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Largest 2 were both 22 inches... Smallest was 15.5". Caught another 10 or so sub legal... Also the requisite 20 catfish and drum... Trolling shad raps, stick baits and bottom bouncing. Nothing caught deeper than 15'.

The weather seemed perfect to go throw top water. Started fishing around 7:30 and last keeper at 1. Sun popped out so went in to dock. It was my personal best day on Stockton with 10 keeper largemouth. 7 on top water and 3 on jig. All shallow around bushes. Largest was 4.37. Fished Sons Creek to Mutton. Jig was 1/2 oz black and blue and usually threw if they missed top water. Camera challenged on a few pictures in the rain. Very healthy fat fish.

I fish up there all the time ( I live in Iowa) and it's a Bass fisherman's paradise. Bring plenty of buzz baits, frogs chatterbaits and jigs and Keitech 3.8 baits. I fish mostly in Pool 9 which is below LaCrosse, but it all fishes the same. The fish are out on the main channel along rock and near the various creeks and sleuths coming into the channel. Just be careful of the wing dams, stay outside of the channel markers and don't be running the shorelines. Wing dams will eat up your lower unit if you hit one. I attached a picture of a typical catch up there, with some running larger. September is a perfect time to go.

In June, I had a local (Tulsa) marine repair place replace the burned vinyl and carpet from the electrical short fire I reported in the summer of 2018. They did great work, although they are not cheap. Shoreline RV and Marine Repair is the name. But that's not why I started this thread. While Shoreline had the boat Tulsa endured two days of torrential down pour. My boat sat in it without its cover. The auto bilge functions only if the key is in the boat. I was impressed that Shoreline had drained the boat for me on the first dry day, but found later that the bottom Plano box in the stack in the storage box sat in water long enough that it never really dried out when the boat was drained. I did not notice immediately as that box contained baits I use only in the Spring - my warts and rock crawlers. When I found the box the hooks were sad messes. Stop for a moment and think about how many warts and rock crawlers you and your fishing buddy have. You can imagine my dismay. I took all the rusted hooks off and used what I had on hand. I used a few Deathtrap 4's on the front hook. I found a few Stingers in the right size and put them on. For the remainder of the replacements I bought Gamakatsu G Finesse trebles. By the time I finished replacing all the hooks I learned a couple of things. The Gamakatsu G Finesse was sticky sharp and was as dangerous as a Deathtrap. They are very well made with good quality control. I later discovered a negative. When I went to buy some more to have on hand, the price I found earlier at the local BP no longer existed. Now they are uniformly $10 for six, there and everywhere on line. I guess I unknowingly stumbled upon a mismarked price. Had I known, I would have bought more in several sizes. What did I learn from this? 1. Don't let your wart and rockcrawler box get wet. You will spend dollars and time fixing the problem. 2. If you find Gamakatsu G Finesse hooks on sale, stock up.

