scaleface

Thanks for the tip . We will probably head back down sometime . My wife likes going to Branson . There are other lakes in Missouri that I havent fished yet and . Stockton , Pomme de Terre and Norfolk . Pomme de Terre sounds interesting because of the chance to catch a Musky . Thanks for the info . I just looked at the Ozark angler maps and the places that I did hook up or catch fish were marked . I was fishing good spots , just didnt execute well , especially with the spinning rod.

I still have 3 or 4 of the originals. 5.5" and 6' pistol grips and a 6.5 straight grip"

Sometimes it seems like all the bass in a lake are grouped together in one spot and that spot might be indistinguishable from others , especially in autumn .

Thats what I thought but had people tell me its to early .

The lake i'm referring to starts out with about a 15 foot thermocline { thats when i first start to see it on sonar } then it slowly goes deeper as the year advances . 20 foot , then 25 and now its indistinguishable from the bottom . So my question is does it now have the same characteristics as a lake that has turned over even though the temperature hasnt dropped to the 50 degree range ?

I dont bank fish so much unless its on rivers and then I'm wading half the time .

I know what a thermocline is and the fall turnover . A lake i frequent is 30 foot deep . The thermocline has dropped to that depth . So when a thermocline reaches the deepest part of a body of water, would that be the same conditions as the fall turnover ?

I rarely fish for them deeper than 25 foot . I have recently caught a couple close to thirty and the deepest I ever caught them was around 40 . That 40 foot was a rare one time deal on Mark Twain lake when the reservoir was one year old. It was on a submerged highway during the fall . I have not come close to catching bass at that depth on Twain since .

I broke the thumb bar off a daiwa and they are on back order so I needed a new reel . i just ordered the KastKing Assasin with a 15 dollar off coupon . 45 dollars total .

It does look like the Bomber popper with a prop . They added props to the Long A Minnow fora short time. I have several of those .

A Bagleys baby bass with chartreuse belly has been a good pattern for me .

I've been experimenting with a paddle-tail and no skirt . It hasnt produced but it looks good .

Nobody says pings disturb 100 per cent of fish . I have heard many pros state that it happens at times . We have all caught deep fish with the sonar turned on . I have caught thousands of fish directly under the boat . That does not prove that at times sonar does not alert fish . I have caught many fish after my cousin slams his tackle box against the floor of an aluminum boat . Does that prove tackle boxes slammed against the floor does not , at times , alert fish ?

Yep , youre right .

Thats what I should have said .

Scott Martin said he turned down MLF to stay with FLW .

I will try a straight retrieve , at times it is effective but I catch more fish after the lure hits something , or after a pause . Dredgers will suspend , float slowly or sink slowly , they are not all alike . I get a lot of strikes pausing them from followers .

I have that crankbait but only made a few cast with it . It has barbless hooks . Did you try it with the stock hooks ?

I dont get to put the hours in to fish every lure and technique , so I dont experiment as much as I should with new things . I have tinkered with a drop shot and and caught a few . If I fished in deeper cleaner water i'm sure it would be a go to technique . I pick my lures by asking myself what will fish effectively in the conditions I am facing . I have decades of experience too and I use that to help me make good choices. I do see Drop Shots becoming a player out on the points ,it just hasnt materialized yet and I have caught thousands of bass on other rigs and lures . so naturally I gravitate to what I have had success with . Its not just drop shots there are several popular techniques and lures that I have not used much . There is just not enough time .

Do you know the type of plant you are dealing with ?

I've heard a number of pros state that bass "can" be spooked by a depth finder and a number of amateurs who say it "never" happens . Whom should I believe ?

I like squarebills on stumps and standing timber . If it is laydowns or brush with a lot of limbs , spinnerbaits and buzzbaits often get the call .

I ought to post a picture of my crankbait boxes . I cant just pull one out , I pull every thing in the slot out .LOL . Its still the best way I found to stuff as many baits as I can in it .

I have lost several pocket knives that way .

I' fish from a boat with a depth finder and hunt out deep structure and cover so yeah , crankbaits see a lot of playing time .