there is any interest. But the good: this thing just wants to cast far. I was very impressed with how I could cast small cranks, RKs, and a jerk bait all as far as I wanted really with zero backlash, even on a windy day. Reel is very smooth. Sadly, I have not given the drag much of test yet but I plan on changing that soon. Final thoughts: For $69.99 I don't think you can find a better real. As a matter of fact, I am not sure you could find a BETTER real for under $120. We will see how it does over time with normal wear and tear (although I generally take pretty good care of my stuff) but as of now, I am planning on buying another one to replace my other Revo-S. **Edit**- Forgot to post a link to this review which proved helpful to me when I was considering my purchase: https://www.tinboats.net/piscifun-phantom/

Nice job! Thanks for posting! Days like that are what we pretty much live for.

Both Cabelas and now whatever monster of a hybrid store it is today here in Rogers has been absolute crap in terms of in-stocks. And in this day and age there is almost no excuse for that (current coronavirus panic buying excluded). BPS has made it worse with the over-proliferation of their private brand stuff. I just hate it. The rod selection is pathetic. I buy 80% of my gear at TW because their selection is limitless. I like the idea of Karl’s Bait and Tackle’s membership program but their selection is very very limited at this point.

Similar to Quill I only target them when they are up top. And I agree with Him about May- I think that April- May is prime time across most of the lake. I do think you can find them in the back of Indian creek earlier. Last year we got into a school of whites and stripers mixed in on April 15. As for topwater lures- I have caught them on all of them. I haven’t done as well on dog walkers but they will eat the Plopper for sure. By far the most consistent for me is a 6 inch cotton cordell Pencil Popper in black and silver. They are relatively cheap and have solid hooks. I like to replace the rear hook with a feathered Owner treble hook. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cotton-Cordell-6-Pencil-Popper-1-oz-Fishing-Lure-Pearl-Blue/43347712

Bill this is so great. Thanks again for all you contribute here. Question for you: Have you ever tried an actual clouser minnow for the fly?

Quillback- one of my best friends works for a major hand sanitizer company. They sold as much in one day this last week as they normally do In 2 weeks. Production can’t keen up so the demand.

A lot of my friends in town who have product made in China are miserable right now. The supply chain is largely shut down and product isn’t being made. And there is no line of sight as to when it will start back up. I don’t have any first hand information about the tackle industry but have to imagine it is the same way. I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing empty spots on the shelves at the tackle shops at some point this spring/summer.

So much truth here. You give naturally gifted sticks these kinds of tools and it is a game changer. If some of these guys don't get better at using the technology really quick they are gonna get left behind on a lot of these lakes. Especially in the Bass Pro MLF format where you have to catch numbers. Just wait until a tournament when they are on the beds and guys are catching them while keeping the boat 50 feet away. Could get crazy. Also, MLF format really makes things interesting. Wheeler had that thing wrapped up but kept fishing pretty hard to try to catch a big fish for the Heavy Hitters.

I cook on a KJ as well and love it. And the Ribeye Cap is the best part of the best steak. My favorite steak by far! As for the grill grates: they don't get hotter than the grill temperature. That isn't possible. But, heat transfers at different rates depending on the type of heat. The grill grates themselves create conductive heat. (Heat directly from the metal onto the meat). This is what creates the grill marks. But, when you are cooking over charcoal you are also getting heat transfer through radiation. If you want to nerd out on it, check out this article: https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/grill-and-smoker-setup-and-firing/thermodynamics-cooking-and-how

Beautiful morning- a little breezy but manageable. On the water at 7.15 or so, finished up at about 12. WT was 48-40 when we started. Saw some 50’s when we left. 6 fish- decent quality today. 1 LM, 1 Smallie, and some spots. Saw some fish around shad in back of Viney- not a ton but we stopped and gave it a try. Got one one chunky spot a swim bait there. Couldn’t get anything else to bite so moved on pretty quickly. Found a main lake chunk rock bank and combed through it with the ned and some swim baits. Disclaimer- I am not a ned guy and before today I had zero confidence in it despite some efforts. But I stuck to it and it paid off. One stretched produced 5 fish including a decent LM and a nice smallie. Fish were in 20 feet give or take. Saw a bald eagle on the way back to the ramp. Overall, the 2020 fishing season is off to a solid start.

Thanks Bo- advice I will take for sure.

Late report because there were things to do when I got home and there wasn't much catching to report. Got to the ramp at Big M at 7:15. Fished until 12:00. Only 1 dink to show for it. Water was high and pretty muddy (not quite chocolate milk but maybe sweet tea?). Mud line was near the bend between Big M and Emerald Point. We marked fish all over Viney (Screen shot below) and Emerald Point- marking fish was not an issue... threw everything at them. Tried fishing for them vertically with DS and Spoons, pulled off of them and threw jigs, vibrating jigs, Keitechs, under spins, flutter spoons, spinner baits, anything that wasn't nailed down we tied on. Could not buy a bite. Wind was blowing pretty good and it make keeping my little aluminum boat on the fish a huge pain. We just couldn't connect. Here are some representative samples of sonar images- really frustrating to see this all day an not get bit! Most consistent groups of fish we saw were suspending over 30+ feet of water- up to 60. Larger concentrations 1/3 of the way back into the river arms but on the points too. WT was from 54-57 degrees with the dirty water a degree or two cooler than the cleaner water down near Emerald. Frustrating... but man, it was beautiful out!

