Bluebasser86

Catfish, white bass, duck hunting, and drownings is about all John Redmond is known for.

Nice! What did that one go? Got to be around 7 it looks like.

Finally got a couple better deer on the camera. I checked it after sitting in the stand all morning, looks like I need to be out in the evening according to my pictures. My stand in in the treeline at the back of these pictures. These pictures are taken in a small clearing between 300 acres of beans and 200 acres of corn with a very small (20x20 foot) pond on it. It's basically the super highway between feeding areas.

Yeah but don't be giving away all my spots if you go. Don't want anyone to know where they can catch a nice carp on a rattletrap like the one in your avatar

Sounds like a good time. I haven't been out there all year and I just may have to make a trip after hearing that. I wonder why that bigger fish was so skinny? Usually the bass out of that lake are thick and healthy looking. I've always had good luck on golden shiner colored baits out there and I just tied some golden shiner colored chatterbaits, might be a good chance to give them a test run

20lb Seaguar InvisX or Red Label for most of my bigger jigs, 15lb of the same line for smaller jigs. Only time I'll use braid is in heavy weeds and we don't have many places with heavy weeds around here.

Legend Tournament 6' 10" M/F "Shakyhead" rod Pfluegar Supreme 30 10lb InvisX Homemade 1/8-1/4oz shakyheads Trick worms,t-macs, bps stick o's, or squirrel tail worms The squirrel tail floats the best of all of them.

I try to stay back further in clear water but sometimes you can't, and making a long cast into heavy cover will not end well.

They seem to like smaller cranks down there for some reason. Strike King or Lucky Craft 1.0 size baits do very well. In the SK I like the chrome sexy shad and the lucky craft it's american shad. The smallmouth in my avatar at a Lucky Craft CBS Zero in american shad color. I've done well on several different shad colored squarebills or mid depth cranks in the fall but those are my favorites. They should start slamming 'traps pretty soon here, I'm talking make your wrist sore by the end of the day kind of bites. Chris is right about the whites, they are tanks down there and they'll hit about anything that moves when they get on the banks.

Well I'm going to try to give more heads up this time. My buddies that normally fish with me on Wednesday are all tied up, pretty much the rest of the year, ones out of vacation time and the other has to have surgery. So I'm going to have an empty back seat as I go fishing almost every Wednesday for most of the day. So if anyone is going to have a chance to fish on a Wednesday and wants to tag along just let me know.

Yeah LOZ is Lake of the Ozarks. I'd be fine with it there if it was closer, I got 5th in the last BASS weekend series tournament I fished there and would have won it if it wasn't for a silly rule they had at the time that no longer exists (how do you have the heaviest weight and not get 1st???). Melvern is far from my home lake, as much as I wish it was. It's just a really good lake more times than not in the fall. The main goal is for everyone to catch some fish and have a good time without having to drive 3 hours to do it (although some are driving more than that round trip). Honestly, barring some extreme conditions or weather changes, I think someone would almost have to try not to catch a fish in that lake in the fall. Another thing I like about it is you can fish something like a grub or crankbait and catch half a dozen different species of fish in the day without even trying

War Eagle is about the only spinnerbait I fish anymore with the exception of a few Booyah spinnerbaits that I use for fun fishing because they're cheaper if I lose one or if it gets bent up. A chartruese and white or bright white 3/8oz with tandem colorado/willowleaf, or colorado/indiana style blades is one of my go two baits in stained water.

I'll second that. 50-60 degree water is prime time jerkbaiting temps. The snot moss is bad around here in the spring, then it's leaves in the fall. Makes it to where a jig isn't even an option at times but a jerkbait over the tops of the moss is great. As for the jig trailer I'd just stick with what you're using normally in those water temps.

The largest flathead ever caught on rod and reel came from Kansas and weighed 123lbs. There's been fish caught over 150lbs on commercial gear or in nets though. They live in most states here from the midwest to every coast. I haven't seen the movie in years but I'm pretty sure the fish in that movie was a flathead.

6' 6" MH/F St.Croix LTB with a Revo S and 14-17lb C21

I usually stick with the same trailers I use during the warmer months. I think it's more about how the jig is moved versus how the trailer is moving. If you fish a jig slowly even an active trailer won't don't much.

I've taught some beginners fishing classes and done mentor programs teaching people to fish. I like to start with moving baits like spinnerbaits, in-line spinners, or crankbaits, or a wacky rigged senko. The senko is actually my favorite because it's inexpensive and it does pretty much all the work for you. Plus the exposed hook makes it one of the easiest soft plastics to hook a fish with.

There are a few bigger bass in Wyco but not many. This spring was one of my best ever, I was catching a 16-18 inch fish almost every trip. I've caught a few over 4 and one freak that was 6 1/2lbs but the size out there is just lacking. This past Wednesday was the worst one yet. Chris and I struggled to catch 6 bass combined. One smallmouth over 15" the rest were 13" or less. 7 boats, 14 anglers, 1 fish weighed in. It was the biggest largemouth I've seen from there in a while though, 4.44lbs and very healthy looking. I think with the water being low enough they can't get in the shoreline weeds they must pretty much all suspend and chase shad all summer, the certainly aren't cruising the shoreline

It is mainly a smallmouth lake but there is some largemouth in it. It's a lot like Milford in that it doesn't have many largemouth but when you get one it seems to usually be a pretty good one. My friend Jon who is going to be there caught one that was 5lbs 9oz out of there a year or two ago and I've caught them up to 4 1/2 pounds. Pretty much all the same things that work at Milford for smallmouth will work at Melvern. I'll put you down as a maybe.

Chris and I did the trifecta today, both Pleasanton city lakes and La Cygne. East lake was by far the best and it wasn't really that great. I did get a couple decent ones on a white war eagle. First one was 3.84 Second was 3.24 West lake wasn't nearly as good as it usually is, the wind was pretty rough though. We only fished La Cygne for an hour but it was everything I expected, 2 fish and one came off at the boat. On a positive note I am now at 2007 bass for the year

stained usually, you can probably see a bright white spinnerbait 2-3 feet down.

It's a pretty laid back thing. Basically I'm going to give each team an official scorecard before take off that they'll put their 5 longest bass on by the end of the day and turn it in to total up lengths. We measure to the 1/4" because I'm not good enough with fractions to do a bunch of adding up in the parking lot. You can fish anywhere in the lake, state rules apply. If you want to follow another boat around to BS back and forth that's fine as long as everyone involved is fine with it. I added everyone's names that I know to the list and updated the teams.

Yeah, probably just do it at the same state park ramp closest to the dam. A few guys have the year park permit on their vehicles so they don't have to pay, at least that way we aren't all having to get a day pass. It's a good ramp and pretty protected from the wind too.

You will need a day pass for the ramp, you pay at the self pay station as you enter the state park.

I may go somewhere in the morning until a little after lunch time tomorrow and I'll have an empty back seat if anyone is interested. Going to depend a lot on the wind whether I'm sitting in a boat or treestand in the morning