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Let me reiterate I’ve never caught fish in September and early to Mid-October like I have this year. Today they were back on the channel swing Locations with the wind, 15’ to 35 feet completely thru the water column. Caught them on a flutter spoon and a 2.8” Keitech in Gizzard Shad. About 10 am they went to the bottom and we started dragging a 1/2oz. FB jig. They simply ate it up. Since Bo has passed I can get away with strolling the FB jig. This time of year that technique is deadly. Neighbor and I had so many 15” to 17” K’s today it was insane. Don’t know if you follow Eric Olliverson but that dude is hammering them. Walleye, K’s and Jaws. Looks to me like he is fishing the dam. I know he has been taking 3 trips a day. If you want to get healed in a hurry and see where they live. I’d see if he has an opening. I know he is mostly fishing crawlers to catch that many walleye, but regardless it would be a total blast. Surface temp at Shell Knob was 77 when we put it on the trailer with 6-8 ft. Visibility. If they’re not on the swings in the morning we’ll go back to the piles and lay downs. The-wind helped us today.

Caught this little guy on a size 16 scud. I think a male brookie is by far the prettiest fish in our local rivers, just wish they were a bit bigger.

Lots and lots of folks are telling me they just will not bite from point 9 to Campbell Point. I was out to prove them wrong today. Launched out of Baxter at 6:50. It was still pretty dark. I fished the Big and Little Indian a bit and then headed down stream a bit and then up towards CP. Spent 3.5 hours, deep, shallow brush piles and every thing I could think of and never had a single bite. Nothing else to do today, I’m retired. I headed to the White above Shell Knob. One of Bill Becks favorite saying was when bass fishing it’s not necessarily what your using but where your using it. Got above the Kings River and it was a totally different world. Was going to start on a long flat point with a pile on it in about 18’. Stopped the boat in 50’ and when I dumped the troller in the scope and the 2D just flat blacked out. Solid shad from the surface to about 35’. I fished a 200 yard flat point for 4 hours and I’m simply toast. The entire area was just covered with bait and fish. Huge balls of shad with holes in the middle with bass by the dozens in the shad schools, just incredible. Spoon and a fluke. Good buddy said they had been hitting it better than a swim bait and he was right. I could not get them to touch a Keitech or a C-tail. If they were within 15’ of the surface I’d use the fluke. If they were deeper, the Dixie Jet. Have no idea on totally fish, I would have needed a clicker. I’m guessing 20 plus keeps. Best fish a 3 pound LM. Surface temp at 77.8 both in and out. 5’ to 8’ visibility. I brought a school of fish out of one of the shad balls and there were at least 30 in it. They buzzed around the boat no more than 2’ to 5’ deep and gobbled every shad the one I had hooked spit up. It was insane. My boat looks I was netting shad for cat fishing. It’s a really good mess. By far the best September and October I’ve had on the Rock in 50 years and that’s a lot of fishin. On another note, they ain’t bitin between Point 9 and Campbell Point.

Waded at the C&R area this morning and had a good morning. Lots of guide boats up there the last few days as they are getting their licks in before the area closes for 3 months for the brown trout spawn starting Nov 1. I have been seeing some redds with rainbows active on them, but no browns yet. Best flies today were a tandem egg rig and then a single grey scud in size 16. Here are the 2 best ones from this morning.

Now that the weather has cooled off, I like to get out now and then and walk the bank and fish. With the water level at 1120 there are miles of bank around the lower lake you can walk and fish. No boat to tow and mess with, just need one rod and some ned baits. I banked a couple of keeper sized smallies on the ned and had a couple get off. They were off the bank a bit in 15 FOW or so. Hard fighters on the light rod. Pulling drag and jumping. Should get better as things get colder.

Rick's I.G.F.A. record still holds. Happy 20th anniversary, honey! Oct. 3, 2005 - Oct. 3, 2025 HQ <hq@igfa.org> Mon, Aug 25, 9:17 AM to me Hello Sandy, Rick’s record still stands. Here is the link https://igfa.org/member-services/world-record/common-name/Trout,%20brown Also: Regards, Don Keller Membership Fulfillment Manager International Game Fish Association 300 Gulf Stream Way Dania Beach FL 33004 954-927-2628 dkeller@igfa.org

I was out today myself, up the White. They were biting up there too. Not the quality you had however, but I caught close to 40 bass and a walleye. Only one keeper. Had some bad luck on the keeper sized fish, lost several. The 90 size plopper was my best bait, lots of shad chasers, spitting up one inch shad. I caught some on jigs and the c-rigged craw too. I had a lot of fish miss that plopper today, some jumped right over it, others would hit it 4 or 5 times, finally get hooked, then come off. I had a LOT of action today. I don't think I caught one out any deeper than 15 feet. I'd go again tomorrow but have an appt. with the tooth doctor. Last 2 fish of the day, a double. Hooked the little guy and was skimming him across the water and he got blown up on 3 or 4 times before his beefier buddy got hooked.

