Fishes in trees

You're kidding yourself if you think that you can get by with just one high end set up. You'e probably good for now - HOWEVER - sooner or later, sooner than you think for sure, as soon as you've got a decent amount of disposable income stashed away, you'll be wondering "What is my next favorite technique and what would be the best rig for that?" Or maybe you won't wait - just put it on your credit card - tackle addiction can be justified in many ways. I'm telling you - once you get used to a certain level of quality/sensitivity with your favorite rig, you're going to want similar quality in other rigs you use from time to time. As someone who more or less has this addiction, your best hope is to follow close outs, always check the bargain rack in every tackle shop you go into, and from time to time you'll find a rig that upgrades what you've got. Don't be in a hurry, but try to always have some spare cash around so that when you find an upgrade you can jump on it.

I haven't seen these trailers in any of the tackle shops I frequent. Too bad - they look like they would work. If I see some I'll probably buy some. But then, I thought the Berkley Powerbait Beast would be a good pitching bait. Turns out - not so much. Same for the YUM money craw. How many of those have you seen on the tackle shelves lately (I should say tackle peg board - no one has shelves any more.)

My goal when I go fishing is to have enough of everything I might need without having too much. I generally err on the side of having too much. This goes for gear & baits. but also applies to other stuff. Why bring half a cooler full of water & beer when you can fill it up. Why bring just one sandwich, when you might run into someone and want to share? I've had some interesting times on the lake when a random encounter with another guy in a boat turned into a little bit of chit-chat and a couple of barley pops later I was finding out stuff about the lake I didn't know. This would not have happened had I bogarted my barley pop. A couple of guys I met doing this has turned into a decades now friendship, where we share fishing information, lodging at different charity tournaments, just basically made new friends. I totally recommend if you think you might swill a couple or three while you're fishing, buy a 12 pack and be on the look out for someone to share it with while on the water.

I make my own. Mine weigh a little over half an ounce, more or less, including hook & hardware. It is pretty much a situational bait for me - primarily I use it to fish the edges of deep weed lines, mostly at the end of main lake points. Some summer days I've had decent results throwing them to the root wads of trees in 10 to 18 feet of water. I've tried pitching them to objects shallower- with mixed results. My experiences have been that throwing at objects in less than 10 feet of water, a tx rigged stick bait or a tail weighted stick bait or a 10 " Berkley power worm, or a Zoom magnum trick worm generally works better. I've had best results with this bait using either a Zoom Brush Hog or a Zoom magnum trick worm. One fall down at Truman Lake I had decent results throwing the jika rig on 45 degree banks that had the wind blowing into them. Then the next year I had MUCH better luck throwing a Biffle Bug doing basically the same thing, so these days, on 45 degree banks with maybe /maybe not stumps but little vegetation, a Biffle Bug is my first choice. Next year my plan is to use this rig more as a search bait, i.e. just throw it more, wherever, and keep it moving. We'll see how that works. One of these decades, when I learn how to post pictures, I'll post some pictures of my version of the jika rig.

A couple of thoughts . . .If you're throwing at the schooling activity and your bait lands in the activity, it could still spook them. If it is possible to throw well past the activity and bring the bait through it, that might be best. Maybe in in-line spinner, like a Mepps, Maybe a shallow diver, like a Minus 1, maybe a swim jig/trailer combination. I think it is important to throw past the commotion if possible and bring your bait through it.

Back in the day when I tournament fished, I had one of those Save Phace masks and I thought it worked great, both in the winter to keep the wind off my face and in the summer to deflect the occasional June bug. No clue how much they cost now, at the time it was around $ 80 or $90 bucks. Well worth it, I thought at the time.

It has been years since I've been on Table Rock. When I fished BFL's in the Ozark division, at the time Table Rock was a twice a year stop. Anyway, what I remember from research I did at the time, small mouth were much more prevalent on the major points close to the dam and then a little less so down into Arkansas. I don't ever remember hearing about guys catching very many small mouth in the James arm of the lake. Where you're fishing in the James is a ways from the dam. That would be my take, that there just aren't that many small mouth there. However, you fish Table Rock alot more than I do, so you probably have more recent information. Good luck finding them.

