Walcrabass

Everyone, To the letter of the law I believe you need to keep them identified in the freezer as well. In other words with your license number on each bag. It can get kind of hairy with a wife and three kids all putting fish in the freezer but it might save you some cash some day. Print off some labels and have them ready for when you clean fish to freeze.I have a good friend that is a game warden and I am not trying to slam anyone but where game violations are concerned they have ice water in their veins. Don't mess up even innocently or it can be costly. For some reason Crappie season seems to be the number one time of year where people get a little crazy. I have actually known game wardens to walk out from the bank in chest waders to check boats fishing close to the bank. Walcrabass

Flysmallie, Concerning burning the Spinner Baits...... as you probably know it is all proportional to a few things. Like weight of Spinner Bait, Blade size/shape, and amount of skirt. For me I keep my blade size up where I want it, my skirt size where I want it, and just go to a heavier Spinner Bait if I want to burn it and stop roll over. Also a trailer on the bait helps a bunch, kind of like the tail on a flying bird. I throw 3/4 oz or whatever it takes. One thing kind of cool about the heavier ones is that the wind affects you less.....you know what I mean with the back lash thing......I can still keep the fluffy skirt too. I like to pulse my Spinner Baits and so a huge action skirt is high on my list. Just thought I would throw all this in there as I did not get to fish over the weekend and I am about to lose my mind !!! Walcrabass

Flysmallie, THat price thing is pretty big with me. I have actually seen Spinner Baits for 14.15 dollars before. It seems like most of the upper end ones run about $7. I have to say that the ones I use you NEVER have to worry about the skirts pulling down. The only time the skirts are bad is when they have actually been EATEN off from catching so many fish. Walcrabass

Flysmallie, I looked at the Stanley Wedge Spinner Baits on the internet. Nice looking bait. They have a really good selection of skirt patterns too. Only thing I saw that I was not fond of was the fact that the skirt is held on by a skirt collar. I really,really, really prefer mine to be tied. That does not mean a piece of wire either. Tied and cinched up tight to get the most action from the skirt that is possible. Also read that they are made with flat rubber. Great stuff and comes in a huge color selection. I also like the "round rubber". The round rubber they make today is much more resilient than it was 30 years ago. It must have at least twice the action of flat rubber. Anyway they look like a nice bait and I hope you catch tons on them. Doesn't sound like you have to worry about them breaking or tying on a new one to keep from losing fish. Walcrabass

btlifes2short, You are indeed an intelligent person. Bitethis, I believe in our world today that mono has a place...... on open face reels. It doesn't coil near as bad as Fluorocarbon. I also know for a fact that my daytime fishing improved 2 or 3 hundred percent when I started fishing Fluorocarbon. I tie a form of a clinch knot and it has to be a pretty one. A little bit of spit when you cinch it down makes it about the strongest knot you can tie. I have tested it with my fishing scales. Usually the line breaks before the knot. PM me and I will tell you how to tie the knot. Walcrabass

Bitethis, I am an old guy. Old enough to remember when a lot of people used braid because.... well there wasn't any mono that was decent. Here is the way I handle the line thing: 1.Put masking tape or something else you can write on with a magic marker on your reels. Use C for Fluorocarbon, M for Mono, F for fluorescent line, and B for braid if you can't tell by looking. 2. I use 14 pound Fluorocarbon for daytime Jig fishing/ Spinner Baits/ Worms/ Swim Baits on my Bait Casters. 3. I use 17 pound Fluorescent Trilene XL for my night fishing. With Black Lights of course. On my Baitcasters. 4. I use 10 pound Fluorocarbon on my bait casters for my Crank Baits in the daytime. 5. I use 4 pound Trilene XL on my open face reels for Crappie, maybe 6 for White Bass. 6. Braid, Only on my A-Rig giant man killer rod. About 50 pound test. Many people say you cannot use Fluorocarbon for top water but this is not true. You simply have to hold your rod tip higher to keep the line out of the water. Sometimes I let it sink on purpose so I can make a chug chug and follow by a darting motion just under the surface. I use Bass Pro fluorocarbon and as I mentioned Trilene mono. Both of these lines are inexpensive and very high quality. Knot strength is awesome on the Bass Pro Fluorocarbon. I have used Trilene line for over 40 years..... the XL ( extra limp ) is great line. Don't try Fluorocarbon on an open face .... it is terrible.....don't use braid unless you have to.... it is expensive and requires a leader in many instances. Wallyboy

Flysmallie, Ok so now I want to know. What is the Spinner Bait you dearly love???

