scaleface

Most of my retrieves will at least have a pause in it . When my crankbaits make contact with the bottom I like to pause it for a second and sometimes there will be a bass on it when I start it back up .

Its kind of blurry. That first bay area on the south appears to have three nice points with one dropping in the river channel . Looks like a good place to start . I would think any of these coves are suitable for a population of spawners and have points at the mouths . I would just try to pattern it out . I didnt know LOZ had standing timber . The parts I fished were full of docks .

My highest guy is 35 .

If you Post a map of a lake you fish , a lot of knowledgeable guys will "weigh" in .

I like to put beer in my coolers .

My biggest concern is having plenty to drink . I'll take off down a river and be gone for hours .

I use the same worm rod for pitching and casting . 6'8" MH with a shorter handle than most rods . I pitch , cast and toss with it . Its also the same set-up I use for worming in deep water .

I have one spot that I catch suspended bass on routinely . Its on a extended point about 12 foot deep and one area is almost a sheer drop off to 20 foot . Bass like to set up in open water near that drop .I hit it with deep diving crankbaits and catch lots of bass after the bait has quit making contact with the bottom . Some days I catch them on the point , some days suspended and more often both .

Theres lots of small Conservation lakes in northern Missouri that offer really good bass fishing . Most of them will allow your boat just idle speed only. Heres an idea if your camping ,you could head to Mark Twain Lake . Its 18,000 acres . Up the road just a few miles is Monroe City lake , its a good little 80 acre reservoir . I have caught lots of big bass there . Then directly below MT is another smaller dam that create a a lake , its about ten miles long . You could fish three different lakes from one location . Heres a nice interactive map by the Conservation Dept. http://mdcgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=aa720aaaf06b49269b355b5a6e049d28

I have a couple of friends who have caught bunches of big bass at an oxbow lake protected by a levee .Only big fish I have caught there are dogfish .

I think it would be gone . Waters around here have thawed and refroze several times .

It seems to me , both .

I do that to . When fishing an area where snags are unlikely ,I just run the hook all the way through and leave it .

No matter how much fishing pressure people are still going to catch fish but bass behavior does change with heavy fishing pressure . I had bass following me around like dogs. All I had to do was drop a lure in the water to catch them . With the introduction of anglers , there was a huge negative impact on success rate .

I bet marabou is a killer on a Slider Head . I love marabou for bass jigs .

I love it , thats a great looking pattern . Looks a lot like the perch color Rapala used on the Fat Rap . I've caught a thousand bass with that pattern .

I still have Living rubber skirt material . Its not as pretty as silicone , I'll grant you that .

Its fun mixing and matching blades . Here are just three styles that I like to use in cold muddy spring water .

I think your being slightly stubborn . This texas rig thing has pretty much been proven and perfected .

It looks like it could be a tough tournament for everyone . I would think the bass will be shallow tight too cover . In that muddy water light wontt penetrate very far .You know what lures to use . Just stick with it and you might win it with a low weight . I like jig and pork frog . Uncle josh still makes them . The difference is they have removed the skin and packaged them in a resealable bag . I think bass hold on to pork longer and deeper.

One rod and a vest stuffed with lures .

Those hooks are designed to be buried in the lure .

All right , i have to ask . How do you nose hook a plastic bait using these three items to keep it in place ?

Anglers have their preferences for various reasons . For you newer anglers before rigging your bait hold it up next to the hook and see how it matches . Straight shanks and regular offsets are not designed to be tex-posed or skin hooked .You will end up with a kink in the lure and risk excessive line twist. Bury that point in the meat of the bait . EWG's are designed for Tex-posing and skin-hooking .

True . The Dredger is tighter and less tiring . Size wise the 6XD is comparable to the 25.5 but the Dredger out-dives it by about 5 foot . Looking for a true 20 to 23 foot crankbait the Dredger will reach and stay there without resorting to tricks .