Fishes in trees

Did they rep-stock it? Was it drained all the way, or just drawn down a bunch? What did it fish like prior to getting drained/drawn down? I recall back years ago, when Truman was being built, the Conservation Department/Corps of Engineers had to buy a bunch of land. Anyway, while the dam was bien built, (which took several years) the Conservation department built many ponds & stocked them on the land that was scheduled to be flooded. When Truman Lake filled (another different story) a bunch of fish were released into the new lake. The first year, fish were present, but sometimes were hard to come by, a couple of decent spawns later and the lake blew up for a few years. Now it is older, water levels almost never stable (it is after all a flood control lake) and it is a decent fishery. On the lake you're referring to, did they do any of those practices while the lake was drained/ drawn down? Awhile ago, when I was still fishing BFL's a semi-pro that I drew told me that when confronted with fairly recent high water, a good place to start is that old shore line, even if that is several hundred yards off the new shore line.

There was a time, after All Star rods were sold to Shakespeare, where the quality of the rods went down and they were reluctant to honor the old All Star warranty. The only way I know how to tell for sure is does it say "Zell Rowland Topwater Special" on it. It will be above the handle but below the first guide. I thought this rod was a decent jerk bait rod as well, not so much anymore because I'm currently of the opinion that spinning gear is a better option for throwing jerk baits.

That old All Star - is it one of the original All Star Rods? Made in Texas before the brand got sold to Shakespeare? I think All Star made a 6'3" and a 6'6" Zell Rowland Topwater Special rod. I thought those were GREAT top water rods - I still have 2 of them that I use occasionally. I try other rods for top water baits, but I always keep coming back to the original All Stars. I guess you could throw a quarter ounce with that rod, but I think a 3/8 oz or a half ounce bait throws better. Maybe if you had 10 lb line, you could throw a quarter ounce, I don't know

While I recognize that fish will move distances to hit a bait, I don't ever count on it. (Throwing topwaters across points specifically and throwing topwaters in general are an exception). When I make a cast, my goal is to have a target, where I think a fish will be hanging out, and then try to bounce one off its nose, so that it strikes out of instinct and it doesn't matter if it is hungry or not.

This is why I don't pond fish anymore. If you're trying to get into lake/reservoir fishing, pond fishing builds bad habits. Ponds, the vast majority of the time, you're throwing deep & retrieving shallow. On lakes & reservoirs, you're often throwing shallow & retrieving into deeper water. And being a bank beater on a lake/reservoir is the easy part. Learning to fish deeper water is a whole different story. Good luck learning to fish Kentucky Lake. I don't have a lot of advice, do your research & try to put into practice what you find out. Leave all your pond fishing experience in the truck, if you bring it along with you in th e boat it will mess you up. 25 years or so ago, I just gave up pond fishing, more trouble than it is worth for me to go back & forth. Pond fishing & lake/reservoir fishing are two different animals.

I think a 5 1/2' medium spinning rod would be a great rod for wading creeks or floating creeks. You could throw flukes & stuff like that with it too. Be a decent Ned rig.

I'm thinking hooks might be a little dull. You can catch a dozen fishing a row with dull hooks, and not realize hooks are dull because the fish hit the bait good. You're catching fish, that's all you care about, and the hooks are "sharp enough." Sharp hooks are most necessary when the fish don't exactly hit the bait strong. When you're tying the bait on, it is worth checking to see how sharp the hooks are, on any given bait, not just Rapalas. At that point you make the decision, Are these hooks " sharp enough" ?, and if not swap them out or sharpen them up.

Number of rigs depend on several things. Where do you fish? How do you like to fish? Do you fish out of your own boat or are you more often than not fishing with a buddy out of his boat? When you're fishing out of some one else's boat, hospitality only extends so far, you can't be taking lots of rigs along with you. Truth be told, I fish alone MUCH more often than I fish with a partner and 95% of the time I fish out of my boat. Here's what I carry in an attempt to maximize my fishing time and to avoid wasting time. Bubba Drop Shot Rig Top Water Rig _ ( Handles poppers, spooks, buzz baits in a pinch ) Jika Rig A - I really like fishing my home made jika rigs Jika rig B - I experiment with different baits quite a big. (both of these rods are also good for throwing jigs in the 5/16 to half ounce range should I decide I want to do that. If I want to go bubba shakey head, these rods throw a 3/8 oz shakey head great) Pitching rig A - ( for throwing smaller, compact baits like craws & beavers & tail weighted stick baits) Pitching rig B - ( for throwing larger baits, mostly 5" & 6" stick worms & magnum trick worms) Dedicated Slider rig - I throw quarter ounce Brewer Slider heads with paddle tail worms & straight tail worms quite a bit Dedicated wacky senko rig ( spinning gear so I can skip up underneath hanging branches easier Dedicated plastic minnow rig ( spinning gear for throwing flukes, smaller boot tail swim baits, stuff like that) Ned Rig Dedicated 10 " worm rig - post spawn through fall, I've always got to check out if fish are suspended in the trees. A 10" worm works best for me. Dedicated Biffle Bug rig - On lakes with stumps & a variety of rocks with little vegetation I like throwing the Biffle Bug. better than jigs & better than my home made jika rigs. On lakes with plenty of vegetation this rig stays in the truck or stays home. Finesse Shakey head rig - 3/16 & quarter ounce jighead/soft plastic combos Dedicated lipless crank rig Spinner bait rig Chatter bait rig Square bill rig Deep diving crank rig Medium diving crank rig Dedicated A-rig. - I can also throw medium to big swim baits with this rig Dedicated magnum square bill rig (I've caught too many keepers on the big square bills to not keep this on the deck) Dedicate frog rod Finesse frogging rod Alternate crank rod - ( for throwing shallow diving square bills like a Minus 1) That's all I can think of right now. word of caution - DO NOT try to buy all these rigs at once (unless you win the lottery, then squander as much money as you want on JDM bait casters. I would. Please note, when I have a co-angler in the boat ( like I do during the Fishing for Freedom events, stuff like that) I cut down to less than a dozen rods, just to avoid tripping over stuff when another guy is in the boat. When I'm by myself in my boat, if I trip over stuff & break stuff, that's on me and I'm ok with that.

