Bluebasser86

My wife bought me mine last year, get a lot of comments on it

If only there was a way to trade that "cold" for our cold. We won't see water that warm again to May Sounds like you guys had a good day though.

Actually, all we can use in KS is 2 hooks, so A rigs are basically useless unless I drive to MO where I can use 3 or go to OK or AR where I can use 5. The most effective rig I've found to combat the 2 hook rule is a 5 arm rig with 4 outer arms and one longer, center arm. 4 small baits go on the hitchhiker keepers on the outside arms, then one bigger bait in the center to give the appearance of a fish chasing baitfish.

I put a couple things in my pockets and go. Bank trips are usually short so I don't have time to change baits a bunch anyways.

Pro football-KC Pro baseball-KC college football/basketball-KSU/Pitt St That's all the sports I pay any attention to.

1/2oz jig

Jealous...

C&G got you pointed in the right direction. Post your senko questions there so we can keep them all together for easier searching, now... LOCKDOWN!!

A 2015 Stratos 189VLO with a 150 Pro XS, 80lb Fortex, dual console, power poles, 360 imaging, and a marine radio with an aux port to keep my wife happy when she's on the boat with me. I can find room under the tree for whoever wants to buy it for me

I have an old Pfluegar levelwind that still has the multicolored silk line on it that's mounted on an old steel casting rod. I actually tried to fish with it one day just to see what it was like. Having to pull line off the reel to cast, the whippy rod, and the 1:1 gear ratio makes a Zebco 33 look like a top of the line combo.

I can't ever get bit on a blade bait so I almost always rely on a jig or a jigging spoon when fish are relating to the bottom in cold water.

I got the room reserved for 7PM on Thursday to make it a little easier for guys that have to work, or are coming from longer distances. Fish are cold blooded, so they move slowly in cold water and they don't have to eat as often. Your bait has to almost sit right on their noses to get them to bite most days. I mainly rely on a jerkbait like others have said. I have to physically count out my pauses to keep myself from fishing too fast when it's cold. I usually start out counting 5 one thousands until the water gets in the low 40's, then I'll start at 10 one thousands, all the way to 30 if that's what it takes. The hard part is having the confidence and patience to wait that long. I have to be sure I'm in the right area to wait that long. Also, you're bait is imitating another cold blooded creature, so it should move slowly and subtly. Short, soft twitches or even short, straight pulls are the key at times. If you can't get the feel for a jerkbait, get a flat sided crankbait, preferably wooden and silent but plastic works also. Find one that is either suspending or a very slow floater or add weight to one to get it to do one of those. Crank it very slowly with lots of pauses, 2 or 3 slow rotations of the reel handle and stop. Wiggle Warts also work very well in the cold water, some great Youtube videos on how to fish them in very cold water. I like to drag a finesse jig or shakyhead also, the hard part is often the amount of leaves and debris on the bottom of our lakes this time of year, makes it almost impossible to fish one properly. If you need a lift let me know, I'll be off so I can come pick you up and drop you off. Are you doing any good at Blue Springs? I've thought about trying Jacomo or Prairie Lee but unsure of how the bite is at any of those lakes in the cold weather months.

All the bad luck you've had with women and you're trying to get serious again?? Glutton for punishment??

Welcome!

Try that McRip by Spro, they're a very durable bait. I've bounced mine off of rocks on the cast several times and it doesn't have a crack in it anywhere.

Absolutely. They'll hold surprisingly close to the bottom of them on warm, sunny days. Those black plastic dock floats give off tons of heat, so do the foam ones. The docks with good vertical structure under them that would hold fish without the dock are always the best.

I don't trip my weedguards at all, never felt like it was an issue. All my weedguards are either epoxied or put in with a good quality superglue, they don't fall out.

I'm also a fan of the 78 over the 100, they just catch way more fish for me and plenty of big fish. The 97MR Slender Pointer is my overall favorite though.

Welcome!

There were pros who didn't catch 5 last year, and the fishing was really good while they were there. Table Rock is such a fickle lake. I've fished it quite a few times and can think of 4 different tournaments that neither my boater or I had a limit in April, on all different parts of the lake. It's one of my favorite times to be there, but it doesn't guarantee anything. I threw an A rig on Table Rock a lot last year while the Elites were there. We were killing the fish on jerks, warts, bladed jigs, and football jigs. After hundreds of casts with the A rig I'd caught, wait for it, 1 13" spot. If you truly think you're going to go to Table Rock and catch an easy limit on an A rig, just know that there's a good chance you're going to be very disappointed. If you're really dead set on tossing one to try to catch a limit, Keitech Swing Impacts are what I'd be using. If anything I'd say you have it backwards. Fish something else to get your limit, start tossing the A rig looking for that big fish bite.

Put down the Carolina Rig, watch the grass grow, it's much more exciting

It's such a light rig and the bites are very subtle a lot of the time. The zero stretch of the braid helps feel those very light bites and also aid in hooksets. It's a set very much like a drop shot, basically just a quick lift and start reeling. The braid seems to impart a little extra action on the bait that fluoro seems to kill because it sinks into the water. You'll catch plenty of fish using straight fluoro, but you'd be catching more with a braid/fluoro combo.

Check out the Zebco Dock Demon. I bought one for my son's first birthday and "we" have been playing with it in the living room. It's a pretty sweet little combo for as cheap as it is. The drag even stands up to the scorching runs of a 60lb Golden Retriever Plus it's fiberglass so it's a very durable rod. Not going to be the most sensitive, but it'll work.

10lb Big Game. I use 2 jerkbait combos 6' 8" M/F Ethos/Mettle 6' 2" M/XF Avid/50E

That's kind of what I'm hoping she would do but my dog thinks she's a lap dog and loves to cuddle up with anyone who will let her. I can just imagine her trying to climb into my lap while I'm sitting in a kayak. I think she'd probably do fine, just have the worse case stuff going through my head. She doesn't jump out of the boat, fallen out a few times, but never jumped out.