FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

“SAVE OUR WATERS”

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The Wade Right Fishing Belt

Brought to you by

The Best Wading System on the  Planet.

After 6 days of hard fishing I am back at my brother’s in Fayetteville for a quick visit to see the parents.  And I must admit I am feeling it, especially in the right arm and shoulder, maybe a couple of zillion casts will do that.  And my hands are trashed.  But it was worth every ache and pain, it was so good to be back on my home waters.

The weather was cold, and cold and raining, and cold.  Only one afternoon when it got to 80 and there were severe storms was it “nice.”  But that was the point, When you try to time the pre-spawn bite it can be tough, and it was 50/50 on that.  But I caught fish every day, and we had a 50+ fish day on crankbait so who could complain about that.  Add a couple of hoss stripers, some walleyes, this trip goes down as a success.  Norfork Lake and Bull Shoals give a fisherman the chance to boat multiple species and I sure took advantage of that.

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 I was so impressed with the Knockin’ Tail Lure.  We boated some great smallmouth, largemouth, and even a striper.  As the bite changed with the weather the fish changed but we were able to catch fish on them everyday.  All I have to say is I have seen a lot of new baits come along and this may be in the top 5.  And the great reports coming in from folks who bought them at the Houston Fishing Show are a tribute to how good it is.  So no matter where you fish, or what you fish for, it will catch fish.  And there is no greater comment than that.

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Saturday

After the mayhem of the crankbait bite we could not resist going fishing Saturday.  The only hitch in the git along – it was raining buckets and the temp was 37 degrees.  The type of day Clyde and I have fished for decades.  In other words put on the big boy pants and go.  So after a 50+ fish day, they slacked off considerably.  Sorry there is no pictures but when I say it poured all day I am not kidding, it was a mini flood.  We probably “only” caught around 25 or so on louslures jerkbait, cankbait, and the Knockin’ Tail.  Nothing big, the severe cold front and rain had them off their feed, but being the knuckleheads we are we fished all day. It really was a lesson in how the weather affects pre-spawn fish, and I was not surprised. The result, we were soaked to the bone and freezing, but happy as 2 hard core lifelong fishermen could be.

Sunday

Before I get to the fishing time for a little story.  Traveling long distances to fish there is always the chance something will happen, and at 1:00 on the last day a minor disaster struck.  The starting battery went deader than a hammer on the boat.  Oops.  No way to get ready for that ahead of time.  So we took off a trolling motor battery and we were good to go, but then no trolling motor.  Plan all you want, and I do, and usually when I am somewhere without some support system I put the jumper cables in the boat, just forgot.  There is no such thing as over prepared on fishing travel.  We did a little trolling and finally called it a day.

The day started out 37 degrees and struggled to hit 40.  Add the light mist it was not a whole lot better than the day before.  The cold water coming in combined with the temp knocked them back even more, and at best we boated a dozen or so.

A couple from the last day.  Sure love catching smallmouth and Norfork has huge crappies!

The last couple of days fishing slowed down considerably, no surprise considering conditions.  But as I review the trip it was a big success.  Walleye, got some.  Big stripers smashing minnow baits at boatside, did that.  Who would not like a 15 – 20lb striper on the end of the line?  Giving the Knockin’ Tail and  louslures jerk bait a work out, both a success.  A great crankbait day, check.  Some really nice smallmouth, yahoo.  Eagles everywhere, gin clear water, beautiful wooded shoreline, it was all good. The only downside of the whole trip, no fly fishing for trout on the White or North Fork.  Both dams were running tons of water and that was definitely out.  But it is a real pleasure to fish both lakes, both multi-species factories.  All in a already planning my return.

Tomorrow is the 12 hour drive home (Dreading that.) and back to real life.  It was nice to not have TV for the week and no internet for half of it.  And thanks to Clyde for his hospitality.  It was great to save the resort cost and overall a cheap trip for the quality of the fishing.  Bull Shoals, Norfork, the White and North Fork Rivers, Crooked Creek, the Buffalo River, much less Beaver and Table Rock close that area is one of the great fishing destinations in the United States.  And it sure brought back the memories.  But all good things come to an end.  But one thing that does not, my fishing habit, and I am already planning on hitting the bay soon.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines