Danceswithbass

Hey Brian, I been hitting Overholser & Hefner at least 2 times a week for the last month, the crappie have yet to move up to spawn, Its weird, they should move in any day now, when they do I'll let you know,you wont need a boat, they will be on the rocks spawning.

The smallmouths I've caught there have come mostly from the lower end, like from Burnt cabin on down. I have caught some before up around Pettit Bay, but most came from around Strayhorn. I dont really look at TK as one of the better smallie lakes. Eufaula is way better for big smallmouths. Murray, Arbuckle, and Texoma are too.

Of all the OKC lakes Draper is one I havent fished much. If your after bass you should go to Wes Watkins, Its the best bass lake in the metro area, standing timber, grass, not sure how you would do from the bank but the fish are there and its not far from Tinker . Lake Hefner in north OKC is easy to fish from the bank. The rip rap on the north end will be good with jerk baits , swim baits and shad imitating lures. You can pick up smallmouth, largemouth, and walleye along the rocks this time of year. Also over in East warf by the restaurants is a good spot. Thunderbird is a great lake if you know how and where to fish it, but you need a boat unless you want to fish the points or rip rap. Good luck hope this helps.

I live in OKC, but I fish the lakes down south more than any others. Especially in the early spring. Our first tournament is on Murray. I like McGee creek too, but prefer Texoma, Arbuckle, or Longmire to the SE lakes. I've never been to Latonka, but I here it has some good fishing. You ever been on McGee Creek when the bass were schooling? Lots of fun.

I know Tiger is bound to go down in history as the best golfer ever. I seldom watch except for the last round because there is no drama anymore, just tune in to see who is battling Tiger on the back 9. Im glad no one dominates fishing like that. Not to take away from Tiger he is awesome but I dont think he's the "best athlete " ever, Im sure there is no way he could tackle Barry Sanders, or cover Jerry Rice.

The west coast guys have the swimbait thing down to a science. But out here in the fly over states,we use them too. Not to target huge bass in deep clear water the way they do out west, but to target pre spawn bass that are feeding on shad. My PB smallmouth 4lb came on a Storm 4" swimbait. I like to buy the shad colored baits and change their color to suit the lake, I use dipping dye and a Q tip to color it the way I want it. I made some sexy shad color baits last weekend. If your bait is rolling over on its side you should slow down your retrieve or use a 5.3 or less reel.

stew, no I didnt get to fish Konawa, had to work that saturday. Going down to Murray in the morning to figure something out. Looking forward to fishing with them, been in the same club for the last 10-11 years, look forward to the change.

stew, I'll be fishing with them this year, I havent met anyone yet. If you are interested in 2 man clubs email this guy, he's with the Okla Pro Miniboat Association. dateedrenner@neok.com = hey spoon, i would like some more info on these 2 man boat tourneys you fish in. danceswithbass, you fish with okc bass trail? my brother in law fishes those tourneys.

Ivan Martin is the only guide I know of on Grand. He's a good guy. But you may not need a guide to catch fish there. If your going to be on monkey island, your already close to some great areas. Mike McClellan proved that its a good jig lake, spinnerbait is also good in the spring. From monkey island if you go down lake it gets fairly clear, go up lake & it gets stained to muddy in the Elk. If you learn Honey creek, Elm branch, the Elk & Wolf creek, you'll be able to fish every kind of water there is, but not have to run from end to end. Watch out for the wakes of the big *** boats up there, they sometimes put off 4 ft rollers that dont break, they will catch you off guard. I know a guy that speared one and tore off his trolling motor. Your lucky to have access to a great lake like that.

Im pre fishing for a tournament there this sunday, the tourney is a couple of weeks away. Im sure I'll figure something out. I've fished Murray for years. I doubt you will want to launch from the north ramp. probably furthur down lake.

I've fished from the back deck for years.I Fish everything from club tournaments to BFL, Had every kind of partner you could imagine, but really none were jerks to me. If you learn to be an asset to him in the boat, then most guys will treat you well. But if you are a hindrance to him, then you are going to get on his nerves. Back boaters should learn the ropes at a lower level before saddling a guy with an inept co angler. If there' are "pros" out there that are A holes to back boaters, their sponsors should hear about it.

Are fishing with the OKC bass trail?