Had a good morning with lots of rainbows, 4 brookies and 1 average size brown. I hooked this nice male rainbow in 1 foot of water and had quite a time getting him into the net on 6x tippet. At one point he ran under a downed tree and I could see him on the other side. I kept steady pressure on him and finally worked the line from under the tree and got him out. He hit a size 14 scud. Also caught a few on a crackleback and some on egg patterns. Here is the rainbow and a pretty male brookie...

SWPA reduced the flows to 1 unit starting this morning, which opens many wading opportunities. I went to the state park had a good morning with lots of rainbows, a few brookies, 1 cutthroat and a couple browns. A purple crackleback worked early and then I switched to a grey scud under an indicator and started getting some larger trout. There were lots of boats out today and a few other waders. Here's the best ones this morning...

I fished vicariously through Field and Stream/Outdoor Life as soon as I could read. Asked for and got a spincast outfit for Christmas when I was nine. Rode my bike down to a little creek on the edge of town. Caught two bullheads. Took them back home and my grandmother helped me clean them and cooked them for my lunch. I don't think I have a sweeter fishing memory - and after searching the memory banks I'm sure. Thanks for a good topic Mr. Ness.

That's right. Forest Park has a stream that most wouldn't consider capable of being fished. I only caught green sunfish ans a couple times bluegill, but it was a great way to spend the day. The foam fly is one I tied and have had tremendous luck with. The spinner was just a fun creation that has done well. Literally a piece of stainless wire trying to mimic a mini rooster tail. The crick hopper is a temu special. I got a multi pack for less than a single at Walmart. I caught many more, but took pictures of these. I had a ton of snips, that I just coukd not get fast enough reaction time to set the hook. It got almost frustrating. LOL.

I don't know if these were my first fish but I do remember catching bluegill and small bass from a.community pond at my aunt's place in Fishkill NY. We would only get out there once or twice every couple of years. That pond had the most aggressive bass. So much so that I would go thru my tackle box and try lures that I hadn't caught fish. If I couldn't get a bite in the pond I would just toss those lures🤔😉. In the late summer trips the bats would be thick and they would dive bomb our baits. I do remember catching my first brown trout in CT on a rooster tail when I was 10 or 11. I know that I have told this story before. My first fly caught fish was a fallfish from a creek in the Poconos when I was 21. I was fishing a Caddis and lost sight of my bait. I made my back cast and the fish went sailing past my head and landed on the bank behind me🤣.

I was thinking about my first time fishing today, and thought I'd share the story. Like most of us, it was on a farm pond. But not just any farm pond... My great great great grandfather Samuel arrived in Johnson County, KS around 1868 and started an 80 acre farm. That farm stayed in the family through at least WWII, but then was sold. My uncle repurchased the farm in the 1960s and that's where I fished for the first time. I don't remember a lot about that trip or the fish, but I'm sure it was a little bluegill that I caught. We stayed there a few times, and us kids really loved it. Mom not so much. Here's a Google Earth of the farm and pond today: That square white building is the barn we all played in, and that was a ton of fun for us city kids. My uncle kept the farm for several years, but it was eventually sold. At some point the old farmhouse burned and now it's a hodgepodge of metal buildings. But the barn looks the same, except for having a little tilt to it. SO...what's the story on YOUR first fish?

