Ham

I was exocriated last winter for pondering why gigging is allowed. I pretty much want fishing to be hook and line where the fish has some choice in taking the bait or lure AND I have some chance at releasing the fish alive. The streams had a natural balance with certain numbers of all species of fish. Sure, I like smallmouth bass more than all the other fish, but I think the " rough fish" to be valuable as well. If you want to eat suckers and red horse, I'm sure there is a way to catch them on a hook and line (and even on the fly) if fact I've done it.

Gigging is the glue that holds society as we know it together. There apparently is no other Ozark tradition. So gigging must be maintained and upheld no matter what.

Hey Ron, Glad you made it here. I hope you can be another source of information about current conditions on lower BSL. I try to post accurate general information trip reports. I'll be interested to see if you are able to connect with the Yellow Perch in BSL on a regular basis. I have caught a couple, but it is purely a needle in the haystack thing for me. The crappie fishing at BSL can be fantastic and the smallie fishery is undervalued. I hope I can pick up a few walleye tips from you as well, but I'll never put in the work required to really catch them consistently. I'll catch them when they eat my bass or crappie offerings. Good Luck and stay safe in 2010. God Bless, Ham

Thanks for the input Mike. I'm still hoping for more observations and opinions. Maybe I should have put this in the Table Rock forum.

I have a bunch of whacked out fihing goals for 2010, but I'll post the abbreviated version here. 3000 fish caught (they don't don't it I don't touch them), 30 species, and 100 trips.

Interesting information.

I'm pretty new to the jigging spoon game. I have had some modest success droppong a spoon on fish, but I have questions about rod preferences for this technique. I have mostly used a MH rod to this point. The spoon weights of 1/2 to 3/4 of an ounce made this seem like a reasonable choice. However, I do have some smaller spoons which seem to have been designed for panfish primarily. I might drop those on a M or even ML spinning rod. What power rod do ya'll like to fish the jigging spoon on? Is rod length a factor at all? I can see where using floro could be an advantage, but so far have been using co-poly. Do ya'll have a line preference for jigging spoons? I carry a mixed bag of spoons. I usually reach for a 1/2 oz CC spoon first, but I also like the Luhr Jenson Crippled Herring a lot too. Any brand spoons in particular that I should try or try to avoid? I notice that the Bink's spoon comes with a swivel attached via a split ring. I have slplit rings attached to all of my jigging spoons and tend to use a swivel. Should I go ahead and attached a swivel to the split rings on all jiggiing spoons? I'm interested in hearing what gear that you guys that are true spoon fishermen rely on.

My bad. I did not read John's fishing report. Still barbless though. That's too bad. I'll still have to sweat a size 18 pulling a thread out of a shirt.

I've heard from several usually reliable sources that there are regulation changes coming 01/01/10 for the Catch and Release areas of the White River. These special areas are still going to be artifical only, but the barbless requirement is gone and multiple hook points will be allowed. Has anyone seen this in writing? I will still fish barbless for the ease of release of the trout AND the ease of getting hooks out of me BUT it sure will be nice not having to worry if the barb is mashed down 100% and it will be nice to be able to fish two fly rigs (because I'm not satisifed with losing one fly at a time).

Fished the main lake area Monday. Caught a fair number of fish with decent size on jigs in the main lake. Falling water seems to have killed my creek bite. Most of the fish are coming from 20-35 foot of water, but some are in 10-15 grabbing the jig on the initial drop. Match the jig color to the water color. I'm sure whatever you throw will work. The bite is there. Some days you'll catch about a fish an hour other days you'll catch 2-3 fish an hour. Does anyone know what the armada of boats fishing main lake flats are fishing for? Anyone in the fleet catching fish?

I've been told by multiple sources that AGFC is still stocking Rainbows in BSL. It's very possible all those folks were mistaken though. If someone has a person on the inside at AGFC a quick call could get to the truth. IF they are still dumping Rainbows in BSL thats a waste of money. I'm pretty sure the area that folks fished for the Rainbows by the dam is off limits post 9/11. I might have to add Powersite to areas I've fished on BSL.