Btlifes2short, If you remember back a ways it was a big thing that the "Arm" of the spinner Baits was supposed to be thin enough to "Vibrate". This was supposed to be the ticket for a great spinner bait. Well, I hate to tell you but if the blade on it doesn't put our enough "throb" or "Vibration" then you are in a pickle. The small diameter wire has cost many, many a fisherman his bass. Another friend of mine has the same problem. Actually he HAD the same problem. He uses the same ones I use now and the problem is over. If you are interested in what I use just PM me and I will let you know where to get them. Totally hand made and a good price. Walcrabass

Sac River Jim, Just two words about night fishing with Spinnerbaits. Black N Red Neon and Black N Blue Neon with No. 6 matching blades and nasty plastic trailers. Makes my heart start racing!!!! Walcrabass

5 bites, flysmallie, and others, Everyone has had some good points. Everyone has good ideas. Here is how I look at it: 1. If the regulation is instituted on Table Rock the Kentuckies will not disappear. There are way too many creeks/ rivers dumping into the lake. This is their homeland and always will be. 2. If you have a fish in a lake that virtually does not reach a length where it can be harvested it is just eating food that other "Keepable" fish could be consuming be they Walley, Crappie, or whatever. 3. If you do not harvest a particular fish it will definitely grow in numbers. That is why the Spot population has increased so dramatically in Table Rock. Just think what our Deer problem would be if they closed season on them for a few years. It would be staggering. 4. The offspring of Kentucky/ Smallmouth or Kentucky/Largemouth grow slower than EITHER PARENT. Therein lies the biggest problem of all. Now you have a fish capable of reproducing that grows even slower and may NEVER reach 15" . That spells trouble for people that want to eat them as well as the tournament angler. 5. I definitely have caught some of the crosses at Table Rock and Stockton too. Not just one or two either. That just scares the crud out of me !!!! 6. I would also like to see a slot limit on the Largemouth to increase the general size of the herd. From what I have read the most "successful " Bass states have something like this in place. 7. It is kind of like the four point rule on Deer......Missouri was literally 30 years behind other states to institute it. We are also behind on this Bass differentiation thing. Let's take a big step to catch up !!! Walcrabass

5bites, As the Spots are removed from Table Rock the "hole" they leave will be largely filled by the Largemouth Bass. My hope is that the genetic pool there is not already so polluted with Kentucky crosses that we may be already a tad too late with this rule change. In the 1960 era 10 pound bass were a regularity at Table Rock. I have read articles in the past of people catching several in the same year. Hopefully this kind of fishing can return......maybe have to institute slot limit as well to get it done. Walcrabass

LVN2fish, Thank you VERY MUCH for your intelligent response on the Kentucky Bass. We will reap HUGE rewards from this in the future. I hope it goes state wide and not just for Stockton. Did you get the biologist' name or email? Walcrabass

Sac River Jim, Speaking of the A Rig. Wow what a bait to show you have more brawn than anything else. The End.

5 bites, Thank you for the reply. Everything you say has some merit. The 3 pound spot you catch might have false teeth though from old age. I will have to say though from my experience the Kentuckies are much easier to catch. Thus not requiring as much talent. I fish Table Rock quite a lot myself. Walcrabass

Jmontogo1246, There used to be a guy out of Springfield named Mr. Green. I have met him at the lake and he does a pretty good job. Don't have any contact info maybe someone else will see this and send it in. Mutton Creek Marina may have his information. That is where I usually saw him launch. Walcrabass

5 bites, Can you tell me why using the Kentuckies on Table Rock is not a good argument? If my memory serves me correctly there were only 3% of the Bass population in the lake when it was built that were Kentuckies. Now it is at almost 28 %. This does not count the Kentucky/Largemouth crosses or the Kentucky/ Smallmouth crosses. Please tell me the reason for the comment... maybe I am not understanding your angle of thought. Walcrabass