10-4-25 Son Steve and I fished the HSD out of Campbell Point it is the longest running Bass Tournament in the country. This was its 57 th. Consecutive year. 39 boats this year. We came in 5 th. Stringer 10.14 and 5th. Big bass 3.9. 15.02 won the derby and 3.14 was big bass. It’s 6 fish so that’s why it didn’t take a kicker. There is absolutely no more fun I could possibly have than fishing with Steven in this event that helps the SK Chamber. Fantastic steak dinner afterwards and thousands of dollars in donated giveaways. I probably blew it for us as far as winning by just watching Steve catch fish. We stayed on our first location for 2.5 hours as I netted 24 fish for Steven and not a single keeper. The channel Swings up the Kings River are simply loaded with fish and I’ve been catching some nice 15” to 17” on them but yesterday they just would not hit the mark on the board. No dad is leaving a location when their kid is catching fish like that no matter what the size. He was having a BLAST. Surface temp when we started was 79 and at 4 when we weighed in it was 83. That’s warm water and there were boats everywhere. The wake boats ran us off the deep bite as we were taking waves over the side, glad it did as we didn’t have a fish in the livewell. At 9:45 Steve put the 3.9 in the boat on a Texas rig worm out of a brush pike and we did that the rest of the day to catch our 5. We each lost 2 keepers so we easily could have had our 6. Steve had a really nice LM jump twice and go back down in a pile and we lost it. Probably just about like his 3.9 and I did not fish clean at all. I back lashed 2 reels spooning deep fish and accidentally hit the release button TWICE. If you say you haven’t done that I don’t believe you. But twice in one day SHEEEE! I also had 2 solid keeps jump off so totally my fault. We caught in excess of 50 fish yesterday and if it had been Father’s Day I could not have had a better present. Homer Sloan Bass Buddy Tournament is always the first Saturday in October. It is FUN. If there is anyway you can come next year with a family member or a good buddy, you will make memories. Please join us for this wonderful Table Rock, Shell Knob event. Good Luck.

I don't remember the first fish I landed and touched. I do remember the first fish I was supposed to catch. My brothers took over the fight. It was on my Zebco 202 combo in Boathouse Lake at Carondalet Park in St Louis City. I baited it with corn, casted it, and failed to pay attention. A guy that was older than us saw the take, and frustratingly alerted us. I started to reel it in, my brothers forced their way to take over. I may have been 8 or 9. It was a common carp. We took it home. That's about 45 minutes to an hour walk through the city. Then our parents wanted nothing to do with it. LOL. We were told to cook it on the barbecue pit. 3 boys who probably never started a (controlled) fire at this point. We (they) butchered that fish. Still had random scales and bones when it was placed over the fire. I cant remember the taste. But the texture was not for me. LOL. I've had carp since, and it was good.

I can't tell you which one was my first. I do have memories of fishing or being with my dad or grandad. My dad got out of the navy, went to school at Wichita State, and worked nights at the post office. He'd fish every once in a while, no boat, so local rivers and streams. He'd drag me along, I wanted to go and mom was probably happy to see us both out of the house to give her some peace and quiet. Once he was fishing the Arkansas river with me in tow. I wasn't fishing, but was there with him. The Arkansas was low at the time, lots of braids with some pools and generally a sandy river bottom and banks. I remember he was fishing a pool on a side channel that had a steep bank on the other side. That steep bank had some small holes in it. All of a sudden out of one those holes a snake shot out like an arrow right at us. I was maybe 4 years old at the time and that snake looked pretty big to me. I took off running and so did my dad. That's about all I remember, but I'll never forget it. I have never seen a snake do that again to this day.

Me and the wifey made it over to Hochatown for a date night, and i got a little fishing in this afternoon. Super windy, but managed to catch a few on a black and olive woolly bugger. Got one little guy on a crackleback after reading some of netboy’s White River reports.😁👍

the upper end was awarded with new signage - very easy to understand here is the first one up at the first outlet - the locals know it as chute 1 this one is at the outlet above the pavilion this one at the boat ramp this is the one other side - the first downhill parking - known as power pole parking on the other side at the bottom - rocking chair parking spot it was all made possible because this sign was still on the pole at TROPHY RUN :

If it’s OK with you guys, we’re gonna go ahead and design the shirts and put our logo on it as a sponsor and then give the shirts away to you guys. No charge. Let me know if that’s OK.

SWPA has been running 1 full unit every morning for the last few weeks. This makes for some great wading opportunities for the entire of day around the Cotter/Rim Shoals areas. I am starting to see a few fish active on redds and the fish holding below them are waiting on the eggs. I had a good morning today with lots of rainbows including these 3 nice ones. A size 16 chartreuse egg pattern worked best but also caught a few on cracklebacks and scuds.