Here's a report off of another site... Classic Scouting Report Pros Tight-Lipped, But Hartwell Bite Seems Strong Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Photo: ESPN Outdoors Aaron Martens was one of the few who laid out his bite if he catches 15 fish, he thinks he'll weigh 18 pounds. In a regular tour event, sandbagging's a given. But at the Bassmaster Classic, it reaches mythic proportions. In fact, it's hard to find any Classic pro with something positive to say about his practice. Sandbagging makes sense, though. Nobody wants to be pegged as the guy who's on fish before the event even starts. That adds pressure, and a potential spectator armada. It also sets up possible disappointment if (or when) things change. Two pros who seemed to deliver the straight scoop after the final practice day this afternoon were Aaron Martens and Kevin VanDam a duo that happens to be favorites in every Classic they fish, no matter what. Martens said if he gets 15 bites he'll catch 18 pounds. Ten bites will deliver 14 or 15 pounds, while five bites will back him down to 10 or 11 pounds. VanDam simply feels a lot of guys are going to catch them. "The lake's too good there are too many fish not to," he said. "I'll have my chances. Every place you go that's 40 feet or deeper, there are tons of fish suspended in the trees. It's going to be a great Classic." All of which means a lot of the field must be holding back on describing their practice. There does remain the wildcard of the shakeoff where the pros don't hook fish during practice so much of the field truly may not know what they're over. But in all, it's looking like 17 to 18 pounds a day will win the thing. Before more about the bite, plus notes from individual competitors, here's more about the lake itself. another site Lake Profile > Lake Name: Lake Hartwell > Type of Water: Lowland reservoir > Surface Acres (full pool): 56,000 > Primary structure/cover: Standing timber, points, humps, creek channels, brushpiles, some docks > Primary forage: Shad, blueback herring, crawfish, bream > Average depth: 45.6 feet at full pool > Species: Largemouths, spotted bass > Minimum length: 12 inches > Reputation: An expansive, quality fishery with excellent average size. But unpredictable since fish move a lot day-to-day in relation to blueback herring. Contains some bruiser spotted bass. > Weather: A warming trend will end with potential heavy rain in the forecast for Friday. Nighttime lows in the high-30s to low-40s expected for the event. > Water temp: 46 to 50 degrees > Water visibility/color: Main lake is clear with up to 8 feet of visibility. Clarity varies all the way to muddy in the backs of creeks. Since water level is low, there's a distinct mudline along many banks. > Water level: 12 feet low (very significant) > Fish in: All depths, but majority of fish are from moderately shallow to deep > Fish phase: Winter (shallow fish might be prespawn, or just up feeding) > Primary patterns: Crankbaits, topwaters, jerkbaits, jighead spinners, jigs, some plastics deep > Winning weight: 56 pounds > Cut weight (Top 25): 26 pounds > Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3 for Hartwell > Biggest factors: The morning bite there's a good one in a few spots that everyone knows about, so boat draw's important. Also the weather it'll probably affect the shallow bite more than the deep one. Lastly the lucky bite there's some junk-fishing happening up shallow. > Biggest decision: Deep or shallow? Also, whether to stick with an area and fish it slowly, or run a series of spots. > Wildcard: The weather. Nasty conditions could turn the deep fish on, but make boat position difficult. Also the "glory school" one probably exists.

I went to a seminar by OT Fears yesterday, he recommended a 4.7 reel. He said he has watched the bass in the Berkley tanks for hours and realized they hit cranks from the side more than from the back. The slower reel and a fairly limber rod gives the fish a better chance to get the bait in its mouth.

Surfers right , I've flattened the loose rivets before, its called bucking the rivet. I used a rivet driver that you use in an air tool and just used a hammer with it right on the rivet. We backed the rivet with a 3lb sledge. It stopped the leak, I ended up going all over the boat doing it.

I've done it. I didnt fish it like a c=rig, I was anchored. We were crappie fishing. I took a 5" crappie and put it on my c=rig and cast it along side a weed bed, caught a 5 3/4 lb bass on it. I've put live crawdads on a c=rig but didnt get bit.

