Don't Understand

[Mitch f]

2,000 people competed in the Big Bass Bash at Lake of the Ozarks. That's conservatively 1.5 million casts over a 6 hour period, with every new fangled lure known to man (and probably some old classic lures) and the best bass out of a lake that has more shoreline than Lake Michigan is 6.5 pounds? Fish 1, Humans 0

[ColdWaterFshr]

Well, them fishus hadn't met Paul Dallas.

Glad the home team won.

[Old plug]

MITCH they came in at a real bad time. They also hit the beginning of the transition period. A lot of those people are pretty inexperiences and I guess just like to blow money gambling. It is my understanding that a awful lot if them did not catch anything. Truth nobody catches lunkers with consistency. Last year I happened to discover a pattern that really drew the heavy bass. I caught 13 last year over 21" with 3 of those over 23". that was the best year for me. This year that pattern has not produced one lunker and little of anything else. I have only caught 6 over 21" this year with one topping 23". I should I live here and am out many many days and never go more than a few miles from my dock. I know my area and the ins and outs if it. I think for most fishing that tournament they are flying blind. It is a lot of luck. Myself I do not like the odds. It is just a waist of most peoples money.

I am betting also that in this particular tournament the nasty weather turned the bass off as far as hitting lures. I firmly believe when you have a nasty blow in like they did bass will go to live forage. i do not care how much something looks like a shad it does not smell like a live shad or whatever. That makes a critical difference.

I am going to be doing some more of your potato chip thing Friday when i go up to visit the grand kids. I am thinking about trying some type of flavored chips on it.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Oh well. LOZ can probably survive without an influx of new bassers, at least as long as bikinis are legal and yachts float.

[moguy1973]

Everybody knows that LOZ isn't a good bass lake, come on!

LOL

[fishinwrench]

Hey LO boys, let's pick a day, buy a newspaper on your way out, then go out and see how big of a bass you can catch, and post up a pic of it here (next to the news paper). Just for fun of course.

Who's in ?

[Old plug]

Thats true MOguy you caught me making up stories about those fish.

Wrench I am having a ball with the little guys right now. If I go up into the coves with shallow banks preferably ending in a creek I can catch a small one off every dock ,if I am out there at the right time. Last week it was all Kentucky bass. Last two days it has been largemouth and the size has improved a little. This is a time of year I really like to be out there with the wacky worms on a 6 ft light action crappie rod and 6 or 8 lb test. I bet they would really jump a big streamer fly on a sinking line.

[Al Agnew]

I'll be the first to admit I'm not much of a reservoir fisherman...I used to be, back when it was a lot easier to catch big bass from the lakes because the fishing pressure was so much less, but anymore I just don't have the feel for it. I haven't fished any reservoir enough to figure out those spots that aren't obvious and consistently produce fish. I haven't even fished a reservoir for several years now, and before that I only fished Pomme de Terre once a year in a friendly tournament. I always fished one specific area, from the dam up the east bank the first major cove. I always felt like I knew that area well, but I also always thought that about 90% of the time I had to be fishing fishless water, because I'd try just about everything and catch just about nothing. Eventually, by working hard and making a lot of casts, I'd catch a respectable number of fish and even be in the running to win the tournament (usually until that last day of the three day event, where I'd bomb), but I never felt like I knew what I was doing or that I was doing the right things.

I'm sure that's how most anglers fishing a tournament like the one on LOZ feel, especially when they fish several hours without a keeper. They all go out in the morning hoping it will be a great day, and come in at the end wondering what happened...and it's only made worse because of the few who DO come in with a good catch.

[Old plug]

You know Al it is funny about those areas that hold fish. You cannot bet on them. Especially lunker spots. I had a node far out in the middle of the lake that was a lunker hole. I caught some out there and some of them more than one time. Suddenly they were not there anymore. And its been several years since that spot has been hot. I found a spot last summer that I think holds a lunker . It is nothing secret but it keeps pulling me because I think there is a big bass there. All I got to do is get there at the right time with a monster plastic worm presented very softly and slowly. I might be wrong but thats ok too. The anticipation of fishing that worm and hoping this will be the time is a big part of the joy of fishing.

[fishinwrench]

The driving force in competitive fishing is knowing that no matter what the conditions are SOMEBODY is gonna come in with a fat sack (or at least a respectable one).