I don't do it. I go to a lot of trouble to find decent fishing shirts & shorts that don't have a logo on them, or at least not a blaring conspicuous logo. I understand that my opinion isn't the norm however I have issues being an uncompensated human bill board.

You're in Jackson, MO? Cape Girardeau County? You ain't that far from Kentucky Lake?In the other direction you ain't that far from Bull Shoals. A little bit farther and there is LOZ & Truman and some others I'm sure I missing. I'm pretty certain that if I were to pull out my Missouri Department of Conservation Atlas there would be some conservation department lakes ( 50 to 300 or so acres) within easy driving distance of your house. Next, consider that in Missouri, a 4 pound fish is a decent fish. In any given year, I may catch half a dozen to maybe a dozen in that size. One that size every time I go out isn't a guarantee. My whole life of fishing in Missouri, I think I've caught maybe 7 or 8 fish over 7 lbs (only of those I weighed ) I just figure that any fish around 23" or better is around the 7 lb mark. Last fall at Truman, practicing for the Leavenworth Bass Club's Fishing for Freedom event, I caught a fat largemouth that was about 22 1/2 inches long. (measurements can be imprecise bouncing around in a bass boat.) Anyway, I guesstimated that fish to be in the 7 lb range. My opinion is that in Missouri, while there are fish bigger than 7 lbs swimming in the waters somewhere, a fish bigger than 7 or so is a lifetime achievement. This year I caught 4 fish over 22", 3 of them were kinda skinny - IMO 6 lbs would have been a stretch for them. One was pretty fat with thick shoulders and a large belly. The healthy fat fish hit a single spin Coorado blade spinner bait early last year. The other 3 fish hit a 10 " Power worm - Blue Fleck - 17 lb Abrazx with a 5/16 tungsten. I was pitching the bait into deeper trees and letting in sink down amongst the limbs. All the hits came 5 to 6 feet down in 15 or so feet of water. Back to your original post, I don't think a 4 lb fish is terrible, just think that you need to fish more, fish where bigger fish are known to exist. If you got to go east from home, I think that Kentucky Lake is a much better option than Kincaid Lake, even if it might be a slightly farther drive.

I have a few Falcon rods. Huge assortments of Falcon rods aren't readily available I the KC Metro area. The Bucco Trap caster is one of the few rods that I have ever paid full retail price on, just because at that moment I realized that it was a huge step up from what I was using to throw lipless cranks on. I have a couple of their finesse jig rods (6'10" MH - on the medium side of MH) These used to be called the Eakins Jig rod - now they aren't. I have one from the Low Rider series and one from the Bucco series. Both are great rods. Right now the Bucco one wait in the ready reserve bucket, for that inevitable time when I break the Low Rider. I do plan to get more Falcon rods in the future. I like their out of warranty replacement policy - isn't dirt cheap, but it is fair and it is definitely cheaper than buying a new different rod.

In my opinion - ALL bait casting reels are relatively easy to set up. Given the internet and a modest amount of time, nearly all bait casting reels are available. Nearly all bait casting reels are easy to back lash if your thumb is uneducated. The finest magnetic/ computer/ whatever controlled reel will back lash if your thumb is uneducated. MY advice to you is to educate your thumb. Prior posts have given good advice on how to do that. My only issue with articles & film that teach casting techniques is that they try to teach overhead or side arm casting first. My advice, especially if you're fishing from a boat, would be to learn how to pitch first, then gradually adjust to side arm & overhead casts to get more distance. Of course, that's not how I did it. I learned over head & side arm casting first and then when I found out about pitching, it took me over a year to start to gain proficiency at it because I had to unlearn some stuff. Other little piece of advice - don't try to go too light too quick. Trying to get distance from baits that are a little too light for your set up is just asking for back lash action. Bait casters that are truly capable of throwing light baits ain't cheap and neither are the rods that are necessary to throw light baits. I'd advise to get good on the gear you got before you drop 5 bills on a bait caster & rod that will let you cast baits less than a quarter ounce easily & reliably. A very last word of advice - if you absolutely got to throw baits that weigh less than a quarter ounce - well, that is why god made spinning gear. Spinning gear works good - comes in all sorts of price ranges and is very reliable for throwing lighter weights.

