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I earned a 16-17lb sack today on the A-rig with a bonus 22" eye for the frying pan. All in all, caught 18 with 11 of those being nice keepers. I found the fish in several different areas but mostly it was depth related. Most fish came off of chunky rock. If you had wood on it at the right depth even better. Significant feature changes on the bank seem to be what the fish wanted to relate to. Water temp was in the 42 range AM and I found 49+ by late afternoon. Tried to keep the boat in 25-30ft and casting close to bank. Most strikes.....Left me rephrase that..."Most clobbers" came 1/2 back to boat. I was reeling slowly with occasional pause to let rig flare. Bites seemed to be 12-15' deep. I saw numerous fish suspended at this depth on the graph. They were not shy about eating today, strikes were vicious. Today was my best day on the A rig yet ....Had to throw in that last picture...The two best fresh water fish morsels ever!...notice what's missing?. LOL

BFT, I fished a sculpin pattern jig that I tied almost all day and it was definitely the hot color. I mix two different sculpin colors, one is a lighter green and the other is the dark traditional green. This one jig also happened to have an extra feather in it that was a dark green/light green zebra pattern in it. I don't think that had any bearing on the fish though. As for the technique, in the deep holes I used a 1/16oz and let it fall for what felt like way too long each time. In the ripples and the shoals, I fished a 1/32oz and just fished the drift, letting it swing all the way down straight below me and picking up fish at all points in the drift. I finally got the picture to upload, I think. The picture doesn't do it justice necessarily. Keep in mind that I am a pretty big guy at 6'3" and 270lbs. And I'm not doing the ol' picture cheat of holding the fish way out toward the camera, either.

You ever have one of those days, that things just come together, well I think today was one of them! My friend Max and I decided to fish today, he took off work, and I got enough stuff done earlier in the week to make a day of it. I was concerned that the cold day yesterday, and being 24 degrees when we hit the water this morning might hinder the bite. Well, at first it did, the bite started out slow, we fished for an hour and had one fish, but it was a dandy 17 inch Smallies. We continued to fish thoughout the morning with a few bite here and there, I was throwing mostly jerk baits and jigs! Max had brought some stuff for a shore lunch, and I brought my old Coleman cooker, so we decided to try to catch a couple Largemouth or Kentucky's for lunch! Before we did that we went to a spot that I thought might produce just that, we had to work for them at the same time our stomachs were growling, but finally scored a couple cookie cutter Largemouths for the shore lunch. On our way to take a break for lunch I made some more casts with my Megabass, and I saw huge flash in the water, set the hook, and bam, caught a largemouth double on the jerkbait. We got a kick out of that, and as we headed to shore, I made the comment that maybe that's a good sign for the afternoon. Folks i'm hear to tell ya, I actually have not eaten a bass of anykind in years, but a fresh largemouth out of that cold clear water, my goodness I think it's the best fish I've ever eaten, at this point I was a happy camper for how the day had went, but it wasn't over!! We hit the water after lunch and started picking up more bites, and big bites. Max scored a dandy Largemouth, I really couldn't believe it, as it was actually in smallmouth water. A few cast later, I landed a nice Smallie in basically the same area...very cool. We managed to fish till about 30 minutes before dark, and consistently had good bites with what I consider above average fish! There are days you catch 8 to 10 dinks for 2 or 3 good ones, today it seemed right the opposite! Max even scored a 22 inch Chain Pickeral, the first one caught in my boat all winter, and largest I've seen in person! Then when we thought that was something, I hooked into a large silver fish, and like MoSmallies story bout Smalliebigs shouting it's a drum, I did the same, but turned out to be a dandy 14 inch crappie, my PB crappie to boot, who would of thought! It was just a great day, and thankful to have the chance to go, I start working on the farm next week spreading chicken litter, so I will be remembering this day well next week.lol. I didn't keep count, or even measure many of the fish, just enjoyed a great day on the water, but here's a few pictures of some of the good ones. I didn't have a water thermomter with me today, but I think that water warmed up well from the morning, and the fish followed suit! Bret..

To each his own. I love fresh fried and grilled fish. And by love I mean I will go a long way out of my way for a good fish dinner!

