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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.

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 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?

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 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.

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...

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".

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.

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.

Surgically removed followed by radiation treatment to assure remission.

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

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.

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.

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.

Had my buddy Jeb with me this morning. A little on the chilly side early, but not a bad day. We had to work for our fish. I think we got maybe 10 total between us with a couple of nice keepers. Mainly throwing jigs and the c-rig. Best fishing was in the trees in Indian Creek, with the fish being in less than 15 FOW for the most part. We did go out on the main lake and try for smallies on the rocky banks, but we only had one that got off halfway to the boat. There were some scattered stripers blowing up in Indian, we threw top waters at a couple of them, but not bites. Little shad are everywhere in Indian, but other than a few stripers, nothing was chasing them. For whatever reason the bass weren't messing with them, at least not on top. WT 76-77

I have no recollection of a first fish. I was taken on camping trips as a baby. My dad started pulling me around farm ponds in a float tube when I was 6 or 7. I know when I turned 8 he would unhook me from my leash at times and let me figure it out on my own.

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.

Went over to Grand yesterday, fished for blues out of my buddy Kens boat. It was slow, we put 8 in the boat ranging from 1 to 4 lbs. Dragging shad in 25-35 FOW. We had some fairly old frozen shad for bait and that may be the reason for the slowness, fresh shad are much better bait, but we have not been able to net any. Lots of pelicans and egrets south of Sailboat bridge on and around the small islands. Monarchs are moving south, saw quite a few flying across the lake. Still lots of rec boats out and about, Grand is one busy lake.

Rub it in. Look at all you guys... "I caught my first fish when I was a young'un barely born!" Despite the many frustrations, I haven't given up yet! I'll let you know when I finally catch my first fish! There WILL be yelling and dancing and celebrating! Or at least that's how I imagine it.

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😁!

Saw a recent video of Alton Brown baking potatoes. I am not a huge baked potato fan. But I tried his easy method last night. Best dang baked potato I've ever had. Figured I'd share. -Coat the tater in neutral oil and salt it -Place directly on your oven rack, middle of the oven, at 375-degrees for 45 min. -Take out, coat with a little more oil and salt, and up the oven to 400-degrees. Bake for 10-15 more minutes -Take out and stab it with a fork in the middle. Use your hands to push it open. Add butter, cheese, sour cream, chives (no knife to cut in half) Fluffy, crispy skin, and just beautiful. Will be doing that again tonight!

Got out on the upper Current today. Location will be obvious to those familiar with the area. River was just drop dead gorgeous. It felt nice, but way too hot for October. Catching was just okay. Just a few stocker rainbows and little smallmouth. A lot more great looking holding water than feeding fish. That's fine, of course. I still couldn't have asked for a nicer day. My embarrassingly low clearance car didn't much like the road in, and there may or may not be some aftermath for me on that tomorrow. Zero regrets. Just the cost of doing business.

The portage and the drag up the hill were rough. Solo trip means no help, no excuses, and no whining. Embrace the suck.

I have no idea, but I'm sure it involved a Grandpa Pigeon's purchased Zebco 202 and Sunnen Lake in Potosi, MO. I still wish that I had that combo, but I broke the rod beating a cottonmouth to death with it 45-50ish years ago. The spillway below the dam was one of our favorite spots, but very snakey.

Am I the only one who carries a gun in the wilds? Missouri and Arkansas are free carry states, concealed or open. Bears, dogs, crazy crack heads. Carry a firearm.

Once again moved inside it is a bit crowded. Planning on putting two tables in but I think I only have room for one. Seems plants have a way of getting bigger and producing more. oneshot

I saw a $35 lobster roll on a menu this weekend. We went someplace else. It is hard to eat out for less than $20 a plate for lunch or $30 for dinner these days. Add a bar tab and apps, and it gets pricey fast.

Boooo!

We are going to camp and put in at Cedar Grove on monday and then camp on the river and take out at Round Springs. Hope to take our time and fish as much as possible. We shouldn't have a problem because we have lots of trips float camping on the Buffalo and the 11 Point. Going to use Current River Canoe to shuttle our truck/trailer. We will get off the river at round springs and then camp at Echo Bluff State Park. Because they have showers and after three day on the river we will need one to drive home Friday morning. Looking forward to this trip and it will check off another great river.

Thanks! I do ok, but The fish will be fine. I’m pretty tender hearted and carefully release most of the fish I catch. Besides, I only caught 523 the first month I was retired.