A tackle shop that I frequent has that bait in a few sizes. I look at it as kinda a finesse pitching bait - similar to a Zoom Magnum finesse worm. At some point in the future I'll probably buy some but they don't exude the " gotta buy it right now"! vibe.

Over the choices you've given yourself, I'd choose Suffix over P-LIne. For a whole bunch of reasons, I don't like P-line. I wouldn't even use it to hang pictures. Now my advice - forget about experiences with line 20 years ago. Line technology had changed considerably in the past 20 years. Consider going with a braid or a hybrid fused like like Fireline or Nanofil or any of the Asian braids that are available over the internet. Initial cost might be a little more (wake up call - nearly all fishing related products have going up in costs over the past 20 years), but good braid can last for years, where back in the day I thought if I got half a season out of a spool of mono I was doing great. In the long run braid is actually cheaper. Should you try a line like nanofil - you'll be amazed how much more casting distance you can get AND 8 lb nanofil is MUCH thinner and MUCH stronger than the 8 lb line you remember from your past fishing experiences. My advice is to do your research and due diligence on lines that are available now - don't stay tied into notions of what was good and/or great line 20 years ago.

I don't see my beer choices as " Millennial" beer. My choices are more political than that. A long time ago I became not a big fan of the political choices that mega-breweries make (most especially the mega -brewery that is headquartered in Missouri. So I looked around for alternatives - went through a number of imports, then I met the guy who started Boulevard Brewing in KC, he was 2 or 3 years into the process at the time. Mostly I liked the idea of beer with no preservatives in it (with the exception of hops which tend to act as a natural preservative ). Now, after a decade and a half of sampling different craft beers (only the ones which are available in the KC Metro area market ) I've decided that I currently like lo-cal - lo- carb, low alcohol and heavily hopped beers. This doesn't make me a beer bigot. From time to time I consume other beers. Summertime - 80+ degree days - it is hard to beat an ice cold Shiner Ruby Redbird, for instance. Back to the original topic - What always works . . .. I find that when the fishing is poor, most of the times I'm just not looking at the situation right and a Light Hearted Ale seems to adjust my attitude and give me some confidence, or I just tell myself, Hey, I'm just fishing for big fish - I don't care about little fish and I know big fish only come around every so often.

I'd be inclined to put the heavier weights on the bottom of the rig. In Missouri, where only 3 hooks are allowed, I put jig heads on the bottom 2 wires and the center wire. The top 2 wires get dummy baits, secured with a hitch hiker. Gear wise, I have a 7'9" Fenwick AETOS Heavy action rod or sometimes I use an older 7' Team Diawa Muskie rod. For a reel I got a Curado 300 E. In my experiences I've found that 20 lb mono casts better than 55 or 65 lb braid.

Continuing on the subject of stuff that " ALWAYS WORKS". I have found that this past season that a Bell's Light Hearted Ale has always worked to improve my fishing attitude in the short term. Imported into Missouri all the way from Comstock, Michigan, Low Carb, Lower Alcohol content and mighty hoppy taste, this might be the perfect fishing beer. I say might be - fact is that there are other products in contention. Founders All Day IPA - Lagunitas Day Time IPA - Firestone/Walker Easy Jack & Sky Jack are also in contention. Right now though, the Light Hearted Ale is the club house leader. There are a couple of Colorado low alcohol IPA's that currently are in outside contention. They might be better contenders if they were more readily available. Another thing I know that always works. Space Dust from Elysian Brewing in Seattle is NOT a fishing beer. At 60 some IBU's and 8% alcohol, it is a crack one (or 2) after truck is parked, everything is plugged, fishing shed doors closed and not going anywhere for the rest of the night beer.

