Bluebasser86

Man it's tough finding any kind of decent report for Grand. Best thing I've found is guys raving about how good grand is from April-June and all you have to do is tie a jig on and start pitching docks, I think I can do that!

There's a pre-notched diamond in the tail you can cut out. You can cut a "V" in the tail or cut it so it's straight like a thin whip tail.

The BPS in Independence, MO has an awesome looking pond behind it that I think they let people fish? That's a very neat store if you're ever by it, lots of cool wildlife displays.

It's to give the spawning fish a chance to spawn before they all get snagged. If you've ever been on a river during snagging season it's insane how many people are on the water dragging monster trebles. Making a couple days off limits gives the fish a little more of a chance to reproduce to ensure a future fishery.

A little lake I bass fish once in awhile is also a very popular crappie lake and MODC happens to stock muskie in it as well. Of course some of the crappie guys need an excuse for those days they can't find any crappie in the maze of trees so they blame the muskie (even though the large population of above average sized bass surely eats more of them). The popular thing to do is rip the gills out of any muskie caught and put it back, but apparently it isn't 100% effective, thankfully . This one blasted a buzzbait at boatside, gave a hard pulling fight, then swam away strong all despite it's gills being torn out and hanging out on one side.

I've been around here and there this past week. Fished a pond for awhile Wednesday. Wasn't nearly as good as I'd hoped but I did get one pretty decent one that looked to be a spawned out female on one of my bladed jigs. Thursday I met up with NavyGuy1522 at Douglas to fight the wind for a few hours. Fish were really eating a jig, spinnerbait, and bladed jig. We'd get on a good group of fish and then go awhile with nothing until the next little school. Matt got a keeper saugeye on a deep crank and right before we left he was dragging a jig through the rocks and hooked something that was obviously larger than the little bass we'd be catching. Gave him a pretty good fight before I got the net under her. After a couple quick pictures a very healthy 11lb channel cat was back in the lake. Friday Jon and I fished Mozingo. Started out really good. I lost a solid feeling fish on about my 3rd pitch then caught a nice keeper a couple flips later. Lost another one before we started catching them steadily on a Pit Boss or our home made bladed jigs. Had a few smaller fish on squarebills in the mix as well. Jon with our Pit Boss/BHW keepers/double. They were smoking the BHWs Jon got the big fish of the day on the bladed jig. Didn't weigh it, pretty long and skinny, probably in the 3lb range. Things got real tough after noon, but it was a fun day with lots of fish caught.

Well hopefully the meat fishermen will give up on the lake too and they'll have a chance to come back a little bit. I only fished it once last year for 2 hours on a perfect morning and only managed 1 dink.

Okuma Guide Select with a 300 Cardiff and you're good to go without breaking the bank and you can fish any bait you'll need in your area.

I have enough trouble tying the single some days, no need for me to make it more complicated The single is super strong anyways as long as it's tied correctly.

Always felt like the YUM bait glides further than a fluke. Seems to get more bites for me and you can modify the tail to get different action and fall rates.

Xcalibur XR50 and XRK50 in Ghost, silver/blue, gold/black, and Rayburn red.

I pour my own and often will pour them without a hook, add a split ring, then choose the weight head and add the hook I want when I'm on the lake. I have some poured with hooks up to 7/0 for big worms though so I'm never had a problem with my plastics being too big

It's not 18" anymore now so they can keep them all and it's legal now

Not a chance. Provided she hasn't been caught again she's still in the river eating her body weight in asian carp and making baby flatheads. I caught her, a bunch of 8-15 range blues and channels, and another 50+ pound blue the same day. I had a 50lb digital scale in the boat and when I tried to weigh the flathead and the big blue all it would do is shut off before I even got their tails off the ground. I have a 100lb spring scale now but haven't caught anything close to big enough to need it.

I believe he meant they put it back in the river to reduce any further injury by keeping it out of the water.

It's fun to use a bright white one in clear water. Kill it at the edge of weedlines, docks, around cover and watch for it to disappear as it's sinking. I've caught some nice bass and even a monster 15.5" crappie doing that.

Billed hat and a buff is the way to go for face/neck protection. I hate putting sunblock on my face. Being a contact wearer, if I get sunscreen infused sweat in my eyes it's game over. Wearing a buff has fixed that problem completely and I never get burned. Just a little sunblock on the top of my ears, nose, and under my eyes and I'm set.

Yes they work all year long. You can always grab some of the Fat Jons too, that's what the fish in my avatar ate

I fish my jigs on fluoro, 12-20 pound depending on cover/situation.

Every first fish on a new technique is huge, regardless of actual size. Congrats

Headlamp is a must but I use it as little as possible. The $20 Energizers from Wal Mart are some of the best ones I've used.

The fish probably did 1 of 2 things. 1. They aren't use to the extra light penetration so they buried into cover. 2. They aren't use to the extra visibility and are out roaming around instead of being on targets. This time of year in clear water it's pretty tough to beat a suspending jerkbait or a wacky rigged stick bait. In your situation I probably would have opted for the latter.

My job is very stressful, fishing is my release. Addition runs in my family so other extracurricular activities aren't a good option. It's a great way to connect with people too. Not many fisherpeople I've ever met didn't like to swap some stories