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This is a huge work in progress but it's the beginning of what I expect to be a great adventure. There is more info at our website www.neoshobass.com. I have been given permission to add a 5 part series on the Neosho Bass that was done by The Ozark Podcast. I would recommend that everyone listen to at least the first two episodes. Lots of good information in that. I should have it all added to our website by the end of the weekend. We begin filming at the end of March on what we consider a premier Neosho stream, and have many other trips planned for the remainder of the year.

"Vaughan, a juvenile delinquent in the offseason, in his major league debut!"

They not only change colors during the course of a day, they change "colors" in minutes. The reason I put it in quotation marks is because you have to differentiate between pattern or lack of it, shade--dark to light, and overall color cast. Smallmouth and Neoshos do all three. The pattern of dark vertical bars and splotches is actually a sign of stress or excitement; smallies just hanging out in the river are usually almost unmarked. But when you hook one, by the time you get it in those dark bars are beginning to show. Put it on a stringer and they become VERY prominent. (Note that "excitement" includes sexual excitement--spawning fish are usually very heavily marked.) Smallmouth and Neoshos can also change their overall shade from very light to almost totally very dark. This is sometimes a response to light levels in their surroundings, or the darkness or lightness of the bottom. Smallmouth caught in the summer over a bottom covered in dark algae are usually fairly dark overall, while smallmouth caught over a clean gravel bottom (like you see in the winter when the algae dies off) in bright sunlight will usually be very light brassy in shade and color to blend in with the clean, well lit gravel bottom. And finally, they can change color cast overall from very brownish and coppery brass to more olive. They can even fade out these colors and turn almost olive gray. This is always in response to the predominant color of the bottom, and usually takes a little longer to make the change. I've got more than a thousand photos of smallmouth I've caught in various places, which I use in my paintings. The variety of patterns, colors, and shades is amazing.

Such a funny man. Oh and he played baseball 😉

I've had all types & brands, but my favorite by far is the old wooden handled Rapala's. Not the hardest steel for sure, but a few quick swipes on a steel.....or even across a shovel, lawn mower blade, screwdriver shaft, or hard rock.....and she's right back to razor sharp.

We are back. Between Rent and Child care hitting us for over 5k a month we moved back last summer. It really was the best with Jim was there. I don't know if anyone else is on the board that was a part of the shop in an official capacity but that seemed to be the best. Those few years when it switched from back country to plateau was amazing. Great community, classes, people stopping in and talking and it SEEMED like someone almost always bought something. I think it's hard here with BPS down the road but it really can, and should be a different crowd that hits the two hard. The sense of community is what is going to keep a shop going here in swmo. Having been to shops all over the west it can be amazing if you foster it. Fly fish food in utah, also bought Jimmy's out in IF are amazing. Half the ones in colorado or west yellowstone i'd go back to in a heart beat. Like I mentioned I know a bunch of people out in the Jackson shops too and it was always good how much local support they got because they catered, did outreach and were trying to grow fly fishing in the area.

He used to mention my Dad, Bobby Tiefenauer ,in conversations and punch lines. Dad was one of the old knuckleball pitchers and they played on the Milwaukee Braves in 1963

"I must be in the front row!" One of the best lines in a commercial.

Are you boat detailing now? I can drop mine off 😁

My favorite is "Dexter Russell EP155WHG SANI-SAFE® 5" Deboning Knife". It's a little stiffer than the Rapala knife, which I like, and stays sharp much longer. I've had several Dexter Russell knives of different styles and all were good steel. I'd probably be happy with a Victorinox too. I do still keep the Rapala in my vest just because it's so light.

I caught several like this in tablerock this past summer.

I love the guy! That Hall of Fame induction is a classic. "It was a nativity scene", "three truck drivers", "Shoulda gone in as a player" Don't know if you'll all be able to see this, but saw this one this morning and thought it was great. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=599206636392256

Nancy made her fabulous no Knead bread. I made vegetable soup.

