Smalliebigs

Mitch, you weren't kidding you hit that spot a lot!!!! If you ever see a SeaArk with MossyOak break paint job that is me.I have been seeing those stupid asians and silvers, bigheads, whatever you want to call them, all the way up to HWY 30. It's brutal!!!!!!!!!!!! and it's only getting worse. Hell, Mitch I have been seeing them in little creeks I fish, that I had never seen them in before, they all have a common factor, they empty into the Mississippi......bummer!!! I have heard they are good to eat???? I know they smell like someone dung themselves when they jump in my boat.

Mitch, I tend not to blare music on my property it's to beautiful and serene where I'm at. We are below Birds Nest off Bass Rd and Lindburg Rd on the Meramec. If I was playing music it would be Led Zeppelin or Bob Marley...I'm old school, although I do like Blue Grass. I do have 30 acres on the big with no house or anything above Browns Ford.By the way Mitch I did catch a really nice Smallie where you were fishing for Mr. Big, over 19 inches the other day....very high water conditions, I was screwing around with the boat more than anything else and dropped a line and caught a real nice smallie on a V&M high tail.You ought to come to the cabin some time it's a great spot portgae and venture out.I know I sound like a dick on here sometimes but I'm not that way on the river.

JD, don't you know everything is going to be Bush and Cheney's fault for pretty much the rest of time here.Actually after the Valdez went down off of coast Alaska, it was a republican majoirty congress and old slick boy Bill Clinton who allowed the oil companies to run things a muck.They allowed oil companies to put a cap on the amount they could be responsible for in clean ups and they also allowed the oil companies to map where they were allowed to drill and what restrictions they would be held to in the future.People need to quit blaming Dick Cheney or Bush it really makes you sound weak, kind of like you listen to the left wing talking points. I know 1989 was a long time ago for some of the youngsters on here, there were things that actually happened before Obama not just Bush & Cheney. On that note I am going to get my new boat this weekend with my dad and burn some gas, I am going to hammer it from Big Cedar to the James arm.Obama's speech in the oval office was a joke and will have no effect on my Fathers day weekend.Have fun on your computers I am getting in my truck and driving to the Rock and burning some gas with my brand new Yamaha 200 4 stroke.

Screw you Yehaw!!!! if you want some images PM me and I will send you plenty of huge Smallies pics. I'm not bragging it is what it is. Some people choose to poach by gigging Smallies,Spots and greenies or keep the out of season or size limits.I do what I do because I see first hand what is happening on the river I live on.The racoons,oposums and coyotes need food to.All the stupid dung I see going on in the river in front of my place is absurd....littering, unruly punks stealing from me, landowners upstream and downstream cotributing to the degregation of the Meramec, it's sick. Some people feel it's their god given right to meat hunt. Some feel it's their right to gig anything that swims.I feel like I can take care of my area how I choose, let's just say the spots and the greenies population is not going down where I am at.I have figured out the size implications to dowloading a pic here so PM me I'll send you plenty of smallie pics.

Wow!!!!!!!!! that's awsome!!! what a site that must have been, I have caught some really nice smallies in Cows creek before.

That's hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!! way to go Al!! they sound like cool pocket watches.

Al, I received my 2010 Summer Angler catalog from Bass Pro yesterday in the mail and all I can say is you are truly a master of your craft, my friend.I know I'm bias towards a picture of a Smallie, but you truly captured the fighting spirit of this beautiful creature.Your attention to detail on the fish itself is off the charts!!The morning sun glistening on the fish and on the soft plasic bait in it's mouth....all I can say is you are the man Al!!! To me it looks like someone hooked up on really nice Smallie at Table Rock early in the morning, it brings back a flood of memories every time I look at it. Al, I just wish you were a tatoo artist so I could have you put a beautiful fish like that on my forearm. All I can say is BRAVO!! and for anyone who dosen't have the catalog get it and I think you will feel the same way.

cwc87, the pic with the kayak was caught out the Black River and was a hair over 20 inches, I took the pic from approx 15 feet away from the subject.That fish actually weighed 4 pounds plus wether you guys want to belief it or not. The second fish was caught out of one of Al's creeks that run into the Mississppi in eastern Missouri, where I have been told by people on this board that there is no fishing with in two hours of St.Louis.That fish was 17 inches.when Zipstick did this post I just wanted to put some images up, I have two many to count and I'm tired of looking at them....................by the way Zipstick are you going to tell us how big that nice smallie is???

Zipstick, awsome post I love these, you get to show some images and it lets people see what they wish they were catching. Here are some more wich of these smallies are bigger??? and what were their weights??. I will say this they are dramatically different........ sorry about image quality...site dosen't seem to allow good ones I have to condence them down

Wow what a beautiful fish!!!!!! very nice, I am saying 20 inches on the dot 3 pounds 12 ounces.Man thats a sweet fish zipstick!!!! congrats!!!!

paola cat, are you saying there are no places to fish with in two hours of St.Louis??????If you are you are truly foolish and just don't know but thats fine with me.Thats more kick butt rivers and streams full of smallies for me that you don't know about.By the way Manhattan,KS is the most dreadful city I have ever been to, I would rather spend weekend in the St.Louis county jail protecting my backside than spend a weekend in Manhattan.

Mitch, was that monster you let your buddy catch so graciously I might add, below or above HWY 44???? What a pig!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that is a river smallie of a lifetime!!

