Kayser

I tried fishing that area once last summer, got two crappie on a spoon and missed two whites on walk the dog baits. Was fishing just below the dam. It seemed like they never got close enough to the bank reliably cast to them. Any suggestions for that area, or just take a boat?

I tried fishing that area once last summer, got two crappie on a spoon and missed two whites on walk the dog baits. Was fishing just below the dam. It seemed like they never got close enough to the bank reliably cast to them. Any suggestions for that area, or just take a boat?

Took the kayak out Sunday morning from the ramp off Marshall, down from Simpson park. Fished downstream, deep cranks and crawler harnesses. Missed a few bites on the crawlers, one more on an orange twister grub. Only slime came from a snagged buffalo. Not good.

Waded into a shallow pocket with a soda bottle full of minnows, a stringer, and a long rod with a small slip-float on 10lb test. Fished mid day, found decent numbers in the shady spots around the base of trees. I'm taking a stiffer rod next time, to help wrestle them out of the brush.

Found 8 while turkey hunting south of St Louis- half frees, greys and whites. Only found them in spots with thin leaf cover. I think the soil there warmed up first, and they popped. Either way, gonna make for a nice little snack.

Well then.... That about answers everything, other than where to look for components. Never thought about epoxying the ends of the wood. I think that's going to be a must on this build, but I'm not sure if I want the potential problems of wood. I might go with a dark metal or carbon-fiber seat, although I think the chrome/nickle finishes would look better with the reel I have. (Unsure if I should match the seat to the rod, or the reel). I guess I'll play it by ear once the rod comes in and I actually have something to hold in my hands. I really need to head to the shop and bug those guys...

That's the one, Muddler. At least, I'm pretty sure it is- been a while since I ordered it... Need to call about it again. My biggest concern is that if I do ever take it to the salt, will the components hold up? I don't want to take it out once and find out a wooden reel seat is finished after one day, or that my guides corrode before I even get a chance to rinse it off at the marina. I was thinking double-foot snakes with two stripping guides on it. Is there any advantage to the single-foot guides other than weight savings? Are there any performance drawbacks to them? Hell, I've never even held a rod with single-foots, other than an old 1wt bamboo in a friend's basement, so I have no clue how they act. As far as thread, I don't know if I want loud, subtle, or just plain slick. I always wet the thread to "preview" the color before I add finish, but I'm curious about CP- will it completely keep the original color, or does it still fade slightly under the finish? Again, never used it. Oh, forgot my experience level- I've only built 4 complete rods (1 fly), and repaired about 50 others. Thanks for the tips, looking forward to more.

I'm mainly building this for streamers, big poppers, and other warmwater, but I'd like to take it for salmon/steelhead or inshore saltwater of given the chance. I want to build it to last, but also look sharp. Keeping that in mind, here's what I've got so far. Blank: St Croix, 9', 8wt (ordered) Color: Gloss burgundy Seat: Undecided Handle: Full wells, slim fighting butt Stripping guides: Undecided. Fuji? Guides: Undecided. Recoil double snakefoot, titanium? Thread color/trim: Undecided Reel: Lamson Velocity 3.0x, nickel finish Basically, I'm looking for help with the components. Definitely open to suggestions on this, as I am drawing a complete blank on how I want this to turn out.

I'm mainly building this for streamers, big poppers, and other warmwater, but I'd like to take it for salmon/steelhead or inshore saltwater of given the chance. I want to build it to last, but also look sharp. Keeping that in mind, here's what I've got so far. Blank: St Croix, 9', 8wt (ordered) Color: Gloss burgundy Seat: Undecided Handle: Full wells, slim fighting butt Stripping guides: Undecided. Fuji? Guides: Undecided. Recoil double snakefoot, titanium? Thread color/trim: Undecided Reel: Lamson Velocity 3.0x, nickel finish Basically, I'm looking for help with the components. Definitely open to suggestions on this, as I am drawing a complete blank on how I want this to turn out.

From experience, buffalo are clean white meat closer to a sucker, and carp are red meat closer to oiled mud. You can tell which I prefer, but I generally only find them in mud around here. Carp might be decent from a cleaner lake.

Hold on a second. Posted April 1...

So should I be headed to the woods this weekend to look for mushrooms around St Louis?