I don't have my copy in front of me, but I believe that the 200 MSA book didn't cover the Niangua or Elk systems. Chuck was from the St. Louis area, and he just didn't get that far away. Note also that quite a few of the obscure accesses he mentioned in the book are no longer viable, partly BECAUSE of his book--he brought too many people to these access points and the landowners got fed up and shut them off. I agree with Gavin that OnX Hunt is fairly useful. But I use Google Earth Pro and a DeLorme Atlas. Find creeks and bridge crossings on them with the Atlas, then look at the bridge crossings and creeks on Google Earth Pro. I use the Pro version because of its history feature, that shows previous imagery. A lot of times, the most recent imagery might be when the creek is high or when the trees are leafed out and obscuring much of the creek and the area around the bridge crossing, but if you go back through previous imagery you can often find a winter time view with the water low and clear, and you'll see a lot more detail. What I'm looking for is an obvious place near the bridge where people have been parking. A lot of bridges these days are fairly new, without places to park along the road shoulder, and so you can eliminate them. But if you see a bridge with an obvious pull off, then chances are people have been using it with no problems from landowners. However, you won't know for sure until you check it out. If, when you get there, there is purple paint everywhere and no trespassing signs on every tree, try somewhere else. PLEASE...if you find a nice creek with a good access, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT ABOUT IT, and don't take anybody to it that you don't trust completely to keep quiet about it. We use these accesses because the landowners don't mind. Bringing more people to them is not going to make the landowner happy. And it should go without saying to treat the use of the creek as a privilege, so keep a low profile and don't do ANYTHING that might tick off a landowner. I also think it's a good idea to not wear out your welcome. I NEVER fish a single stretch of wading size creek more than three times a year, and most of them no more than once a year; the only ones I might fish up to three times are the ones closest to home, when I can get there in 20 minutes or less and fish for a couple hours.

The one in the article/video? How can the trailer move if it's at the end of a tube? the 40# mono supported by UV resin should pretty much stay separate too, I would think, the 40# mono I have is rather stiff; and with the none of the teasers containing a hook, entanglement seems unlikely to me. The writer said-

I really don't know why I get such a bad reputation. 😆

You should send that to me for field testing 😂

Yes, casts ok with 6 weight better with a 8 weight, caught largemouth with it, but did not seem to perform any better than a single clouser, however did not to heavy trials/comparisons with it, but it catches fish. Really just did it for the novelty, and see if it would work.

Truman Tailrace. There's everything there. And catchable.

Jeff and I met at 8 this morning. It was supposed to be in the low 20s but it was 40°. We caught 3 at the first stop and it went down hill from there. The next place 0. The third place 2. The fourth place 1. The fifth place 0. The sixth place 2. The seventh 0 as well as the eighth place. It was getting depressing on my end of the boat. We decided to go back to #1 which was the best idea we had all day. We caught spots and greenies this time. We had doubles 3 times. We wound up with 19 bass and a 4.25 eye which got invited home. It was breezy with variable wind direction. The air was 40° to 55°. The water was 44-46°. If it weren’t for the wind I would hit that spot tomorrow.

Artistic Anglers Turn Plastic Trash into ‘Tampoons’ and Other Lures | MeatEater Fishing

I was given a Buba Blade and it's awesome. Although it's never filleted a fish. Because trout taste like crap. And I dont' keep smallies. It is wonderful to fillet chicken breast, thick pork chops and other land animal cuts for stuffing.

Hey, not to change the subject or anything, but did you guys hear Bob Uecker died?

Might be good in saltwater for sharks? Guess it would depend on what time of the month you are fishing....

yeah, I've seen a lot of shades and patterns on these fish Prettiest ones were over clean light colored gravel on brighter days, . I've just never been sure how long it took them to to make the change.

Since the article didn't show one, I decided to try to Google the Tampoon, this is what I found.

I think these are gonna be my new favorite Crappie fly. I don't like his hook of choice though.....So I went with a standard Clouser hook.

