5 day fishing marathon (pic heavy and long winded)

[bluebasser86]

Jon and I just got back from our 5 days of White River/Bull Shoals/Beaver Lake fishing trip and I really have no idea where to start. We left around midnight Sunday night and got to the campsite on the river right as it was getting light out. We tossed up the tent and set up our gear real quick and staggered down to the river to toss a jerkbait at some trout. We both hooked up quickly and loss a couple fish apiece (an extremely common happening while we were trout fishing unfortunately). I finally got one to stick and after we landed it we realized we didn't have the camera so no picture of that one other than on my crappy phone. We went and got the camera and put our waders on and one of my first casts upstream a shallow shoal got popped by my first good brown of the trip.

They started generating so we decided to head to White Hole with the boat. There was fish everywhere and almost every cast we were getting follows, some of them were monsters but just couldn't get any commitment. I caught a couple more and then Jon got his only brown of the trip on a Vision 110.

When the sun got up high they stopped even chasing so we hopped to the lake. Wow the water was clear! We could see rocks in 25' of water and we were getting lots of follows on jerkbaits but very few actually eating. We tried several areas and baits with almost nothing to show for it when I decided to try a bait I'd heard about from another forum from guys who fish the lake a lot, a Keitech Swing Impact. If you don't have any, get some. I was fishing the 4" in electric shad and finally started getting thumped and hooking up with all 3 species of bass. Caught one of the biggest Spots I've ever caught at 3 1/2 pounds.

Of course I caught a big drum I thought was a big walleye They were smacking the Impact so I picked up an A-rig. First cast I got hit so hard I almost fell off the front deck when I set the hook. One of my bigger smallies of the trip actually got 2 of the baits in it's mouth.

Caught several more on the rig when a fish knocked slack in my line and I caught a 4.5lb largemouth, our biggest from Bull.

Got really tough from there with only a few more fish caught and very few bites. We went back to the river that night but nothing of any size wanted to play like we thought they would.
Day 2 we were greeted with cold temps and even colder rain but good water was running the river behind our campsite so we dropped the boat in and started fishing. One of my first fish of the day was a very surprising bass from a little slack water area off the main river. He wasn't built like a river fish at all.

Shortly after that little guy I had a big flash of gold behind my bait. He missed 2 more times before finally connecting and giving me one heck of a fight during which I was sure he'd get back to the log jam he came out of but he never made it. 5.62 pounds and 23.5" long made him my new PB brown, the first of several PB's that would fall this week.

No more browns but Jon did find this gal sitting around the end of the boat ramp. She liked him so much she made the trip home with him

We tried to go back to Bull and hit a different part of the dam area. On the way we spotted a small bait shop we decided to stop and check if they had more Keitechs because I only had a bag and a half left. When we got out of the truck I glanced at the trolling motor, the prop was gone! Even worse, so was the shaft! The prop was in the bottom of the boat with about half the shaft. Somehow it had broke the shaft and landed in the boat as we were driving down the road. Thankfully we had Jon's trolling motor (also a 70lb Maxxum) in the bed of my truck just in case of such and emergency. So we played pit crew with the crappy truck tools I had and switched the motors out in the "intermittent" rains that fell for about 6 hours straight. It was tough with the clear water but we still managed a few on an A-rig and Keitech. We both caught a nice smallie.

I finally managed a couple walleye, the one in my left was my new PB at 4.01 pounds. Both of them ate a Keitech slow rolled along the bottom.

Day 3 started terrible. We couldn't buy a brown on the river, barely a rainbow either. Guides came out of the wood work and we were tired of weaving in between boats so we packed up camp and headed down lake in search of dirtier water. Well we found that and we found shad, but very few fish. I think in 3 hours we caught 3 fish, all solid and healthy but not what we were looking for. The decision was made to pack it in and head to Beaver early so maybe we could find a little something to go off of the next couple days. When we got to the ramp I actually caught a fish my first cast with an A-rig.

Normally a kiss of death but not this time, this time it was just the beginning. We fished around the marina point to where some gulls were diving and just started to wear them out! Spots and largemouth mainly were chowing down on an A-rig and Scatter rap.


While we were enjoying the mayhem I glanced across the lake and saw what looked like boat wakes with shad flying all over. We hurried over and fired casts at the area and Jon hooked up! It was a long and careful fight because he had very light hooks but we managed to get her landed. 14.57 pounds is what his first ever striper and new PB went.