I think this is 100% true- even in deep water. I try to stay away from drifting right over the fish. I also try to find "active" fish vs. less active. I am not just looking to mark fish but looking for streaks that indicate they are moving around a bit and I am looking for bait and/or structure very near them. This time of year, if I see a group of fish and they don't bite a jig, a drop shot, deep crank, or swimbait then I move on. Those are my confidence baits and if I can't get them to bite that buffet in maybe 15 minutes or so then I move on...but I always remember the spot and come back to it later. I am not saying that is the RIGHT way to do it.. just how I go about it. I am sure someone else could pull up next to me doing something slightly different and start catching them. But I have 10,000 options in my tackle box and about 5 or 6 ways I actually want to/feel like I CAN catch them. I am not going to sit there and burn my prime fishing time on fish with lock jaw. Converse is also true- if I get bit on a spot I am not leaving for anything.

Air BnB- there are a few places up on Lost Bridge usually...

Drove over from Bentonville with a buddy to wade fish CC yesterday. This was my first time fishing CC and man, it was awesome. We waded around Snow access. Had been watching the water all week. Flow was around 520cfs which I was worried would be too much for wade fishing but we were able to find our spots. In a half day I caught 15 fish- the biggest pushing 3lb. That’s the kinda fish you drive over there for! We saw exactly 2 other people. It was just a perfect day on the water! I caught almost all my fish on a mustard tube jig. I did catch a couple on a fluke and one on the Ned. All my fish were at the end or top of shoals in pockets with fast water and a little depth. What a beautiful place! Sorry- my GoPro pics are not the best...

Sounds like you are on your way to figuring it out. Nice job on the map work- that should come in handy. I live here in Bentonville but drive over to Table Rock more than I fish Beaver. There are a lot of other guys on here who know much more than I do about this mysterious and cold-hearted lake. BUT: There are fish in here and they are fun to catch when you can get on them. Again- hopefully some other guys check in here to help more but here are my .02: Use the map data you put together and find long gravel points with big rock or rock transitions and start there. Use your electronics to find some fish- will probably be deep. I would be primarily in a drop-shot kinda mindset this time of year but I would also have a big football jig or a vibrating jig, a keitech, and a spook ready to go at all times. Also, pay attention to the generation schedule and try the backside of points if the water is moving. Normally I would say to resist the urge to throw at the bank all the time... but with the water high there are plenty of bushes in the water to flip to (which is not usually the case this late in the summer) and I think you would be able to find fish there if you flipped enough of them. Jigs can be any color as long is it is peanut butter and jelly or green pumpkin. I like to drop shot any shad shaped/colored worm as well as Aarons Magic Robo Rowm, and Morning Dawn Robo Worm. Keitechs- Pro blue pear or anything that looks shad like. I keep my topwater selection pretty shad-like as well.

I am not nearly as experienced as a lot of dudes on here but what I saw two weeks ago seems to be holding true: use your electronics to find fish and then if you don't get bit pretty quickly move on to the next group. We found a large group of fish in 25-30 feet deep. Dropped/threw everything that I could think they SHOULD want and nothing. Ended up moving to another school of fish we found off of a dock in about 20 feet of water- i could tell from my graph they were more active and sure enough we got bit. Once you find an active group don't leave them. Thats my .02.

Well, for anyone who wants to know: Water color around PC was actually not bad last night. I expected chocolate milk. But it was just a little dingy. (Really really weak tea maybe?) We caught 3 fish with tails really close to their heads Neko rigging around some bushes and docks right around sunset. BUT I was also fishing with kids in the boat so it was more just fun fishing than really getting after it. Did mark a lot of fish around the marina.

Was thinking of fishing PC after work tomorrow. Anyone been out there in the last day or so to see the water color?

The article said something about $150k over the course of time... But any real money he made probably some more from sponsorship deals, appearance fees, tackle deals. But- from reading the article and everything that went into this for him: It probably was never about the money anyway. The dude sounds like a complete narcissist. He obviously wanted fame/respect/status.

I can't believe what a complete dirt bag this guy is. I also can't believe how many people suspected or had outright evidence of cheating/lying/overall scumbaggary without saying anything. Character is rare these days.

I only have limited experience here so take this with a grain of salt... BUT it seem like night is when the tungsten weight makes more of a difference. I usually don't care much if my weight is tungsten or not but in the few times I have had success dropping at night I feel like I have done better with the tungsten- I assume this is because it is louder than lead?

Nice report Quill... similar to what we saw last Saturday on the topwater: there was some activity, and if you could get on them right when they surfaced you could get a bite- but it was so scattered that it was tough and frustrating to try to do. I abandoned it pretty quickly.

Never had a topwater bite up the White this AM either. Saw hardly any Topwater activity at all.