You could take all I know about fishing Table Rock, put it in a 1 gallon milk jug and still have room for the gallon of milk. Yesterday was a good example. I’m looking for a few bigger fish than I’m currently catching on channel swings, so I started checking deep trees, docks and conservation piles The fish were set up so differently than I had ever seen. Piles, multiple limbed cedars held crappie and gills. The gills were in the piles or inside the limbs of the cedars and the crappie were sitting directly on top, or on the up stream top sides of the cover. If crappie or gills were present there were no bass You saw my pictures of the gills Becky caught a couple of weeks ago, these were just as big as those. Caught 4 on an A-rig Caught 6 crappie, they were just giants also on an A-rig. Most all at 15’ to 22’ suspended over depth. Bass were on either pole timber or sparsely limbed big trees, locked right on the limbs or trunks at that same 15’ to 22’ range over depth. You could count everyone of them on LiveScope and if there were multiple fish they would bite. If they were singles nada. I had never seen this type of separation between the species before or how different they were relating to structure. As far as the docks, there were smaller gills stacked under the docks I checked. Not many crappie and very few bass. The bass mostly were suspended on the dock anchor cables and again if there were just one or two they had no appetite. If there were several I could trick one or two. They were not schooled on the cable they were stair stepped along it No biggins but I learn something new every time I turn on the LiveScope.

My first was in the womb when my mom’s water broke. Still prefer river fishing today 😆

I have been fishing or going along on trips since I was 3, so my memory is pretty foggy. I remember a few fish I caught that would have to be quite close to the beginning, but it's unclear which is actually the first. I can tell you the exact moment I got hopelessly hooked on fishing. It wasn't even a fish I caught. My brother had been watching a fishing show, and told my dad that the weeds along the bank are where the pike lived. My dad said that this was a trout lake, and he'd do better casting out deeper past the drop-off. My brother cast his spinner along the weedline anyway and caught what was probably a tiny pike, but looked huge to us. Something about the big scary teeth and the fish not being where the Grown Ups said they would be captured my imagination. The sense of mystery that moment left me with has stayed with me more or less ever since.

Had another good day with lots of nice rainbows and a few brookies. No cutties or browns this morning. Caught a few on the purple crackleback early and then switched to a scud. When the scud slowed down, I tied on an egg pattern and did pretty good with that. Here's a few of the better ones... biggest was 23".

We could donate to CAM. Home | CAM - Taney County

Hope this worked. Thanks for the tip Quil!

Decided to come down for the YETI Open last weekend. I dont have much experience on table rock in the fall other than one trip back in college in 2019 and the OMTT Championship in 2023. The OMTT championship is at the rock in 2026 so this is my "pre-practice" I guess. In my limited experience there had been a strong jig bite deep for smallmouth and on docks for largemouth and a decent swimbait/topwater bite. Friday we put in at Mill Creek ad started the day flipping docks. Saw some bigger ones follow the jig to the bottom on scope but only caught small keepers. Looked for fish on bait but never found it. Finished the day fishing a jig deep and catching a smallie a little over 3 lbs which may have been a small check but not worth the run back to long creek for maybe $100. Had 13-14 lbs for our best 5 but no ones big enough for a big bass event. Saturday put in at Eagle Rock as I'd never been that far up the white. Found a bunch of fish on bait and caught em. Probably 30 keepers. Again biggest 3 lbs and just not worth going and weighing. Caught a couple flipping but no bigs both bushes and docks. In the afternoon found fish on bait and threw the kitchen sink at em and literally caught 1. They would race up to the bait and not bite. Tried a swimbait, damiki, spoon, topwater. They would interact with all the baits and just not bite. Multiple big fish too. Tail between our legs put in at Mill Creek and stuck a jig in our hands all day. Dragging points and flipping docks. Caught a 2.84 smallmouth and I weighed at 10:05 which got nothing in the 10-11 slot but would've got a check in the 9-10 slot. Broke one off on a dock cable that was well over 4 probably in the 5 lb range. Disappointed in the results but definitely learned alot. I think all the rain and run off hurt my planned deep bite and I did not pivot near quick enough. I started a youtube channel the beginning of this fishing season and the like to the 3 days of fishing is below. If you like that kind of content I'd appreciate a subscription. Its free and helps me grow. I post a lake of the ozarks fishing report every week and try to have another fishing vid up every week as well and its mostly local adventures. https://youtu.be/GhX6KGIkaYA?si=o7MG6TIAFf3qQ80z