Sac River Jim and others, There really is no argument as to identification. We have four easy ways to do this. Jaw hinge is under the eye, Dorsal fin really has no definite break in it between front and rear lobe, tooth patch on tongue, and of course the fact that they have rough scales hence some people calling them "Carp". Come on MDC, help us to make our lake fisheries better. Walcrabass

MDC survey persons, Thank you for telling people that a 15" spot is like finding a pearl in a can of oysters. Seven years old???? Wonder how many times one that age has spawned?? Wonder how many thousand of those short bass it has made?? Wonder how many times those offspring have crossed with Smallmouth or Largemouth??? I REALLY REALLY hope and pray the MDC DOES NOT MAKE UNIFORM LENGTHS AND CREELS STAY WITH US. I wish MDC would give the survey to myself or a person like Straw Hat. They would know without a doubt that we want the Kentuckies in their OWN CATEGORY. With their OWN LENGTH LIMIT !!! And virtually NO DAILY OR POSSESSION LIMIT !!!!. These little guys WILL TAKE OVER!!!! Look at Table Rock !!!! I seriously applaud Oklahoma for their efforts to eradicate these fish and replace them with super genetics Bass !!! I pray I will be applauding Missouri for the same very soon. In my opinion if you are asked to take this survey just answer in this way.....please fill in the blanks for me for whatever will make the largest and most prolific Bass in our lakes. If there are inferior species please make fishing regulations so we can help you make things this way. Walcrabass, again, and forever, on this particular subject.

Glad to hear you guys are trying it in the cold water. I do it too. my favorite time to fish. Here is a little something from the old guy. When the water is below 40 degrees the sun is your friend. Try to find banks that it hits all day long. A jig might catch them but a Jerk Bait is probably as good of a choice. If the bank has big rock remember that they soak up heat. Kind of like you standing next to a metal building on a sunny day. If you can get a couple of sunny days in a row you might be in good shape. Also remember that the temp you are reading is on the surface. That does not necessarily have anything to do with the temp 40 feet below the boat. Might be 43 or 44 down there. A digital thermometer on a long cord that will give you a temp at boatside could be a good investment. Just two degrees more temp above this 40 degree thing is huge. If fishing in the sun and clear water take advantage of a shiny Jerk Bait. L-O-N-G pauses between Jerks, slack line before and after Jerks. I honestly put the rod on the deck sometimes and just watch the line. One good thing is that in another week this probably won't apply. Good fishing is close. On the other hand ALL FISHING is good fishing. Walcrabass

mjk86, I agree with you on buying the worms. Those things have to have some magic in them !!!! But along with your comment on bringing all the tackle to the lake and only fishing a few.........well now we are back to the marketing thing. Let me clarify one thing to all who read this. I have so much tackle that my friends call my garage "Bass Pro Annex". I have this tackle for a variety of reasons. A lot of it I have tried and used to some degree of success. A lot of it I have bought and stored ( like the 7000 worms ) as I know they catch fish and I don't want to run out before I die. Which might be kinda soon if I don't stop buying tackle as my wife will have me executed. Another reason is that I buy it on sale or closeout and my main intention is to give it away to other anglers. Especially kids. I cannot help but think that by sparking interest in fishing to many youngsters I have helped them to be interested in something that will keep them out of trouble. There is not a better sport to take up as you can do it until you are an "oldster". If any of you know a young person that you could take fishing and give them something to look forward to other than drugs, gangs, drinking, or worse, please give it some thought. If you can take their Dad or Uncle that is even better. I would hate to think what I would do with all my time if I didn't fish. Probably something productive like work for my wife. Walcrabass

Old Plug, Your years have definitely brought you wisdom. I had a very good friend that I fished with until he was in his upper 80s. He Had some of the old lures he and others made when they were younger. They were not fancy or even well painted. But they caught fish. They fished for food AND enjoyment. He used to tell me, "Kid, you can catch any fish that swims on a Jig". He was correct. I have caught every imaginable fish with these great things we call Jigs. He instilled in me the desire to learn to fish them with Zeal and an understanding of how to use them. I must say that at my age today ( I'm not young either )I have caught more fish on them than probably on all other lures together. If someone would have told him that fishermen would pay $30 for a crankbait he would have not believed it. So Old Plug... you are exactly right. Fish a few types of baits but fish them with perfection. You will catch fish on them. Even when others swear they are biting on something entirely different. Old Man Walcrabass P.S. I bought another new Jerk Bait tonight. It is a Rapala. NOT $30 but only $8. It will do just fine.

