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A Nebo Hill lanceolate and a generic dart point. I warming up 😆.

My foals for 2025 are pretty basic, go fishing. I have now been retired for a year and in a perfect world I would have worn out some fishing equipment. Unfortunately the fates didn't agree with that plan. But fortunately I have a few places I can still handle getting to and fishing from, and some buddies who will help out. Physically I just can't doe some of it anymore.

The weather finally warmed up a bit, so I was able to get out and do some fishing. SWPA schedule showed 1 unit all day. Fishing was good with lots of rainbows on a size 16 Y2K under an indicator. I also had good luck on bigger fish using a 1/32 oz olive and brown jig. Got this pretty brown on the jig.

I quit keeping full limits of White bass and Crappie because I don't like spending that much time filleting fish ! It only takes 6 of them to feed my family 👍 and I don't have a church group to try to impress every month.

I start work at 3 and I'll be busy all week so its a crap shoot on when ill be able to go again. Maybe next sun or monday. I'm actually hoping the crappie to have grouped up a little more than pre cold snap. Seems in years past when the water cools I find find bigger groups that arent constantly moving. But it may need to stable out some for that also. I curious to see but also, I have 1 limit left to eat so I'm not really hurting for them yet. Just not sure how mad at them I am to go. Itll be a last min decision when I take the kids to school I'd say. Lol

The mud on top makes it a mess. I have a U shaped driveway that only has one useable side right now. Amazon driver on her first day had directions to come in on that side. She realized it was blocked and backed into the yard to turn around and that was as far as she got. Fortunately it took me longer to walk to the shop and get the tractor that it did to get her out. She was so apologetic about the ruts she left, told her if that was the worst that happened to my yard it would be a good spring. No idea what she brought for my wife but since UPS delivered a package from Midway for me earlier I can't complain too much.😁

As someone who started with the same kind of rods and have moved to some of the higher ends I definitely understand it. That said The highest end rods aren't probably worth it for you unless you have the means to spend, or WANT to spend that. I've shifted and primarily only fish orvis recons, some tfo bvk rods , a sage or two , and some lower end tfo "pro" rods. Those are fine but I definitely notice a difference when fishing the nicer rods. They are lighter, crisper, i enjoy fishing them more. my favorite rods the last couple years have actually been 10 footers. even for short close stuff i've found mending much easier.

You sure it's mud ? Dog turds thaw at the same rate. 😅 The girls gave Orion a pedicure during Christmas break......Let him out to go pee immediately afterwards, and what does he do ? Steps in a pile of his own poop !

beautiful fish. I launched at rim shoals sturday and fished a couple hours just below the catch and release. It was super peaceful

Agreed. Nothing turns my place into a muddy guagmire like 3+ inches of melted snow. 🙄

Odd thing about gar, there are certain spots on the lake where they are always thick, year round, and for no particular reason that I am aware of. There has to be a reason why they congregate in those little areas.....but whatever that reason is remains a head-scratcher. 🤔 They've been there reliably for 30+ years at least. And yeah, I can verify that sinking brush around a "Gar hole" is a waste of time. 🙄 It would suck to buy a piece of lakefront property, then discover that it is a Gar hole !

Is 22° (17°) to cold for a 2 hour round trip drive to fish for 4 hours tomarrow morning........ Those are the questions that go through my head when you see a short window when I could go. Lol

I’ve accomplished nearly all of my personal goals regarding big fish and tourneys over the past few years so my goals are changing. The only two goals I really have are to fish with dad as much as possible and try to take more youth out fishing.

I fished this morning and the cold weather really changed where the bass are hanging out. I checked two really good pre-cold snap locations and they were totally void of bait and fish. Then my third location had some fish and salvaged my morning but the numbers at this location were way down from 10 days ago. Not sure about impacts on crappie, but they probably made a few moves. 27 degrees with no wind is my tipping point.