Got out for 3 hours this morning and all the channel swing fish are GONE. Looked like a waste land. Steven and I last weekend caught fish out of piles so after I wasted an hour on the deep fish, I started on the downed logs and piles It was surprisingly really good. Caught about 20 with 5 keepers. Never lost a fish, but no monsters either. Everything was old school Texas Rig 7” worm with the hook buried. Surface temps at 75 this morning and still the same when I jerked out the tub. Quite a few fishermen out of both the SK ramp and Viola today. Here is the type of stuff I fished today. Lots of lay downs and some limbs that property owners toss in. Fish on really every location, but only had a couple of hours to poke around. 6’ to 15’ was ideal. Good Luck

So, I had a great idea. I’d solo canoe the lower Strawberry River. I’d do a 4.4 mile stretch and walk 2.25 miles back to my truck at the end of the day. I’d start my float about 10 am and come off the water at 4 pm. Walk to the truck and drive back to the boat. Load up and get home about 7 pm. Easy peasy. a lot of stuff for one guy. About to push off. Everything looked so good and had so much promise, but the fish were kinda meh. I love this place, but it ain’t easy. I caught a few small spotted bass. I lost as many as I caught. I needed a trailer hook on my Spinnerbait, but this one ate a streamer. I saw some small bites. I flipped a size 20 over there and got a tiny Mooneye. I also got a couple micros I need to ID and some Mississippi Silversides. I reached a big deep pool and saw a fish feeding in a little pocket where water dropped off a shallow shelf. I could see the fish gulping at the surface. I wasn’t 100 % certain what it was, but I knew I wanted to catch it. I was considering putting on a cicada fly, but it dropped sub surface so I grabbed my 6 weight with a zig jig on it. I was stripping line and I tossed a few feet to the right to check distance before I dropped on my prime spot. I threw the dang thing in the clown’s mouth. It got eaten as soon as it hit the water. I was tight to a sea monster. I tried to pay attention and not snap the rod by high sticking it. I really leaned on That fish. I wanted to see what it was. I got it leadered a bunch, but I could only see it was LARGE. Finally saw it was a grass carp. A big one. I had no net so I had to beach it. First I had to one hand the boat to the beach area and then convince the fish to go that way. toad.36 inchesI was right to be worried about my hook. so, I was looking at a map on my phone, but it was NOT a Satelite image. I thought I was on schedule and I got to my “spot” 10 Minutes ahead of schedule. The only problem is that wasn’t actually the take out. I still had a long way to go. Then I hit a logjam that I had to portage around. It was exhausting and took about 15 minutes. I had quit fishing about 3 pm trying to get to the take out for 4. As it was I didn’t get to the actual takeout until 5 pm. A smooth hour late. Once at the takeout, I got to hump my gear up this hill. It sucked. But no time to feel sorry for myself. I had 2.25 miles to walk. I got my cardio on. 17 minute miles with heart rate about 136 for 40 minutes. Man, I was really Happy to see my truck. I loved my day until 3 pm. I was a little disappointed with numbers of fish I caught, but some memorable fish were caught. I’m dumb enough to do it again.

The first "fishing trip" I remember wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. My Gpa Tom was raised north of what is now Johnson's Shut -Ins so we would go there on occasion. The men were talking going fishing and me being a 6-7 year old kid thought that we'd get our limited fishing gear at the time and enjoy a family outing. This is going back several years ,but I remember it was strange that nobody had any fishing equipment but had gigs and 22 rifles. I don't recall anyone "catching" anything but do recall one black snake that caught my attention. At that age , the snake looked like a anaconda as it was laying on a limb right above where I was supposed to follow the men on the trail . I hit the brakes only to be questioned by Grandpa as to why I was stopping. I pointed to the snake and he reached up and grabbed the snake and threw it off in the brush. I pretty much stayed in his hip pocket the rest of the day.

Surgically removed followed by radiation treatment to assure remission.

Nice smallies. I got out yesterday, last trip for the year. Put in at prairie Creek. Found them schooled up on main lake structure. Spot locked and got about 30. Mix of smaller striper, LM and spots. Didn't move the boat. Here was the graph. Fun day

That'd be great. Donate to my polar plunge in January!

Hey Cody, well I spoke with @Phil Lilley and @WoundedOne a bit yesterday. I am kicking it around, if the weather is too bad for me I can hang at the lodge? @Terrierman and I are pretty efficient eating pizza and watching football if it is cold and rainy....

