BoatSquirrel

The reason nobody has replied to your thread is nobody fishes prop baits anymore. Good for us as they surely catch fish. Covering water with a whopper plopper or a buzzbait has become much more popular— at least until somebody wins a big tournament on a prop bait. I prefer longer baits like a Devils Horse in prespawn then once summer gets here, smaller baits like a Crazy Shad.

I have seen pros pour a shot of Mtn Dew in a bleeding fish’s mouth so I gave it a try last time I had a bleeder. Supposedly the citric acid cauterizes the wound. Seemed to work. If nothing else, the fish will enjoy a delicious last drink!

Its the old Shimano/Daiwa battle—another for the Tatula 2500! Daiwa and Shimano employees must be like Redskins vs Cowboys fans. Raiders vs Broncos. Bama vs Auburn (without the tree killing hopefully.)

Just recently redid mine. Nixdorf’s post was very helpful. I used 3M high strength adhesive and stainless screws from your favorite orange or blue home center.

Yes sir—thats two of us on the dropshot pitch. I can pitch accurately to 20 yards and rarely need any longer.

Blue asks the important question here. An alberto/modified albright or fg knot should pass through your micro guides no problem. 10-20 lb braid to 6-10 fluoro leader for dropping by me.

LionHeart is correct. 3 seperate rods if you really want to be choosey.

I have 3 of their rods, Defy and ***. Decent sticks for the minimal amount I gave for them.

Whatsup with that? Has there been a bunch off bad feedback on these rods?

Thats another for a Tatula. T-Wing rocks.

The answer Sam gave is totally spot on. You could draw a guy who is a stick that is helpful, generous, and you have a great day and learn a ton. You could draw a complete jabroni who all they want to do is race their boat from one end of the lake to the other. A $150 crap shoot. Do bring life jacket, rain gear, lunch, and gas money. Do fish baits your boater is not, in water they are not fishing, as best as you are able. Do not get discouraged if you are not catching many. It only takes 1 to win big fish!

Good luck man- tip your guide!

MLF pro Michael Neal owns Dayton Boat Dock and tackle shop on Chick. They will probably be able to recommend someone. (423) 428-9090. It will be best if you can go during the week if they are not already all booked up. If so, try Guntersville. I know Rex Chambers guides there and is excellent, also Brent Crow. Most of these folks do not fish with live bait. https://m.facebook.com/DaytonBoatDockandGrill/ https://www.northalabamabass.com/smith-lake https://www.smithlakeguideservice.com/

2 more inches today in Middle TN. Old Hickory has been huge and brown since November. Spilling at Priest also. I always prefer high water to drought but this is rough.

Mitchell 300!

Oh man this could become a difficult decision. I am praying for crappy weather for that weekend. My beloved jerkbait bite is ON and should only get better as we get closer to the Classic. I am not interested in skipping a day on the water!

For those who have attended a Bassmaster Classic Expo, what can I expect? Are there super deals on tackle and equipment to be had? Is it worth a 3 hour drive and not fishing that weekend?

Rick Clunn just won $100K in the Bass Elite at St. Johns River on a junebug worm. I hear those things work ok.

Has everyone else seen guy paddling across the middle of the busy lake in low light conditions with no lights/flag and wondered how he was still alive? I am amazed some guys are brave enough to fish big lakes offshore in a kayak. Seems like riding a bike on an interstate. But hey, if thats where the bite is... I limit mine to small, less busy water.

Here in TN, its prime jerkbait time. Also a crankbait. In a month, hopfully, the topwater bite will have woken up!

PowerPro

Arkansas is a rather divergent topography with the NW of the state having deep,clear, highland reservoirs and the East and south much flatter, shallow water fishing. World class trout fishing in the White and Little Red Rivers. Good luck man!

Old school fish basket can be had on ebay for $5-$20. If there are turtles in the lake you are fishing, they will often eat fish off a stringer.

Welcome to the land of brown water and oxbow lakes sir. You need to read all you can about flipping. Its black/blue jigs and june bug Zoom Ol Monster worms for you—oh, and BarBQue! Welcome to the South!

While both make excellent fishing gear, Shimano gets the edge as they make the world’s finest bicycle components. Abu- no bicycle components whatsoever!