This reminded me of an encounter I had with a swimmer on my favorite creek last summer. We were near the upstream end of the smallmouth habitat on this creek, but he told me I should try about a mile upstream. He said there was an amazing hole where as a kid he caught huge bass, some of them over 20 lb.s. I just smiled and said "wow, very impressive!" 😆

What kind of food truck serves hamburgers? A patty wagon

One of these days I might get it. I have fun fishing without it, it's not that I hate it. I'd like to have it just to look around at stuff.

NGK's are correct for the Mercs. 6000 RPM is what Mercury recommends..... because their hole shot is typically lacking......(and ONLY because of that)...But I prop for 5500 if the hole shot is good. 6000 is SCREAMING and I'd rather not hear my motor wind up that tight.

It's amazing humanity survived those tough times without a can of Vienna sausages to fall back on when the going got rough.

83) Steelcolor Shiner I made a roadtrip looking for a few micro species. I had two I was counting on catching and two that I was hoping for. I have a very reliable spot for Steelcolor Shiners. I was hoping that I could catch one in a few minutes, but it took close to an hour. 😳 oh well, at least it was a Big Pretty one (I caught several more smaller washed out ones at the next spot).

That's right I'm cooking! oneshot

Campbell Point is a BEAR to back in. Front truck tires have to be in the water. If you have a buddy it’s ok but by yourself you’re going to get wet. The Marina hosts the weighin, there is no way the launch facility could do it as the ramp is terrible and there is no boat parking access as the launch dock is really a one boat dock. Also, they covered the entire shoreline with huge boulder riprap so that’s out. Quite a few launched there but the SK bridge ramp was the main launch for the derby. 6 minutes to CP Steven and I launched at H Hwy. We were the only truck at the ramp. 6 minute run to CP. The guys that won last year skunked. Fish were biting but just limited size. Over 1/2 the field didn’t show up at the weigh in. Everyone showed up at the steak dinner 😁 Steven and I waded thru 50 + fish to nab 5 keeps. Glad we did as he doesn’t get to fish much and he had a ball just catching fish. Pleasure boat traffic in the SK Baxter area Saturday was totally insane with wake boats and big Cobalts all over. Warm water and a beautiful day had them enjoying early Fall weather. Results are usually only posted in the Rattler and it takes 2 weeks. Not this coming Thursday but the following one. Ya’ll come fish next year.

Gravel Bar for the win

Today I ran into a guy on the middle Current River with a big baitcasting rod spooled with what looked like 20 pound test. He asked if I'd caught any big ones. I said no, not really, most of my smallies were in the 8-12 inch range, but I'd seen one that looked real nice, maybe about 20 inches. He said "Oh, no, I meant real big ones." Either he's a really good fisherman or he didn't know what a danged fine smallmouth bass was.

Well my wife said she might be let go. Well good your 67 years old why not enjoy hanging out with retired. oneshot

It’s very interesting to see what’s going on down below ….it doesn’t matter what area of the lake I always see Spoonbill , it’s things like that I would never know without LVS…I just can’t figure out why some people hate it , I’m middle age so can’t say only young guys use it .

Thanks for the lobster roll update. I won't be getting a $26 dollar roll.

84) Wedgespot Shiner I have a couple other spots where I can confidently fish for Wedgespot Shiners. This spot is normally a place where I see Ozark Logperch. So, I set out “counting” on catching Steelcolor Shiners and Wedgespot Shiners relatively quickly , and then having time to look around for Ozark Logperch. well, while we have been dry lately, apparently that area has not been. They had a flood event recently and water levels looked springtime high not Indian Summer low. So, I did my thing. I caught numerous Bigeye Shiners, Longear Sunfish, Cardinal Shiners, and Steelcolor Shiners. I saw numerous Brook Silversides. I never saw a single Ozark Logperch. I nibbled the edges and finally found an area I could safely cross the river. A wading staff would have helped. I fished until I figured out where these guys were holding. I caught one where the Chevron was blurry and then I got a nice clean one. I spent my remaining time looking for Ozark Logperch, larger Neosho Bass, and a mystery micro that we’re pretty numerous last time I was there. the flood event really changed the place. It was slow going getting where I wanted to be and water levels were too high for my mystery micro spot. I missed one larger Neosho. I made my way back through the post flood debris and did the sketchy wade back to the car and didn’t get stuck getting back to the highway. I got what I needed, but I was left wanting a little more.