My grandson got a new drone yesterday and did some filming. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1FGmAVnPLA/

And I caught what I was after.... Hybrid Striped Bass! Those dudes are STRONG! Every one seemed to fight the same way. I'd feel the pressure, like I'd snagged something. It wouldn't move. Then I'd notice it was moving slowing, so then I'd set the hook harder, and the fish would take off on a blistering run straight downstream, although one or two ran upstream. Then they'd park in the middle of the fastest water, and just sit there. I'd put a LOT of pressure on them with a 9 wt fly rod, with 12 lb tippet, and still often couldn't move them. But, I'd persist, and put even more pressure on them, and eventually get them to move. Then they do some shorter runs, and eventually I'd get them to the net and land them. Pretty cool stuff! I caught some on Clouser Minnows and variants, and some flyrod jigs I'd tied up. I landed 11 of them, including a new PB Hybrid Striped Bass... 25"! The 3 pics above are all of the 25-incher. Below are some of the others.

Fall turkey grocery shopping. Young jake and a hen. Good eating pair. Two for one shot. Let them line up and let them have it. I knew where there was a flock hanging out. Waiting for a cool morning. 45 with a north wind was nice. u

Caught my first Black-striped Black Crappie (a normal mutation) or Magnolia Crappie (a hatchery-created hybrid). Unexpected, but pretty cool! Went elsewhere and caught some smaller Redears and other fishes.

I took this one of the Queen while setting up my camera to do some self portraits of us.

No clue. Nobody in my family likes to fish. I had to teach myself completely in the last few years. My kids (God willing) WILL be fishing. I'm sure I caught some bluegill somewhere when I was little. Fun topic.

Well - I think my Smallmouth season is over. It was a good one, being my first full year of fishing Ozark streams semi-consistently. I didn’t complete all my goals… No 18 incher, but I did have some really solid days on numbers. Was happy to burn a bunch of gas cash to see a ton of new beautiful country. As follows is a report from the last couple months. The first week of August I spent near Wentzville visiting family. For most of the week, I didn’t get the chance to do a lot of fishing, and rightfully so. However, I had made my plans to fish some of the Ozark streams near St. Louis, and I had cut out my last full day (First Tuesday of August) to do so. I would take 47 down to the Mineral Fork, fish it at Kingston, then cut over on 8 to the Huzzah and fish Huzzah Valley and the CA. I had one rod, and a bag of very basic tackle. Unfortunately only plastics and jigs. I woke up at 6 AM and began my heavily foggy drive, enjoying Bluegrass music and the new scenery. I got to Kingston around 7. I got there around the exact same time as an older gentleman who would also be wading. He reported that years ago, his buddy caught what would’ve been the state record Smallmouth Bass upstream around Hwy 47 bridge out of season. Seems crazy, but I was almost inclined to believe him. He seemed like he knew what he was talking about. I spent maybe an hour and a half there. I began by wading up stream through the long, shallow pool. I was looking for any little deep place with cover, and found some spots where trees provided just that. I threw my Finesse Jig and Craw over there and I felt a little tap. I set the hook and immediately saw a nice size Smallmouth dart out at me, putting slack in my line. I reeled in quick and it took me for a ride all over the place. Finally got it landed and it went for my new PB. A 16 inch Smallmouth for my first fish of the day. I continued throwing the pool and pulled out a big Sunfish and one other tiny Smallmouth. Continued downstream and fished the obvious fast moving pools with downed trees for a second, surprisingly to no fish. I didn’t fish them hard as I wanted to keep moving, but I wish I had a Spook, as that has become really one of my favorite lures for that situation. I drove over to Huzzah Valley and made arrangements to wade their property. By this time, the sun had began to really show and floaters were showing up. I was surprised by how packed it was on a Tuesday. I honestly was not impressed by the majority of water I waded. Largely shallow pools. The fish were where I thought they would be though, and I had no trouble catching 4 or 5 Smallmouth on a Nikko Hellgrammite. I spent probably an hour doing this but the floaters got a little too thick for my liking so I decided to leave and try out the Huzzah CA. I wondered if Bass River Resort would be similar. At this point, I was kinda running out of time (I didn’t have ALL day, I left so early because I had to be back by 3 or 4 to spend time with family). Huzzah CA was a really cool spot, but again, it was packed! Crazy for a Tuesday. Talked to a kid probably 5 years younger than me that worked Ozark Outdoors. He said he’s seen some people catch some quality fish. I waded right around where the Huzzah and Courtois met, and somehow, caught zero fish! I was perplexed because this WAS good looking water, the best I had seen all day. To be fair, I didn’t spend too much time at this location. Floaters came in hoards and I decided to continue. I stopped to check out Onondaga Cave park. Didn’t even get my rod out but it was pretty cool. Got home satisfied. It was a fun day. Here’s the cool part. I go home Wednesday and immediately meet up with a buddy of mine and take off south to Galena for a Thursday float on the James River. Talk about some pretty country. We got a nice cabin in Galena right on the James and were going to float with JRO from Kerr to Galena. Our place was just below the Y bridge, and we had a good time wading the property. There were truly good holes to fish and we caught tons of Tubes, Neds and Spooks. My buddy caught a 16. Just wading the property that evening, I was able to complete the black bass slam. The float itself was slightly less great, due to the mild misfortune of choosing a float day with a massive, 100+ people, family reunion. You could not escape the people, it felt like a parade at times. Because of this, we didn’t fish hard and floated fairly fast. We finished the 6 mile float in only 4 hours or so. Regardless, we all caught fish. I primarily fished my Finesse Jig and Craw and did well. I didn’t catch many, maybe 6, but was impressed with the average size of the fish on the James. Seems like every fish I caught was around 14 inches, which is by no means giant, but definitely better than the consistent 8-12 inch fish you see a lot in the Ozarks. The next day, before we headed home, we stopped and checked out Flat Creek for a little Wade fishing. First stop was at EE bridge. I waded up stream and had no trouble catching 6 Smallmouth out of one little pool in 20 minutes. All on the Ned. Biggest went for 14 inches. We drove down to Stubblefield. This place was really cool. It was also pretty busy. We waded downstream this time and Smallmouth were harder to come by, I did however, catch a TROPHY Ozark bass. I mean, it may have been 10 inches. It was incredible, but like a fool, I couldn’t take a picture because my phone had overheated baking on the gravel bar. After swimming below the water fall and inquiring with locals about their Crawdad hunt, we decided to call it and take it home. I could continue to ramble about my other journeys early in the summer on Big Sugar, the Gasconade and the Lil Niangua, or my adventure last week on the Upper Niangua and Osage Fork, but my fingers are getting tired and they’re probably not worth a report. Yep, it was a fun week.