I fish a smaller, dirtier river most of the time for smallmouth. My current favorite is a fly rod and #2 popper laid out for 10 seconds, then on to a new spot. A cheap Norman shallow crank in chrome/blue had produced very well for me, as have small buzzbaits and jerkbaits. If I'm after dinner (spots and sunfish) in addition to smallies, I'll put on a strike king bitsy bug with a trailer or a black yum wooly bug on an Eakins stand-up jighead. 3" white grub on a 1/8oz hot pink jighead can be burned or hopped back to catch almost anything. Or, you know, a nightcrawler and split shot to have a chance at some redhorse and catfish.

I need to check on here more frequently. My vote is for D with either an orange or red fish.

LP at Newburg is flowing 114cfs right now, so I would say everything is low, especially for spring. That's the flow of both Mill & Little Piney cumulative for that gauge. I would assume everything else in the region is going to be in similar condition.

Texas rigged worm, tubes, craws. Buzzbaits, spinner baits, smaller swimbaits, poppers, etc. If it's a clean bank or very little algae, shallow cranks are killer. In the early spring, beetlespins fished slow in the shallows.

Schneider's in Waterloo, IL might be closer than St. Libory. They do make their own smoked snacks (sticks, sausages, jerky, etc), and process deer as well. Brats are made fresh, and have repeatedly won "Best of IL" at the state competitions. I think Miller's Meat Market in Red Bud has mainly local livestock, though, if you can add another 25 min to the drive. But don't quote me on it.

Ok, last question- how close to the bottom, or fish them suspended? I've caught exactly 1 sauger in my life, still trying to get a feel for them. Beginning to think they act similar to goggle eye.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Do you tip the jigs with anything, or just fish it plain?

I tied some 1/8oz bucktail jigs tonight. Based them off a clouser, but I wanted to get a little deeper and hold on the bottom (1/4oz is a bit much there). What do you guys think? Thinking about tipping with live shiners/chubs or a gulp minnow if I don't have much time. Bucktails

Out of curiosity, were they in the eddies, current, around rocks, logs, sand, etc... I'm trying to find some on the east side of the state- found the deepest hole (10-15') for a mile or two either way, know they're in there, just can't get one yet. Made multiple trips, just trying to figure out specifically where they are in the river. Only white bass and drum to show so far.

I've always fished small farm ponds when it gets cold, mainly for bluegill. Small jigs or jigheads on 1-4lb test tipped with waxworms work well, and I've also had luck on very small minnows for crappie and bass. My favorite is a hot pink or red 1/80oz jighead, with eyes, and a waxworm that has the tail end shredded (hanging guts add action and scent). Use a variety of methods, including just letting it sit perfectly still with the teeniest, tiniest strike indicator/cork/bobber that's weighted to where it almost sinks if you look away. If no luck for 30 seconds, lift it slow, let it fall, repeat. Or jig it fast. I like to make at least 5 holes, around areas you know hold fish in colder weather- deep brush comes to mind, or a deep drop-off, or sometimes suspended half-way up over the deepest water. Try putting them in different areas, then letting the first set rest so the fish have time to come back, settle down, or whatever- they don't seem to like the axe or auger smacking the ice over their heads. Catch rate? A fish every 5 minutes is good, maybe great. Normally, I'm satisfied with a fish every 30min or so. Not great, but it beats sitting inside. Best day was 2 guys with 4 holes, and we were pulling up fish as fast as the bait sank back down. 47 bluegill at 8" or better, 7 crappie from 11-13", 3 bass around 15" each, and a 12lb albino catfish in about an hour. 6' deep over 12' of water, stumps on the bottom. Oh, and we were sitting in a boat on top of the ice, because the ice was rotten. Took a 4-wheeler and a rope to get us back to shore. Really wish I had a picture of that. Safety- I prefer 4" or more of clear, solid ice. When you walk, cracking is bad, but "expansion cracking" is fine. There is a definite sound difference, but I can't really describe it. Stay safe, let people know where you are, and don't fish alone if it's an option. Good luck!

10"? That's insane. I might have to check out a couple places tomorrow. How much of the ice was good, and how much was rotten?

If you walk upstream from the spring branch, you can sight fish for them in that hole in the Meramec. I've done well with Rapalas in the park during March before, though.

I hit walker lake a couple months ago, caught some fish on larger beadheads from the dock. I think it will be open kinda quick with this thaw, since the fountain runs 24/7, but you'll probably see a lot of ice out there yet.