Dutch

Are any of you guys making an unweighted setup for shallow water or weighted baits?

I rig the tubes 3 ways: 1. jig head insert, 2. Trig with sliding bullet sinker, and 3. Trig with bell sinker inside the tube.

Over the years I have caught more smallies on tubes than any other bait. Jig are also very good for me but not as good as tubes. Pumpkin seed and green pumpkin have been the best two colors for them.

Last year was my worst year in memory. I'm shooting for 100 trips and 1000 boated fish.

I've been down around the Snap area three times looking for crappie, walleye, or whites and so far not a bite. I did catch a few crappie about a month ago above 39 but they seem to have moved. I have seen some minnow fishermen sitting over brush piles but don't know if or not they are catching anything as I'm not one to pull up and ask a bunch of questions.

I'd love to but it would be hard to choose since I really like both teams.

It doesn't look good so far. The weather guessers said 2" last night and today. At my house we have only had a sprinkle.

Do you think the water temp will bring them up? Without a good flushing I wouldn't look for them early. Normally we catch a few when fishing for crappie in Jan and Feb in the James. So far this year we have seen exactly 0.

I went to Bull Shoals again this week and was very surprised. The SWPA site showed water out of Table Rock beginning at 5 am. I was on the water at Beaver Creek by 8. I saw current at the 76 bridge and was in moving water all day long. Without generation at Powersite I can't see how current can get that far down in only 3 hours. If it were left over from previous running with the hours of nongeneration shouldn't the current have stopped? I just can't figure out what to expect when I get to that place. I would like to be able to keep a bait in place and know where I am fishing.

x2

That is the motor which should be on that size boat. Most of the time Tracker under powers. The biggest problem is the trailer. I have fished in that boat and seen others on the ramp. It is a bear to load.

I use 2 different sizes of wg FG12 and FG30. The 12 gets hung up a lot worse than the 30. I have no hookset problems with either and I don't cut them off. I use to but found it only caused me more hangups.

The only muskies I have heard of are in Fellows and Pomme de Terre lakes.

Some pics of you boat, tmotor, and the mount would be helpful.

Thanks Phil. I couldn't see the forest for the trees.

Is this button broken? I used to get from 1 to 2 pages when I clicked on it now I am getting like 18 and some of the topics haven't had a post in many days.

If you are going to be fishing the UPPER BULL SHOALS then I'd think you'd be looking for some camping a lot closer to the upper part than down by the dam. You should be able to buy day permits to fish both in AR and MO. As far as your time frame goes, you guys must be a lot better at the game than I am. Even living relatively close to all those ponds I sometimes need a couple of days to get a pattern and I can rarely find the same one from one lake to the other. From my perspective I'd add a day at Bull and Stockton and skip Truman or substitute Pomme de Terre for Truman.

For me the end of the rivers is where one dumps into another like where James and White join. From there on down I consider it White River. Since I am a lake fisherman instead of river, the beginning for me is where the lake boundaries and regs end and the river rules take over for length limits, though I rarely run my rig anywhere near those lines.

I thought we were only allowed 3 hooks.

I'd try something like WD40 on the bendix. I used to have a RUDE that would get contrary and have to be lubed a bit to spin and engage.

8# mono

That's the point, I haven't figured it out and was hoping someone who is there a lot has figured it out. I haven't been there in a year but plan to do some winter fishing in that area if the water doesn't get way up again. Last year it came up so fast I quit trying very early and switched back to Table Rock. I have been catching walleye on Stockton and finding a bunch of subs. I'd like to get into a good one or two to put on the smoker and think Bull will be a better place to look.

When they start generating at the Table Rock Dam, how long does it take for current to reach say the mouth of Beaver Creek or Cedar Creek? Any body have that tid bit stuck away in the back of their brain? I talked to a guy at the Powersite dam once and he said they saw current within 3 hours of the generation at Table Rock. That seems to me like a long ways for current that quick but he works there and should know. I don't have a feel for how quick it would be seen on down in BS though.

Maybe it is time for a taste bud transplant... ya think?

Ray Scott promoted this which helped with his publicity of the BASS tournaments and people have bought into it across the land. I don't keep them because they smell like frogs and I don't eat frogs.