Like many, I can't remember my first one caught, but being with family when it happened. My dad was always buying the Fishing Facts magazine, so he was hooked and sold on nightcrawlers. I can vividly remember by uncle fishing with us though and he always out caught my dad and us. He always fished artificial lures. As a kid I couldn't understand why we didn't fish that way until I got older. Found out it was much cheaper to keep us kids fishing with worms than losing lures since we didn't really know what we were doing. That and I can remember being dragged out of bed around 5 in the morning to go fishing on the weekends. And if we hadn't caught our limit by noon, we were still out there till dark. As a kid I thought that sucked since I could see other kids out there water skiing and playing the water. We were just hot, miserable and not catching anything! It wasn't until I got older did I really get into fishing like I am now.

I waded at the dam C&R area today after the water went down and had a good afternoon. Caught lots of rainbows, a nice cuttie, a few brookies and one tiger, so I guess that would be considered a slam as the tiger is part brown. Best flies were eggs and scuds. I hooked this nice rainbow in some fast water and had to chase him about 50 yards downstream to find some calm water to get him in the net. Tomorrow is the last day to fish up there as it will be closed until Feb 1 for the brown trout spawn. Here's some pics...

89) Hybrid Striped Bass I had been told there was a chance for a hybrids there and then I had HOT intell that they were there and catchable. I got the Buffalo. I got the Silver carp. I tried for other Buffalo and a Bighead Carp for a while. As my time quickly disappeared, I had to go try for a Wiper. I went downstream to my target area and missed a take on my second cast. I was looking at the area and trying to make sure I covered all the prime spots. . I lost my fly and tied on some big goofy articulated sparkle minnows that I had bought. a few casts in with that one I got a big tug and the fight was on. I played the fish carefully and soon saw that I had a Wiper! I played it down and worked it close and as I reached for the net, it flopped and came off. I was so bummed out. I took a minute and checked my leader and the hooks. It was all good and I just had to hope that I would get another bite. I did. I ended up catching three and missing a few other takes. Big Fun!

Gulf of Mexico. Last week while waiting on the queen to get ready. Geez I sepnd a lot of time doing that.

