Ham

$2.89 Be careful what you wish for. I'm not sure that gas prices will be any better with a demonrat in the White House.

I've been looking at different regs to try to see how most states handle the bass regs. It seems most states do not try to make people responsible for telling one bass from another. I've had Wildlife and Fisheries guys tell me that ideally you would have different regs for each lake and fish species, but that it would be too confusing for most anglers so they pick a happy medium. It seems like many states that have all three species lump them all together under one regulation reguarding length. Some states have no minimum length on any of the black bass species. In doing this search,I noted that Lake of the Ozarks has a 12 inch minimum on Spots as does the Missouri portion of Bull Shoals and Norfork. Slow growth of spots lead to a population shift at Lake of The Ozarks. Spots represented 50% of the total bass population, but only 20% of the bass kept were spots. I'm not sure if that study mentioned forage issues or not. I could not find a date on that press release so I'll acknowledge the regs may have changed back. What are the regs for spots on Beaver Lake in Arkansas? I was thinking they had a 12 inch minimum, but I'm really not certain. I know every lake is different, but I see Beaver, Bull Shoals, TR, LOZ, and Norfork as being close geographically and similar in that they are Highland Res. If the regs I read about are still in play, I'm confused why the 12 inch spot reg works in 4 of the 5 lakes, but would decimate TR's bass population. I wonder what percentage of the total black bass population are spots. I'll guess I'll look for that data later.

If MDC has done studies and determined that the legal minimum for spots needs to be 15 inches, then so be it. Spots are indeed slow growing. I'd bet they would have spawned at least 3 years BEFORE they reached 12 inches. It is interesting to see the way different areas manage the Spotted Bass. Louisiana has decided that there are too many spots in Toledo Bend. There are a lot of fishermen that think that spots eat more than their fair share of the forage fish on Toledo Bend. There is currently no minimum length limit for spots on TB. Remember that I LOVE SPOTS and I LOVE SMALLIES. I am total catch and release on both those species in every location. So not legal change would impact the fish I keep. I have a hard time believeing the bass population in TR would crater if 12 inch spots became legal keepers. There are probably a bajillion spotted bass out there on offshore structure that rarely see a bait. I would imagine those fish would act as a reserve to resupply spots pulled off of shorelines.

Crappie tend to be a little more difficult to manage because natural predation and the success or failure of any given years spawn affect them more than fishermen. Illegal netters can wipe them out of course. Crappie populations are typically cyclic regardless of what fishermen do. As an outsider looking in, I think reducing minimum length of a keeper Spot to 12 inches would let folks keep a few bass w/o negatively affecting the LM or SMB population. Let the presence of a toothy patch on the tongue be the legal definition of a Spot. That's not perfect test, but I think it would be good enough. For the folks that still couldn't tell the difference between a LMB bass or SMB and a Spot, a ticket could be a good education or maybe they just aren't meant to be bass fishermen. If fishing for bass during the spawn is a threat to the lake, The MDC should be able to show that with data from a scientific studies and should enact laws to protect the lake for all the user groups. If any fisherman is following the current law to the letter, who am I to harrass them? I don't plan on being hungry enough to kill a smallie and I love Spots almost as much as Smallies. I will keep LMB when I want some fish, but I prefer crappie. Remember THEY ARE JUST A FISH. They aren't pets. How much guilt to you think a bass has when they eat shad until they vomit them up? We can get so tender hearted about it that we quit using a renewable resource. I find that the real hardcore crappie fishermen are every bit as serious about crappie fishing as anyone could be about bass fishing. I find crappie fishermen to be much more tight lipped about locations and techniques than bass fishermen are as well. The real hardcore guys will fish year round in any weather. I prefer to crappie fish summer through early spring.

You mean like a 14lb 10 oz Striper on a Sammy?

Sounds like you had a better day fishing than I did at work. What about crappie? Catch any of those? Spoonbills? White Bass? Carp? Catfish? And no Largemouth either? You're turning into one of those Smallmouth snobs aren't you.

Any good that comes from dealing with the COE is a fortunaye accident. I like the IRS better than the COE ; and I ain't a big fan of the IRS. I have a hard time thinking of a govt agency that impacts fisherman as much as the COE does that has as little regard for fishery needs as the COE. Terrible.

D*** global warming.

We get everybody all reveved up about River Smallie right about the time they move the site to another server. No one can get to the forums right now. Keep checking.

RS.com So, Al do you miss the religious and political debates on TAF?

Water temps still in the mid 40's ??? That's a full 20 degrees cooler than what I am seeing. Bummer. No wonnder you zeroed. Figure it out so you can teach me when I get up that way.

The numbers can get crazy when you really get into the White Bass. I broke down and bought a clicker because I could not keep an accurate count and I got tired of trying to guess. When you say around 100, people look at you funny. The first time I used it we caught 87. I thought that was a relatively slow day. I do envy your success with the flyrod though. I was catching a lot of White Bass, but I could not get the Whites to play along when I broke out the White Rod. I stuck with it until I caught one, but I watched my Dad catch about 20 while I stuggled to get bit. I love to see my Dad catch fish, but prefer doubles to watching his 20 singles. Thanks for the report. I'm not in range to act upon it though.