I tried like hell to get my youngest daughter involved in detailing boats. The older two did a fine job until they grew-up and got their own careers, but Mama has spoiled this youngest one to the point that she's TOO GOOD to scrub pontoons or stick her hands into any bilge areas. 🙄

It was a funny trip, caught a few early, then not many at all for about 4 hours, then a few late. We did get a few decent fish, Dutch got a 3 lb. largemouth and a fat 17" spot, I got one of those fat spots too. I talked to Tom W today and he caught a 5.7 LM on a jerkbait. He's got a buddy that caught a 5.14 on a spoon. Both of these gentlemen are over 80, good day for the geezers! 😃 Durn wind supposed to blow tomorrow then back into the fridge we go, I'd like to get out again soon, but looks to be another week at least for tolerable weather for me. Thanks for the trip buddy!

Sad ... ty and Jim were the best. That's where I learned to tie flies

Can I take a guess?? I have never fished any of these rivers, but based on what I see Ozark Smallmouth FB Group, I'd go: 1. Gasconade 2. Meramec 3. Big In all seriousness, this spring/summer I have decided I'll spend a weekend exploring and wading creeks in SW MO. Hopefully the Sugar, Shoal and Indian Creeks. All of these are in the alleged peak range of the Neosho strain, and I'll make sure to take note of the appearance of any fish I catch.

Not far at all from the place I stay at Truman. I got a chance to look at the bridge on Hwy N, and it looks like a real nice spot, with some good bank available. I will be testing my luck here next time I go down to Truman... Knowing the Crappie bite at the Marina, I could be looking at quite the Lenten fish fry.

Just saw this thread. Plateau closing is a real bummer. There has been a fly shop in that spot since as long as I can remember when I started college back in 2008. Back in the what felt like the glory days of it, 2011 to 14 maybe it was amazing. Great stock , events, everything you wanted your local shop to be. After moving to KC in 14 it still seemed to be great until I moved, and when I got back last year I was less impressed. Just didn't seem to have everything or the vibe that it used to. When I lived in Jackson I was good friends with people who ran the orvis shop and knew a lot of guys and guided with a few that worked at JD's. Going to tying classes, and even just stopping in to talk fishing was another level. There is enough around here that I feel like it could/should work with getting stuff stocked, community outreach, things like that. Either way, I'll miss plateau.

Bring it Mr. Pitt I would like to see it please. See you there.

Hush your mouth, Not really and I agree. Spent many hours there also. Dislike the crowd there. I have been called names I would not repeat because I was in a boat below. Had things besides jigs thrown at the boat. These guys had to really try to reach me to do that. I finally quit untangling stuff and began to just cut the line. That made them even madder. They were going to call the law. Go ahead. I was downstream on the east side. I'm sure you know where that was. They were on the bridge. Guys on the bank behind me were laughing. I crowded out no one. Thankfully you know the highway bridge below is a good spot. No wading when generation but at low water some wading. You can tear up the fish below that though. I know you know that deal also.

I think so, you can mount lead dumbell eyes at the joint or on the point fly to add a little more weight. I'm planning on Taneyfest, will bring it down and you can give it a try if I can find it

Tied this up April 2022

My enthusiastic vote goes to the Five Fish Lures Ultimate Ned Jigs. They have a good variety of weights, the hook sizes are perfect and strong, and they have a great braided wire weedguard which does not unravel and can easily be bent back into shape.

I think we did Daryk. Not exactually sure if it was this one. Either way it is nice to revisit the pattern.

I’ve tried lots of styles, including Dave’s, I like the type with the new weedless Midwest Finesse mold and the Victory hook. They are a lot like the ones that you can get from Jades Jigs.

Muffuletta!