These days, for a variety of different reasons, I haven't been fishing as much as I want. Anyway, when I do get to go, I try to cover all the bases AND it bugs me to stop and change out baits SO I carry 20 or so rigs in the boat. I don't mind stopping to retie should I lose a bait or decide I need a different color, but I hate stopping to change out a bait when I could just as easy have that bait on another rig ready to go - so that's what I do . I am starting to try to get more versatile, but it is a challenge. For instance, I carry 7 reaction bait rods and for the most part any of them can throw spinner baits, or square bills, or chatterbaits. Lipless crank rod is always the lipless crank rod. Topwater rod is always the topwater rod. Deeper diving crank rod is a constant..

I've been using spinning gear for a while now and kinda like the original poster, I got not clue how to set it to a specific weight. I know what & where the drag knob is on my reels and I can adjust it to "kinda light", "Medium" or " more or less heavy", but how that translates to a real weight number is beyond me. So I don't worry about it, I start out with the drag set on "medium" than tighten up or loosen should I feel I need to.

Different baits for different purposes. For a wacky rigged drop bait I don't think you can beat the action of a senko (well maybe the Reaction Innovation Pocket Rocket or the old Lunker City Spanky) For tx rigging a stick worm ( or tail weighting it ), the ocho, sticks, dinger, Chompers Salty Sinker, Big Bite Baits makes a stick worm with interesting colors & good action for tx rigging. When I wacky rig a senko using an 0-ring, I often get several fish out of one bait.

YOU can't name you own rig after yourself. It is tacky, and speaks to the need for massive ego stroking. Ned calls his style of fishing "midwest finesse". Other people started calling it the Ned rig.

I just googled 1977 Glastron boats. They look pretty heavy to me. For decent performance, you're going to need a 24 volt system. I don't think that a 12 volt trolling motor will cut it.

Crankbait choices depend on where you fish & when you fish. I wish I'd known that a long time ago. Many of my crank bait choices were made the old fashioned way i.e., the "That looks cool, I'll buy it" school of thought. Another school of thought is - "so and so told me that was a decent bait, so I'll buy it too." Sometimes crank bait choices can happen because of a cult - Years ago there was the cult of Lucky Crafts and more recently the cult of Vision 110. You've just got to find what works for you. I've got 5 or 6 Big O's - they never seemed like great crank baits to me, now they are revered as collectors items so I don't fish them. Same for the Speed Trap - every so often you read in a fishing magazine how great a bait they are - never done much for me. I would ask if they were such a great bait why were they discontinued? For me, for where I fish, I like Timber Tigers - which at one time were available in several different sizes, from shallow diving to deep diving. When I realized that they were being discontinued, I bought about half of the ones a local tackle shop had left - I have enough to last me for a while. I think it is cool to ask what other guys like to fish with, but if the conditions that they fish the baits aren't congruent with how you fish you might go down a few blind alleys and acquire a set of "collectors items" baits. Good luck on your quest. Be mindful that different kinds of cranks require different rod & reel set ups to function properly. Last, if you buy a crank bait - don't buy just one of any particular size or color. That is just a guarantee that you will catch some fish on it, then you'll lose it, and there is a more than decent chance that you won't ever run across that bait again.

Should you wander down to the hardware store, you'll find that 0-rings come in many different sizes. I have no clue what size is correct for a trick worm. I know the correct size for the senko is a 3/8 od/ 1/4 " id. Od stands for outside dimension and id stands for inside dimension. That is probably the correct size for dingers as well, but I don't know cause I never tried dingers wacky style.

