Bluebasser86

I went to Melvern with CBass and another guy from work today and fought the wind. Water temps were from 46-49, wind was from squal to hurricane. Couldn't fish much because of the wind and the water temps weren't very encouraging. Fished around the boat ramp and the cove straight across with nothing. Went down lake a bit and fished the north side but the wind still sucked. I had something hooked on a jigging spoon for a second but it popped off. We ran to the back of one of the big coves on the north side and pulled into a rocky pocket with high banks that was out of the wind with warmer water and a little stain. One of my first cast with a wart hog got stopped while I was crawling it over the rocks by a 3.12lb smallie. ] Shortly after that Cbass got a healthy largemouth on a shakyhead. Chris caught a 3.02 smallie on a RCX jerkbait Cbass got broke off by a fish and then got another largemouth in almost the exact same spot the second time around the pocket. And I got a 3.28lb smallmouth on a 97MR slender pointer Cbass got a really nice white and I got one of the biggest spotted bass I've caught from Melvern, both on jerks, but no pictures of either. We had to leave early because the steering cable snapped in Cbass' trolling motor or I'm sure we would have added more. It was better than I thought it would be with those cold temps. Just a couple degrees warmer and it should have been great.

3 lakes from Kansas on that list, none of them should be though. Our best big lake for bass, imo, is not on that list and I'm glad it's not.

It was really dirty, maybe 1.5' visibility with water temps from 52-53 but the fish were still right on the banks, fighting good and jumping. One of the stacks was going all day so I'm assuming the plant was up and running. Water temp was 67 at the outlet but you couldn't make a cast without hitting a gar or getting bit by a gar. Carp were spawing everywhere too so that may have had something to do with why the bass weren't on the banks and feeding. The lack of shad probably didn't help either.

Sizzle and I went to La Cygne for awhile today to prefish for a tournament I'm fishing in out there Saturday. It sucked as bad as I figured it would. On a side note, if you ever wanted to catch a big gar you need to get to the outlet out there now! They were stacked in there. Other than the outlet we didn't see a single shad flip the whole time we were out there. Ran way back in the river, it was cold and super dirty and just no signs of life. Only bite either of us had was on a shakyhead and it jumped and came off before it got to the boat. I got tired of it so we drove down to Ft.Scott, which was way dirtier than I've ever seen it. After fishing across the dam and only having one bite on a jig I was ready to go but decided to drive down lake a little further and try something different. Got on some shallow docks and started tossing a spinnerbait and started getting hit pretty steady. Never got any very big ones minus one Sean had that was probably close to 18", but we did end up with probably 25-30 between us plus one white bass. Didn't want to leave because we'd just started getting them good again after a little dry spell but at least we got on some before the end of the day.

Sizzle and I fished Wyco yesterday for too long in the cold, cold rain. It was still pretty good with most of our fish being in 8' of water or less on either a jerkbait or a jig. Only one for sure keeper that I measured, 16 3/4". Had 7 or 8 smallies and one really nice white bass too, 78 pointer did most of the damage.

He even looks like he was exhaling real big in that one picture.

Yes I am, never served though.

It's not the rules that drive me crazy, it's the players whining about not making enough money that I can't stand. Even a bench warmer makes more than I do in 10 years for "working" a few months a year. They're making millions while our guys and gals fighting for our freedom are making peanuts, just not right.

My problem with them hasn't been the lip breaking, it's the whole thing coming out of the body of the bait. First couple times I thought it was a fluke but after it happens a dozen or so times it's a problem. They catch fish no doubt, but I can't afford to use them if they keep falling apart at the price they ask for them.

Carp will certainly destroy a bass bed, never heard of a gar bothering the eggs but I'm sure they'd eat the fry once they've hatched, but so will about every other fish in the lake including other bass. I've seen bass and gar using the same areas lots of times because they're both after the same schools of shad. More than likely the bass just weren't using that area at the time or they weren't in a feeding mood.

With slower moving baits like prop baits or poppers I set if I can't see it anymore or if I feel the fish. With faster moving baits like a spook, buzzbait, or jitterbug I wait to feel the fish because I don't enjoy having to dodge my bait as it flies back at the boat.

I may be out there today as long as I'm not working until noon and the rain isn't too heavy. If anyone else feels like being miserable out there with me just let me know.

A slow, steady retrieve usually produces a normal crankbait wobble. If you speed it up it tends to wander side to side a little bit like it's running into objects that aren't there so no real need to run it into anything to trigger strikes although I'm sure it wouldn't hurt anything other than the bait potentially which is a real concern with a Rapala balsa bait.

We only have a couple lakes with pike so I don't have a ton of time fishing around them but if I was truly targeting catfish I would't use a leader because you'll cut down on the number of catfish you'll catch. Maybe a stout floro or mono leader if you're really worried about the pike.

Just make sure to keep moving the lighter or turning the rod and keep the flame on the metal. The glue will breakdown and you can use pliers to slide the tip top off. They make a handy little tool to measure what size the tip is and you can get a new one and glue it back on and you'll be good to go. Used to be one of my specialties when I worked at Cabela's and I've done it hundreds of times for people but you can do it with no experience in a few minutes easy.

Get a black/blue, solid white, and firetiger and you're good to go. I like the 3/8oz size and for some reason it seems like I always do better with some kind of trailer on my chatterbaits. I like things like a split tail spinnerbait trailer, half a trick worm, single tail grubs, half a senko, or a paddletail swimbait.

I'll take the Spro every time in that head to head match up. I'm not a big frog fisherman but the popping Spro is slowly changing that.

Sounds like it was protecting a bed, maybe you just didn't spot it. The biggest spot I ever caught was on a bed. I hooked her and fought her halfway up to the boat from 20' down when she popped off. Even though my worm was kinked up on the hook I held it in her face and shook it and she ate it again and I landed her from there. Some fish are just aggressive though. My boater in a tournament fought a fish out from under a dock on a wacky worm and it came off right at the boat. Instead of zooming off the fish just sat there so he dropped the same worm right in front of it and it ate it again. This was in mid June with almost 80 degree water so no way it was a bedding fish, just really hungry or territorial.

Did he have it almost swallowed? All the largemouth I caught on mine the other day had the bait so deeply I could hardly see it until I caught them and opened their mouths. They have a unique action no doubt.

I love those days when you never know what the next cast is going to be!

He is an amazing individual. Against all odds he's fought and competed and taught himself to function when most people probably would have just given up. He's one of those people that you have to think about when you start to think your life is hard.

Fish find ways into bodies of water, with or without our help. High water events are one of the easiest ways for them to get into other bodies of water. Waterfowl and other birds that spend time in the water can move fish, mainly the eggs. Fish can be accidentally be moved in bait buckets by angles who don't know what kind of bait they've caught or store bought bait.

For those that are interested the Wednesday nighters will start the 17th, at least according the the sheet that was passed out the final tournament last year. I plan on being out there so come out and have a good time

I wouldn't worry about a steel leader. I've never had a pike eat a cutbait fished on the bottom for catfish and I couldn't see many eating a frozen anchovie off the bottom either.

I have a 7' M/F in both casting and spinning and a 6' 6" M/F casting. They were my first nicer rods and I still use them even now that I have mostly LTB rods. They aren't the lightest rods around but their durability has been better than any rod I've ever owned.