Explore the Bates county drainage ditch from above rich hill. Conservation access and boat ramp there. Can fish the riffles below there and the deeper water below that. Crappie, walleye,whites and hybrids are there. Next place down stream from there north east of rich hill on a country road is another bridge. Same scenario below the bridge and down stream. One more place. Low water crossing farther down stream. We used to call it the pappensville riffles. Long straight shale riffles pools and eddies. Fish above and below the low water bridge. Used to fish it a bunch. I don't do River banks very well anymore. Use google maps and look straight above Rich Hill. Start looking there. Then follow the ditch and you will see all Three places. I'm not sure when the latest google photos were taken and what the map shows. Depending on water conditions in the spring where to fish. Start looking in February for walleye and they will be there through March. Whites March through April, hybrids and crappie through April into early May. Needless to say some of those fish roam in and out that river year around. Then the drainage ditch runs into the Osage which becomes Truman lake proper not far from Shell City. That's many miles of exploring and can keep you busy. Locals know it well, just watch them for info. Good luck on your search.

I fished this morning and was fortunate to find a steady swimbait bite. Caught mostly K's but there were LM and SM mixed in. The first area had plenty of shad in 35-50 FOW and the bass were stacked underneath. The swimbait would trigger bites better than other baits like Damiki, spoon, and ice jig. This area held up until 9AM. The second area probably had shad at daylight but I was able to continue the swimbait bite without any visible shad. I fished this area until 10AM and called it a day. The swimbait setup was a 5/8 jig head and a 3" basspro speed shad swimbait. The 5/8 jig allows you to get the bait down quick, then swim it straight or swim & drop it. You can also jig it up/down under the boat, then slowly swim it straight up (like an ice jig). The 5/8 jig allows you to take advantage of its drop speed to trigger bites. A Keitech would work great but the speed shad is much tougher. The speed shad allows you to spend more time fishing. You can find fish without shad in a lot of area's but they are mainly singles roaming about 30ft down in much deeper water. WT 48.3

That has been the biggest eye opener for me as well. In the past I'd have just thought I wasn't around the fish, but that's rarely not the case. Good spots always hold fish, they just ain't always biting!

Please report back and let us know how it went. Pictures are a nice touch to any report.

Yup, definitely true that sometimes the fish just aren't going to bite. I relearned this a few years ago while winter fishing one of those spring holes where it's usually like shooting fish in a barrel. The water was low and very clear, but I'd caught fish there before in low, clear, winter water. But this time I fished this one stretch of bank where they should have been for a good hour without a bite, trying several different lures that always work. Finally I gave up, thinking the fish had moved. There was a high mud bank along that little stretch, and I crossed the river and climbed up on that bank to see if there were any fish to be seen. Welp, there were probably 200 smallmouth of all sizes hanging out right where I'd been doing all that fishing. Very few of them were even moving.

The future is going to be interesting. Seems like a whole lot of things are gradually building up that, combined, could result in a lot of changes for the worse in our fisheries. Everything from more and more technology to more and more anglers using that technology to environmental problems affecting the habitat to climate change affecting water temperatures and flood regimes. And while we all like catch and release and think it's good for fish populations, it has always seemed to me that, no matter how much anglers profess to catch and release, the more pressure the harder the fishing gets. I could see how FFS could have a significant effect on crappie. Kinda reminds me of a couple weeks ago, while fishing for winter bass. I found a lone downed tree just off the bank in deep water that had a school of crappie in it. Pretty nice ones, and I love eating crappie. Using jerkbaits, I was catching one on almost every cast, so I started tossing them into the livewell. By the tenth one, I was wondering how long I could keep this up, but then I got to thinking that this was probably the only school of crappie in several miles of river, and I was pretty sure, since it was a well known winter fishing hole, that others had found those crappie before me. Now I have no idea how many there were in that tree, but I decided that ten was enough for a heck of a meal, and it was just being greedy to take any more than that out of that tree. And I really hope that I didn't take some of the last of the school after others had already decimated it. I've always been a little mystified why people who are after fish that are supposedly great eating think that they have to fill their limits every time they go.