Ozark_Basser

I'll take snakes over bears and cougars any day. When the water comes up I always target places that provide refuge from current and fish REALLY tight to cover. I've always found it harder to catch a bunch of good fish with higher water than lower water though. I love it when the water gets real low in the summer. Those bass get really predictable and they feed a whole lot more. You just can't let em know you're there.

Just fish the whole general area around that road bed. If you can't see where the road goes into the water, you're gonna be guessing anyways. You SHOULD feel a bottom difference, but from my experience fishing road beds, it just depends on what surrounds the roadbed whether you know you are on it or not. Does that make sense? Another good suggestion is look for rock transition on the bank (boulders to smaller rocks, smaller rocks to pea gravel, rock to clay etc.) If you find transitions like these at the spots I mentioned, fish them HARD. That creek channel is super deep around that dam. Don't fish that deep. But definitely fish that highspot to the east of the dam. How clear is the water on this lake? If it's real clear, they will generally be deeper. If it's stained up some, they'll be shallower.

Your best bet is gonna be on the west side of the lake due to there being a lot more vertical structure. Bluffs hold fish year round, but the two best spots I saw were the roadbed adjacent to the island and the end of the bluff on the north shore of the west side of the lake. I'd fish the road bed and the shallow shoreline adjacent to the northwest. The next spot is directly across the lake. Take your finger and follow the road bed from the north shore to the south shore. I'd definitley check out that whole "flat" from the nearest bluff section (east of the roadbed) to the first primary point going into the narrow section headed for the dam (west of the roadbed). Both these spots are good because they are "flats" adjacent to vertical structure. This is where those winter fish that hang around these spots move up to feed. The first spot also has a roadbed which is a big plus. The second spot has tons of structure variations and a channel swing adjacent to that primary point I was talking about. Both these spots scream wiggle wart, jerkbait, and jig and pig. Check around with the locals on what tends to work on your lake though. I fish Bull Shoals and Table Rock. They are set up a lot like this lake and neither have vegetation. Edit: also the first real big cove just east of the roadbed around the middle of the lake. See how it goes from bluff walls to a flat around the corner where it says 10'? Pattern that kind of stuff around the lake. PS I can't see the symbols too well and that would make it much easier to explain the location of these spots. Sorry.

I think that is a great deal if the mechanical condition is pretty spot on. Buy it. See how it fishes. Take it to get cleaned if you have to.

Spinnerbaits with a big ole single colorado blade. I've only used them at night, but I've never gotten a bite on one.

Depends on how deep you're talking, but I've lost tons of squarebills and DT 6's from the bank this fall in rip rap. Your gonna lose a lot more baits from the bank regardless so I don't mess with deep cranking uphill.

They both relate to either one.

All I can tell you is to definitely wear gloves. Preferably ones with the thumbs cut out if you throw a baitcaster. That's about it. All I ever do is where a coat or a hoodie with a long sleeve under it, then take one or the other off if I get warm after fishing for a bit.

I bet the winter gets real nippy down there in Tampa lol. Poppers in winter. Geez.

If you're six foot tall then it probably won't feel too long for you. I like to have a long rod as long as it's practical. A lot of old schoolers use shorter rods and have for years. I guess it's just the way they were brought up. My dad and grandpa are the same way.

I really only throw braid with a fluoro leader on big football jigs and big swimjigs. I definitely would be doing the same on spinning tackle, but I rarely ever use it. I use 50-65lb braid with 12-17lb fluoro leader.

The extra 6 inches will help with a longer cast and easier hookset. I don't know how tall you are, but the extra 6 inches will probably make short accurate casts and skipping baits to targets like docks a bit harder as well. If you fish jigs in deep water a lot with real long casts, I'd go with the longer one. If you go out a lot with your dad or whoever and just troll the banks mostly and stay about 50 ft from the bank I wouldn't bother with the long one. It just depends. I don't use anything less than 7 foot, but I'm 6'3.

I've thought about that before, but have never tried it. I have put suspendots under a wiggle wart bill to make it dive deeper though. Sounds like a good idea to use a slip sinker on a finesse spinnerbait if you didn't have a lighter power rod. Not sure about cranks. I would just go with suspendots on those, but try it out and post some results.

Smallmouth also seem to be more of a sight feeding fish than largemouth. I don't see what the big deal is with small lures and smallmouth bass. I've caught more bigger smallies on larger gaudy lures than anything else. With big floating jerkbaits, largemouth will come up to one and just sort of grab it or try to suck it in a lot of times. I have rarely seen this with smallies. Smallies will swoop up and try to kill it and about jerk the rod out of your hand.

I'd say you'll find some there. One more thing, a jitterbug at night in the summer can be a whole lot of fun. Just watch out for snakes. Oh wait you probably don't have snakes where you live. Lucky you. We have cottonmouths here that love to follow a jitterbug right to where you are standing. We tend to stay out of the water at night and where a headlamp.

What's the deal with all these people saying they like the option of breaking off? I haven't found a hook I couldn't bend to get a bait free from snags with braided line. I'm positive there's one out there, but usually the knot breaks or the hook bends when I have to free baits from snags, even with all the jigs that I fish with. To each his own I guess.

That smallmouth that went a tad over 4 lbs was caught on a black Spro Bronzeye frog. Don't discount the frog on creek bass, especially in the dead of the summer with high skies when creek bass get buried up in shady spots or in heavy cover.

Another thing to mention about creek fishing is stealth. Long casts and being quiet are just as important if not more important than bait or technique. Big bass can be really weary in creeks with such shallow, clear water. My biggest weighed smallmouth out of a creek was just over 4 lbs. Biggest largemouth was probably about 4 lbs, didn't have a scale, but I've caught a whole lot of creek bass between the 3-4 lb range.

All it takes is one good bite with that jerkbait then you're hooked. No wrong way to fish it as long as you jerk it in my experience.

Very true, but I swear that fluoro leader makes a difference sometimes. It's wierd that it doesn't with an A-rig. Maybe the bass doesn't focus as much on the wires and line because of all the baits kicking and causing more of a distraction. Also braid doesn't seem to matter as much on moving baits as it does with jigs and what not. I'm referring to clearer water situations of course.

If that rod truly goes by it's lure weight rating, then it seems like the tip would have to be soft. 1/4-1 1/2 oz? Awfully broad for a rod with a stiff tip it seems. Same broad lure weight rating as a zbone le. I've messed around with one, and they definitely have the tip I'm looking for but a bit pricy.

I was under the same impression. If the tip is like the Dobyns 735c, I probably won't be into it. I've gotten too used to the 7'3 H TFO, and really like it, but I kind of want something a little more balanced and lighter. The tip on that rod is very soft, softer than any other heavy rod I've came across.

Do you have any experience fishing deep water with heavy weights with this rod?

Just researched this rod a bit. Looks awesome. Definitely will consider it

Where they spawn in my situation is in the coves branching out on both sides from the big grassy point where I caught all of my good fish. If they have everything they need outside of a spawning area, why would they go anywhere else? Great point Tom.