There hasn't been much change in generation and fishing patterns since my last fishing report for Lake Taneycomo. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been turning on their turbines at noon every day and running water through the afternoon, shutting it down about dark. They've been running four units full during the week and two to three units on weekends. Water temperature is holding steady at about 53 degrees and water quality is good. The dissolved oxygen content is good (see chart). It's been foggy on the lake, sometimes not clearing up until late morning. And on cloudy, rainy days, the fog hangs around all day. Boating in the fog is tricky at best. When the water isn't running, you can make headway just moving slowly without getting up on plane. But if the water is running, it's tough without running fast to stay on top of the water -- but then you're running too fast to see someone coming at you. Then there's the fog banks, those dense clouds that look like everything else. You think you can see far, but all of a sudden, you can't. And if someone is just on the other side of the outer cloudy wall, you're in trouble. Then there are the kayaks that now frequently float Taneycomo . . . need I say more? You really can't be a hurry on this lake in the summer. And for the most part, people have been really wise and courteous. Our fishing guides continue to bring in nice limits of rainbows for clients, morning and evenings. And it's the same refrain -- night crawlers and the pink worm. Duane Doty is still throwing his stick baits early in the mornings and catching nice rainbows and a few brown but no monsters in the past couple of weeks. Read my last report for a detailed account on why you should be using two-pound line with our clear water right now. Stitch and Jim frequent the resort spring, summer and fall and are serious about their fishing. Jim told me they started "blowing up" their night crawlers this week and it made a huge difference. Just ask Stitch. She caught this 25-inch brown off the dock one night while fishing with an inflated worm, using two-pound line. Man, what an angler! Not many people have the skill and patience to land a fish like that on two-pound. I fly fished a couple of times this past week, catching fish on small flies - #18's and #20's. I'm using midges and scuds mainly, 7x tippet. I'm not "tearing it up," but the trout I'm catching are good size and in very good health. I'm fishing mostly the trophy area, but early the trout are feeding on midges, so using a zebra midge under a small indicator 12- to 48-inches deep is working around actively feeding rainbows. Target those fish that are rising if you can. Again, 7x tippet is a must. I'd use fluorocarbon, too. And I would stay small --#16 to #20-- and brown has been working good for me. One other thing I wanted to mention pertaining to being responsible for rules and handling trout. Rules: If you put a trout on a stringer, in a basket or in a live well, it's yours and counts toward your daily limit. It is illegal to "cull" or release trout and replace one fish with a bigger fish. Possession limit means how many fish you can have in your possession at any one time. Possession means in your ice chest, in your freezer. Your possession limit is a two-day limit or eight trout. You cannot legally fish for a week and keep your daily limit each day and store them in your freezer. An agent can ask to inspect any place he/she suspects there are illegal fish stored, so no place is exempt from inspection. Last thing. Don't catch, kill and release. If you're bait fishing, most likely the trout you catch will swallow the bait. If you are not going to keep a fish that has swallowed the hook, cut the line and let it go back without touching the fish. It has a much better chance of survival if you do that than to try to dig out the hook. And if you have to handle a trout, use a damp rag. Using a dry rag wipes off the protective slime on a fish's body, exposing it to bacteria in the water. Good Luck! View full article

Launched at CC yesterday morning. Spent a lot of time scanning and really marked only a few fish until I got to within a half mile of Shaw's Bluff. Water was slightly green and stained with around 3 ft visibility. Water temp was 82F, higher than I expected. Caught 8 crappie, 4 keeps but most of them were 11 to 13" long. Tons and tons of shad everywhere. No signs of any surface activity though. And just how many drum are in Stockton right now? WAY TO MANY!!! Also thousands of 3 to 4 " largemouth everywhere. It must have been a very successful spawn this spring with the high water. I saw packs of 25 to 30 of those small bass prowling near the surface looking for food.

Best answer yet, add a 1/2 oz silver Binks pro spoon. Try casting it (many people don't cast them) but try it on a point in the morning. Cast it up in the shallow work it out into 25 or 30ft of water. Pick it up fast, drop it on slack line until it stops, while it falls reel the slack out, repeat, until you get it under the boat, bounce it under the boat a couple times, then cast again. If you are not getting hung up, you are not doing it right. If you find that this works, don't take pictures until it is over (usually about 10min). One thing don't be afraid to use an off set worm hook on your drop shot.

My little flock of prototypes is growing. Will have 20 or so when done. $15 in so far, but need to find some clips for the bird on wire pose.

What's the fastest speed recorded on Taneycomo so far? 244 is still holding the record here on LO

Taney seems like a great place to have power boat racing.

This thread is an example of why I check this forum every morning. It amazes me that so many folks are so willing to help the struggling anglers like me to get better. Thank You all !!

The power boat nationals will be racing at the Branson Landing August 17 and 18. Might want to stay away from there.

I fished Friday and Saturday night this weekend and covered most of the area from outlet 1 down to outlet 3. The bite was pretty good both nights and I was catching fish pretty much the whole time. This surprised me a little bit because the moon was out. Leonard joined me Saturday night and we both had quite a few fish. Most fish were rainbows in the 16-18 inch range, occasionally up to 20 inches. My biggest fish of the weekend was 20 inches, ironically caught on Leonard’s new 4-weight that I was test casting while he was putting on his waders. As others have reported, the fish seem very healthy and have some meat on their bones. I also caught several white bass and Leonard had a nice Kentucky. I used a Hibernator both nights. Color didn’t seem to matter. I used black most of the time. Leonard was using red. I tried olive at one point. They were all working. Here are some typical fish caught both nights. The first one measured 17 inches. By the way, I use a full sized landing net with a deep basket so I can handle bigger fish easier by myself and keep them in the water. I try not to over handle fish. It does make for some underwhelming photos though.

