081614 Report

[J-Doc]

Took my boat sales guy out with me this morning for the sole purpose of putting him on fish.

By the way, if you or someone you know is in the market for a new boat, ATV, or tractor....you NEED to go find Samuel Barns at Cabelas in Rogers and tell them I sent you. Samuel is about as nice a guy as one could meet. He works for you and he works hard. He does whatever he can to help you select the right boat for you. If he doesn't know the answer to your question, he will hunt it down. He volunteered to take me out on his personal off time on his family rig for a test ride to meet my schedule. I knew after meeting him and how he catered to me and helped me, he was a good sales rep to work with and I was right. I made a friend out of the deal and got my boat too. GO see Samuel for a boat, ATV or tractor, you won't be sorry.

So we launched at dark and got to the general area I was wanting to fish around 6:10. No one around, no guide boats to disupute rights of passage or "theft" of profit and other BS so I knew I had the area to myself. I even invited nathanhooper to join me once I knew where the fish were and that we were catching them. After nathan showed up, the bite had died and the wind picked up. I don't blame Nathan, it was psat 10am and that's about when the bite has been dying. I hope you got some Nathan.

I tried several top water baits including a wake bait, walk the dog bait, and even a tail spin. No bites. Only live bait.

Water was about 82 degrees

Water clarity about 5-6ft? Maybe more

Bait of choice = minnows

Split shot rig (no 2 circle hook, split shot about 3-4ft above hook)

Depth.....varies (I used graph to find fish and once found I'd sit on them and move around them as needed)

Fish Caught:

- 2 small stripers (released)

- 1 nice smallmouth

- 2 keeper stripers

- 1 REally nice striper

Funny story.........

F&F always seems to catch fish or more fish when I go with him. Today, I was F&F and had 2 in the boat quickly. On my 3rd fish, I gave the rod to Samuel and said, "here, all I did was hand you the rod....it's your fish". Suspecting there was some magic mojo on the driver's side of the boat, I gave Samuel the rod on the 4th fish and decided to test a theory. Same rod, same reel, same line, same hook, same bait. So lets see if there is something about the driver's seat. There wasn't but all fish caught today was on that rod. I suspect some "voodoo rods" at F&F's house or something. LOL! I mean I even tied the same knot on the hook. Nothing was different. No bananas in the boat either. :-)

I'm not giving away the spot or the area because I owe a few more folks that deserve a great day like Samuel. I hope to take a few more out over the course of the next week and I hope the fish will remain in this area. That and if word gets out, the guides will be going through my spot like a comb in Don King's hair and that's not going to leave me with a few later.

Here are the photos.

And if anyone wants to try my blackened fish recipe, I suggest striper for the meat. It's as good as fresh gulf grouper! I cooked this massive 1-1/4" thick fillet Friday night and had it again for lunch Sat. Man.....I gotta cook more tonight!

[J-Doc]

Shameless plug on the new boat.

On the way back, I've got a full load, almost full tank, passenger, chop on water, headed into wind. I only lost about 50-80rpm and almost 1mph. Boat rides so smooth it will surprise you big time. Rides very similar to a glass boat in my mind. We both fished very comfortably and never felt crowded. And Samuel agrees..........the new graphs are worth every penny. And a 10" graph is definately not too big. LOL!

[Feathers and Fins]

You one superstitious puppy.... Nice fishies.

[J-Doc]

Hey...........I wasn't. But now.......I'm not so sure anymore. One rod catches all fish? Has to be a detail I'm missing somewhere. I'm about to find out and go inspect gear. One hook must have been shiny or something. LOL

[nathanhooper]

Well it was nice to see you on the water Doc. It's funny how such a small area is really a big one. I started the day just about an hour earlier not too far from where I met you at and never saw you pull in. Your boat must have been in stealth mode. Lol. I did see another boat trolling the area you were in first thing this morning, but that goes to show you the difference what slow fishing live bait can do for you. I never saw that boat stop to reel in a fish.

I caught one right off the bat but fought the wind after that. And when it threatened to rain on us we started working our way back. We played around a point I saw a few fish on, but over there the wind was really kicking. That's when you hollered and I figured it would be nice to meet you regardless of any fish.

I did mark fish over there, and had a few bites. One actually took drag off my real but the mysteriously let go. I had that happen a few times this morning. My best guess is those baits I was using were a little big for the hook and when the fish took it the bait protected the hook from setting. I will be adding bigger hooks to my arsenal next time. Lesson learned.

Thanks again for inviting me over. The spot is safe, my lips sealed. Lol. Hope it keeps producing. Very weird the guides were not there as I saw them crawling over the place last weekend. Must not have been many clients this weekend?

I hope there were no photos taken and no derogatory remarks going to be made from me coming close to your vessel.

[J-Doc]

No remarks here! Sorry I didn't formally introduce myself. I was a bit preoccupied and focused on the task at hand. Yep, they are there but may not be what the guides are after. They do roam around and could be gone tomorrow. They were already in a different location from Wednesday and less fish too. I think I know where they are headed.

[wc1063]

Very nice,Doc!!

[Tanderson15]

Nice job. It makes it more special when you can put your friend and quests on fish. I'm sure he enjoyed it.

[nathanhooper]

No worries. I believe it was formal enough. I really appreciate you giving me a shout because it helps to know the kinds of places that the stripers like to hang out. That place reminds me a lot of two other places I've caught stripers before. So it makes things click inside my head.

[wc1063]

Were they still boiling on top this morning?