Bass XL

PB&J or black/blue. Covers the whole spectrum of water clarity for me. PB&J form clear to stained and black/blue from stained to muddy. 3/8 - 1/2 oz covers it all for me.

Anyone fish the BBB this weekend on LOZ?

The ramps around here have boulders on either side of them all the way out into the water. I've caught many fish hopping a jig on the left or right side of the actual concrete. Seems like there's always fish hiding out waiting to ambush a craw fish or bluegill venturing out over the clean pavement.

Do you ever go up the river well past the 16 bridge? That's pretty much the only place I can consistently catch fish on that body of water.

What works/what doesn't work? What's your standard procedure when working the pond on a given day?

You can cover some water flippin and pitching this surface cover with some sort of punch bait. Also throwing a frog over the top might get you some results. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Swift+Creek+Reservoir/@37.4371354,-77.698404,278m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89b17147dc1b5a0b:0x94552f7b071687c2!8m2!3d37.434166!4d-77.6679292 Also, since you have a kayak, you can get to areas most people cant. Why not try way up swift creek https://www.google.com/maps/place/Swift+Creek+Reservoir/@37.4471344,-77.6988311,1004m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89b17147dc1b5a0b:0x94552f7b071687c2!8m2!3d37.434166!4d-77.6679292

I see. It's hard to compare/contrast the three without seeing all three.

Color? Also, why are you calling it Spero?

Probably not with that giant barb.

Looking at Google Earth, it looks like there is some surface mat-like structure that appears in the summer on a few parts of the lake. I would try fishing around there. Punching a beaver and tossing a frog. https://www.google.com/maps/place/West+Lake/@41.0426984,-93.8279209,267m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x87ebe368696450f5:0xd80abc1877e5f626!8m2!3d41.0326626!4d-93.8102032

How did it turn out for ya? Super windy day in the summer I usually run some sort of reaction bait- spinnerbait, crankbait, swim bait, etc. I will still have a jig tied on or even a shakey head, but will just up the weight of those to help me feel the bait through the wind.

Spro Bronzeye frogs walk well for me. Once you get the rhythm/candace down it's quite easy.

I have excellent luck punching mats in ponds and lakes near where I live. For me, it's about covering water---flip to inconsistencies on the mats surface. When the your rig punches through, let it sink to the bottom. From there, raise the bait to the bottom of the mat and kind of use it to knock on the bottom side of the mat a few times. I get roughly 90% of my bites using this method. Might work for you. Just make sure you are pegging your weight.

Thanks for the information. Pretty much what I expected. I hate throwing an A-Rig though, so hopefully I can pull some bites on a jerkbait, jig, or even a wart.

Should be fun. We've done it a few times. I'm going down for a tourney this weekend. The BASS Regional Championship is being held there this weekend too, so some serious pressure on the lake. Hopefully we can nab a few

Any good reports coming out of Lake of the Ozarks right now? All I'm hearing is high 50's water temp, and that the FLW College guys won it on an umbrella rig last weekend.

Boat traffic will be pretty heavy wherever you go on the lake that time of year. It's going to be very difficult to avoid, but it's great you have a boat! One of my favorite areas to fish in the summer is down the Niangua Arm. It's just a little bit south. From Larry Gail Access on south always seems to be productive due to less boat traffic compared to the rest of the lake. Less boat traffic also means clearer water. Just my 2 cents.

Yeah, I mean you're gong to have to provide some more information. Do you have a boat or will you just be bank fishing? One thing to keep in mind is to fish LOZ with the mindset that each cove is its own lake. Each cove can fish very differently. Start by fishing the most obvious cover, docks. Listen to what the fish are telling you and how they are relating to this cover to figure out where you should go.

Anyone know the current lake conditions?

I love my BPS 100 mph bibs. The only thing I find wrong with them is that the reinforced knee area can pose a problem. The thread that connects the thick black material to the main fabric can tear under just a little pressure if you're bending your knee quite a ways (bending down for a fish for example).

I'm here in Missouri and am currently fishing a pond near my place that is similar. Water temps are still going to be freezing, so you gotta really hunker down and be patient. If it's sunny out, find the big rocks that can hold the heat of the sun---it'll have warmer water that may hold slightly more active fish. I would use a senko and or a pointer and dead stick around these areas. Other than that, flip and pitch those brush piles with a jig as tight to the middle of the brush pile as you can.

Less than 5 minutes from my house. Pretty crazy, that someone would just let their pet gator go in a public pond once they got tired of it.

Even if he doesn't compete, that doesn't really matter. You have an opportunity to LEARN and you need to jump on that opportunity! River fishing can be tough (depending what river you're fishing on), so take that for what it is, learn from your situations, and apply the knowledge that you've learned in future situations. There's no reason that you shouldn't go for it, so I say do it!

This. When I worked at BPS we had boxes on boxes that we couldn't even get rid of.

Yeah, it seems like you may be paying a bit much for them. Why don't you stock up from BPS (or the bps website) and save a few bucks?