Bluebasser86

I like the trick worm style baits and 4" senko style baits along with small craws. I use the shakeyheads I pour.

I've done really well with jerkbaits for smallmouth year round in rivers. Seems like if you fish them fast where there is decent current they work best.

That would be a huge male bass from everything I've heard. I don't think I'd trust anyone but a fisheries biologist on whether it was a male or female, but then again I've never really had a reason to need to know.

I'd spend all my time drinking, hunting/shooting, working out, mostly drinking though because I'd be so depressed because I couldn't go fishing.

Fished the Wednesday nighter last night and a Rage craw in the water willow was the way to go. California craw with dipped claws and a 3/8 oz tungsten weight. Managed 3rd place but the heat kept the turnout down so they only paid 2 spots

We had a day like that on a rainy/windy day with 5" hydratail swimbaits. Normally all we catch are 16" or bigger fish with them but we were catching tons of fish with lots of 12-14 inch fish that had the bait gone, you know where you're reeling them in and they jump and all you see is line going down into their mouth and no bait. I've caught plenty of small ones on the belly treble but never choked like that.

I've never been to trophy county but it looks like a fun trip. I think that is one I'd have to make with friends to make it a little more memorable though.

I've never had any roommates other than my wife but I don't really see having a g*ay roommate being a problem. Most of them are pretty decent people to be around and usually have much better hygene than straight guys. They're great wingmen too! They can talk to girls and a lot of girls will be impressed that you are secure enough with who you are that you don't mind having a g*ay roommate. If he is dirty, trashy, loud, smelly, whatever would it really matter if he was g*ay or not?

I like to set it a little ways from the bank, otherwise you'll just end up making it an easy night for a lucky raccoon

Bullhead for sure. They have the rounded head like a channel cat but the round tail like a flathead and usually mottled like a juvinile flathead. They make good bait for flatheads and love to swallow the hook when they bite.

I didn't know that Milford was still up as high as it is. I guess it's over 10 feet high still? I've heard reports that they've been catching lots of big smallmouth this year despite the high water. I'll probably be out there next week if the wind cooperates.

Man I wish I could get out there. I've got the day off but I'm pretty sure the wife is going to keep me pretty busy . Get out there early as possible. The gate is supposed to open at 6am but I got out there at 5:15 Tuesday morning and the gate was open already. Points have been pretty key for me lately. They start along the edge of the weedlines in the mornings and back off into 8 or more feet of water later in the day. If you really want smallmouth fish the small point to the left when you first get to the mouth of the marina cove. I caught a couple nice smallmouth right off the back of the boats on that last dock. Right on the boatramp can be good on the washout early in the morning. If you go to the bank straight across from the marina cove and head right to the first major point that is a spot that almost always has smallmouth on it. I've been doing best with a 1/8 or 3/16 ounce shakeyhead with a watermelon/red, watermelon/purple, or watermelon candy trick worm. Biggest smallmouth on Tuesday was a solid 16" fish, had 8 smallmouth and 12 largemouth when I left at noon.

I'm actually headed down there Sunday-Tuesday. Seems to me like the further southwest you get, the better the fishing and the bigger the fish.

It's a personal preference like others said. Get to a baitshop and get some in your hands, on the rod you're going to be using it on if possible. I don't have very big hands so a low profile is easier for me to palm. I've got a couple big friends that can't palm a low profile very well because they have bear paws for hands so they fish round reels for everything.

I just bought a 35 thats on a LTB 6' 8" finesse rod. I was going to get the 30 but after playing with the reels on the rod I liked how the 35 felt better. It's still extremly light and because I occasionally hook large catfish or wipers while bass fishing and need to make long casts in clear water the extra line capacity is nice.

Very nice looking baits! Is it difficult to get a trailer to lay right on those hooks? I've been using wide gap Mustads and sometimes it's difficult to get my trailers to look right.

Just a thought but you might try putting something in the classifieds of your local newspaper? Just write it up that you have the boat but you're handicapped and need someone who likes to fish that is willing to help you launch and trailer your boat?

Snapping and softshell turtles are really popular for soup around here it seems like. They will attach baits, I've caught them on jerkbaits, jigs, and topwater and not just when they were sitting still. I don't see them hurting the fishing any. For the most part they will eat dead fish and since they're coldblooded they don't need to eat very often if they get a good meal.

I do a little smallmouth in the Ozark streams as well. Personally I use a 6' 8" M for shakeyheads and anything I'm going to be throwing in or close to brush. For areas that are just rock or sparse cover I use a 6' 8" M/L Shimano Crucial dropshot rod and it makes the smaller fish a lot more fun than the medium rod. It would be a little out of your price range but you could get something similar in the compre or even the clarus and still be really happy I think.

I have creeks that I set mine in, they're loaded with crawdads. You might be surprised how many crawdads are in the area you're fishing. I put a few out in one lake that I didn't think had many crawdads in it but in the morning I had a few dozen crawdads! I guess I should have mentioned to bury the traps so the hole is facing the surface of the water, otherwise they could crawl out!

I was kind of thinking about trying Mozingo, haven't fished there in a few years at least. For some reason the drive up there doesn't bother me, it's paying the day use fee that gets me. This weekend will be the first weekend of my fishing marathon. Going to be starting out at the strip pits in S.E. Kansas. Thinking since the water is still hot I'll start out on the smaller bodies of water where they don't have very far to go so hopefully they won't be too hard to find!

White cats have a pretty limited range but a lot of people around here call blue cats white cats because they're usually really light colored when they catch them out of the rivers. White cats can be caught using similar techniques as you'd use for channel cats, blues will big better on fresh cut bait instead of stinkbait or liver. I'd suggest catching a couple gills and cutting them up for bait, you'll catch either kind of cat with that.

Pics not uploading for me either...

Big flatheads and blues will eat tiny baits. I caught a 23lb flathead on a Yo-Zuri Killifish crankbait fishing for crappie in a pond. I think they're 1 3/8" long? A friend of mine caught his PB 60+lb flathead on a 3" sunfish fishing for channels. Most guys that use the wad of nightcrawlers are fishing in areas with lots of small channels/bluegills/drum or other bait stealers. The big ball of crawlers is to prevent you from having to reel in constatntly to rebait. Plus the big ball of nightcrawlers will appeal to bigger flats more often than a single one will.

Nice fish! I'll be happy to get a 42" (legal size) fish when I chase them around next month!