One of my next cast after the Stripers left resulted in the biggest largemouth of the trip at 6.30 pounds and 21.5" long.

Birds started diving behind us and I managed to get a striper to eat my Keitech, my first one ever and my new PB by default.

And we finished out the day with some super fat white bass.

Day 4 started off quickly with my first smallmouth at Beaver

and then another 5 pound largemouth knocked slack in my line at the same spot I got the 6.3 the day before.

It got tough from there though. At one point we'd probably gone 4 hours without a fish. We finally decided to try an area that we'd seen birds diving on earlier but we hadn't caught anything. Glad we did as I got a couple more stripers on an A-rig.


and Jon got a nice smallmouth on a jerkbait.

Jon spotted a red fox on the rocks in a nearby pocket. As we trolled closer we noticed a couple small animals running around near her, she had 3 little kits that came out and played while we watched and I took pictures and even a short video.

We fished a nearby island where we'd seen birds diving by. Didn't get anything at first but as we trolled down the bank I noticed a couple boils behind the boat near the surface. We both fired cast and Jon hooked up with a hard pulling fish on his jerkbait. It was a great fight with the fish burning off drag before I netted her. His hybrid sent the scale to 6.85 pounds and PB number 5 fell.

I finished off the day by catching one of the fattest spots I've ever seen.

Day 5 started bad. I lost my A-rig I'd been catching my fish on to a tomato cage? I got it up once but lost my grip and it sank and couldn't get it back but I did catch a nice bucket full of cement with a short piece of 2X4 sticking out with an eye bolt. Hooked to that was about 30 feet of barbed wire, which was hooked to another bucket just like the first. No idea why somebody would put that crap in the lake but it cost me my A-rig I did get somebody else's A-rig off the wire but it wasn't nearly as nice as the one I was throwing. We ran to the same area we'd caught a couple stripers and Jon got his wiper the day before. The striper guide boats packed in close made it pretty obvious something was going on. We started slow but once we got to the island I caught a couple smaller stripers and missed a couple more quickly. I was marking a ton of fish on the bottom so I fired a long cast and let it sink to the bottom. Not long after I started my retrieve it got hammered and I set into a very heavy fish that was giving me some huge head shakes. Suddenly my line went limp, I thought I'd lost it but as I cranked I started to feel weight again. I couldn't believe how fast that fish changed directions and came at the boat but it did and the fight continued. I was amazed at the combination of speed and power in the big fish and the adrenaline really started going when I got my first glimpse of her, she looked huge! I was worried because I was using pretty light jigheads and I could see at least one was already straightened out so I backed off and went easy on her and when the time felt right I eased her into the net . I had the shakes pretty bad but she registered 20.01 pounds and was 34" long.


We fished around the island some more and caught a couple more small stripers when they did what they do and disappeared. When we doubled back for a second pass Jon's rig got slammed by the boat and a fish scorched off some drag and hunkered down on the bottom. We both were sure it was another striper until we saw flashes of brown. Turned out to be a beautiful smallmouth that was 19.5" long and 4.51 pounds, Jon's new PB smallmouth.

We hit a couple more spots with little to show for it before we had to pack it in to hit the road home. We fished hard and had to work for the fish we caught this week but the quality more than made up for the occasional lack of activity. The only bad part about this week was I think we're both now hooked on striper fishing which is unfortunate since we have no lakes close by with stripers in them! If you've never been to any of these bodies of water I highly suggest you make the trip.

[joedog]

Clayton, thanks for the share.

Boy, crawling out of a tent to go fishing.......what great memories that brings back!

[bluebasser86]

Originally Posted by joedog

Clayton, thanks for the share.

Boy, crawling out of a tent to go fishing.......what great memories that brings back!

It was stumbling and shivering out of the tent really, 34 degrees one night and 36 the next made it a little chilly sleeping outside.

[kennethdaysale]

Excellent post-excellent pics-excellent fish. I hear you on the striper addiction. In the past 5 years I've lost 3 good fishing buddys to them, used to I could call them on a minutes notice, now they've switched boats/gears/venues entirely. We're surrounded by excellent striper water and they call me all the time wanting to go with them. After the first couple of times that I went I decided it was best for me not to go anymore.

On a side note....care to share a review/impression of the scatter rap?