Luvn2fish, I couldn't agree with you more on the baitball series. To think that a fish "can see" all those bait fish in that pattern is kind of silly. I would liken it to dogs watching TV. If there is no sound they just don't get it. It is just some kind of image that has no meaning. About these spinner baits. Scrutinize spinner baits carefully. If it flies better in the air look first to the skirt. Are the strands wide or narrow? Is there a lot of flair to the skirt or do the strands easily bend back under their own weight? Is the skirt very full, kind of full, or just plain skinny? The other thing of course is the blade(s). Colorado or Willow? Same size or smaller? Same thickness or thinner? What about the weight of the blades? Are they steel, copper, brass??? I am just thinking this head thing is pretty negligible. Oh yeah, one other thing. I have used these when fishing with a friend that offered one. Good Spinner Baits. I don't believe for other Spinner baits of the same weight rigged identically with skirt, blades, hooks, etc, that they are any better. One thing I have noticed is the they are more expensive. Now we are back to the marketing thing. If you are going to fetch a premium price you had better have a good sales pitch to go with it. Maybe I am just old but the longer you are around the more skeptical you tend to be. Why??? Well let's just say you have been "marketized" one too many times. I would like to hear from everyone their opinion on Jerk Baits. You know....... $30 ones all the way to $8 ones and they all catch fish. And don't forget Kevin fishes Strike King. Definitely not the $30 ones. If I remember right he has done pretty well with his fishing career. Oops, I feel that marketing thing rearing it's head again!!! Maybe someone should tell Kevin he needs to switch brands. I'll let someone else take care of that. I do request to be standing by to watch though. Brainwaves Oscillating, Old Walcrabass

Sac River Jim and others, Sorry about the fish off. I have been following the results and you definitely have some good sticks on the trail. The weather is just the pitts. I know it is not much consolation but if any of the tournament guys are really cranked up to fish Table Rock hardly ever freezes.....maybe a creek arm or something. The water temp isn't great but we will have some warming in the next few days. If the sun is out then maybe by Sunday a guy could catch a couple. I will keep watch for that fish off around September. Walcrabass

Ham and Smallieguy 87, I have to agree with you completely. The profile is exactly what we are talking about. I personally don't think the difference in a 1/4 oz. head and a 1/2 oz. head would make any difference to the fish that eats those 6 to 8" shad etc. After all 1/4 oz of lead spread out in the shape of the spinner bait head doesn't take up much space. As far as the blades go the smaller blades will make less lift on a bait because of weight ( pure physics here ). Hence if the lures weigh the same the results will be the same. I understand also that you love these baits. I have lures that I have the same thoughts about using. Like the Rebel Pop-R. Are the $15 poppers TRULY any better???? Or even as good?????The fact of the matter is that the fish don't think about what you and I think about. The people that market products know this and prey upon our tendencies. My entire point is that once they get a person headed down the track in the direction they want it is very hard to derail yourself and come back to thinking in another plane. Enjoy using your Spinner Baits. They are a great product. I just didn't fall hard for this one like I have for others. Old Man Walcrabass

OK, with the cold and snow I have been surfing the internet looking at fishing lures. Quite a few selections out there. Each one of them seems to have their own marketing ploy. It has occurred to me that one piece of "fishing advice" has caught my eye in particular..... a type of Spinner Bait. The one with the small heads and the weight behind the head hidden by the skirt. It seems as though the main point is that it has the weight of a larger spinner bait but the head size of like a 1/4 oz. Really??? That makes it more attractive to a Bass?????? Are we talking about the same fish that swallows 6 to 8" bluegill and shad whole like an aspirin tablet??? So, I can see the diving depth thing...... the wiggle thing......the floating thing..... the color thing, and the scent thing. But seeing as how I have caught 5 pound Bass on Giant plastic worms that had Giant bluegill partly sticking out of their throats ........well........ they will have to catch me on a day when I am hallucinating to get me to "swallow" ( pun definitely intended) that one. I gotta think that in this area the skirt color/action and the quality/spin of the blades means a WHOLE BUNCH MORE !!!! Hope it warms up soon as I am really wanting ( NEEDING???) to go fish. Cabin Fever Crazy, Walcrabass