Eagle Rock boat launch ramp

[Ketchup]

Great info rps and Bill.  Never tried that stop and let boat slide up trick, but it sounds like a doable trick.  I pull with an F-250 and for the past few weeks, including last week at Rockaway on Taney, i have had to walk my truck step, climb into the bed, on to the bumper, then into the boat.  Same when taking boat out.  Need to launch from steeper ramps i guess, but my feet stay dry.  

[crazy4fishin]

Good launching / loading info Bill - 

[Carl W]

2 hours ago, Bill Babler said:

Most of us that do this everyday don't get anything wet but the boat. You should not have to get wet to launch or trailer your boat. When launching back your boat in until the bunks are wet. That is before it floats. Pull up a bit where you can unhook and climb in over the bow. If you have a new style trailer or one with the bow steps you can just climb right in. Even when I was using a walker I had no trouble and I didn't even have the trailer bow steps. You don't have to float the boat on a trailer to launch it.

When trailering, again back your trailer in and get the bunks wet. Pull it completely out and then just back that trailer in until only about 3ft. of your back bunk is in the water. Your boat will slid right on and up on the wet bunks. It will stay right in the middle and follow them to the bow stop. If you are a bit short within a foot or two, hook up the bow ring to the crank and make it very tight. Pull the boat out and when you get to the top of the ramp on level ground while the rig is still pulling forward hit the brake. The boat will slide right into the correct position. I don't mean at 20 mph, I mean as you are slowly rolling to a stop. Guides and professional fishermen have been loading and unloading like this since I was a teenager, or the beginning of time. Good Luck

Thank Bill.  I avoid getting wet by climbing in the back of my truck but, sometimes its really hard.  I will try you method very soon.  

[Carl W]

2 hours ago, rps said:

In 2011 and again in 2015, within a week of the huge rise, fishing settled and became excellent. Here in the upper end, the water took some time to clear. The fish moved up to the brush line for a while and then settled back to the normal waterline - in other words 10 to 14 feet. They held there long past when they do in non-high water years.

My PB walleye and the runner up came in July of 2011. One was in eight feet of water. They other was suspended and hit a crank running 12 feet deep.

Both in 2011 and 2015, the high water meant a longer morning top water bite, although both years they preferred a buzz bait to the walk the dog. A WP will probably slay them.

I figure we have two, maybe three months, of better than average water to fish. Find a place to put the boat in and enjoy. (For me, that means I call Colin, the HI concessionaire, meet him, and have him ferry me to my boat.

[That was hard. Putting a positive spin on muddy water is difficult. Muddy water makes me feel like I am back in Oklahoma and have been told I must fish Lake Eufala.]

That might have been the sells pitch I needed to hear to drive up on Friday.  I know for sure that the Buzz bait was working on Beaver due to the FLW but, still not sure if TW is quite ready on Tablerock but, its worth a try right?   

Does anyone have any tips on fishing a buzz bait?  Brands or presentation or anything?  And for sure I will try the WP?  

[cheesemaster]

10 hours ago, Carl W said:

That might have been the sells pitch I needed to hear to drive up on Friday.  I know for sure that the Buzz bait was working on Beaver due to the FLW but, still not sure if TW is quite ready on Tablerock but, its worth a try right?   

Does anyone have any tips on fishing a buzz bait?  Brands or presentation or anything?  And for sure I will try the WP?  

I love throwing a buzzbait and throw it from now until Christmas.  I like the original "Lunker Lure" brand. I mostly throw black on black before sun up and after sundown and on dark cloudy days. I go with black with a gold blade for most every other occasion. Some people will have other opinions but it works for me. I know there are a couple people on here that make some real nice looking buzzbaits so you should check them out. When it's time for me to pick up a few more - I will definitely be giving them a call.

[Champ188]

There is much dissent over whether that boy actually won the FLW at Beaver on a buzz bait or not. Supposedly, one of his co-anglers said he hardly picked it up and caught most of his fish on a tube instead. Guess we'll find out for sure when the TV show airs.

[Bill Babler]

When these guys are not as truthful as they should be it really galls my lower parts.  If you don't want to say, don't say.  If you lie about it for money, what does that make you?  Frankly nothing but a liar and tells me your sponsors products aren't worth having in the boat.

Not speaking on this incident but just in general.  I have fished with guys that were not trying to hide fishing information, but were promoting products for money that they did not use.  I think it is deplorable.

[Carl W]

1 hour ago, Champ188 said:

There is much dissent over whether that boy actually won the FLW at Beaver on a buzz bait or not. Supposedly, one of his co-anglers said he hardly picked it up and caught most of his fish on a tube instead. Guess we'll find out for sure when the TV show airs.

I watched some of it live and he was throwing a buzz bait.  He was doing something that I would never think of (which is normal, because I do not think out of the box with fishing stuff).  He would cast it out and then drive it back to the boat by leaning this way and that way and I could never tell if he was doing that on purpose or if was just avoiding hitting something.  By that I mean was he trying to entice them to hit it by doing that or was it pure necessity.  

[sfiser]

2 hours ago, Champ188 said:

There is much dissent over whether that boy actually won the FLW at Beaver on a buzz bait or not. Supposedly, one of his co-anglers said he hardly picked it up and caught most of his fish on a tube instead. Guess we'll find out for sure when the TV show airs.

if you watched FLW live on Saturday/Sunday you would have seen the guy tossing the crap out of the buzzbait.  He didn't start throwing it a whole lot until Saturday and he said that in the interview.  There were no co anglers in the boats on Saturday and Sunday so the co that said he threw the tube wasn't in the boat when the guy went almost exclusively to the buzzbait.  I know the camera boat driver that was on him Saturday and he said that guy was a magician with that buzzbait all day long Saturday, said it was one of the best casting displays he had ever seen.  He did catch one of his 2 fish sunday on a jig or something like that due to him scrambling when they were missing the buzzbait.

[Champ188]

Good to know he told the truth. Always some kind of jawing going on around the tackle shops after one of these events. Shoulda known it was exactly that.

I was busy fishing and didn't see the FLW live coverage. Lost a lot of interest in that circuit when most of the decent fishermen migrated over to the BASS Elite Series. FLW seems more like a country club deal these days ... you pay, you play. No qualifying required.