If you've never gotten into spinner baits , the point about a quality ball bearing swivel is very valid. As for brands, I primarily throw War Eagles and Terminators, with several locally made models working their way into the mix as well. Be mindful that there is a learning curve to all aspects of throwing spinnerbaits. Spinning or bait casting? Line - lighter or heavier. - easier casting line or more abrasion resistance. Skirts - wired tight or rubber banded. Spinner bait frame - heavier or lighter wire. Spinner bait weight - what size to you like for what. Since I started getting into bait casting in general and throwing spinner baits in particular - mid 80's ( more or less ) I'm several thousand dollars into the quest for the perfect spinner bait rod and I've never spend for than $150 or so on any one particular rod. I ain't going to go into all the whys Y wherefores of what kind of rod I started with and where I am now and the various stops & starts between then and now. Basically the more you go to a medium type action, you gain some distance (maybe) and lose some hook setting ability. (no doubt). As your rod tends to MH & H, you gain hook setting ability, but you will most probably lose some casting distance. Not sure if there is one in your neighborhood, but if there is an Academy Sports near you, they are the exclusive distributor of All Star Rods. The All Star spinnerbait rod is a good place to start. I like the purple one but the black All Star classes series is ok also. Right now for reels, I'm going with a Curado 150 DC. I generally start the day out with a half ounce bait and this reel throws a half ounce spinner bait better than any other reel I've tried. (Specifically I get more distance with the same amount of effort as I do with a 10 ball bearing Calcutta or the old 10 ball bearing Calais.) Good Luck. One more thing, when you decide which spinnerbaits to buy, don't buy just one of any particular model. Should you make an excellent choice and get that bait which catches fish every time you throw it, what are you going to do when you lost that bait. And you will lose that bait, spinnerbaits are in that category of baits where the best you can do is just have temporary custody of them. I deal with this reality by buying at least 3 of any model that I decide I want.

For me, Dingers ( and the various iterations, Thumping Dinger & Swimming Dinger) work good when tx rigged & a small tungsten sinker. I've had next to no luck using them wacky rigged or Neko rigged.

Trailer has to be straight or the bait will want to roll. On some buzz baits, rather than thread the trailer on to the hook, try just nose hooking it.

For back up propulsion, oars are MUCH better than paddles. Looks like the boat already has the tubes to stick the oar locks into.

Gotta keep looking, gotta stay on it. If you know the dealer who is going to be doing the maintenance on this boat once you buy it, I'd enlist him in helping me find a boat. Next question - where do you live? The mid-west is a fairly large area, I'd narrow down the search a little.

10 (or more) years ago, Bassmaster magazine ran an article on the "Bass Boat of the Future." That was one of the features on the bass boat of the future. Goes to show that as far as stowable electric trolling motors, the future ain't now.

I had some of those Doug Hannon snake baits years ago - never even got a swirl near than. Over the years I've seen lots of 10" to 15" or so water snakes swimming around and I've never seen a fish hit them.

That is the whole point of wearing a ball cap, or some sort of billed cap, when you're fishing, I think. Not a fan of floppy brimmed hats. Over the years, I've had several occasions when for one reason or another I jerked real hard on the line and had the bait come right back at me, pretty fast. I instinctively dropped my head and the bait smacked into the bill of the cap. This has happened more than once. I try to remember not to jerk hard directly back, but occasionally you forget. Been pretty lucky with the bait bouncing off the bill of the cap. I've only seriously stuck myself once with a treble hook and that was totally my fault, happened when I was loading the fishing truck. Luckily all my hook removal tools were readily available. Got from seriously stuck to the hook out within 3 or 4 minutes.

As a confirmed junk fisherman, when I leave the dock I generally have 20 or so rod rigged up ready to throw, and chatter bait and a spinnerbait are almost always in the mix. The prior post about a chatter bait replacing a square bill is pertinent - I make my choice in that area based on the vegetation I'll be throwing into. If there are more than a few green weeds, I 'll throw the chatter bait. Unless I am of the opinion that I can keep the square bill over the vegetation most of the time, in which case I'll probably throw the square bill, unless I choose a lipless crank. Lots of choices, . . too little fishing time. Oh yeah, what is the water color in these situations. A body of water that is stained to muddy all the time fishes different than water that is generally clear, but currently kinda stained due to rain/wind stuff going on. One lake I've fished alot over the years often has a water visibility of 6 to 10 feet, sometimes more in mid summer. 3 or 4 days of rain puts a stain into that water that seems to just shut the fishing off. It just seems that the fish in that particular lake are more dependent on feeding by sight and the 1 to 3 feet of visibility weirds them out for a few days. So, one example, for me at least, of how different conditions might influence spinnerbait/chatterbait/square bill/ lipless crank applications.

If it was an older boat that used wood in the transom, I wouldn't buy it at any price. Other than that I think you have to take each boat on its own merits. I know the way that I fish, a fiberglass boat would be asking for it - I smack my boat into too much stuff.