Ham

I've known about Calico's for a few years, but never gotten to fish for them. That sounds like a hoot!

Crooked Creek (Ozark Zone Blue Ribbon Stream) Except where noted below, smallmouth bass daily limit is two and each must be at least 14 inches long to keep. • Along the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation property near Kelley’s Slab Smallmouth bass must be released immediately. • Between the Highway 62/412 Bridge and the Highway 62 Spur Bridge Smallmouth bass daily limit is one and it must be at least 18 inches long to keep. • From Highway 101 Bridge downstream to the White River Smallmouth bass daily limit is one and it must be at least 18 inches long to keep.

I realize that you're trolling for a reaction, but since I've heard mindless crap like that for years I'm a little less likely to give you the reaction you're looking for. I do find it interesting that on one hand you're worried about excessive use of a renewable resoursce (trees), but have disdane for the idea hat snakes are important part of Ozarks fuana that should not be needlessly killed out of fear and ignorance.

I'm not Chief, but I'd tell you what I would do, I would leave them alone. I had a really big copperhead on my driveway last fall as I was leaving for work. I stopped my car and went and got my kids to show them the copperhead. We watched it from a close, but safe distance as the snake made its way into a more overgrown part of the yard. I KNOW I have snakes on my property. I use a flashlight at night. I watch where I walk on the wooded parts of the yard. I've taught may children to be careful as well. On the way to a put in the other day, there was a mid sized copperhead in the road. I stopped the car and used my baitcasting rod to move him out of the road so that the next person to come along couldn't choose to crush him with their car tires. My buddy did point out that a boat paddle would have been a better tool to urge him off the road with. I'll keep that in mind for next time. I know I don't have the skills to grab them by hand. I don't have the tools to move a big rattlesnake either. I'd love to see one though.

So, if your guys had just left the snake alone then none of the negative consequences would have happened right? Unfortunately, the lesson you took away from this event was to kill all poisonous snakes rather than the proper lesson which was to leave the snakes alone and then you'll have no snake problems.

If you leave the snakes you see alone AND watch where you put your hands and feet, you won't have any problems with snakes. There is way to much unreasonable fear of snakes and follish illegal killing of snakes as well.

I fished from 5 PM until 8 PM with my flyrod wading. Water was off for a change. Had decent success and learned a few things. Lots of action and got 15 or so to hand. I don't consider a 15 inch Brown a runt.

I hope to do so. I'll be up river from you. Likely in the Rim Shoals area.

Check the USGS guages and see if the river got a bump from recent rainfall. The ground was pretty dry so I'm not sure how much runoff there will be. I think there would be some extra work to the float, but I would expect the fishing to be good.

I would think there will be considerable amounts of walking at the present water levels. For, me CC has a pretty narrow range where it's good floating and good fishing. I look for between 13.25 to 12.25. It you don't mind some walking the fishing can be pretty decent at low water levels. When you say Bruno, do you mean launch at the Hwy 62 bridge near Pyatt? If so, that's almost 20 miles in 2 days. More than I want to try to cover in 2 days considering I think there will be walking and how slowly I fish.

So having caught some accidental walleye and few more targeted walleye, I'm starting to slip down the slope of fishing for them more as the target species. I did manage a few keepers and my wife wants me to bring more home for supper. I have a few bottom bouncers. How many do you need? Are they frequently hung up and lost? We talked about weight of the B/B on another thread and I have purchased 1 oz and 1 1/2 oz. I'm thinking about 2 oz as well. Is this mostly a live bait deal or would rapalas/rouges work also? What about berkley gulp stuff like the worms, minnows, and leeches? Any chance that will work for the walleye? Do you guys make your own trolling set ups (blades and beads)? It seems like I need somewhere between a #2, #4, and #6 hook depending on type bait used. Blades in the 2,3,4 range? on mono or fluro in 12-17 lb line? How often do you use the floats built into the harness to keep the bait up. Basically 3 to 4 foot long finished length? I've got rod holders on the boat already. I've got some medium action softer taper rods that I was planning on using. What pound test line is a good starting pointto troll with? Braid or mono? Please feel free to comment on any or all of this and add to anything I'm overlooking.