Eric, you should be my attorney...very nice reply

Mitch, it was exactly 20 inches on the dot.By the way I totally agree with you on the sizes beeing lied about, but I know my brother carries a boga grip scale on the boat when they shock and I really don't think he is into lying.Joe troutt is a cool guy I have bought a boat and a gun save from him, after closer examination of the image against your buddies fish....I think Joe lying.I just wouldn't post it on the website for my sons business.Let's hit the river some time.....I must get out of this office!!!!!!

eric1978,I agree with you once again more than I can express as eloquently as you can.I am right there with you!!! I'm not looking for a world record but more 18 to 20's more often would be nice.We need to hit the river man.

How would you know Mitch?????

eric1978, I totally agree with you, if an 18 inch minumum drives off anglers WHO CARES!!! go fish for some catfish at your local park and fillet them up leave the smallies alone.Take your catch and keep butt somewhere else!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are also correct if you don't enforce the regs then what the hell is the point........sorry I am still pissed about what I saw this weekend on the Meramec and the fact I had someone steal yaks and canoes from me.

eric1978, thanks for the advice on imagestick I am in the process of condencing a ton of images soon to be posted on OAF and I didn't catch one of them off a bed as far as I know.I'm not trying to brag about the amout of river time it's just if the employees can handle the work load the boss is going to play!!!For anyone questioning me about a 6 plus from the Gasconade go to Troutt&Sons website and go to images and you will find the dad has three images of a smallie that is 24 inches long.I talked with him about it and he said it weighed 6+, he also caught another smallie from the same log pile that was 22 inches two cast later.Now thats a nice day on the river. Al I wasn't trying to give you trouble, I truly think you are the real GURU and look forward to every post you do on here.Also anyone coming on to my property on the Meramec in the Smallie trophy area will be in harms way, I hate to be so harsh but I had two canoes and a kayak stolen and I am fed up.I am going to shoot first and bury you later.The lack of repect in this country is out of control we have morons raising morons.I wish there was a little more survival of the fittest going with our society today.I do appologize it's just I saw three different boats this weekend with smallies on stringers, none of which were bigger than 12 inches...it truly pisses me off!!! not to mention they were in a trophy area.

Gavin, the spot I am talikng about where my brother was shocking fish for the MDC is at the confluence of the Big and the Meramec.There is I said it, I told myself I wouldn't but I did.I'm not sure if that is where the other guys are talking about.I have several pics of Smallies in the 20 to 22 range I just can't post them on here because they are to big of a file.If someone can show me how to condence these images down so this site will allow me to post them I will.Most of the 20's I have caught weighed in the 4 pound range, they are out there you just really need to know the area you are fishing and be lucky.I am lucky I get to fish 3 to 4 days a week, so you get to know sections of the river you are fishing pretty well.Back to the huge smallie that was allegedly shocked up by my brother, the water depths in this area are great it's just in the summer the water temps get extremely high for smallies so you wouldn't think of it beeing a huge smallie producing area.The water clarity is also bad with a lot dung comming down the river but they are there, I have caught several trophies in this area.Now I expect fully to see a ton OAF fisherman there, oh well I get a kick out of seeing other people catch smallies as much as catching them.

Al, I hate to burst your bubble but my brother is MDC employee who was on a boat that was shocking water at the confluence of the Meramec and another unamed river.They shocked up a Smallmouth Bass that is close enough to the state record that I have been fishing there consistantly ever since my brother informed me of this fish.It was shocked up in water quality that you would not expect a fish of that size to come out of and it was shocked in the late summer of 2008.I would expect if the fish has not died it has grown and it will be very very close to the state record.I also have a friend who owns a boat dealer that I will leave unknown who showed me pictures of a Smallie that weighed in the high 6 pound range and it was caught out of the Gasconade in the fall of 2007.So there are huge smallies out there in the Ozarks, I don't think there is a world record in the Ozarks but there are some 6 and 7's, I have seen the pics.Personally I have only caught one Smallies bigger than 5 but I know they are out there so don't give up and release them all and use barbless hooks....also quit taking them off the beds!!!...sorry to start that up again.

You have to admit, bragging about catching Smallies off a bed on this site is pretty stupid.Then posting pics, well thats also stupid.I am glad you were finally called out for this.I have sat by watching for awhile on this site and have never said a thing, but I have to admit it pisses me off when you are yanking smallies off beds.Nick and Al proclaim themselves the "guru", give me a break!!!! I have thousands of digital images of Smallies and hundreds are trophies and I never feel the need to post these. The older I have become the more humble I have become.I realize that sometimes I would rather observe than catch Smallies.I get bigger kick out of my nephews catching a Smallie than me.This comes after years of catching trophies, but I do know the Smallie population is going down, I don't care what Al or Nick the self proclaimed gurus say.There are spotted bass all the way up to our farm on the Meramec that is above HWY 8, and they are increasing in numbers every year.To me it's real simple...CATCH AND RELEASE ALL SMALLMOUTH. Don't tell PETA but I have been throwing Largies and Spots up on the bank since 1998 and that is a lot bass for the racoons.Around the bend, I couldn't agree with your statements more.To all the gurus out there plenty of tropy Smallmouth are beeing caught some people just don't feel the need to brag about it, some people don't need to catch them off beds.I was going to attach some pic but my camera is to high of megapixel.

Creek chub