chasescott

Thanks for the info. I will make sure to put some stabil in once it gets a little colder.

I went up about three weeks ago and we were catching whites about every cast. I might try to get up there in the next couple of weeks. I was catching most of my fish around the edgemont bridge.

hey guys, i have a bass cat with a 115 mercury optimax on the back. I am PLANNING on fishing all winter and was wondering what i need to do for the motor. I live in Arkansas and we are supposed to have a cold winter for down here. Any info would be greatly appreciated. -chase

Sounds good. I will let you know how i do this weekend.

Have not been up there in probably 3 or 4 weeks. However, i will be up there all next weekend to fish. If i had to guess i would try to get an early moring topwater bite around main lake points and standing timber. As the day goes on i would try to find some offshore humps and fish those with cranks, jigs, and large plastic worms. You can always fish the bluffs with shakey head finesse worms and catch a few nice kentuckies. With the cooler weather and rain i would not be suprised if there were a few bass cruising around the buck brush in the shallows. good luck, let me know how you did. -chase

i had a 50 gallon tank which i kept a bass and about 6 or 7 bream, a catfish and probably 6 or 7 crawfish. They were not very hard to maintain and very entertaining. The bass started out about 6 inches and grew to be about 10 inches before i released him back into the pond which i caught him out of. For food i would either go buy small minnows or i would just go outside during the summer and find crickets and other bugs and throw in there. The bass got real familiar with feeding time and new when he saw me open the top it was time to eat. One time i feed him a small frog and he loved it. -chase

I just bought an Atlantis Sportscam underwater viewing system. I think it is the cheaper version of the Aqua-Vu systems they sell at Bass Pro. I took it out for the first time last weekend to a local lake and looked at underwater brushpiles. I did not see a whole lot of fish (saw a catfish hanging out and a few bream) but it did give me a better understanding on what i am seeing on my graph. Does anyone else use one of the cameras? Have they been helpful in scouting brushpiles and other lunker hangouts?

I am heading to Pine Bluff tomorrow and i am planning on fishing most of the day. I have never fished in that area before. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to go right now? Any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks, Chase

Hawg, the main lake is still pretty stained, but the farther you go up the creeks it tends to clear up. However, i talked to someone who caught a lot of bass in the stained main part of the lake.

Hawgchaser, thanks for the info. I fished all day saturday and did pretty well. I probably caught 20 nice bass. i caught the majority on a white senko rigged wacky style. I also caught a few on a spinnerbait, one on a shakey head and i caught a smallmouth on a swim jig. All the fish i caught were in the trees anywhere from 1-10ft deep. All fish were caught up in middle fork and devils fork. I had to get off the water at about 1pm because of the storms but all in all it was a good day. -chase

Anybody fishing Greers since the water has been up? I am heading up there to fish all weekend and i have heard they are prespawn and spawn. Any info would be greatly appreciated! -chase

By next month the top water bite should be on. I would throw buzzbaits and frogs early and late. I would switch to a senko or black or purple t-rigged worm mid morning. Once the sun is up go find some cypress trees (not hard to do) and flip a jig on the shady side. You will not catch big numbers flipping the trees, but you can catch some hog legs. P.S. Drive slow and watch out for stumps. good luck

Would that be Lake Conway, AR?

I bought three of these last year and did not use them very much. I plan on throwing them this year. What line would you suggest in clear water. I currently use 15lb p-line flouroclear.

Actually all of them were released shortly after the pic. All survived.

i am kinda dissapointed i have not seen any Cats on here yet. I dont really have a good pic of mine, but its an '84 Caracal, and we just put a brand new 115 optimax on it.

fishizzle, i am going to put the structures in deep water. the lake i am putting them in is a big, deep, clear, north arkansas lake. i will probably put them in 15-35ft of water next to an 80ft creek channel. I will probably experiement with them and do them all differently. i will also use 5 gallon buckets filled with concrete and willow or oak branches around the "boxes". All will be gps marked and hopefully no one will find them.

if you are going to the north central part of the state, i would recommend Greers Ferry. It is a large clear lake, with lots of nice bass. It has smallmouth, largemouth, spots, whites, hybrids and walleye. i fish that lake about 20 times throughout the year and usually always have a good time on it.

Thanks for all the info. I think it may be a prop thing. i fished all weekend and experimented with the motor. I am hitting 5700 rpms before i even get close to putting the throttle all the way down. It gets up out of the hole very quick but has no top end speed. Time to trade props.

I just put a brand new Optimax 115 on my bass cat. We are still in the break in period and were told not to go over 5500 rmps. I am just wondering what the highest rpm's you can safely run after the break in period on the optimax? At 5500 rpm's i still have a lot of throttle left.

Unfortuantly the strong storms we had over the past few weeks in Arkansas completely knocked down my privacy fence. But on the plus side i have a whole lot of scrap wood. I have decided to put together some "Bass Boxes" and would like to know what everyone thinks about them. My plans are to attatch some limbs to the top once i get to the lake. I still have not decided how i will sink the boxes to make them stand up straight. Any ideas or suggestions. I have enought wood to make about 5 or 6 more of these.

What is everyones opinion on fising line for swimbaits. i fish in central and northern arkansas where the lakes range from clear to very clear. i throw some large swimbaits. I have used Vanish flouro 15lb in the past and had bad experience with it....breaking off on the cast. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. -chase

Being an Insurance agent i will add my two cents. One of two options as stated before: 1. Schedule under your homeowners policy with no deductible. Document and take pictures, and send pics to agent. Very cheap and comprehensive. or 2. Most boat policies will allow you to increase your coverage for personal items in your boat...depth finders, tackle, rods and reels. (i know progressive will) Most people do not think of doing this until it is too late. The same thing goes with guns and golf equipment. Better safe than sorry. In addition, i know most tournaments require at least $300,000 liability for your boat. If you do not have your boat insured under your homeowners policy ask your agent if that is possible. it is usually cheaper and you can increase your liability for a lot less. i know each state has different rules but my state will allow that. Now i guess i will get back to quoting and writing policies and quit thinking about fishing. -chase -chase

Just wondering if anyone has tried the new Gene Larew Biffle-O. It is kinda a mix of a tube and a trick worm. The only place i can find to order online is at the Gene Larew Website, but there is a $30 minimum order. -chase

Thanks for all the info. I will say that even though the lake is 1200 acres it has a good population of 5-8 pound bass. I have a feeling i will be throwing a big swimbait this year.