Bluebasser86

They're a lot bulkier built than most craws you'll see in a lake too.

Doubles are awesome no matter how big the fish are. When they happen to be a couple solid fish like those it's just that much sweeter!

I use a medium action rod for hollow body frogs also, our grass is sparse and combined with braid it gets the job done. There's a guy a few guys may have heard of, Rick Clunn, used to use nothing but 7' H/F rods for everything because it was easier for him to pick up each rod and not have to adjust to a different feeling rod for every application. You don't have to use the technique specific rods and reels, it just makes it easier and at times more effective.

Haven't been there in awhile but usually jigs around the water willow and docks on the south half of the lake and then jigs and shakyheads along the dam are usually good too.

I catch way more walleyes on jerkbaits in the spring than I do actually fishing for walleye. I've had a couple times I've gotten onto the walleye really well on a shakyhead with a trick worm also. I've had times I couldn't keep my chatterbait or squarebill away from the channel cats.

I normally just put my hat over the top of it but that's a good idea. Net bait T macs and Zoom Trick worms are my favorites.

Night fished a private lake with my buddy last night. He doesn't have many baits so I loaned him a homemade purple chatterbait with a 4" black grub. We were catching bunches of bass slow rolling them slowly along the bottom when Tony's bait got thumped hard. The fish fought very hard on the light gear he was fishing it on but finally got the fish in my reach. Anyone who thinks catfish are slow bottom feeders needs to take a look at this picture! His chatterbait was almost swallowed. She was about 10 pounds but I forgot to get a picture of the fish. He wanted a fresh fish dinner for his family and I was about done cleaning it when I realized I'd forgotten to take a picture of it.

Very nice! I fished for them several times and only managed 3. Last year I bass fished a lake with muskie and caught 6 in 3 days! Seems like it's when they're least expected that they happen for me.

I do but I almost always cover up the back, yellow light so it isn't as bright. It isn't pointed at the water like a headlamp will be a lot of the time either.

100% effects the number of bites you'll get, especially in clear water. I got without a light unless I absolutely have to use it. Your eyes adjust after a few minutes and you should be able to see fairly well.

A little late with this report but Jon (basshunter0731) and I fished Melvern Thursday from Midnight to noon. Started slow but once we got them dialed in it was pretty fast paced, I'm sure we boated over 100 fish. A lot of fish were on the small side but plenty of bigger ones mixed in to keep us interesed, good variety too. We both got what we call the Bass Slam (largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass in the same day). I also got a picture that even though it's a little blurry I'm pretty sure it's a picture of Bigfoot, or Jon with a spotted bass he caught on a crankbait by a snell knot attached to the hook that was still in the fishes throat, one or the other. We never could get hardly a sniff at topwater but they were sure eating squarebills well! The Ned was almost too easy but most of the fish eating it were very small except for one 22 or 23 inch walleye that ate mine. A shakyhead was pretty good for spots in the marina. Caught a few on drop shots and rattle traps. A swing impact was probably the best bait for larger fish and also got our biggest one of the day with a 17.5" fish. So we got all 3 kinds of bass, sunfish, drum (duh), catfish, white bass, crappie, sauger, and walleye. 2 walleye and 2 crappie made the trip home with us, I'm sure Jon and his family enjoyed them

He's been hanging around the new Academy both times I've been there, $80 the first time, $70 the next. Store has only been open a week

Jon and I caught a lot of fish Wednesday night. A lot of close ones but nothing quite 15". Shakyhead, dropshot, walking baits, plastic worms, jigs, even one on a frog for good measure. Best night of catching I've had on the Dotte for awhile, probably approaching 30 fish in the boat in 3 hours.

I've done well with mine and never had a problem with it rolling or being difficult to cast like others I've heard complaining about them. It is a wood bait though so maybe I just got lucky and got a good one. I know the smallmouth about jerk the rod out of my hand when they hit it.

I caught one in February that was 24 inches and 7.51 pounds. A couple weeks later I caught one that was 21.5" and 7.76 pounds. This time of year they tend to be thinner but weight will very a lot at times depending on girth. If I was you I'd have a Mattlures bluegill being overnighted!

I seem to have the touch to catch deformed bass. Humpbacks, sway backs, sawed offs, I seem to catch them all. Most of them will have an obvious sign of injury on them somewhere that caused it.

I'd rather catch one like that than a bunch of dinks any day!

Lots of our lakes are shallow and silted in, usually comes with very turbid water also. A black chatterbait reeled just fast enough to make the blade work is what does the trick for me on these bodies of water.

Animals can survive to old age with some pretty severe injuries. I've caught bass missing/blind in one eye plenty of times. A couple years ago I caught a flathead out of a small river that had no eyes, didn't even appear to have ever had eyes, but he still managed to find my jig and eat it as I swam it past him. If the sunfish dies it will not go to waste.

Looks like a fun trip! Were you trying to target smallmouth or they were just mainly what you were catching? My wife and I will be on The Rock Sunday in Aunt's Creek Then around the dam on Monday and Tuesday. I'm sure with the bright, sunny conditions it will be tough but it's always fun to be on the water out there.

Looks like a beaver dragging a small tree or limp with leaves behind it to me.

I've always had dogs growing up in the country but never have I been so attached to one as I am to our little Golden we have now. She's the first indoor dog I've ever had and with our small house she's always right next to us. She's not even a year old yet but already a seasoned vet when it comes to being in the boat and going fishing. She makes our lives happier every day just by being around.

Ducks are good eating and I'm sure if you can find a flyshop or someone who ties in their spare time they'd be more than willing to take the feathers off your hands, maybe trade you some flies for the feathers.

I'd have to be targeting some pretty small stripers to be comfortable with fishing a 7' M rod for them, casting or spinning. Even then if you stumble into a big fish the fight will be short lived.

Every lake around here that has an outlet supposedly has catfish so big divers are afraid to work on the dam or the size of a small car. Of course one of the lakes in Kansas did produce the world record flathead of 123 pounds. Not the size of a small car but I wouldn't be surprised if a flathead that big wouldn't look like it was the size of a car if someone came face to face with it in dirty water.