Gonna need 1/2 jigs for jigfest this year

[JestersHK]

42 minutes ago, LittleRedFisherman said:

That 20 inch brown is very doable Seth especially with your skills.  Bring some jerkbaits but last year DJ and I got one them good with the jigs as well 

Last year the jig bite was on fire.  I think out of everyone down we had 7 or so browns over 20in and that's just the ones I remember so odds are in your favor.  

Or you could be like Brett and just keep hammering small mouth all day, like non stop smallies Bonanza up there in the Buffalo confluence.  Ham caught that monster smallies last year too. Fish was a beast.

[Quillback]

I'm going to 'fancy up' some Kastmasters (paint them white on one side, add a feathered treble).  Toss them upstream a bit, let it tumble down with the current, 20 lb. brown sees it and WHAM!   FISH ON!

[Ham]

9 hours ago, Seth said:

I’m after that 20” brownie that has been so elusive to me on Taney. It’s my turn to watch @JestersHK net my 20”+ brownie! 😁

The deal on Taney in heavy flow is fish eddies or be on the bottom. Shallow water should just make it easier to stay on the bottom, right?

Eh no. Is it easier to keep a jig on bottom in a riffle or in the middle of a pool? 

Still water runs deep. 

No worries, you’ll see some of the differences btw Taney and the White River soon enough. 

You are correct that eddies will hold fish. That’s a plan that will work. Just don’t expect anything to be like Taney. 

[Seth]

2 hours ago, Ham said:

Eh no. Is it easier to keep a jig on bottom in a riffle or in the middle of a pool? 

Still water runs deep. 

No worries, you’ll see some of the differences btw Taney and the White River soon enough. 

You are correct that eddies will hold fish. That’s a plan that will work. Just don’t expect anything to be like Taney. 

If I am standing still, then it's definitely easier to fish the middle of a pool versus the riffle, but not so much when drifting in a boat. As long as the boat is moving at the same speed as the current, it doesn't really matter much. Throw at a 45 degree angle down stream and it's not much different than jigging dead water to me. I'd rather fish nose down when going with the current versus nose up unless I am trying to target eddies.

I imagine I'm in for a bit of a learning curve on the White the way it sounds and I can't wait to get down there and try to figure things out.

[Seth]

11 hours ago, JestersHK said:

Last year the jig bite was on fire.  I think out of everyone down we had 7 or so browns over 20in and that's just the ones I remember so odds are in your favor.  

Or you could be like Brett and just keep hammering small mouth all day, like non stop smallies Bonanza up there in the Buffalo confluence.  Ham caught that monster smallies last year too. Fish was a beast.

I'd be happy with a 20" brown bass too! Haven't landed one of those in several years that made that mark. Came really close last year, but fell just shy.

[Quillback]

17 hours ago, JestersHK said:

I'm spooling up 2 reels with 10lb braid and will be slinging jerk baits likely the whole time.  Figure 4lb test on jig rod at these flows and could prolly go up to 6lb if you're gonna throw likely all 1/8 or even 1/4 jigs.

Are you running straight braid on the JB's, or adding a leader?  @JestersHK

[JestersHK]

2 hours ago, Quillback said:

Are you running straight braid on the JB's, or adding a leader?  @JestersHK

With the heavy flows I almost always run just straight braid.  I'll maybe throw a leader on the 2nd rod and if I notice a huge difference I'll leader up.

The spiderwire stealth green smoothe hides pretty good in the water.  I figure at 20k shouldn't matter.

[Devan S.]

1 minute ago, JestersHK said:

With the heavy flows I almost always run just straight braid.  I'll maybe throw a leader on the 2nd rod and if I notice a huge difference I'll leader up.

The spiderwire stealth green smoothe hides pretty good in the water.  I figure at 20k shouldn't matter.

Do you run into any problems with your braid looping around hooks during cast and retrieve?

[JestersHK]

1 hour ago, Devan S. said:

Do you run into any problems with your braid looping around hooks during cast and retrieve?

I don't generally. I don't throw heavy mono but I'd say on the smaller stuff I get less looping and hook tangles with it.  The coating on the stealth stuffs pretty good and slick until it wears off... 

Biggest issue I have with braid is when it gets below freezing.  It can freeze on spool and to itself and create a rats nest of epic proportions lol.  If I set a rod down in freezing temps I always try to blow on the spool for a bit to prevent it from sticking on that first cast. 

[Ham]

Good News, they are slowing down Spillway releases on Norfork a little bit. Down to a more manageable 8 K.

Bad News for me today , They bumped up the water on The White to 22K. Yesterday was a beautiful day and they was almost No One on the river.

spillway releases should put more walleye and white bass in the White and Norfork. Bonus Fish!