Nick

The football jig, brown or brown and purple with a cinnamon twin tail has been the ticket on the White River Lakes of Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Beaver, and Norfork. Drag it, twitch it, or even snap it off the bottom from 20-60 feet. We're talking 3/4 to an ounce here. Works on ledges, humps rock piles, points or anywhere else. After sizing up a ledge, hopefully I'll mark baitfish on it or near it. Then I'll fish pretty vertical or cast parallel to it aiming for the top lip. Then I'll try dragging off the lip toward the depths. Going uphill is good,but with the football jig, it can get hung quite a bit.

I am not convinced that the actual barometric changes affect the bass. I think the accompanying changes to their environment brought about by cold fronts is the key deal. Yes, fishing gets tougher usually right after the passage of a cold front. No doubt fish dig deeper into cover with the clear skies. They hunker down in the cover under bright conditions for protection and to get an ambush spot. Weeds and brush provide that concealment under sunny skies. A smaller strike zone may be the result of a bass that fed heavily before the passage of the front and is no longer in need of food. I think the wind change that accompanies cold fronts also repositions the food sources, and the predators have to adjust often moving to a diffferent location to forage. I also believe that bass feed as a response to their environmental changes as nature's way to guard against starvation. A great case can be made fishing streams. When a rain causes the water to begin to rise and get dingier, the bass feed heavily. More food is washed in which I think gets the whole food chain stirred up, but also with the darkening, soon to be muddy waters, bass feed heavily. Could they somehow be programmed to know that catching prey will be more difficult under muddy conditions? I'll guarantee you that it is almost impossible to have bass on the prowl in newly flooded, rushing river. They hole up and save their energy until the time is again right to feed. Unless one can find a good spring hole with clearer and perhaps warmer water, forget it! Again, keep in mind that spring cold fronts affect bass more adversely because the thin layer of warm water resting on the surface gets cooled quickly really messing up the pre-spawn and even spawning bass. Nothing like a good cold front to make bass begin an exodus away from their beds! I just think of all the changes that a sharply rising barometer brings to their world that puts these fish in a negative or inactive mood rather than them being guided solely by more densely packed molecules of air.

For Skipper and Chris, Skipper, I have some brass Bagleys in near new condition that I will photo and mail to you if you are willing to pay that kind of $ for them. The lure that won the Classic in '04 was not a Bagley. It was a very similar bait crafted by a fellow in Kentucky and painted by Tim Hughes. Hughes will be selling them thru Bass Pro for about $25 each. Omori would have gladly paid that much no doubt! LOL

I'm going smallmouth fishing tomorrow before the storm hits. The barometer should be falling all day, but my make or break deal on the river in winter is clarity. I actually want the river up and murky. Go figure that in 43 degree water. I'll catch them on the old black maribou jig if I get clouds because the river has returned to normal with its crystal clear algaeless winter look. We will have about six to eight feet visibility, and that is tough when the avg depth is only about 6 feet. Funny, even in the clearest of water, that little black jig outshines all others.

E Bay has Lew's rods on there pretty often. Keep looking!

I checked into it. It may be called Lunker by Bob Underwood. Anyway. I requested it from the library. It was written in '75. Two other oldies to recommend are Bass Wars by Price and Lucas on Bass Fishing by Jason Lucas. Lucas' book was written from his experiences fishing from the "seat of his pants" mostly in natural lakes in the upper midwest mostly in the '50's.

Yes, a pretty definitive book written several years ago documents bass behavior as observed through underwater photography by an avid angler and scuba diver. Man, I wish I had the book's name and author, but the author may have been Underwood. He published quite a thick book denoting all sorts of bass behavior as seen through his 100's of hours of watching them. In summary, he claimed to have seen large bass, after the passage of a cold front, actually tilt their bodies away from vertical and lay rather dormant in and around cover such as weed beds and brush. Now, I have a new mission, and that's to find the name of this book, so you too can read it. Anyone else familiar with it?

If a specific number (pressure) was all that would be needed to trigger movements of bass, that would be sweet. As of now, no one has found it probably because it doesn't exist. So many variables play into a fish's movements that barometer may not be that important. It's a meteorlogical fact that every change in pressure creates wind that blows from high to low pressure areas. The faster the rise or fall, the greater the winds blow. Cold fronts bring heavy air and the air pressure rises accordingly. Dry, cool weather follows with NW winds. Low pressure is lighter air which causes a drop in air pressure. Typically, clouds and rain with muggy conditions occur. In low light bass are better equipped to chase down or ambush prey. But it's never as simple as reading a magic barometric number that will trigger a fish movement. How much air pressure affects bass is hotly debated, and I wish I had 40 years of tabulations to give you a more precise answer. I think high pressure in spring in the lower Midwest really affects fish because of the cooling effect high pressure days have on the water temps. Spring surface temps can fall several degrees during the passage of a spring cold front which brings higher pressure. When the temps begin to cool in spring, the NW winds blow, the skies clear, the fishing gets tough. Did high pressure cause the fish to stop biting or was it a drop in temps, the clearing skies, and a change in wind direction? High pressure in fall doesn't have that same drastic effect on bass since the cooling of the surface layer is a much slower process. I think the barometer is tied to other more important phenomena that positions fish.

