EddieRay

I know this is a common refrain about Rachel Carson, but there is actually more to the story. Correlation does not equal causation. DDT was banned in the USA, not throughout the world. The main cause of the deaths of millions was due to the world's overuse of DDT with the ultimate result that the mosquitoes in those areas adapted to become resistant to the pesticide. There are still those spreading the idea that Rachel Carson caused these deaths. There are also many other articles stating the rest of the story. Just type, "Is it true that Rachel Carson killed millions?" in your search engine of choice.

This is true and I was aware of it before I made my earlier post. Everything is a compromise to attempt to make sure a fishery meets the needs of all who use it. I don't see catch and release of every bass as being best for the bass population either, even though that is what I do, for the most part. Some fish have to be harvested, eaten as forage, etc in some manner, at some point in time for every fishery to maintain a balanced population.

I release every bass I catch, though I am aware of a few small lakes that need selective harvest to improve the size of the population. I tend to not fish those lakes due to the small size of the fish in them. Missouri biologists have determined what they deem to be appropriate creel limits to support a strong fishery for each body of water in the state. They do the intense research necessary to implement these limits. If someone is following those laws and limits, what real evidence do we have to condemn them for keeping fish. It amazes me how so many of us place more faith in our anecdotal experiences than we do in the studies performed by the MDC.

Come fish Smithville or any lake on the Missouri side within an hour of Kansas City. All are more pressured than Table Rock, in my opinion.

I have two MBR GLX 844cs. The GLX series is one of the best you can buy, and the 844c is an awesome rod for jigs and soft plastics. I also own an NRX 854c JWR and while it may be slightly more sensitive, I think the GLX is the better buy.

I use frogs like a lot of you, but I pitch a jig and craw even more. Place the jig in the holes and tiny slots between the pads. If a bass is there, they will usually hit it on the way down or not long after it hits bottom. If a fish doesn't take it move the bait up and down randomly between the lake bottom and the bottom of the pads. I use braid with a fluorocarbon leader on my jig rods.

On a bass fishing forum I frequent, individuals will often describe situations where an angler is struggling to catch fish. They proceed to pull up near the spot, or to fish the spot after the other angler leaves, and fill their bag in nothing flat. I see these stories so often, but you rarely hear the story the other way around.

No kidding. They are the best tasting freshwater fish in my opinion. There are enough lakes in Missouri with good populations of walleye if someone wants to eat them though. But then again, I guess that's easy for me to say since I have a bassboat and Smithville Lake is only 20 miles away. I agree that stricter management on the rivers is a necessity.

Did you get your undergraduate degree at SEMO? If so, welcome to a fellow alumnus of Southeast Missouri State. I graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration in 1987, changed careers in 2000, and have been a Cisco converged network engineer for Sprint in Kansas City for some time now. You have some nice rivers that aren't too far way. That's one thing I hate about Kansas City. All the best smallie rivers in Missouri are a few hours away.

We returned from Bella Vista on June 3rd but I have been so busy playing catch-up at work I haven't had a chance to give you all an update. Our best day for numbers was 33 bass at Loch Lomond and most of those fish were cookie cutter fish no more than 2 or 2.5 lbs. We also fished Lakes Windsor, Ann, and Brittany. We had an 11 fish day at Windsor with the biggest fish at around 3.5 lbs. My wife caught a couple of bream that were hand-sized at Lake Lomond. I would have liked to have fished more but vacation time can't be all about me and my wife wanted to do some other things. We took a day trip to Eureka Springs and spent another day checking out Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville and hiking. I wish I could tell you about a big bass but it wasn't meant to be this time. Thanks to all for the information. We had a great time.

Thanks for the map information, everyone. I haven't had time to check out what everyone has been posting until now. I work in IT and have been slammed the past couple of weeks and I am working this weekend. I can't wait to take a few days off.

Thanks for the info, bfishn.

Are there any maps available for any of the BV lakes and, if so, from where can they be obtained?

My sunglasses are prescription too and I am just the opposite of ness. I used to wear cheaper sunglasses and just wore regular glasses for reading and computer work as I am far-sighted. With age, my eyes have grown worse and I have to have the progressive lenses so that I can look through the bottom to tie knots, but I use the rest of the glass for fishing and driving. After buying my first good pair I realized what I had been missing.

Very nice post, Feathers and Fins. Trolling is a weakness of mine. The father of structure fishing, Buck Perry, always trolled to find fish first. I could definitely put this information to good use.