[bluebasser86]

I did toss a Scatter Rap a bit with some decent results. It was fished up against a Spro Little John and LC 1.5DD which both failed to produce a strike. I believe I had around a dozen on my Smash colored Scatter Rap and my buddy Jon tossed it a bit when I put it down and caught a few more. Caught largemouth, smallies, and spots on it too and the fish that hit it crushed it.
Several healthy spots and largemouth ate it off the same point where they were chasing shad. I'd say that it was just because they were actively feeding but they wouldn't eat a jerkbait or a Little Jon at the same location at the same time so it wasn't just that they were feeding.
The spots seemed to be running into the bait more than they were eating it but the largemouths I caught were knocking slack in my line and choking the bait.
I ground the bait through a lot of rocks and over several laydowns and never lost the bill.
My final review, I like it. It isn't a magic bullet and I won't own them in every color or anything but certainly worth having a couple in your arsenal.

[nobass]

sounds like you 2 had a blast

[lilmule]

I use the Keitech 3.8 a lot,nice trip,nice fish,and the fox was an added bonus.
I came very close to buying a home near the white river,wife didnt want to move quite that far.

[WatterBoy]

Great report and pics, Clayton! Love all the details and stories that accompany the pics. Congrats on the new PBs for both of you. Sounds like you guys had a good time even if the weather was cold and rainy.

[bassinbob]

Very exciting pics and story. One of those wish I was there times.

[bcklash]

Very good report!!! Love the pictures.

[Jrob78]

Awesome trip Clayton! Looks like you guys had a blast!

[MallenManson]

Thanks for the great read, and pics!
You guys caught some real quality there!!!!

BTW...stay on them Stripers, they don't count in the Big Bass Contest

[CamG]

Congrats man! Looks like a great trip. I've never fished Bull or Beaver, but I plan too! You made me buy $100 worth of the Keitechs too...thanks alot. LOL

[Bassboss]

Great pics!! Who buncha fish yall got there for sure. Congrats!

[carolina-rig-01]

Man it looks like you guys had a great trip. I bet sleeping in the tent in the cold weather was worth it.

[66KingFisher]

Great story, and great pics....Looks like you guys had a blast....I understand they've got striper at lake Ouachita, which ain't to far from us, and I've been itchin to go try to find some on med/heavy bass tackle, but looking at your pics makes me think we might be outta our gourds using anything shy of heavy tackle or surf rods...lol

[bluebasser86]

Originally Posted by 66KingFisher

Great story, and great pics....Looks like you guys had a blast....I understand they've got striper at lake Ouachita, which ain't to far from us, and I've been itchin to go try to find some on med/heavy bass tackle, but looking at your pics makes me think we might be outta our gourds using anything shy of heavy tackle or surf rods...lol

I caught my first one on a ML spinning rod and it gave me all I wanted on that gear. I hooked it over 40' of water so I had plenty of room to work thankfully. All the rest were caught on either a 7' H with a 200D Citica with 20lb CXXtra strong or 7' 10" MH with a 300E Curado with 25lb C21.

[BigBassin144]

What a great adventure you guys had!

How'd you like that Scatter Rap? I love the concept, but after my poor experience with the quality of Rapala's DTs, I'm leery of spending that kind of money for their new balsa baits.

BB

[WatterBoy]

Originally Posted by BigBassin144

...

How'd you like that Scatter Rap?

...
BB

Besides the review of it he gave in post #5 of this thread, you mean?

[keithdog]

Great report and pictures. Your review of the Scatter Rap is the first I've read. I was very interested in obtaining a couple before, but now I am even more so. I wonder if Strike King will come out with their version of the Scatter Rap. Now THAT, I would definitely have to own!

[bluebasser86]

Originally Posted by BigBassin144

What a great adventure you guys had!

How'd you like that Scatter Rap? I love the concept, but after my poor experience with the quality of Rapala's DTs, I'm leery of spending that kind of money for their new balsa baits.

BB

I was having the same issue with it. I had a chance to buy some at the Classic but passed because I've had so many DT's break on me. I figured I'd try one in hopes that either Bull or Beaver would have a good crankbait bite at some point so I could test it. I caught several fish with it yesterday out of a local lake also and it's still holding up well.

[BigBassin144]

Originally Posted by WatterBoy

Besides the review of it he gave in post #5 of this thread, you mean?

haha, I must've missed that post.

Originally Posted by bluebasser86

I was having the same issue with it. I had a chance to buy some at the Classic but passed because I've had so many DT's break on me. I figured I'd try one in hopes that either Bull or Beaver would have a good crankbait bite at some point so I could test it. I caught several fish with it yesterday out of a local lake also and it's still holding up well.

Thanks for the second quick review in this thread, lol.

BB