Howdy,

Jim and Dave were out this past weekend battling the bass and the boaters! Here's what Jim reports and hey you idiots take a boating lesson before you hurt yourself or worse yet some one that knows what they're doing! And keep your trash in your boat!

Jim writes:

Dave had a very good weekend with the bass. These were the two biggest, but he also had other very nice fish. Most of the bass came on worms. We did troll up a double on crank baits, and missed some fish on weightless worms. We couldn't get hook sets on the weightless worms.



After Dave left I took another big bass in the rain that he left for us. Didn't get the camera out since it was raining and I didn't want to risk damaging the camera. For the first time in a couple of years we found some bass on my little point and we also took some bass on Dick's favorite point.

Tried to find suspended bass up in the ski area, but only had one that came unbuttoned and a couple of hits that never connected. Fished several shore lines, but our best success was on points.

Saturday evening was a big boat traffic night and not pleasant. Both Friday and Saturday night we had idiots going between us and the shore as we were fishing. Pontoons and jet skis both acted like true idiots and we cleaned out a bunch of beer cans from the lake each day since the idiots decided that the lake was a trash can.

Rained here last evening and last night. Looks like more is in store for today. Probably helps the garden, but I can't mow the hay field, er yard.

I need tips on setting the hook on unweighted worms. If you let the bass run they get into the weeds and drop it. We tried Texas rigs and Tex-posed hooks with no success either way.

Well, good job Jim and Dave. Does anyone out there have any tips on how to hook a bass using a non-weighted worm??

Crappie fising continues to be slow and what I mean by slow is maybe 6 crappie per outing and you have to go to 6 different spots or 1 fish per spot and no by going to 12 spots doesn't mean you get 12 fish. For some reason 6 is the best you can do per outing.

Bluegill fishing is going gonzos! The fish are in the pockets in the back of the bays and coves as they prepare to spawn. Tie a cork on and a small hook baited with a cricket or meal worm and take a kid fishing.

Hey! I got another 24 foot single slip dock for sale!!! 4 foot plus decking all around!!! Brand new, never been in the water. Call or email me at 314-614-9290 or mikeo@ubetchaoutdoors.com.For current water conditions click on the HOME button or http://www.ubetchaoutdoors.com/

Fish On!
Mike O.
UBetcha Outdoors

Howdy!

Bass continue to spawn. With most fish on the beds and others are off and moving into their summer patterns. Rubber presentations such as worms, lizards and jigs are doing the best.

Crappie fishing is very slow. The spawn is over and some fish are being caught. Jigging while slow trolling in front of the weeds is working the best.

It hasn't rained for 3 days and they are not predicting any rain until Friday (small chance) and Sunday (better chance). Winds should be mild. Temperatures are moving into the 8O's. Jim's brother-in-law Dave is coming down, so are the Bakers, so the mild weather forecast is tentative at best

Hey! I got another 24 foot single slip dock for sale!!! 4 foot plus decking all around!!! Brand new, never been in the water. Call or email me at 314-614-9290 or mikeo@ubetchaoutdoors.com.For current water conditions click on the HOME button or http://www.ubetchaoutdoors.com/

Fish On! Happy Memorial Day!
Mike O.
UBetcha Outdoors

Howdy!

The wind blew and the roofs flew! We had sustained gust of 98 miles per hour on Friday. The towns of Carbondale through Marion were devastated. A lot of homes and business are still without power today. Around the lake the damage is minimal. The north end of the lake was hit the worse with some power outages lasting until Tuesday.

Bass are spawning with some fish on the beds and others are off and moving into their summer patterns. Rubber presentations such as worms, lizards and jigs are doing the best. Jim landed many bass over the past 3 days including a 7 and a 5 pounder!

Crappie fishing is slow. The spawn is about over and some fish are being caught. Jigging while slow trolling in front of the weeds is working the best followed by casting a float and jig combination around brush and right up against the shore.

Water conditions are cloudy at best. It continues to rain every other day and last week Friday we got a lot of it. We are expecting severe wind all day and storms later this evening.

Hey! I got another 24 foot single slip dock for sale!!! 4 foot plus decking all around!!! Brand new, never been in the water. Call or email me at 314-614-9290 or mikeo@ubetchaoutdoors.com.For current water conditions click on the HOME button or http://www.ubetchaoutdoors.com/

Fish On! And hold onto your hat!
Mike O.
UBetcha Outdoors

Howdy!



My boat is fixed! As it turns out the carburetor springs were bad. I noticed the weak springs when I cleaned the carburetor last month. Instead of replacing them I wound them up tighter. The probable cause for failure is weak springs that were wound too tight causing the springs to slip. It was just waiting for the right circumstances to fail. As luck would have it my brother was driving in reverse at the time it failed. I'm just glad no one was hurt. If it had failed in forward Charlie may have been severely injured as the boat slammed into the trailer and or shore. And Charlie was right about my trolling motor failure. It was the brand new battery. I returned the battery and got a new one in exchange no questions asked. And as far as Charlie breaking Jim's trolling motor release latch, as it turns out that was my fault as well. If I had fixed the carburetor springs instead of over winding them they wouldn't have failed while Charlie was driving the boat, putting Charlie into a state of mental trauma, causing him to break Jim's trolling motor! Jim, the part is on order and I expect delivery next week.



Now for a fishing report. Bass are spawning with some fish on the beds and others are off and moving into their summer patterns. Rubber presentations such as worms, lizards and jigs are doing the best. Yesterday I noticed a few bass exploding on shad or other bait fish near the surface in the mouth of a main channel cove. So keep one rod in the boat rigged with a swim bait.



Crappie fishing is slow to good. The crappie are in the middle of their spawn as well. Jigging while slow trolling in front of the weeds is working the best followed by casting a float and jig combination around brush and right up against the shore. The float should be set at 3 feet and use a medium retrieve pausing every so often. Red and chartreuse tube jigs are hard to beat and I'm sure minnows work as well.



Water conditions are unbelievably good. We've had rain every other day for the past 10 days and yet the water has cleared to the point that I could see a washer I dropped while working on a dock at 5 feet deep. It is raining as I'm writing.



Turkey hunting has moved into it's fifth and final season. My brother-in-law Chuck killed a nice tom this past Saturday and a good friend Mike (Arlen's son) killed his fourth tom with a bow on Sunday. So now I owe you 3 turkey stories. Hunting is over until dove season which opens September, 1.

Hey! I got another 24 foot single slip dock for sale!!! 4 foot plus decking all around!!! Brand new, never been in the water. Call or email me at 314-614-9290 or mikeo@ubetchaoutdoors.com.For current water conditions click on the HOME button or http://www.ubetchaoutdoors.com/

Fish On! Sorry Charlie! (Mom made me apologize)
Mike O.
UBetcha Outdoors