I have worked with Steve Day to get some custom jigs made. I find his prices to be very reasonable if bought in bulk. He has a lot of experience with different hooks etc and can help you make sure you have the right hook for what you're trying to do. Elken Lures He's on the left coast, but I try to overlook that.

I have used VMC barbarian hooks and I am very happy with them. I have not used that Owmer hook, but I have every confidence that it would work well also. Not to get in the way of your quest, but the lake does not have to eat LOTS of your jigs. You shouldn't be losing more than 1 or 2 a day. I have not lost a jig the last two full days of fishing. I was throwning jigs MOST of the day. I get hung in the rocks and wood a lot, but that doesn't have to be a lost jig. Be alert / Don't wedge it worse than you have to. Don't pull anymore once you know you are stuck / Go to the backside of the jig and give a gentle tug. MOST of the time this is all that is needed. I use a hound dog to knock the jig off of wood snags. You'll need at least 50 foot of cord. Yes, you will still lose a jig every now and then and unfortunately I do miss a fish or two because I'm making sure it is a fish not a rock before I set the hook. Sometimes hooksets are NOT FREE.

The ramp at Pontiac is in good shap and would be usable at 19~20 foot. There is a low spot in the road prior to the ramp. I think the ramp itself would be usable to 21 or 22 foot. If someone knows better about the ramp at Pontiac PLEASE educate me. We launched at Spring creek yesterday, but it is a two man job or wear waders. You might get water in your vehicle if it sits lowish before you can get your boat off the trailer. Of course, water is dropping 0.70 a day so lots of ramps are becoming usable. Theodosia should have a ramp that is usable at around 17 foot. Fish were difficult to find yesterday. One fish here or there with fish scattered from shallow to deep and back of a creek to main lake. Nice size fish though and a definite late afternoon bite helped my feelings a lot.

Wayne, I think there are tremendous numbers of walleye in BSL. I think MOST of them live in the lower lake and spend their lives undisturbed getting long and fat. I don't catch more of them because I don't know what I am doing, but lots of folks do target them and CATCH them. Lots and with size. Not everyone tells on themselves online. The reason that the stripers get so large on BSL is BECAUSE their numbers are limited. If agencies plant millions of them, the stripers would be successful, but would be smaller fish on average. Still be a lot of fun, but overall top end size would diminish. Infisherman had an article about that phenomena awhile back. I can't footnote it for you, but it brought up Arkansas walleye as an example. I'd like a limited number of stripers to be releassed on an annual basis. I'd like them to quit feeding the walleye with the rainbow trout stockings in BSL UNLESS they will tell me when and where the stocking will occur so I can go catch some walleye during the feeding frenzy.

I think I need to participate as well. Go to sleep Glen, it's past your bedtime.

Thank you for the follow up on where you launched. Welcome Ridge is kinda out of the way for me, but at some water levels that may be what I need to do.

I knew it should be. Where were you able to launch at this water level?

The weather has been tough, but the fishing especially for numbers has not been tough. After the turnover (based on your dates) but prior to this hard cold snap, we did quite well on jigs. I don't sweat the turnover phenomena. While I'm sure it happens and I'm sure it can make a difference, I'm gonna go fishing when I can go fishing. If the rivers are too cold or blown out, I'll lake fish. Otherwise, I will be floating a creek having a great time.

Depending on the time of year, how long to you think a true 5 pound smallie would be? 22 inches ?

I gave up asking Santa. I have to just buy it myself.

If they would add about 1000 stripers a year to BSL, it would be fantastic.

I guess that was my plan to not fish the Norfork river or the White River until they close the spillways. bummer

You probably should plan on spending 4 days with hime. Early fall, late fall, pre-spawn, post spawn. If you are relocating, those four trips could put you a LONG way ahead on the learning curve and saved some money wasted on gear that doesn't cut it down here. Just an idea.

John, what would be your opinion of maximum cfs for you to consider fishing Norfork or thw White. I don't enjoy it much, but will fish Norfork ab 6000 CFS. Likewise it is a mental drain, but I have/will fish the White up to 20,000 CFS. Should I consider fishing the White at 22-24K?