Big M area, April 1

[Quillback]

Met Muddy Water (Robert) at the launch at 7 AM.  A bit cold with a brisk north wind blowing.

Things started off slowly, fished a gravel point for one short fish and moved up lake to a smaller cove.  Abut halfway back into the cove some schooling fish started to bust on the surface, sure looked like whites, but we moved within range and made some casts.  We could not get them to hit the Plopper or a Yellow Magic, but did get a couple on a grub and a couple on the Ned - turned out they were black bass.  They were up for about 5 minutes and stopped.

Fished that cove and several other spots, not much going on, we managed a few shorts, picking up one here and there.  Made a move down lake, picked up a few on a rocky bank, couple in the back of a cove - then on a windy bank about a third of the way into a cove started getting bites on the wobble head with a Strike King Structure Bug in green pumpkin.  Getting bites, but I could not keep one on to save my life.  Missed 1/2 dozen bites on that bank, and a couple that I had on for a second or two were solid fish.  Just could not stick them.

We moved again to another rocky bank, right off the bat I missed another 3 or 4 bites, I was getting a tad frustrated - then all of a sudden I was sticking them, caught about 10 or so on that one bank, no bigguns, but several keepers and a mix of smallies, spots, LM's and one keeper sized mean.  Robert meanwhile was throwing several baits at them but hardly getting a bite - they wanted that Structure Bug and nothing else.  We pounded that stretch until we could get no more bites, then moved again.

We were back to just a few fish here and there for the rest of the day.  Got to the last bank we were going to fish, and I got a nice smallie on a Ned, she was right on the bank, and gave me all I could handle on the light rod.  She was just shy of 4 lbs.  Best fish of the day.

We caught about 40 total, maybe a half dozen keepers.  Mainly wobble head and Ned fish, with a couple on the grub.  Water temp was 53-54 no matter where we went and stained green.

 

[dtrs5kprs]

Pretty brownie.

[Jerry Rapp]

good day!  A buddy of mine from AVA called me last night and said let's go fishing.  I am on them big time at TR.  I left home at oh dark thirty and met him at KC around 0900.  Loaded my junk in his boat, 3 rods, and a small single sided tackle box.  He had told me what to bring.  Pulled up to the first steep secondary point my buddy took us to and started fishing.  On my third cast, using a brown/green homemade jig I make, with a Chomper  twin tail trailer(all green pumpkin) it bounced down to about 8 feet and tick.  5-3 LM.  We sat there for 35 minutes and had 5 that totaled 28-3 on digital scales.  Biggest was an 8-3 that my buddy caught on one of my jigs.  Fished until 4, caught fish all day on basically the same pattern, but nothing over 5lbs.  SM, KY and about 20% LM after leaving the first spot(which were all LM)  I am trying to get the photos from my phone to upload to my laptop so I can post them before I fall asleep. We are headed out back tomorrow for a few hours.

[Quillback]

Dang Jerry, you guys put a whoopin' on them!

[dtrs5kprs]

 

Dang Jerry, you guys put a whoopin' on them!

Or he looked at the calendar...

[Jerry Rapp]

 

Or he looked at the calendar...

dang it. Back in the day these type of posts could go 13-18 hours.  I once had a new state record bass post about a 14+ caught at a local conservation lake that got 20+ replies before someone realized what day it was. 

[luckycraft]

any pics of that 28 pound sack?

[Jerry Rapp]

 

any pics of that 28 pound sack?

still working on uploading them.

[dtrs5kprs]

 

dang it. Back in the day these type of posts could go 13-18 hours.  I once had a new state record bass post about a 14+ caught at a local conservation lake that got 20+ replies before someone realized what day it was. 

Hee-hee. I remembered the 10# Ned rig post from last year. I'll try to stay busier next 4/1.

But we have had some DD largemouth caught on the little guy this spring.

[Jerry Rapp]

 

Hee-hee. I remembered the 10# Ned rig post from last year. I'll try to stay busier next 4/1.

But we have had some DD largemouth caught on the little guy this spring.

yep.  The little guy is hot.  I saw a 10-1 on FB that a guy I use to fish tournaments with at LOZ posted.  I have had 4 over 5lbs  on it at Wappapello and Clearwater this year.