Sexed many walleyes over the years and that is true. With experience a good biologist can hit around 95% accuracy. I wouldn't used the term key shaped though More like an elongated tear drop.

Good to see this. I detest poachers.

Would you be more specific. I have dozens of keys and no two of them are shaped the same.🥴

I was reading up on that and the one consistent thing I found, was about the anal orifice. For those who want to stick your eye in there. Says the males are more round and the females is more key shaped. Someone check that out and report back. lol

You can't fix stupid

I am with you on the bass spawn. They swarm around my spinnerbaits. As for the drum, I think it should be illegal to release one UNHARMED back into the lake. For me they are way more of a nuisance than spots.

Well done! od

The BPT Redcrest championship is being held on pools 7 and 8 from August 21-25. If you have the time to watch some live coverage you can pick up some tips.

Boating under the influence, multiple Wildlife Code violations, warrent from another state. Sounds more like an extended stay in the Grabar Hotel should be in order.

I believe what I believe because that’s what I believe. I don’t have a problem with what other people believe as long as they don’t try to tell me what I need to believe. That part has been hard for some, especially my mother. Again if Facebook, Fakebook, Farcebook, or whatever has been or is a problem for you then you are doing it wrong. But I have zero issues with unfriending people. Friends, family, doesn’t matter. It’s my feed and I like it clean and pleasant. Not much drama at all and when there is a dust up I just roll on by.

This will give you something else to think about before our next adventure 😜 Ahh, the memories!

Oh definitely, things always work out for the best. I just find it amazing that whenever a couple splits up there's always a female victim that totally got taken advantage of. You never hear of it happening any other way.

For those of you that are into Gospel Music There is a new young lady taking the floor. She cut her first True gospel Album not long ago. Her name is Sally Berry. She is the wife of Hunter Berry. They say she sings like her mother Rhonda Vincent. I know both wish i could have hear either

I would be interested in what the fine totals were for their violations. Typically wildlife fines are way less than you would expect.

I think you are 110% correct. Their is a ton of good info here i can use to develop a (new) game plan. I guess one good thing about being a rookie is, i haven't had enough time on the water to develop any bad habits that don't work yet, so i can just toss them all aside and start doing it the right way. Next project is learning more about my electronics than just how to use the power button! Thanks!

Geez, be happy you’re rid of her.

Met a lady last Saturday night that did some photos my kid used in her webshow. She told photography is what got her through being in Iraq in the military. I've met several photographers that started like that.

I bought two cheaper cameras that I thought would make pictures of my out door doings but they are either in the truck, at home or the battery is dead etc. I never got the camera bug much although half dozen of my Navy pals did and spent huge money on meters and lenses and cases to carry it all around. 35mm slides were the craze with lenses a foot and a half long and soft ball size diameter. Ghost images and multiple exposures, time lapse of the stars from a moving deck and so on; crazy bunch of sailors.

That's something I've never learned how to do. How many hands does it take for rod and fish and camera when waist deep in the creek? I usually have the reel under an armpit and one hand each on fish and fly- now I think would be a good time to unzip the vest pocket and get the camera out - but wait that takes two more hands? just for the stubborn zipper and... I certainly admire the pictures others post and have often wondered how they do it. All the keepers were after dark and before midnight. Daylight bass ran between 8-11" and day time google eye about 5-6".

One thing to remember is that it is August, and I know for me this is always the toughest month to fish. I'm a daytime fisherman, I like to get out first thing and fish until 1030 or so. There is an early bite, at least there has been the last couple of times I was out, and I'll try different locations looking for fish. I won't spend too much time on any one spot if I'm not seeing fish or not getting bites, there's just not enough prime fishing time in the AM to spend time beating unproductive water. Keep an eye open for bass chasing shad on the surface too, I haven't seen a lot of that myself, but when I do it tells me where there are active fish, and they usually aren't loners this time of year. Drop shot should work, I'd try finesse type worms, like Zoom Finesse worms, Robo worms, or GY Cut Tails. I don't like fishing bait for bass, nothing against others doing it, but I might be tempted to send down a night crawler on a drop shot if I was seeing fish but not getting bites. Don't overlook docks either.