Yesterday, I went Back to the Black River backwaters with the Glide SUP. I was targeting Black Buffalo or Gar or ??? , but willing to catch whatever BUT I wasn't going to come off target just to catch a few more fish. I have to drive past multiple spots where I can quickly catch a 1/2 dozen panfish. I love the little guys, but I took a break from them yesterday. My first spot was a bust. I knew it likely would be. Changes have been made which may help in the long run but aren't very helpful in the short haul. There was a beaver dam that held back an additional 15 inches of water. I think AGFC destroyed it to allow more water drain out when they replaced the water control structure. I didn't make a single cast. I did not stop at either panfish spot. The first trip on the SUP the wind ate me alive. This trip the wind wasn't projected to be too bad AND I brought counter measures. The water is clear, but the clouds hosed me. Occasionally, the sun would come out and I could see like I needed to see, but too often it was cloudy. I got all my stuff loaded and got going on the SUP. I had a small black fly on for Buffalo and common carp tied on my 6 weight. I had a white zonker on my 8 weight for bowfin. Early on, a cast straight ahead of the board with the zonker just got crushed. A big black crappie Gomer Pyled me by eating the 4 inch zonker. I was off to a good start. It did not continue that way. I eased along looking and looking and looking. I saw gizzard shad, chain pickerel, some really nice largemouth bass, lots of bluegill, a few gar, and buffalo and carp. ALL the Buffalo and carp I saw were cruising NOT eating. I did not see any bowfin, but I know they are there. I gave it two hours total. I caught a couple of bluegill blind casting my carp fly. I hooked and quickly lost a BIG LNG on the zonker. I saw a HUGE snapping turtle. I wasn't close enough to tell the species, but from the size alone it likely had to be an alligator snapper. REALLY REALLY BIG. I saw it from a long way off and tried to close the gap, but it submerged in a deep section of the canal and was gone. I relocated to my final spot; I had initial success followed by my usual misadventures and frustrations. I got a nice largemouth on the zonker. A couple of minutes later I got my first bowfin of the day. A nice female that pounded the zonker. Sleigh ride time. lengthy fight and infighting to get it into the net. I can't measure the bowfin accurately while on the paddleboard. I didn't feel like getting all muddy by stepping off the board into the goo. I was guessing 27 inches. A little later I saw a hint of movement ahead and to the left. A quick cast got a hit, but I didn't get the hookset. I picked up and recast 10 feet further ahead and the fly immediately got inhaled again. Hook found a home that time. Another nice female. Like 25 or 26 inches. So, I tried another bowfin fly/technique with no strikes. I also started looking for carp etc . I never got a good luck at one tailing. I tried some blind casting to good looking areas no results. At some point, my white zonker started to come apart. I replaced it with the same fly in black. I lost my small black fly to a tree. I replaced it with a simple chartreuse fly. I made a little flip with the chartreuse fly and it came tight into a fish when I lifted up. I guess the fish got it in the drop. I had it on for a few seconds, but it came off. The hook point was not as sharp as I would like. I started looking for a hook sharpener. I could not find one, but I knew on was in the truck. I paddled back to the truck. I got the hook sharp again. When I got back to the boat, I saw a bowfin close. Then I saw another. Then I heard another one eat under some grass. Back on the SUP headed into the very shallow clear water. I saw multiple bowfin in water that was < 1 foot. I put the fly in their face, but they were very aware that I was in their world, and they would not eat. I spend 20 minutes trying. I presented to six different bowfin and a large Spotted Gar. On the way back to the dingy water, I grabbed my shades to see if polarized lens helped. Spoiler Alert. It didn't They fit so close to my face that in the swamp they just steamed up. I got another good taker on the black zonker. Nice fish. Very strong. Then suddenly gone. I kept moving and trying. I had a good shot at a HUGE Longnose Gar. > 50 inches and barrel shaped body. Big Fish. I put a fly in its face and it didn't eat. All too soon, it was time to go. I rushed to load everything up and drive home. I am getting better at quickly, but methodically, making sure everything is securely loaded and nothing is left behind. The good news is I was more comfortable on the SUP and I continue to fine tune my set up. I do want to purchase a rack from Glide when they are available again. The board does make fly fishing easier and better, but I still need to be disciplined to keep my fly line untangled etc I keep working on how things are on the board and how do I access my gear. So far so good. No unplanned get offs yet.

Where was this when my kids were babies🤔🤣? Hoping that one of my daughters will have a baby and invite grandpa over to watch it😁!