In the video, the guy mentions an increase in crappie guides on those lakes. What he was saying is that the crappie harvest has increased due to other factors also, including FFS. Those crappie in those lakes get hammered when they are in the bushes spawning, then get hammered again by techniques like spider rigging and trolling crankbaits when they are done spawning. The guides filled limits before FFS came out. No doubt FFS can make people more efficient in harvesting fish, but in the case of those crappie lakes, it's too many people harvesting too many fish.

It’s idiotic that Bowfishing is allowed for any non invasive fish.

Maybe I'll set that back for you Jeff 😁.

The dart point is very cool! Well they both are, but I like that dart point.

Maybe not. The problem I see is not the guides, hopefully they have always been able to catch them. However it does seem a little odd to me that they can sell fish but I cannot. Oh well, I don't care. But here is a scenario that many don't consider. I know a guy that has a dock on an area lake. He's not much of a fisherman. In past years he has spent a lot of time on his dock catching enough crappie to feed him and a few friends once a year. So a couple of years ago he goes with another friend that has FFS and they come home with limits. So rookie fisherman gets FFS on his ski boat. Now his friends have a fish fry about once a month and more friends are fed. He doesn't care about conservation, he only cares about being the guy that always has crappie to eat. If you think it's not causing any damage, your IQ is too low.

But the good news is the later in the week snow is out of the forecast.

Why, so I could eat fish chunks rolled in stale corn flakes every other Friday ?

I don't overly care about snow one way or the other. The biggest downside of snow is the mud afterwards. It's only day 2 and I am 100% over it.

Fall Creek Marina and There are some docks in between the landing and the water treatment plant. They have a sign advertising boat slip rentals, it's across from Kanakuk. Sorry don't know the number, but it's a part of a development so google maps might help.

There are tons of shad up there, lots of food for those gar. A lot of spoonbill too. I asked Dutch if he has ever seen that many gar on the James and he says he never has.

The major roads around here are all clear and dry. That being said, I am ready for the warm winds of spring. 😀

I'd imagine the crappie guides put a major hurt on the population with FFS. Multiple limits taken daily for hundreds of days/year. Far different than the angler with FFS taking a few to eat for dinner.

What about Brown trout, brook trout and rainbow trout out West where they are trying to keep those fish out of native cutthroat ranges that are screwed up?

Which chaps my rear. Catch and drop back in water immediately is one thing but setting the hook and crossing their eyes then hauling around in a live well all day looking for a bigger one then dumped who know where on the lake is ok but no one else is that fishes. Just shows you money talks in conservation making rules. You started it @snagged in outlet 3 with the tourney guys. I can't let you be alone in this.

This study is interesting not because of FFS but because of tournament mortality. Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Director says bass slot limit based on scientific data Here's an excerpt: "When we got the preliminary results of that study, it was pretty evident that tournament mortality was extreme up and down the Coosa," said Chuck Sykes, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Director. "The data is showing it is tournament mortality. It is not recreational fishermen mortality," he said. The study showed that tournament anglers seek large, fast-growing, female fish, which leads to the highest rates of tournament mortality among those groups. 45% of bass weighed in during tournaments died before or after the weigh-in. The mortality rate was estimated to be higher during hotter weather.

I could certainly see it having an impact on winter fishing on the larger Ozark rivers. Other than that, I don't think it could have much impact on warm weather fishing where the fish are more scattered and easier to find. I'm especially concerned when it comes to the winter tournaments that have cropped up on streams like the Current, Meramec, and Gasconade, where the anglers carry their fish to a weigh in point and release them all there. Moving more and bigger bass out of their wintering habitat and releasing them in a spot where they are going to have to disperse to get back to wintering habitat seems to me to be a recipe for disaster...it's happening already, and FFS will probably make it a lot worse. I really wish that these tournaments would be required to go to a format where the fish are photographed, measured, and released immediately.

Look here - these guys stole our "Fest" labeling for a fishing event. Should we pool our money for a class action lawsuit? 😀