You can pretty much catch a smallmouth on anything that looks like a meal. Kind of like me, they aren't that particular about what they eat as long as it looks good. I've searched a long time to find the best smallmouth flies. And I've tried a lot of different things. Some were successful for me and some were not. I'm sure you will get a ton of answers but I think you have to find what works the best for you and your style of fishing. After all of this time and all the different flies I have tried I have two that will go with me everywhere. One for the top and one for the bottom. I haven't settled on a streamer though. Mainly because if that's what it takes then I'll probably be throwing a spinnerbait or a fluke. For me the best option for up top is a gurgler. The biggest smallies I have caught on a fly rod have come on a gurgler. I think the reason it is the best for me is that you can fish it so many different ways. Like a popper. Just dead drifting it. (not my favorite way either but these are where the biggest have come from). Or skating it across the surface. That is my favorite way because the takes are so explosive. Color combinations are endless. Gurgler Now if you don't find any love on the top you can always (usually) find some on the bottom. I've tried hellgrammite patterns, crawdad patterns, worm patterns, blah, blah, blah..... Some have worked at times, some have never worked and some are just a pain in the butt to tie. One thing I'm looking for is something that is quick and simple that's not going to cause a breakdown when I hang the thing 30 ft. up in a tree. So I came up with this. I don't really have a name for it, not sure what it really is. Is it a jig....or a fly......not sure but it does work. We'll just call it the flysmallie pig. I like the olive but different color combos work as well. Black/Blue Flysmallie Pig There are a lot of good patterns out there but it's up to you to figure out what you like to fish with. You are going to catch more with something you have confidence in over something that somebody else told you about.

Fished the river yesterday with a buddy who had never seen it before. Introduced him to Czech nymphing and he took to it quickly. We caught 12-15 trout including a nice 15 incher for him. Saw a bald eagle around Dora. He is now hooked on the river and Czech nymphing, too. Can't wait to get back!

Jig fishing and fly fishing, myself and two other gents just killed it today on the white between buffalo shoals and Riley's. I had 53 when we stopped for lunch. We fished on through the afternoon and the highlight of the day was this 27" rainbow on 2lb test on a marabou jig.

If the PB&J color offends anybody in my boat, they can just swim to shore. That's my favorite color.

As my dad used to tell me, "You aren't going to catch any fish running up and own the lake all day." Yeah I didn't pay any attention to him either. But this time of the year you can catch all the fish you need between Lightfoot and Bolivar landing. They aren't biting any better on the other side of the lake you just have to figure out where they like to eat. There are a lot of spots that hold good fish all the time in that section, and there are a lot of spots that don't. Secondary points are going to be way better than any main lake stuff. Jerkbaits, crankbaits and a jig should get you a pretty good sack. Look for the sweet spots, the holes, the ditches. That's where they will be. This lake will not fish like the clear water lakes, it's a completely different experience.

Excellent fish, I can't imagine the odds that fish overcame to grow so large in the lower river. Great catch.

Might pass this along, Cabelas has what I think is a pretty good deal on popper hooks. http://www.cabelas.com/product/Mustad-Signature-CK74S-SS-Fly-Hooks/1170112.uts These are stainless steel hooks. I just got in my order. I did two packages of 2/0 and 1/0 They are just a tad shorter than the ones I have been using but have a wider hook gap which I like. Here is a comparison. What I have made with the same hook below it and then the 2/0 and 1/0 CK74S SS Mustad I just got. Here are a few of the ones I have been doing since our waterfowl is done and I am warming up for fishing, And some for the spin fishermen, BilletHead

If you are on facebook there is a page called Lake of the Ozarks Crappie Guys (I think that is the name). They have been catching them in Lynn Creek and where it meets the Osage is the last I seen on there.

IT WAS WHERE WE FISHED......fishing in a yak in the wind sucks!!! I'm ready for a jet, the frustration level was high for me yesterday. We caught 8 fish between the two of us, two Smallies and 6Spots from 10 to 14 inches....ouch!!! but, fishing from a yak you are limited. If we would have had a jet we could have been able to do a run and identify the productive holes, with a yak you are limited to how much water you can fish and how long you can keep the bait in the zone it needs to be in to get bit.....sorry for the rant but, I'm just not liking fishing from a boat at water level...I guess I just got too used to fishing from the bow of a boat with a trolling motor in front of me??? I have a lot of respect for the guys that can hammer big river fish from a canoe/kayak like Al Agnew, CGB or Andy...it is a skill prerequisite you must have....it's not easy to nail big ones all the time from canoe/kayak........jesus I'm a bitch!!!!! it was better than watching Disney jr....Paul and I laughed a lot.

