May, 4, 5 & 6Th Kimberling City

[motoman]

If you have no interest in finesse fishing or the Ned rig specifically; I'll warn you now.......you won't like this report. But, for the rest of yah........here it goes!:-)

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Sunday with temps in high 80's and high skies, caught about 30 fish from 2:00pm-6:00pm in the 20+mph wind on gravel shoreline and gravel flats. Had to be in the wind.......TONS of solid keepers too! Ned rig in 15-25 feet, throw it out; let it sit for quite a while. Parallel to shore, perpendicular, at an angle........didn't matter. Then SLOWLY drag it, at the first rock you feel, raise the rod tip for the 'hop-and-drop' (not to be confused with the shake-n-bake:-P) This is raising the rod tip just enough to hop it over the rock, (JUST enough!.........no higher!) and drop it instantly..........don't drag it another foot or 5 feet........INSTANTLY drop it and let it sit again! That's when they would hit it; or the next instant it would move after a long sit. 1/8 ounce green pumpkin or watermelon with green and orange flake and PB&J were best.

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Monday, same weather, air temps close to 90degrees. Water temps I recall about 63'ish. Bite slacked off a bit, but similar technique.

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Tuesday, water temps saw up to 65 and air temps 92;, bite was MUCH tougher letting it sit.........then my buddy Adam dialed in throwing the 1/16 ounce in the wind and SLOWLY reeling it back to the boat in 10-15' of water. Same colors. Ticking the bottom helped me a bit.

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Fished the copsforkids tournament. Weighed a limit, but no bigguns. Running from the dam to Kimberling city. Spun the hub in the prop a half mile from the dam coming back after weigh-in. Trolled to nearby resort. Tied up, called a cab. Took them about to hours to get us and we got the truck/trailer. Retrieved the boat. Thankfully we were leaving the next morning.

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All-in-all a great trip! Coulda done without the prop debacle, but oh well. Coulda been worse. No metal shavings in lower unit. And lesson learned........carry a spare prop.(doh!)

[dtrs5kprs]

Nicely done. Good adjustment on the slow swim/scrub .

[motoman]

Yeah, we can't take complete credit for that though!;-)

[motoman]

I could amend the 'hop-n-drop' to be called the 'drag-n-lag' too.:-P..........but dragging it seems to get it wedged in between rocks too easily. I find the raised rod tip/hop to be more helpful climbing it over stuff.

[Quillback]

Glad to hear you found a good bite, sure is fun catching them on the rig.

[fishingaddiction]

Good report moto. Sorry about the prop, what a bummer. Always enjoy reading about the variable Ned Rig techniques and retrieves. If your in the right places and not catching them, don't change baits, just change the way you work the rig.

[motoman]

Good report moto. Sorry about the prop, what a bummer. Always enjoy reading about the variable Ned Rig techniques and retrieves. If your in the right places and not catching them, don't change baits, just change the way you work the rig.

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You hit the nail on the head fishingaddiction and Quill! Sure is a blast catching them on the rig, and even better When subtle changes with the same bait can turn things around; it was actually crazy. My buddy started swimming it, and he caught 3 fish on four casts! After we had an hour plus lull. We were looking at each other with that Homer Simpson kinda DOH! Look...........tweaking the presentation and just swimming it was key. But I can't take all the credit for that; we had a bug in our ear from days prior about swimming it; but we just couldn't tweak the subtle swim just right; until Tuesday.

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And looking back. The prop thing was a bummer; but now I have a good excuse to get that different prop I wanted!

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And too.......regarding the prop issue, times like that really bring out people's true colors. My buddy Adam and I were bummed at the time. But once we got out of the main channel and I was tying up at the resort dock amidst the wind and waves. He really sprung into action, helping out trying to find us a ride back to get my truck and trailer. Talking to the resort folk, then getting a cab. So, I could worry about securing the boat and getting the valuables off-loaded; as we weren't sure how long we would have to leave it.

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And then the 2 hour wait for the cab, and the ride back. We laughed our butts off making lemonade outta lemons. Not sure what the heck was so funny about it all; I think we are both just glass half full kinda guys; who can find the humor at the dumbest situations. And being exhausted from the day; led to some goofy delirium! Not a drop of alcohol involved; I think just being thankful we just had a minor hiccup, being pooped out from the day; and the beautiful environment we were in; can't help but lighten some moods.

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And now we've got some funny stuff to look back and laugh at. All is well that ends well!:-)

[willyfish]

That's what fishing trips are all about. Telling jokes, old stories and enjoying the company of your crew mates. We owe it all to those fish really.

[motoman]

That's what fishing trips are all about. Telling jokes, old stories and enjoying the company of your crew mates. We owe it all to those fish really.

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You said it willy! Getting to enjoy the bounty, Sweet Temptress Table Rock offers up, can really lift a guys spirits.:-)

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I'm glad I was with, who I was, when I spun that hub. Some of the other goofballs I fish with, woulda been more trouble than they were worth in that situation.(hahaha)

[dtrs5kprs]

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You said it willy! Getting to enjoy the bounty, Sweet Temptress Table Rock offers up, can really lift a guys spirits.:-)

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I'm glad I was with, who I was, when I spun that hub. Some of the other goofballs I fish with, woulda been more trouble than they were worth in that situation.(hahaha)

Got that right. I can think of someone who probably would have run down to pick you up though .