Like you, I'm still learning how to fish these Ozark lakes. Sounds like you have had about the same experience I had this week. Threw everything at them with little success. I guess I need to buy more arsenal! I tried but to fish unless I saw fish on finder but even then, they weren't biting. Am thinking I might have been seeing White's but who knows. I need to keep practicing to learn how to fish deep water better. Attached is a screenshot of non cooperating fish!

Here is my thoughts, and I am consistently on the lake 10 days a year. I have a "milk run" of spots on the lake that produce fish for me. However, I am not getting fish there everytime. I have had times where I check the spot, throw a couple casts, and move on if I am not getting bit. Then, I return later in the day and sometimes the fish are feeding again. Overall, I think you have to be flexible and not focus on one area for long periods of time. Stay mobile until you get bit. Here is how I tend to fish a point or bluff end: aggressive bait first (jerkbait or topwater), then a more moderate subtle presentation ( swimbait, bigger jig, etc.), finally, I hit the Ned or finesse worm. This approach has worked for me and I do okay in the Shell Knob area. Just my personal thoughts and experiences.

Sold

Completely self-guided trip as we always take. We are dropped by wheel plane on a gravel bar and we float out. Pelican Vault Gear List. Water Proof TSA approved transportation Case. We are flying Alaska Airlines and they have very liberal regulations on sporting good transit. Including guns and fishing equipment. Wader Repair Kit, leaders, tippet, filet knifes and steel, fire starter , cap light, pliers,saw, pencil wt. spoons, spinners and hardware, 1 Orvis med. 7' travel rod. 1 4000 series shimano sustain spinning reel 2 spools 8# and 12# Orvis Fly rods 8-7-7-6 wt. Fast tip 10' 4 piece. 4 Orvis reels 6-7-8-8 Wt. One with a predator leader, one with a mirage carbon 16# leader 1 with a 8# Hy-Flote for dry flys and one with a shooting line for beads Also in the case of course is a Remmington 870 synthetic pump with Brenneke 3" magnum slugs. This is for mosquitoes. We also have some 6 shot as ptarmigan season is open and they are a tasty treat if we see some. Fishing Tackle: We have lots of Salmon flies and I have been tying some big patterns for Sheefish and Pike. We are also taking beads and drys for the char and grayling Some food and camping items we are taking include: Utensils, lite set of pots and pans, coffee, sugar, condiments, salt, pepper and spices, alum. foil and baggies cleaning supplies nails, rope, gorilla tape and glue, biscuit and pancake mix flour, fish fry, PB, syrup, dehydrated onions, and potatoes, package mixes of sauce and gravy, butter, oil, and milk, sweetner soy sauce, wasabi and ginger, rice and bouillon a few sweets . Notice the table cloth and water purification bottles. We are also taking trailmix in our carry on bags. Frozen food in an Engel Cooler. I have tested this Cooler putting it in the freezer and cooling it down for 24 hrs. I put 4 frozen bottles of water in it and set it in the garage. it will keep the water frozen for 48 hrs. it is fantastic. Breakfast sausage Maple, Bacon, Deer Sausage, 2, Eight oz. Prime Ribeye Steaks, Smoked Ham, cheese, butter, lunch meat and i will put 18 eggs on the top in their carton. perfect fit. Fishing and bedding gear; REI sleeping pad, Eddie Bauer Sleeping blanket pillow and blanket, 2 camp lanterns a first aid kit , wader boots belt suspenders, boots hats staff, and an extra set of hip waders We are flying 1st. Class and not only do you get the extra room but you can bring a carry on plus one personal item and 2 check in bags of 50 lbs. each for no charge. We are going to have 1 extra bag at $100.00 but Phil says he has it covered with his millage credit card Pictured are 2 Fish Pond Dry Bags, 1 Weather Sport Dry Bag, 1 Orvis Gale Force Dry Satchel and one Pelican TSA Dry Container. Phil will have 2 dry bags plus his carry on and a personal item mostly with lots of electronics. We are using an InReach and it will be interesting. We have both played with it some and of course cameras and GoPro's. From Anchorage will be flying to Alaska Adventure Lodge on the Holitna River. The flight is in a 6 passenger prop plane flown by Sound Aviation out of Anchorage. It is about 200 air miles from Anchorage to the Lodge at Sleetmute Ak. We will spend the first nite at the lodge and then be flown up the river for our float for Salmon, Char, Grayling, Pike, and Sheefish. More to Come

Are you busy Friday night big boy?? I need 3 more french drains dug and my back is tired from the first 3. My feet are skinny.

