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[*T*]

Great win for Mike. Was following his activities all 4 days.

He really fought hard on day 4, his toughest day, and deserves accolades for staying strong! Great win! Keep it up. Trip to the Classic 2015!!

[Bill Babler]

He was throwing 2 different swimbaits, and I did see him throw a spinning reel a couple of times, but he put it right down. That would be a question for him. The overruns were not as problematic as the continued hang-up. Fishing the distance he fishes from the boat and as shallow as he was fishing with those massively long casts, would dictate hangups. I think it might have been a control thing or that he just felt more comfortable with the BC vs the Spinner.

I know this, at 100' in the wind and surf we had today with the boat rocking and going crazy. He would hit you in the head with it 8 out of 10 times. Just flat Amazing.

[Bill Babler]

Couple of things on the Wart Bite. That bite was by far the best up the White River in the rain stained Kings River water. It got clearer everyday and with the clearing the slimmy moss is coming. On my guide trips there the last 3 days, if we got between Campbell Point and KC, we started mossing really bad. Mike had problems with that today. I think that is why he fished the single hooked lite Swimbait.

That moss will get bad and I mean really bad. It seems to have a depth limit of about 15 ft. Then as the water hits mid-70's it breaks loose and goes away.

As the week went on the wart bite started to subside as the water started to clear at Shell Knob.

[dtrs5kprs]

WheeW!!!!! Mike just flat ground it out. We were with him all day, and he just flat fished and fished. He fished in a slow methodical completely calm and unhurried fashion that was really hard for me to comprehend.

Just fantastic control of his emotions.

Mike fished 6 locations in the 8 hrs. mostly fishing wind. I mean surf in some of them. He really concentrated on the very backs of the wind blown pockets, but the majority of his fish both keeps and shorts came in the front section to 1/3 way back in the coves.

Right off the bat he put 3 keeps in the boat using a 4" swim bait with a small ball head. It was without a doubt his go to bait today. He did throw both of his McSticks the 110 and the shallow 115. He also tried to throw a WW, but the moss is really coming on in the clear water from Campbell Point to Kimberling City and with the type of shallow fishing he was doing, the Wart was mossing up.

I might be wrong as we really tried to keep our distance, but I believe today all his fish came on the Swimbait.

He was light line fishing on the bait caster and as he said using 8 pound. He was hung up a ton and had overruns with the huge wind time and time again. His ability to remain calm in the face of all of this just flat amazed me.

Did not see him lose a single fish and believe he caught every bite. About 23 to 25 fish total.

Something that I really stress here regardless of how deep or shallow you fish is the distance on your cast. Buster at his Bull Shoals presentation, also mentioned it as a huge part of his success. Today AMart also mentioned that distance here is so important, when he was on Stage. Mike's cast were 100 to 120 ft. I have never seen baits thrown so far from a boat. The distance he was casting that very lite swimbait was just crazy. Probably some of the reasons for the overruns. I heard him tell his camera man "I'm really not this bad." You try and throw 8 pound on a bait caster 120' with a 1/8 to 3/16 oz bait and see how you do.

Cold miserable day out there, but one of our buddies did really good and won the deal hands down.

Congrats Mike

Hmmm...just poured about 50 little swimmers Friday.

[fishingaddiction]

Bill your post on Mike using a bait caster with the small swimmer and with that kind of accuracy is amazing especially with the wind blowing. I have tried it and have a tendendicy to yank the cast to the left since I am right handed. Glad one of our own NW Arkansas guys won it. As Mike said it was just ment to be getting home with a blade broken off his prop.

[Bill Babler]

Beck and Mike are more than best friends, they have fished together for year. Mike's parents and I worked sports shows together all over the mid-west during the early 90's Mike would be there when he could be to help them at their booth selling very quality equipment. It was just a joy watching him yesterday.

Bill told me something that Mike does. He uses zero to hardly any drag on his reels, almost a free spool. Bill said if you push the button on his bait casters all the line will just roll off and pile up on the floor, they are that loose. Do not try this at home. Bill said he cannot even think about fishing Mike's equipment.

That being said is how he can throw it that far with such accuracy. You make the slightest goof, your fault, my fault the wind or the boats fault, and you get a buggy Bo.

I will tell you now, it really works for him, especially throwing extremely light baits that we would all probably throw on a spinner.

[Sac River Jim]

Mike said in an interview that he was using a couple different Cabelas Reels can we go to Cabelas and buy identical equipment or are they custom made to his specs or possibly protypes. I wonder how many the pros use stock equipment.

[dtrs5kprs]

Beck and Mike are more than best friends, they have fished together for year. Mike's parents and I worked sports shows together all over the mid-west during the early 90's Mike would be there when he could be to help them at their booth selling very quality equipment. It was just a joy watching him yesterday.

Bill told me something that Mike does. He uses zero to hardly any drag on his reels, almost a free spool. Bill said if you push the button on his bait casters all the line will just roll off and pile up on the floor, they are that loose. Do not try this at home. Bill said he cannot even think about fishing Mike's equipment.

That being said is how he can throw it that far with such accuracy. You make the slightest goof, your fault, my fault the wind or the boats fault, and you get a buggy Bo.

I will tell you now, it really works for him, especially throwing extremely light baits that we would all probably throw on a spinner.

There's a line from Big Jake in there somewhere I think.

Just looked through the pics. Seems he pretty much caught them before the wind started as well.

[magicwormman]

Well done Mike!!!! Outstanding job by a great fisherman and a great guy!! If my memory is right, the last time Mike has done that well on the Rock, was back in 2000. I think he won 2nd place and a boat in a BASS open event. I think Jim Dopp won first, Mike Mc Clelland second, and Stacey King third. They gave away three boats that year and our local boys spanked them all. I think it was the first year after the fish kill and very few LM were weighed in.

[Bill Babler]

Well done Mike!!!! Outstanding job by a great fisherman and a great guy!! If my memory is right, the last time Mike has done that well on the Rock, was back in 2000. I think he won 2nd place and a boat in a BASS open event. I think Jim Dopp won first, Mike Mc Clelland second, and Stacey King third. They gave away three boats that year and our local boys spanked them all. I think it was the first year after the fish kill and very few LM were weighed in.

Yep, you are correct. The Dopper took the week off from UPS and drug a Zoom Fish Dr. to victory on the flats from Old 86 to Combs Ferry. I cannot remember if he even had a Jaw, I think they maybe all but 1 were K's.