Pumpkin Lizard

I live north of KC. And if smaller waters are your thing then there are plenty of them. The lakes in and around KC aren't Table Rock. Smithville Lake is a good size but you can't really get lost. Smithville is a nice place to live and nearby Platte City is good too. Most of the conservation areas have small lakes and ponds with launches. In the northwest corner there tons of these and in my experience the fishing is good. I live in St. Joe too. Small world.

I think he fished the third period on Friday without a hook. We also saw this in the CFP playoffs. I think every team with a bye lost.

I saw that too and wondered the same thing. Also, Mark Davis killed it yesterday, but his advantage was essentially for nothing other than making it to Sunday. You could say the same thing about Wheeler on Friday.

Yeah. Although on first thought I look at where you are and I see northern pike in your future:) For one, it's a fun way to fish. You probably already have rig that can fish them in your arsenal. And the heavy strikes are worth it. The tug is the drug. I'd rather catch 2-3 decent fish on a swimbait than a million dinks on a Ned Rig that gets hung up constantly. Even in Missouri here, 6 lbs is probably the biggest reasonably you might run into day to day and many lakes and ponds are loaded with gizzard shad that are too big for most bass. I think a 6 inch Magdraft is great fun. You'll still catch some average 1 to 2 lb bass with it. They don't cost that much and you can throw it on a regular Medium Heavy rod and 12lb test. The Berkeley Cull Shad costs less than the Magdraft and many people like it better.

And right on cue Poche’ boats a bass and takes a penalty. He’e so used to it at this point if he doesn’t get a penalty he’ll probably sit down because he is so conditioned to do so.

Funny I was just listening to the same podcase. Low Budget Live. I think we can rule out Crush City since the owner of the company was texting Zona about it.

I like Jacob Wall. Two good tournaments in a row. Seems like a well rounded angler.

I actually agree with Randy on a few things but when he posts asinine stuff like this he discredits the cause.

Not my picture but I have seen it like this. Places close the river were using snowblowers to clear them out.

and then it’s sucks afterwards for a week or so. That’s my experience. Yeah I am talking about after.

I can’t blame them for giving the tournament to the highest bidder. They are bringing 150,000 fans for an event. You can’t waste that sort of thing. Just way too many costs to cover.

Gill finished 7th in Round 1. He was on BTL and said that you have to be really dialed in with FFS to be able to do anything in one period. If you are mediocre with it and need a whole day to get enough fish then you are dead in the water.

I think the predominant prey can vary based on the season too. When I lived in Wisconsin there was this Giant Mayfly hatch every summer (Hexagenia Limbata) or just “Hex” for short. They would hatch out of the Mississippi and any other body of water with a soft bottom. The fish gorge themselves on the nymphs by the millions trying to get to the surface. Supposedly according to the local biologists during this hatch the fish got 70% of their annual protein. And the fishing would be terrible for quite a time after. They simply can’t ignore that amount of easily available and vulnerable biomass.

They love eating yellow perch too.

Where is the science on the soft rayed theory? I remember watching “The Nature of Fishing” on YouTube and he said that Largemouths evolved those big mouths because it made them more efficient at preying on bluegill and their relatives. I also am not sold on the ancient war between the bass and crawdads. I think they will jump on them like a fat kid on a bag of Doritos when given the option. They just like to eat them.

I think the really big bass got that way by being efficient. Better to eat one big meal, digest for a day or two or more and sulk as opposed to burning calories eating lots of little prey. They are lazy. Now if there is a situation where there is plentiful, easy to catch small prey then the amount of effort may make it worth it. I don't think they mind the hard bones. They probably need the calcium and the minerals.

There are probably a crayfish or two in the bayou I would imagine lol.

I used to Scuba dive and snorkel in lakes in the northeast. In the mornings you could always see tons of left over crayfish parts left over from the night before on the bottom. It looked like battlefield or something. Even more so in the rocky areas. The crayfish hide in holes mostly during the day and they come out and feed and do their thing, and the fish hunt them like crazy. In my experience the places that have crayfish are virtually paved with them on the bottom. They are a great source of food. One crayfish on it's own may not be a great source but if they can eat lots of them then they are a feast. Not just bass but trout too.

Less Ned Rigs. More Swim and Glidebaits.

Luck is just the collision of opportunity and preparation.

I doubt it's bad spool. That's just so unlikely. These companies, particularly the Japanese ones have great Quality Control. I won't hazard a guess of what happened to you. But what it looks like happened to you happened twice to me last season with Seaguar Basix and it was my fault not the line's fault. I have been using mono my life when not fly fishing and I didn't take into account that fluoro has to be taken care of better. I was making long casts and every now and then I'd get a very mild backlash without a tangle. So instead of picking it out I let it ride thinking I could get it out on its own on the next cast. In my opinion I just set myself up for failure because sooner or later that brittle fluouro carbon will get knicked. So I'd make a booming long cast and then suddenly half my line was gone because that knick became a complete fracture. Lost a nice Megabass Spinner Bait and a Swimbait doing this; breaking off in mid flight. Now I take real good care of backlashes, and I use backing on the spool so that I only have 60-70 yards of fluoro spooled up and I am wasting less lane. That way I can spool three times with a 200 yard spool. Once you get that knick in your line, it's a matter of when not if. What do you think of the uni knot?

I don’t have one, unless you count getting hung up on unseen snags on the odd chance that one of my casts make contact with the water.

This is the best winter topwater tutorial I have seen. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFduswtShKV/?igsh=NjYwZzRmMG1rNDA2

It was in the 50s most of the week here in this part of Missouri and everything I fish is still locked up. The ice must have gotten thick. And it’s going back down to the teens this week so I don’t expect to fish until March.