Spider Creek Resort, River View Resort. Both are on the White River and within 5 miles from a boat launch on the lake near the dam. Jim

Brandon, Misery loves company... I fished for about 6 hours this weekend with 1 13" fish to show for it. The fact that they are dropping the lake is what I attribute the slow fishing to. Great weekend to be on the water.

Always wondered where gar went in the winter.

You don't have to golf to enjoy the courses of Bella vista. The creek that flows through them is a stellar smallmouth creek.

It makes me sick when I see someone throw away a walleye without taking those cheeks out. I save them for last when I eat fish and nibble on them for as long as I can make them last, lol.

Where I'm from especially growing up we ate what we caught usually, money was tight as a kid and a fish dinner caught was appreciated! folks round here think it's silly i drive an hour to catch fish I have to release. Lol, but they just don't understand the passion for ozark fishing I have, and the protection of it! Here it's all about crappie and catfish! I LOVE me some fish, but catch flathead and crappie for my fish frys. The last time I've actually cleaned and cooked a bass was in the early 90s, I wasn't a big fan of it then, but that fish the other day was awesome, but everything tastes better on a bank! Al that casserole thing sounds good to me!

Just a quick hello. I'm a new member from Northwest Missouri / Northern Michigan. I've spent many days on the various Ozark streams,lakes and rivers over the years and after a recent stay at Lilleys I discovered this site. Wish I would have earlier. I grew up in Michigan about 10 minutes from the Manistee and Ausable rivers and have chased brookies,bows,browns and salmon all over with spinning gear and when nobodies looking I get out the fly rod. Every once in a while I trick a few, my goal this year is to unlearn my bad form/habits, practice my knots and get a good pair of glasses (tuff getting old) I have a trip booked back to Lilleys end of March for a week, if you see a chubby 53 year old tied in knots with a fly or three stuck in him stop and say hello, my name is Nick.

Ever since jetboats became popular among river anglers, the better fishing streams (in warm weather) have become the ones too small for jetboats. Wading size streams can be terrific, but their vulnerability to even just a few anglers keeping fish makes some of them much poorer fishing than others. Back in the pre-jetboat days, I always felt my best chance at big smallmouth was on larger streams like lower Big River and the middle and lower Meramec. Now, in the summer at least, I have far more confidence in the streams that are only marginally canoeable by mid-summer. So yeah, I really love the little streams, whether I'm wading them or "float-dragging" them.

Who tries to make fish taste like something else? I'd be willing to bet that if you ate small bass, bluegill, and crappie any one of the ways I like to fix them you'd be a quick convert to a fish eater. If all you've had is fish sticks from the grocery store, you'd be in for a big surprise. Just give me about 6 10-13 inch bass (no, I don't keep undersized bass from the streams, but spotted bass have no length limit on my rivers, and besides, many of the bass I eat come from my pond or a nearby private lake that gets far too little fishing pressure), a deep fryer full of oil, an egg mixed with milk to dip the fillets in, some cornmeal to coat them with after dipping, and salt a pepper to taste, and you'd be amazed at how quickly I can eat them all. Or if you really want to think you've died and gone to heaven, take those bass fillets, put 'em in a cassarole dish coated with real butter, crumble up a bag of plain potato chips and sprinkle liberally all over the fillets, drizzle another half a stick of melted butter over the whole thing, and bake. I guarantee that the bass will still taste like fish, but the crispy buttery potato chip coating just adds a lot of sinfulness.

You were right about the fishing Scott, It turned out better than I had anticipated. We decided to go try the Osage since I haven't fished it yet this winter. The was was 43-44 degrees and pretty dingy. My buddy and I caught around a dozen bass, two crappie and 1 bluegill. He caught his PB river largemouth that weighed 4.19 on a shad rap. My biggest for the day was a 2.33 large mouth that I caught on a crappie jig after I decided to quit bass fishing and try for some crappie. Go figure!

Having eaten lake trout before, I'm curious how many small ones came home? One of the best fish I've had.

Ok. Make a fly up. Start with a name. The Sunshine Lady. Use red and orange and yellow and tie a fly with a seductive wiggle but no brains.

I like a shot of Scotch.. Sorry, couldn't resist

Good read. I wish there were something similar over here in the Southwest part of the state. They have some very nice activities planned!

Typically, the presence of deep water over a spring formerly on land or in shallow water will cause it to shut off or greatly diminish. Some kind of temperature probe would be needed anyway to pinpoint a spring. My original post was referring to springs in shallow water feeders.