Hey Bobber, Did you go fishless on the Steel Creek to Kyles or the Woolem to Baker's ? Can't believe you zeroed though.

Well, I was sort of surprized when I was told on this board that my boat forcing some shad out of the mouth of a creek into a larger river was equivalent to shuffling. I would have thougt that the fact that it was inadvertant and a one time event would have been mitigating factors. They are put and take trout. There are WAY TOO MANY put in for them to prosper if people didn't take them out by the bucketful. I wonder if the ever higher stocking numbers could be impacting the overall size of the largest 1/3 of the trout population. People will decide for themselves what is sporting or non sporting within the wide area of what is legal. On the White river they used to herd trout. Guide boats would spook trout into large groups of fish in a confined deep hole then their clients could have a good time catching fish. This was later outlawed. Up until the time it was made illegal, it was fair game, but not exactly sporting in my mind. Waiting in line at an outlet may be the most productive thing to do, but it might not be my first choice.

Absolutely, there are fish and you should fish. Is it the best section of the Buffalo for fish? Not likely. Ponca to Steel Creek has so many rapids that when the river is at a decent level for floating, as soon as you geta rod out you have to put it down and grab a paddle. Steel Creek to Kyle's slows a bit, but you are still going to have to keep an eye on the prize. Good Luck Fishing and staying dry.

The wet Shimano binding issue affects "most" of their models. This is not a complaint about their lower end reels. The binding issue can occur in Shimano's high end stuff as well. It isn't bashing. Shimanos tend to bind when the spinning reel gets water inside of it. There is a bushing that apparently absorbs some water and swells. I've had it happen to me and I've seen it happen first hand to another guy I was fishing with.I have seen MANY people post about it happening to them. I use some Shimano baitcasters and I have a couple of Shimano rods that I love. Try a summer of wet wading/kayaking with a Shimano reel. I don't think you'll make it through the summer without it binding up. I enjoy fishing high dollar rods and reels. I just don't think it is necessary for throwing inline spinners for trout. Quite a few slow to moderate action spinning rods out there to chunk offerings to trout. My relatively limited amount of experience with trout has shown me that they sip dry flys, but knock the crap out of small jerkbaits and inline spinners. You really need hands of stone to miss a Rooster tail bite. I'm quite aware the BPS Microlite isn't the quality of a G Loomis. I won't cry so much if a have a stream side mishap though. I think I can buy another Microlight for the postage require to return the G Loomis or St Croix for warranty service. Lots of gear to choose from. No doubt the high dollar stuff will do the job also.

There is no need to go custom for the uses you are describing UNLESS you just want one. I have a 3 piece (L) action BPS Micro LIght. It does really well for trout. I paid $29.99 for mine. It is only a 6 ' rod though. MOST Shimano Spinning reels will bind when they get dunked. It might not happen the first time, it might not happen for years, but it will happen. I fish Daiwa Spinning reels for the most part. SS1300 or an SS700 will do the trick for trout and panfish. I'm going to try a BPS Pro Qualifier 1000 IF they ever come off backorder status. Think hard about UL vs L. All the trout you catch won't be less than 12 inches.

Bill: Go to the Lunker City Website. Lots of choices with their leadheads. I know for sure that they have football heads down to 1/16 oz. Gopher Tackle is another great option for jigheads to explore. Several unusual designs. www.bassdoser.com has a TON of useful links to fishing related sites.

Happy Birthday Wayne. Sorry I was late to the party so to speak. I did spend your Birthday in pursuit of fish at least. Have a Great 2007 fishing season.

I find crappie to be more particular about color than bass are. I agree in principle with you less colors can be a good thing. HOWEVER, if you are in an area that you know holds fish and you try your proven presentations, a color change is in order if you can't get bit.

If you have to get some fish might i suggest dynamite, a hoop net, scuba gear and a spear gun, a crank phone, or Rotenone. I have fished Table Rock a few times now and I find it a difficult lake to catch fish on. Spots that look so good give up soooo little. Culture shock for me. Very different from the mud holes I usually fish.

I've used a version of that bait before put out by Bobby Garland. It was really good for White Bass. It is a little larger than most of what I fish for crappies. That's a great price and good colors too.

I drove from Baton Rouge,La to north of Kingston,Ont to fish. I've also driven from Minden,La to Pembroke, Va to fish soooo I guess no distance is too far.

I own 3 St Croix flyrods, 2 St Croix baitcasters, and a handful of St Croix spinning rods. I say this not to brag, but to show that I like St Croix products. I had a less than stellar experience with an Avid spinning rod issue. I sent emails, made phone calls, and sent written instructions and comments. Eventually I got the problem dealt with. I wasn't thrilled with the service though. I've heard great stories aout their Customer service and horrible stories so it does seem to be hit or miss. St Croix plays the little guy as a marketing stratagy, but they must be large enough to have good employees and average at best employees working in customer service. I'd try the phone call route. Maybe that will work better for you.

I love catchin Redears. Kudos to those that selectively harvest fish. I think we as anglers go overboard on the Catch and Release thing sometimes. I am not going to advocate the taking of a native fish to protect the spawning of a non native fish though. I'd rather my water had more Redears than walleye anyway, but to each his own I suppose.