Catching feathers is pretty odd. So far: one owl, 2 mallards, 2 sea gulls. Only bird below the surface was almost a loon. They seem to love chartreuse spinnerbaits, but they can't quite catch up to one ripped back to the boat with a 6:1 baitcaster. Don't like reptiles but also got two water snakes. Thankfully, gators don't live this far north.

I could never get into the "return to fiberglass movement." I lose too much feel with them. Anyway, I stick to a 6.6 or 7 medium action graphite rod for cranks and spinnerbaits unless I go shorter around docks. I use Falcons mostly, but lots of brands are pretty good.

If the club members would get a crack at a wide variety of tackle from brand name dealers, yes, but let's not kid anyone. This isn't going to happen. Tha margin from the manufacturer to the jobber or even the point of purchase is just too thin for someone to give us a real 40% break in the pricing. I'm skeptical. Someone would have to charge a club fee of more than $100 yearly to offer us real deals.

Of the few that I got to know last year and fish with, young Anthony Gagliardi was a great draw. He fishes very well both deep and shallow, remains very calm and confident, studies (prefishes) intelligently, is a master of all techniques, and if you'll check his winnings, has done quite well. He came close to cashing the $500,000 check at the FLW championship.

Ernel has his stuff together. Just to reinforce a point. Leaving batteries on trickle charge for weeks at a time will quicken the pace of the electrolyte evaporation, and will shorten the life of a battery particularly when the fluid level is poorly monitored. I know some guys that buy a cheap timer switch to hook up if they leave a boat at a lake house and want to charge batts when they leave.

Way good. Makes me hoot like an owl!

Often it's the angler that makes the lure deadly. The best bait based on its performance in all water temps, depths, locations, and speeds is the jig. In the hands of a very patient or even a novice angler, the Senko is king. I'm not disparaging fast, efficient fishers, but one catches more doing lots less with the Senko in a variety of waters provided it is rigged correctly.

I doubt I've got it made, but I planned long ago to retire early, and I did. Funny, I almost decided to turn into a pro angler in '75 just out of college, but I thought the tournament scene was going downhill at the time. Several pretty good sized organizations were shutting down, boat manufacturers were going broke, and Dad said that I'd better use that education that he helped pay for to get a real job. I did, but made a promise that I'd fish full time in 25 years. I doubt that I fish as much as Chris, but I did go today! ;D

I'll probably miss the main ideas again, but here goes. I fish all 12 months. In January, I chase Missouri largemouth with a jerkbait on large lakes from 44-38 degrees. Usually I end up on Okeechobee in late January for a tourney. Senko's, spinnerbaits, heavy matt flipping with craws and braided line. If I'm lucky, I'll squeeze in some smallie trips on streams back here. I'll go light line hair jig fishing the deeper slower pools for the big ones. In Feb. I'll probably be in central FL or South LA to fish another tourney, or do the same thing in MO as in January. In March, as temps begin to warm, I'll move to the jig and tube bite in the Ozarks along with the jerkbait. In April, the spawn will begin in our Ozarks lakes. I'll be at Beaver Lake in AR to do that deal. Time for soft plastics, jigs, and spinnerbait for late spawners. Night time is hog time, but I'm usually tied into daytime tourneys so I don't get out much at night. Streams can muddy in spring for prolonged periods so don't count on them. May gets us to the end of the spawn and lots of topwater action for bass still guarding the nests. Lots of ways to catch may bass now. I like the fluke, C-Rig, walking topwaters, and always keep a jig, creature bait, and a plastic worm tied on. By June, night fishing is far superior to day fishing usually. Smallmouth in streams are quite good all summer in day time on topwater, or just about anything. On the big lakes, most fishing done on points and brush piles in 10-25 feet of water. That's the first part of the year.

I would cheat a little. If you fish from a boat, make some structure with brush piles, rock piles, or whatever you can manage. Place some shallow and some deeper especially if you have any quick sloping shallow to deep transitions. If there is very little cover in there, you'll have plenty of bass taking up residency. Otherwise, fish early and late, fish the windy side shorelines with spinnerbaits. You should see more bait there. If it's not windy, become a Senko angler. They are pretty amazing baits. Let them sink all the way to the bottom and move them painfully, slowly along. Good luck.