I bought one of those bait ball spinnerbaits (in the smaller size) a couple of years ago & this year I bought one of the larger ones. On a positive note, I don't need any different gear to throw it with, my regular spinner bait rod & Curado DC throw it fine and I get good to outstanding distance. Feel at a distance is good - I'm pretty certain that had I gotten bit, I would have recognized the strike. Which brings me to the downside, in that it seems that the fish in the two different lakes that I fished this season didn't like this bait and wouldn't bite it. Never got bit. Overall this wasn't a great year for spinnerbaits for me, how ever I did get bit from time to time on other spinner baits that I tried. I'm pretty sure that at some point it will make a nice addition to any spinner bait display that I want to create. Getting off subject for a moment, I've noticed that many old collectible lures, primarily cranks, weren't real good fish catchers. I suspect that they became old collectable because they lasted a long time and they were interesting to look at. I also suspect that good fish catching baits sooner or later got lost, which is why they aren't collectable, i.e. they are all gone. Back to the subject, if you want a collectable spinner bait that is interesting buy one - heck buy several, be sure and purchase the extra dummy baits if you want to change up the color some. I wouldn't count on it catching any fish though. If you want to throw an A-rig - throw an A-rig. They have a history of working, primarily in certain defined circumstances. I wouldn't bother with a mini A-rig.

I haven't bought any spinnerbaits for the past few years. Primary reason for this is that several years ago I bought a bunch of War Eagles & Terminators. Fish can tear up a War Eagle over time, Terminators seem to last forever. The only time I retire a Terminator is when it gets stuck and doesn't want to come back into the boat. Side note : even for creek & small river fishing, I like throwing a spinner bait on a bait caster. Several years ago I had a monster day on the Gasconade throwing War Eagle Screaming Eagle spinnerbaits. ( These were the small frame ones, with weight behind the skirt, that weighed half an ounce or so ). If I am ever throwing spinner baits in any kind of current at all, these are my first choice. Don't know why the new set up won't let me edit my previous post. Beside the point, responding to the original post - got no experiences good or bad with the brands of spinner baits mentioned. I haven't fished quarter ounce spinner baits for a long time - not since I was a bank bound meat fishing bush hippie. Those days I relied mostly on an SOB ( small okie bug ). White or white/ chartreuse with a white or white/chartruese curly tail grub.

Be mindful that any waterproof product that you use to keep water out will make it that much harder for water that does get in to get out. Just asking for stuff to rust inside your fishing bag, IMO.

