pbrussell

Just a heads up. I do not think I will be able to stay for dinner. I would love to hang out, but I have a puppy at home that will be in her kennel all day and I think my wife (and maybe my dog) will kill me if I stay any longer than I have to.

I'm sure the whites will

And so the forecast finally begins to solidify. 8mph winds out of the south. Clear skies. 70 degree high. Low 40's around launch. Looks like it could be a tough bite. I smell ned rigs.

MMM. The cold.

It was not an option today. Maybe if I had a 21 foot rig with wind socks and a 100 lb thrust trolling motor.

Drew and I went out today. The wind was awful. I think he ended up with 5 smallies, the biggest being 17 1/2 inches. I on the other hand was catching everything but smallies. I only ended up with one and it was a dink. The white bass sure did like me today though. Throw in some drum and sunfish for good measure and I was a multi species expert. Let's hope the wind is not like it was today. The entire lake was whitecapped with the exception of a few spots on the north shore. We were not able to fish much water. I'll chalk up our poor performance to that.

Ok. That John Hope book definitely raised my eyebrow. That's on the list of things to buy.

Ugh. Talking about the cold just makes me sick. This season has gone by way too fast. Oh well. Nice catch.

I recognize you now. Saw you out there with some older guys. You didn't hire a guide did you

Here I thought I was doing alright on my first outing out there by catching around 15 fish and you catch 70... Sigh.

Your secret is safe with me

Way to look at the positive. Now you can take the information you gathered in that hour and apply it next time. For your next go around perhaps you can take your baitcaster with braid and a slightly heavier jighead and use the same methods. This will not only ensure your line not breaking, but I would imagine the braid would have more sensitivity than the cheaper mono you were using despite the pound test difference.

Oh please tell me you have a picture of that 10 pound smallie floating around.

Are you fishing from the shore? I can't remember reading that you were or were not. Anyhow, I would put money on some fish being located where the muddy/clear water meet. If there's any kind of structure in that area, all the better.

I'm in. I'm just not looking forward to having to wake up at 4:00 or so that morning. Oh well hah. I'm looking forward to getting my butt kicked by the rest of you guys

Well thanks. Tail pinched together on measuring? never heard of that one... Hopefully someone (by someone I mean me) can get into that toad of a smallie I lost yesterday.

If there is no weigh in, and we are measuring the fish, how are we doing that? By way of photographing them with our phone on a board/tape? I ask because I'm pretty sure my aerator is on the fritz and I don't know if I'll be able to get it fixed before the tourny.

It's over an hour drive to fish anything decent around here, if that gives you any idea

Got back from melvern. Had trouble figuring things out until the afternoon. It isn't that I didn't have bites through the day either, but couldn't capitalize. Lost a giant smallie by the dam. Caught a couple on a lipless through the day, lost a bunch on a jig, and started whacking em good on a spinnerbait at the end of the day. I had plenty of followers which led me to keep fine tuning my color/retrieve until it came together at the end. Here was the "big" fish of the day. Not a giant by any means, but it's my best smallmouth so far so I can't complain.

And off I go to melvern. I don't think the late start will hurt me since it's so cold (comparatively speaking) and it's supposed to be cloudy all day. I pretty much plan to run and gun all day. Gonna be staying on the north side of the lake today since 10-15 mph winds are coming out of the north. Plan of attack is to hit primary/secondary points, coves, and I may let the wind push me down the dam.

There are supposed to be 5-6 pound class fish at clinton. However, I hear they are a pain in the A to find.

Well, technically it was caught in missouri in the lees summit area. But yeah, I'm from kansas. I wish fish like this one were more common in our area.

Thanks fellas. I couldn't be much happier with the experience honestly. There was just something about how she kinda sucked that frog down. Then there was the holding my breath and the forever wait for the hook set. Rippin' the rod with 50lb braid and the fish not giving. And of course, there was the fight. She was a very strong swimmer. I think I understand why people like fishing these frog things.

Man... Never seen anything like that. Ran into a couple of zebras on some wood at perry but sheesh.

6 and a quarter, however i have no idea what the heck my scale is really at. I weighed two 3 pound weights, and they came out at 5. Weighed another ten pound weight, and it weighed in over ten. Who knows, ha.