crappiepro

Back in the day, I used to have great success walking the shores of LOZ during the spawn catching limits of big crappie on a small bobber and jig. Is there any shore fishing opporunities (I don't mean fishing off a launch ramp) in MT, when crappie spawn is on - can you get to some of the coves on foot at the state parks, and are the banks "walkable" - I really don't have a boat suited to anything more than small stream fishing.

I have fished the lower gasonade and upper 2/3 of bourbouse my whole life. Mostly fall/winter plugging fior bass and the stray crappie or walleye. I expect my grandather was first person to fish the bourbouse with (primative) baitcasters and artifical lures in the 20's and 30's, I also have spent a lot of time wading bourbouse tribs fishing for bass, goggleye, and perch. don't get to spend much time fishing anymore, and bourbouse is but a shadow of it's former self due to filling in. I now spend a lot of fishing time fishing lower meremac and a couple old quarries of the meramac for crappie.

lower gasconade used to be great for bass, crappie, and hog walleye and sauger. Once in about '92 3 of us caught over 80 walleye/sauger in 1 day (admitteldy half were "cigar size" but did catch 5 walleye over 5 pounds (biggest 8.5) and probably 20 sauger over 3 pounds. many. many limits of walleye and sauger back in early to mid 90's. But everything I hear now is that is just overrun with asian carp. When missouri was up, it was nothing to go up first or second creek and get a limit of 13-15" crappie.

when I was a kid, 40 years ago, we caught a lot of walleye on the bourbouse, incidental to fall bass fishing - never a bunch in any one day, but it wasn't to uncommon to catch a couple in a day of plug fishing (along with lots of bass and big crappie)

I grew up on the bourbouse, I expect my grandfather was the first person to fish the bourbouse with artifical lures in the 20's and 30's. The river has changed/filled so much in my lifetime it is unbelievable, and from what my dad and grandpa told me, it was a totally different river until the 40's and 50's - all the holes were deep, there were just short riffles - now it's miles of gravel bars and the otters have hurt what is left really bad. I have many old pictures of unbelievable strings of fish from way up around mint spring and aurthur springs down to tea, including a lot of deep water fish like drum and walleye that are now probably only found in the last few miles of the river. All that said, it is still good bass river in the fall.