scaleface

I was up a high bank , so it was going to be difficult to land it . Its probably best it got off because we may have seriously damaged it getting it up that bank . Still would have liked to have got it in . I just respooled with 15 lb Big Game and was using an old retractable 7'6" glass flipping rod and an old Quantum1310 baitcaster .Thats my catfish/carp setup .If the fish made it to the river ,I would not have been able to stop it in the strong current . The river is rolling right now .Luckily it headed up the creek .

I was fishing where a creek dumps into a flooded river just awhile ago and hooked a sturgeon that was a minimum 50 lbs . I got a 1 second video of it and sniped this pic of it . It doesnt do the fish justice, It was a good four foot long . I fought it for what seemed like twenty minutes . When it turned belly up the hook come out . Thats my brother . He had a net but the fish wasnt going to fit in that net .

My top three in spring are jigs , spinnerbaits and ... well there are a lot of them tied for number three .

I removed all the inserts from a spinnerbait box. . Then I put buzzbaits and spinnerbaits in these heavy duty plastic bags that will hold three to five baits each and toss them inside . I have to go through the bags to find what I want but it works for me . I have short arms in one bag , clacker buzzbaits in one finesse baits in one ...

I am no jerk bait guru by any means . One summer day I could not get bass to commit to crankbaits . I switched brands , colors... The bass were just bumping it and the ones I caught were barely hooked or snagged in the face . I tied on a suspending X-Rap and did quick jerks with short pauses and hammered them the rest of the day .

Randy who ?

I went to LOZ the past two years in the fall . Table Rock the previous two years . Here in May I'm going to Bull Shoals for a week .Already have reservations for a lakeside cabin . I've fished it once before about 40 years ago and had real good success for Smallmouths .It not near as congested as the other two lakes .

Its been forty years but I'm heading to Bull Shoals in mid May for a whole week .

Good luck .Its a tough lake for me . Its loaded with docks and I'm not good at dock fishing . Being able to skip baits under them would be a huge asset . What part of the lake are you launching from?

Look up Trilene knot . Its tied almost the same as the improved clinch . I use it over 90 per cent of the time . In "knot wars " thats a youtube channel , it tied with the palomar as the strongest knot . I dont have an issue with it slipping except with braid .

I have a deep spot on a small lake that I do this with . I line up a road that disappears in a valley then reappears . I line up one side where it vanishes too the other side when it reappears , That keeps me in line . Then when I reach a point of bank to the side , I am there .

Spincasters and spinnng reels are difficult to spool without line twist . Lay the spool of line down , label up and wind it in with slight tension . Make sure the drag is tight enough that it doesnt slip . After you are finished spooling walk the entire spool of line off in grass then reel it back in with slight tension . This will remove any twist .

Last time there the state of Louisiana was off limits, cutting the waterway in half . I dont know what they will do this time around .

I did that today , LOL . Tried out a brand new reel and couldnt reel the first fish of the season in . That and put a Beetle Spin harness on backwards .

my Sabine lineup .

No doubt about it , Bouncing on the bottom in deep water is my favorite way to fish a lipless bait . Two times in the past three years my biggest bass of the year was caught doing that .

I prefer overcast especially in hot weather. The fish are usually active and its more comfortable for me . Add a slight drizzle to it and get the buzzbaits out .

I'm pulling for Kennedy . Palaniuk has a history of winning when hes in contention on the final day . He usually catches some big ones .

My idea spinnerbait is a 1/2 ounce model because it matches up best with my spinnerbait combo , so I'm able to better make precision cast .To me casting is the single most important aspect of spinnerbait fishing . Ball bearing swivel is an absolute . Thick wire with a willow main blade . I buy interchangeable skirts . Some days the bass are not committing to the lure and a quick color change sometimes solves the problem . I dont paint the heads of my hand poured baits because shiny lead has produced very well for me . As far as manufactured baits I like all of the quality made ones .

Here in Hannibal Missouri there use to be a button factory . They used Mississippi river mussels . I remember seeing mussel shells around town with holes punched in them .

I've done that a few times and the first time I didnt realize all that had to be done was remove the spool , open the bail , replace the spool then close the bail . A couple time a year I forget the sinker on a Texas rig .

I like black and chartreuse in dirty water , black and blue in clear and black/brown or brown black in any color .

Yesterday Buddy Gross had a big bass get off at the boat . Then reflexively he lunged at it with his rod tip and crankbait , trying to snag it . If he had succeeded , would that snagged fish been allowed to be weighed ?

You are ranked number 2 overall . Hope your team finishes this event out well .