Hey Steve, check these baits out. I've been sticking small mouth and largemouth on them for the last couple of years. Not too many folks throwing them, but they work. http://www.stormlures.com/products/luresdetail.cfm?modelName=wildeye_swim_shad234&freshorsalt=Fresh&type=soft_lures the one on the left was 3-10,I caught it & 2 largemouth on the storm 4" swim shad pearl color.

I caught a 3-10 at Texoma on a Storm wild eye shiner, and a 4lber on it at Tenkiller. They love them, just dont let them jump, they throw it easy.

I normally use a clown colored rogue, a pb&j jig, Pearl color storm wild eye shiner, spot remover stand up jig with a 4" zoom finese worm sour grape. & smoky joe color DD-22. Bandit 300 gray blk back I fish these baits on main lake pts, secondary pts, riprap, & humps this time of year. water temps are @ 50

We have a couple of boat and rv shows in Okla City during the winter, but they are mostly pleasure boats. We have a huge tackle show in Feb. it really is great. I havent missed it in over 20. Our club usually works at it. There are dozens of tackle shops from Okla Texas & Arkansas, outfitters, guides from all ver the US., taxidermy , siminars, boats and 4 wheelers. You can get some great deals on tackle, but the beer is high.;D If you stay until they start to pack all their stuff up you can get some deals. They dont want to take it home.

I cant believe Chigger aint in there, Id like to see Chigger against Larry the cable guy.

I'd start out with a big zara spook, Its a know big fish bait. Then try big baits like a jip/pig, full size brush hogs and big bladed spinnerbait with a trailer. The dinks arn't as likely to hit these big baits.

Okie, I've been fishing mostly from the back deck for the last 10 or so yrs. I was in a BASS affiliated club until a couple of yrs ago when The Bass Federation spit and went to the FLW, now our club is with them. I've made the top 6, 8 or 9 yrs in a row and was angler of the yr 2 yrs ago from the back of the boat, the first and only time it has been done from the back deck. I'm currently in 1st in our club with 2 tournaments left. I didn't get on here to brag about what I have done, but to tell you that you can accomplish what you want as a co-angler. Its true that sometimes your draw will determine how you do, but on the whole, over the course of a season, the better fishermen will rise to the top of the standings. What you need to do, to be successful in Okla. is to learn the lakes that the majority of the big tournaments are held on. You will need to have water on Grand, Eufaula, Texoma, the Arkansas river, & Ft Gibson. As a back boater you are going to see your partners water, but you need to have your own. Especially in a top 6 tourney because you get the boat for half the day. Until you get a reputation as a guy that can find fish you may have problems convincing a guy to go to your water, but over time, guys in your club will learn to ask you if you were on fish. You will have to be versatile. I like shallow water, but I have had to learn to fish deep too. The best time to be at the back of the boat is when its windy and the boater has to fight the wind, you can just lean back and relax while he's fighting the elements, and as you know, the wind does blow around here. In a way, I'd rather draw a less knowledgeable guy every now and then, because it can be tough fishing behind a guy that sticks every bite. So, if you draw a guy that's less knowledgeable, and you know more about the lake than he does, then you just got yourself a guide for the day. You may have to show him a few of your spots, but its better than not caching fish.

I've seen them on ebay.( Just do a search for heddon lures )I have some Heddon lures with solid gold hardware. I was going to see what they were worth on ebay but there wernt any like mine on there. The baits you have are not worth a whole lot unless they are wooden. The old originals were made of wood and bring a lot more. Yours, if they are plastic might be worth between 4-8 bucks. Just guessing.

Everyone expects CB's to be the one and only bait they will ever need to fill the boat. It was a legend before it was even available to the public. The truth is, its just another tool to be used at the right time, under the right conditions. I won a tournament last year on Tenkiller with them and I gave my co angler one and he came in second. They do work. I caught 2 last weekend on them . And if the conditions are right I'll use them this weekend. They are not my favorite bait, just one I know when the conditions are right will out catch any other. I think they are best on wind blown points or around cover in stained water. Take the skirt and trailer off. Replace it with a fluke in a color that will match the conditions. Superglue the fluke on or you'll never keep it up on the bait. Reel it fast enough that you feel it quit chattering and slide to one side, that erratic action is just the ticket. You cant get a spinnerbait or a crank bait to do that. Try it. But dont expect it to be the only bait you'll ever need. The difference between people who like and dislike the CB is some have figured out how and when to use it. Good luck.