I fish trees quite a bit. I pretty much agree with the notion that you fish structure and not the trees. However, in my experiences, in most of the Missouri Conservation Department lakes that I fish, the fish do suspend in the trees from time to time and they can be caught. Trees can be cranked. My favorite crank bait for this purpose is a DC16 or a DC 13 Timber Tiger. I'll Generally fish this bait on 15 or 17 lb line. The DC 16 might get down 8 or 9 feet on 17 lb line. What you're looking for is the big horizontal branches that are 5 to 7 feet down. Keeper fish often lurk behind/around these wood features. I guess what they're looking is schools of baitfish swimming by. For me, this isn't an all day approach. Find a row of trees with features that look ok. Maybe off to the side of a road bed, maybe they turn a corner in a sunken field, maybe overgrowth on the back side of a dam on a sunken pond, something. Throw the Timber Tiger, bump it into stuff, see if you get bit. I tend to get bit more when I can imagine where they shade pockets might be 5 to 7 feet down, as the keeper fish tend to position themselves in the shade pocket, where they can look out into water that has more visibility. THIS DON'T ALWAYS WORK!! I generally give it 15 or 20 minutes and if it ain't happening, it ain't happening. Several times per year though, it produces a 20" or bigger fish. The classic timber lake in Missouri is Truman Lake. Since that lake was filled, throwing 10" worms in the trees has been a viable approach. As has been mention in prior posts, there are trees that have the potential to produce and other timber areas, not so much. The approach here is simple. I generally use 20 lb Abrazx, a 10" power worm ( generally Blue Fleck) and a 5/0 hook. Weight varies. Throw the worm kinda close to the tree and let it drop. Hits almost always occur on the drop/ maybe a few seconds after it hits the bottom. Deadsticking the bait or working it all the way back to the boat hasn't worked real well for me. For me the approach is - Do the drop - hit the bottom, one bounce, reel it back fast & repeat. Other baits might occasionally work - tubes and brush hogs are popular with some guys - the old jig & pig is still popular with other guys. Me - I like the 10" worm. The other option I'll try in standing time is a wacky senko. I've had years when that was THE ticket, the only thing you had to figure out was were they suspending in the crown of the tree or closer to the trunk. The last few years, not so much with this bait. I think that it still works but I think that day in & day out the 10" worm ( 5/16 or 3/8 oz tungsten weight, generally) works better for me. So, there you go, that's how I generally approach standing timber in deeper water.

No such thing. If I start telling myself that "bait X" will work under all conditions, that I ALWAYS have confidence in it, the only person I'm fooling is myself.

I think you've got enough square bills for now. For the record, my favorite baits of this type are Timber Tigers, mostly in the DC8 , DC5 & DC4 sizes. They have been long since discontinued, but for now I have a reasonable supply. Maybe they will bring the bait back sometime - but I doubt it. You could focus on fine tuning your color choices for different water colors, that that could get expensive and kinda unnecessary. If I were you, I'd focus on getting off the bank. Get a small to medium size Jon boat that you could tow with your car - or some kind of plastic pond boat like the BPS Pond Prowler and a little trailer. If you're fishing strip pits from the bank there is a LOT of good water that isn't available to you because you're bank bound. Get a kayak if you have too. Don't stay bank bound. Be mindful that should you get off the bank, there is quite a bit of stuff you might need to re- learn. IMO , when I was bank bound and then got a boat, I had lots of bad habits that I had to re- learn. Most of this involved fishing soft plastics and learning how to fish down hill instead of up hill, going parallel to the bank rather than in & out. Takes a while to expunge bank fishing habits that don't really transfer well to boat fishing.

If you're bank fishing you can get too many rods very easily. You might want to consider going combo, i.e. using 1 rod for multiple approaches, changing only the terminal tackle. Me - I don't fish ponds. I fish out of a boat. I'm a junk fisherman by nature. For me the time savings justifies bring the extra rigs along. Yesterday I brought along the Neko rig and also had a rig where I took a bubba up approach ( i.e. 7' MH pitching rod, 15 lb Abrazx fluorocarbon line, heavier Neko weights and tx rigged a 6" stick bait ) By contrast my regular Neko rig has a Big TRD or Strike King Elaztech stick worm/ 1/16 oz pin weight and a smaller hook. Sad to report that the fish didn't really want any soft plastic yesterday - just 1 soft plastic fish ( 10' or so down on the jika rig ) 3 solid keepers and 14 slot fish happened on reaction baits - lipless cranks and square bills.

I feel the same way about Timber Tigers, except the 40 or so that I picked up on various close outs are all out of the packaging, ready to fish. I forget who it was that made the "Brush Baby" which also had that trick-lobe lip.

I'm ok with the notion of my plastic bunk boards being a little sticky at the start of the day. When I launch by myself - which is most of the time - park the trailer at the correct depth - climb in & unhook - start up the big motor and a little power and it pops right off. On the few occasions where I have help launching my boat - I'm in the boat - unhooked - buddy at the wheel of the fishing truck - back up six or eight inches and hit the brakes and the boat pops off the trailer and floats off. Drive off and park the boat & trailer at that point.