pbrussell

It certainly gets very shallow toward the upper end. I've fished there once but didn't have much luck. Thanks for the pointer Chris.

Bass Resource obviously is not just a forum, although many of us who post here might forget that. I'm not sure about you all, but I often find myself sneaking over to the article section from time to time. Powers that be, allow me to cut to the chase. Those who have written articles for bass resource before, please also chime in. I studied the english language in college, and I love to write. However, I also very much love to fish. It seems to make a good deal of sense to me combine those passions in a more formal way. I'd love to become more involved here, and if possible, would love to write articles for this site. Since I don't necessarily have any real established relationships here with the moderators or admins, I'd love it if someone could point me in the right direction to make this idea a reality. Regards, -PBRussell

I'm talking about cedar creek I think it's called. It's about a 400 acre lake.

Hmm, that lake in garnett doesn't have high winds in the forecast either. Decisions, Decisions.

I was planning on going to melvern tomorrow. However, my forecast has 15-20 mph winds, with 30mph gusts in the forecast down there. NO THANKS. Looks like I'll try and hit a smaller, more wind protected lake tomorrow. Not altogether sure where that'll be yet though.

Jerkbaits...

I don't normally post fishing reports in this section because I typically don't have much to brag about. However, I did get my first trifecta sunday and I feel like that is something worth talking up if at least just a little. I also lost what wouldve been my pb smallie at the boat. Sometimes, that's how it goes. I did a little unhappy dance on the boat after losing her (stopping around like a peg-legged pirate). If there were any observers around, I'm sure they would've laughed. Most of the fish wanted either a weighted wacky senko, or craw colored crankbaits. I did catch a couple of smallies at or around 3 pounds. Lake Melvern is a hot spot for the kansas city folks, and rightfully so. Now, some fish pictures!

My friend, you really know how to take care of business. Always fun to hear about how you destroyed em.

I wouldn't say this is completely true...

Go ahead and rub it in

I was wondering if any of you have fished the bandit 300 series. I need a smaller crank that can get down to the 10-12 foot range, and these are generally hard to come by. The 300 fits the bill. My question regarding the bait, is how wide is the wiggle, comparatively speaking to other baits? (shad rap/most rapala cranks being a tighter wobble and the strike king pro series being on the wider end of the spectrum.)

I did catch one by the marina. However, I caught 3 or 4 in the little cove just west of the ramp we launched out of last week. Fish were piled up on top of each other at the end of the pier that protects the swimming area. Every fish I caught there was a spot, and sadly, I lost one that felt like a very nice one. Thankfully I didn't see her.

Back to melvern I went today. Tried my darndest to figure out a jerkbait out there. Couldn't make it happen. So, after about 2 hours of discouragement I switched to some baits I have more confidence in. Spots wanted weighted wacky rig senko baits. Smallies wanted crankbaits. Kvd 1.0, and wiggle warts in craw patterns were the ticket. Ned rig picked up some smaller fish. I had what would have EASILY been my pb smallie hop off at the boat on a DT10. She was hooked on the outside of the mouth instead of the inside and just decided to come off as I reached down to grab her. We'll just say she was 4 and call it a day. The largemouth I caught came on a little of everything. (Wacky rig, crank, think I had on on the ned too.) Biggest fish of the day was a 3 lb smallie, with another just shy of 3. Caught a number of fish around 2.5 as well. It was a fun day.

This is why we fish. Congrats, applause to you, and any other string of compliments you can string together are due to you. Now, it's time for me to get one over 4! I have a way to go to work up to 7.

The outside right now. It sucks.

Worked the jerk tonight at a pond, and caught 5. Took a while for me to get the hang of things. It's starting to click a little.

Ok. Here comes a technical question. What hook treble size would you suggest buying for 4 1/2" bait, and the smaller 3-3/4" inch bait?

I didn't end up splurging or anything, especially since I don't know how to fish one yet. I'm a short guy, so I ended up getting a BPS 6ft bionic blade, medium action. Also, got a BPS Johnny morris carbon light reel, 6.4:1 ratio. It helped that both items were on sale/clearance. Lastly, bought a couple of rc stix to round out the package.

Broke down and bought a new combo to fish a jerkbait today. Looks like I'm in deep now.

Well that settles it I suppose. I guess I'll go back out (weather permitting) with a box of jerkbaits, a couple of rods, and nothing else. That'll make me learn.

Yeah, I want to head out there, but only with someone who can teach the ways of the jerk.

Trying to decide between goin back to melvern this weekend to learn a jerkbait, or going to nebo to hunt for some donkeys.

Woops, forgot the fish picture. Here it is.

My team could only manage to scrounge up a measily 77 inches in comparison to everyone elses near 90 inch numbers. We had trouble getting on the consistently larger smallies everyone was catching. Part of the reason for that was neither of us were good at throwing a jerkbait. However, we ground it out till the finish and still ended up with a five fish limit (all largemouth by the way). I think for my next trip I'll hit melvern again, or a different lake where jerkbaits work well and only bring two rods, and my jerkbait box. That'll probably force me to stick with it until I learn the ropes. "jerk jerk pause" just isn't good enough advice for me apparently. At any rate, here was our big fish of the day caught on a shadrap. I had a great time meeting some new folks, and seeing some old faces. Next time, wherever we hold the thing, I plan on being more of a competitor just so long as it's not at perry .

Time to catch some clams, rocks, and if it's still raining, a cold.