The single old ladies here in Bella Vista have a saying about the old guys that hit on them, they are looking for a "nurse and a purse".

The thing about FB fishing groups that I can't leave alone is the guys that haul fish around all day just so they can have a photo shoot later. And the "Guides" are the absolute worst about it. I can't help but ask them WHY they keep doing that. It's like I'm the only person in the world that believes it is beneficial to release fish back to the same area where it was caught. The guides actually think that if they take the pic where it was caught that someone will recognize the area. Gimme a freakin' break! 🙄 Then just don't take a pic then. Is it really that important to prove that you caught a 4 pounder? Drives me absolutely crazy.

So your saying I would do better on FB? The family reunion thing ain't working out.

It might just tell ya that people are getting sick of Facebook drama. I can't stand the wake boats and I don't even fish Table Rock, but there is no reason for people to continue arguing about ANYTHING on Facebook. It changes nothing. I know some nice people with wake boats. Smart people. Engineers and school teachers and ...... You can't convince them that it's hurting anything. I've heard one say it's the fisherman that are dangerous. Sitting "out in the middle of the lake. Why don't they just go back in the coves and stay close to the bank." So I can understand a admin not wanting it to turn into the same trash as like a political debate. It does nothing to help.

I've always done best in the evenings regardless of the time of the year. I'm not so sure that it isn't because my concentration level and reflexes are best during that time of day. I just seem to think clearer, have more focused energy, and make better decisions from lunchtime until dark.

Slow day but I was fortunate enough to get this 27 inch 6lb walleye caught it on a Ned rig

Accidental walleye do not taste any worse than purpose caught ones.

got to take by buddy mike sowders and a friend of his last night. catching has been kind of spotty the last two trips and last night was starting out much the same, but mike and i decided to just take a creek arm and break down everything in it. paid off in finding a group. had some really good quality. did not get a pic of the biggest one. it was a lmg in the 7 lb. range. was too big to swing with 3 in the boat, and hard to anyone to get too. mike had it in tow, but lost his balance trying to get back up, and it went back in. makes no difference because it was going back anyway, and i got all the good out of it. so, ended up with 8 keeps. one whopper brownie, one brownie in the 4 lb. class, two other brownies in the 3 lb. class, two more lmgs in the 3 lb. class, one big kentucky, and one more keeper lmg. we did have a few shorts. everything was caught on the 1 oz. Elite Mega Blade (big wobbler). they were located in the back 1/3 of the creek. still had 45 ft. in the creek channel. the area was loaded with bait. mike had not been able to catch anything on the big wobbler yet, but now sees what a great fishing tool it is. there most certainly is a learning curve to how to fish it. mike and his buddy got a great crash course. most of our bites came from 15 to 22 ft. i had one other bite in that same area that jumped my line about two feet, and when i set the hook, the line just cut into. don't know if it was a gar or a walleye. i've caught walters in that very area before. bo

leonard and i got out for a bit this evening. put in about 8 and fished till 1. bite was way better than i anticipated with the passage of the front and strong north wind. ended up with 17 keepers and had some dandies. started out getting them on a 3/4 GrassJig. got the first 9 on it, and then caught the rest on both the1 oz. Elite Black Widow, and the 1oz. Elite Mega Blade (big wobbler). most all bites were 20 to 25 ft. had to have the shad around. leonard told me he was tired of going as an audience😄. don't know why he was not getting bites or if he was, and was not recognizing the bite as one. the bites were nothing bites for the most part. bo

Thank you guys for your help this weekend. Me and my wife had a absolute blast. It was definitely tough fishing for us. But blue haven resort was absolutely beautiful and Brian was a stand up guy. Now to fishing we had a tough time finding them. But after about 10 hours of graphing and spot fishing I did manage to catch this one on a binks spoon. He was in 70 foot of water and tight to the bottom not bad for a ol table rock bass fishermen 😂😂🤪. It was on a flat next to a creek channel right at the mouth of big creek. Went back this morning and they were stacked again but only managed a small one before I had to head back home. I must say your guys lake is awesome and we will be back. Hoping to time it up better in August. Thank you again