I had a decent year in FLW, my first year. Made it to the championships and made the cut there. I'm just on the co-angler side. Pretty low pressure here. No real decisions to make, and fun to see how some of the pro's make their decisions. I get to fish places that I would probably never go to on my own. Also qualified for the championship in both the Buddy and Pro divisions of Heartland Tournaments, a big organization in the Ozarks. Didn't really win much there, however. I wrote over 20 tournament articles in Heartland's magazine, and always enjoying talking to the anglers who were on fish. Had some neat free time fun fishing in streams, but never made it to Wisconsin or Minnesota to beat the heat. Thankfully, it stayed pretty cool here in the lower Midwest. Next year I'll probably return to the FLW and also fish and cover Heartland Tournaments. I plan to prefish the FLW's as opposed to most of them last year where I just hopped in the boat on the first day of the tournament. I might fish more aggressively, but it's possible to tick off the pro if you push him (her)down a bank. I also think I may ditch the finesse stuff at times and go for the bigger bite. Most tournaments will not be pure spawn tournaments so I should have plenty of opportunities from the back deck. My goal is to make at least one top ten cut. If anyone would like a synopsis of my view of the FLW's I would be glad to share. Let me know. I'm pretty lucky because I'm retired and get to do those fishy things that I used to dream about.

Although they have shortened seasons, Minnesota and New York would get my vote for best all around. Numerous uncrowded waters, both large and small. Little tournament fishing pressure, lots of other species to fish for including walleye and trout allow for less bass pressure, combined with a closed season to protect bass. Both have good populations of both large and smallmouth, and the hotter it gets, the better the fishing generally. Good amounts of aquatic weedgrowth help sustain the abundance of prey and predators. I've fished all regions of the country, and I get many more bites up North. In the South, I'd go with Alabama as a great place to catch spots, smallies and Largemouth. Lots of good water here and accessible all year long. By the way, I've lived in Missouri my whole life.

Monsoor really opened up some eyes last year on the FLW trail with his swimmin jigs. He has won tons of $ on the Mississippi R. swimmin his jigs usually around weedbeds in warm weather. You can probably find a picture of his style jig and colors that he used successfully in the FLW archives in the LA swamps and deeper in a much colder Beaver Lake. We swim lots of shad colored (white) ones often in the late summer and fall around docks at Lake of the Ozarks, but I've never won a tournament doing it. I Keep on wishing!

More than a decade ago, a buddy of mine tells the story that he had two or three of these then "new" power worms. At Lake of the Ozarks in a tournament the bite was a little slow so he took out a 7 inch power worm and immediately began catching fish on that stinky worm. His partner begged one from him and also began catching fish like crazy. He kept pinching off some of the torn worm when he had to, and in about two hours, all he had left was a two inch piece that he swears still caught a bass. I never had that experience, but I will say I have seen the time (about '95) when a novice fishing a power worm behind me casting to the same docks outcaught me 16-1. I was fishing an unscented worm at the same depth. He gave me a power worm, and I caught the next 6 in a row from the front of the boat as we continued down the row of docks. I never knew if it was the scent or the swim, but I landed more Missouri hawgs on them that any other bait in the 90's. They were most effective in stained and off colored water for whatever reason. Red Shad ruled for me, and still does for many. That 10" original Texas rigged is still a great night time bait around here. I also noted that the first 10 caasts seemed to be the best. The stink wears out pretty quickly, so change often for better results. I'm speaking of the original power worms, not the other brands that Berkley makes which I am not a big fan of. Nick

For Earthworm, Yes, Lambert's is close to heaven, no doubt. One in Sikeston, MO, one in Alabama, and the one south of Springfield. Best down home cookin' this side of mom's. Stockton Lake has its good days and others. Last year the huge Mother's Day tornado outbreak just about leveled the main part of town, and unfortunately, because the motel rooms are scarce, I haven't fished in larger tournaments there (this was true even before the storms). In the '70's, I lived about an hour away, and the fishing was pretty phenomenal. Tournament weights for this lake are posted at mwbt.com Even if you aren't into tournaments, the results will give an indication of the size and numbers being caught. Thanks.

For Road Warrior, Bull Shoals is just beginning a comeback after several years of unproductive spawns. Most like it especially at night. Furthermore, the Arkansas Fish and Game planted some monster brush piles and they hold fish often. The state record that you refer to was caught in 1961, The bass have shrunk a bit since then. You could check out what weights have been brought in in tournamnets down there at hpata.com the last couple of years. A limit is not easy. It is a beautiful lake, though. and the least crowded of our Ozarks lakes. The Walleye Trail will again be fishing it this spring because the walleye pop. is going pretty good.

Need more info. Water color, topography, food sources, and water temperatures are extremely important variables. Please add to your question. Thanks So far. I would bring some sunblock and bask in the sun!