Fish On!

[crappiefisherman]

Had a wonderful morning on Bull Shoals today.Actually got to park on kdock parking lot.Boat ran fine.Caught 7 huge and I mean huge crappie and so many whites my arms are still aching.I know it sounds far fetched but I think the white population has increased hundred fold over past years.One 5 minute span I think I saw 2 acres of fish surfacing.The ramp didnt tell they story though .Only 6 rigs parked there and only saw 3 boats out and none of them had bigger then a 75 horse motor.So it was kinda quiet on the traffic side.I havent been out in so long I just had to brag.Prolly wont be there tommorrow but sure was fun today.Thank you Lord......

[crappiefisherman]

Man What a differance a day makes.Sundays are crazy down on K.I went yesterday instead of my usual monday.Didnt see near as many surfacing fish for all the boat traffic.Did catch my limit in nice sized crappie.It seems this year 11 to 15 inch crappie are the norm.Hardley any shorts to speak of.I been reading all the talk of 25 foot fish.If you stay there your gonna miss out on a lot of nice fish on 10 to 15 foot depth tree falls. I know people are catching because I see the regulars and visit with them on the ramp during the noon hours on their way back to the house.Get out and enjoy.

[Sam]

Yep, we had a real nice trip there last Thursday. The info you posted got me fired up to go - so thanks for that.

We had meals of crappie and white bass filets along with my fresh garden stuff a couple of times over the weekend - that's real good eatin', and nothing came from the store.

The white bass we found around K Dock were all about 10"-11", and that's just right for the dinner plate. Bigger W.B. may be more fun to catch, but you can hardly tell those little filets from crappie. Thanks again!

[rangerman]

The flats across from Lead Hill were absolutely loaded up with whites when I was down last week. I couldn't get a crankbait through them to get to the walleye most of the time.

[Sam]

I went out of K Dock about 6:30 a.m. yesterday (Friday). I couldn't find any crappie this time, but caught a bunch of short bass, perch, and one small walleye trolling the edges of the flats.

Most fun were the white bass. They were busting on the top in deep water about halfway between K Dock and Mincy. It wasn't real fast catching and I couldn't get a limit, but chasing those "boils" is a lot of fun. I didn't get onto that until mid-day on a sunny day, but they were coming up some even then. I think it's about time for an afternoon trip, because if white bass are doing that in the middle of the day in the sunshine I bet they're really doing it about 7 p.m.

[Sam]

I just got back from that late afternoon trip to K Dock I was thinking about.

Yep, from 7 p.m. until dark white bass are bustin' on top in the deep channels all over the lake. That may not be considered serious fishing, but it's FUN - "chasing the boils" and throwing a 1/6 oz. white roostertail at 'em. A fellow went with me, and we got two easy limits.

I've got an 11 y.o. granddaughter who loves to fish, and I've been looking for a good trip to take her on before she starts school again. I think I just found it, and we'll be down there again in the late afternoon in a day or two.

[crappiefisherman]

All ritgh sam, Im goin in the morning, the boats hooked up and ready to go, Im gonna try for crappie but prolly will play with the whites also,

[Phil Lilley]

I think I'll go Tuesday. See what all the "fuss" is about

[Sam]

Good luck with them, fellers - you'll find 'em. Just hang around in 50 ft. of water, watch for "boils", listen for the "waterfall", and try to get there and get some casts in before they go back down. In between "boils" we'd just troll the same lures in the same area, and we picked up a few that way too.

One bit of info that'll save you some time, they're feeding on little-bitty shad minnows no more than an inch long. I tried several lures that I thought I could throw farther and would run a little deeper - a Rogue, a Rapala, a Rattletrap, and a small chrome spoon. Nope, they wouldn't go for those, they wanted a 1/6 oz. white Roostertail retrieved fast.

I didn't get around to trying it, but I bet a small white Swimmin' Minnow on a 1/8 or 1/4 oz. jighead would do the trick too. I'm gonna try that on one rig next trip. It'd be nice to have a single hook to unhook instead of fooling around with pliers on fish that have swallowed all three points of a treble while while other fish are "boiling" all around the boat.