I've not seen too many grass beds on the Norfork, but I've only lived up here three years. Maybe I need to look harder. However, on the White where drag chains are allowed, there is lots of grass. Kinda ironic. I was guessing that when they opened the flood gates on the dam at Norfork that it might have scoured out some of the grass. It moved a lot of rock around. I'd love a chain to keep the bow pointed up river. I want to go downstream about as fast as the water. I just need to have a good fisherman in the bow and enjoy watching them catch fish while I run the boat. Missed you at the Cotter Trout Fest Zach. I talked to Ken for a minute or two.

Yeah, it has some fish. All three bass species are there. I've fished better places and I've fished worse places. I wouldn't drive there special to fish it, but if it was on the way, sure.

Anyone ever try dragging flutter spoons behind B/B. A buddy picked up some wildly colored spoons that are fairly light that I'm going to try. I got a few heavier B/B yesterday.

The high rate of flow generally destroys the grass on the Norfork. It sure would be handy if it was legal to drag a chain, but I do mt best to stay legal. I got frustrated in the Norfork yesterday fishing/fighting the boat solo for a couple of hours. Hooked 20 caught seven. Never got a rainbow to the boat just browns/cutts.

I've got one new in the package that I'll mail to your door for $12 bucks. I'll never get around to fishing it so I might as well get what I can back out of it.

So was the person you saw violating every Norfork specfic rule or just certain ones?

You guys have been very helpful with depth range that the fish have been holding at and I appreciate it. I had bought some bottom bouncers for dragging stuff for crappie, but I don't think they are anything near that heavy.

What size bottom bouncers do you guys like to use?

The question should be Table Rock vs Bull Shoals.

Little portable NOAA weather band radios can be purchased for less than 10 dollars and would have given these folks more of a warning. I bring mine on all the overnighters I do. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not blaming the people involved in this in any way for the tragic events. The really heavy rains that fell may not have occured where the people were staying. It looks like they were getting rained on, but not the 7-10 inches that fell very quickly at the headwaters. I rented one of the cabins that is down fairly close to the river one Easter weekend. I don't think a heavy rainstorm would have had me loading up the wife and kids in the middle of the night to avoid potential flooding. I have tent camped at Arrowhead campgrounds down near the river on the Caddo. I'm not sure a heavy rain would have made me break camp and run for the hills. Hearing of probable flash flooding on my NOAA radio would have though.

I posted about this on RS.com a minute ago. I immediately thought of you Ollie when I heard about this event. I've had my families camping along both of these rivers. I've had great solo and family fishing trips on both of these rivers. I drove over the Caddo yesterday and it was beautiful and looked to be at a great level for fishing and floating. I can't say I would have known to cal off a camping trip if I had planned one for that area. It breaks my heart too Ollie.

Maybe they will grow some over the year and we will have more keepers next spring. I feel like I caught a lot of accidental walleye while bass/crappie fishing this year, but not a whole lot of keepers. A few more > 18 inch fish sure would be nice.

I did fish the White River a few miles down from you guys Phil. I had my worst day yet on the White. A big slug of water hit right about when I was launching and it put so much loose algae and grass in the water that it was very difficult to fish any lure and I think it pretty much turned the trout off as well. Bad luck/bad timing. I checked before I left, but there is a delay on when stuff is posted to the intrenet and the numbers are NOT always accurate. I didn't have enough time to relocate so I fished the time I had and went home a little more humble with a hard knocks education. Didn't go fishless, but it was close. Better days ahead.

I'd give up some numbers for size when trout fishing. Most likely ya'll still caught a bunch compared to most bass fishing trips. I like jig fishing for trout. I might sneak in a trip to do just that tomorrow.