T Hood

Sorry to say, the bite at Montauk was off. I enjoyed the place; very nice first trip. But, I caught nothing on the fly rod. Cracklebacks were a complete zero. Tried Wooly Buggers (white and olive) as well. Nothing. Switched to my spinning gear and landed four on Berkley nymphs on Trout Magnet jigs and Trout Magnets themselves. I noticed the anglers catching fish on fly rods were mostly using very small white jigs. It's basically a hook with a white head; not much more than that. If anyone had a better day recently, please reply. Troy

Thanks for the info. I picked up cracklebacks earlier today. Have business meetings near the park in the morning; I plan on stopping by on the way home. Has anyone been in the last few days? Any changes to the bite? How is this rain going to affect fishing? Thanks, Troy

Gentlemen: Looks like a great day! And on the same day when I went out and got 1 bass at ABCA in 7 hours. Is there anywhere on the Missouri to get a crack at these guys from the bank? Looks like great fun. Troy

Gentlemen: Thanks to all for the advice. I appreciate the help. Here's a new one: I've discovered setting the hook on a fly rod is dramatically different than a conventional set up. What are your preferred methods for hook setting? Do you favor a strip set or some sort of action with the rod? I understand that there will be different techniques with different species. Right now, I'm just getting strikes from Bluegill and small Bass. Again, any help is appreciated. Thanks for the time and the service. Troy

I wish I could be more specific with my question, but, I'll be honest: I'm not catching a thing!! Bass, bluegill, crappie....nothing. So, what's everyone catching these days? On what and where? I know the water has been very low in the STL area. What are some techniques you've used for low water? Thanks in advance for the help.

Thanks for the pics and tips. I'd like to get over there this fall for both species.

Another vote for Jerry's here as well. Great little place, for sure. Their house made spinners are nice. Also, I like the fact you can pick up parts for making your own. I plan on making a few inlines this fall for trout. You can get that stuff at Cabela's, but, they just don't have the same selection that Jerry's has. Lastly, there's just something special pulling up to a place looking like an old garage rather than a mall.

I was out on Saturday and saw a 36" Muskie in 3' of water. He had a crankbait hanging out of his mouth. I'm guessing that an unsuspecting bass angler found his crank "removed" our toothy friend. He spooked easily and took off. The fish are in there, it's just finding them. With 35 so low, I thought I'd see more. I hit the bottom with a Syclops and a big spinner. No luck. I'd be very curious to know if the stocking program is still going on.

Absolutely. I have a couple of good glide baits and spinners (one plain, one bucktail), and stout leaders. Once we get a couple more good fronts come through, we should see a few. The bass were taking plastics very well last weekend. Although the big one came on a weightless lizard, I got a couple on a chatterbait as well. It's becoming a favorite of mine; the best of both worlds between spinnerbait and jig.

Finally, a break in the weather! While I wasn't fortunate enough to land this guy, my fishing partner came through and landed the best fish I've seen come out of Lake 35. Pics attached.

I'm definitely up for some cooler weather. I've caught my best fish in the last few years in the fall. Hopefully, we'll get a break from Mother Nature. Good luck to all.

Thanks to all for the advice. I wound up with a Three Forks reel from Cabela's. Upon further inspection, the rod I received as a gift is a 6wt TFO Lefty Kreh Professional. I was told this is a nice rod. It makes me more thankful for the gift. First lesson went well. Seems that fly casting is very similar to throwing a lacrosse ball. That makes the learning curve that much shorter. Thanks to all for the advice. Now, for the 100 degree weather to break so I can catch something!

Gavin: Thanks for posting! Sounds like a winner. I usually avoid Garage Sales like the plague. But, this'll get me out. The wife loves them. Sadly, our girl is too old for what you're selling, but, the fishing gear sounds good. Best of luck moving the baby stuff. We had our "blow out sale" a few years ago with mixed results. Regards,

Sounds like fun. I had a battle like that on the Meramec a couple of nights ago. Had no luck fishing Unger Lake, so, I walked over to the Meramec to give it a shot. I had a gar hooked on a chatterbait. As I was bringing him up out of the water, he shook himself off of the hook flying through the air in an arc in the process. It was the first time I'd hooked one. It appears that is the way "fish karma" is working. Best of luck finding your bass. Sounds like a much better fight that the gar.

To far away, but thanks all the same. I'm in St. Louis. Anyone have any luck with Feathercraft?

Trolling motors are $30.00 for the day. You can get around 33 well with the trolling motor due to the lack of weeds and cover. The southwest side of lake 35 is LOADED with weeds and cover. So much that you won't be able to use your trolling motor in it. It's all "people power" on that side of the lake. I haven't been on 34, but looking forward to that when possible. In this weather, I'd recommend 35 due to the depth and variety of fish. As for the muskie, I've seen one caught there. But, he must've been newly released in the lake. Hope this helps. Troy

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I've found Pflueger 1492, 1494, and 1495 reels available at Cabela's for $24.99. From what, I'm hearing, sounds like a good deal. Again, thanks for the tips. Troy

I've been given a 4 wt fly rod as a gift. Nothing impressive, but very generous all the same. I need a reel for it so I can get started. Please offer recommendations on a reel that is at once affordable and forgiving. Many thanks,

Last time I went to Lake 31, I saw that there were boats available there. If though it's a smaller lake, has anyone had any better luck with a boat and fishing from shore? I've found that Lake 31 has plenty of fish to offer; just curious if the boat made a difference.

I'm looking at having another go at ABCA Friday night starting around 5pm. 33, 34, and 35 are all idea. Who's had any luck in these lakes? Again, I'd like to have a go at the Muskie in 35, but, I'm thinking it's still way too hot to get them to come up from the deep weeds. I've seen quite a bit of vegetation in Lake 35. Has anyone tried drop shotting along the weed lines? Thanks in advance. Any help is more than welcome.

I tried Lake 35 Saturday morning with my 6 year old daughter. Obviously, it wasn't all day affair. Some of the shoreline in the NW corner of the lake looked good. It produced one 13" bass on a tube. Most success came from fishing weed lines. The weeds are very heavy on the east side of the lake. Trolling motor is useless. Fishing the weed lines produced three more, again, tubes were the answer. We fished Lake 31 from shore later. I lost a popper to broken line on what looked like, at least, a 4# fish. Shame on me for not checking my line after freeing it from a snag. I liked 31 as a C&R lake and the quality of shore fishing. As others have stated, I haven't heard of too many larger fish coming out of 33, 34, & 35.

The description says it all. Who's had any luck in the big lakes? A friend went out this weekend and got skunked. Usually, these lakes produce. Feedback, please.

Congratulations to the both of you. I'm sure you'd have liked to have landed that monster yourself. But, there's something special about seeing someone get their first "trophy". Good job coaching her into releasing the fish. Where were you at, if you don't mind sharing? I've had very good luck on lizards throughout the Spring, but, not this much!

More good things coming out of small ponds. There's a nice little pond at the school where I coach. The keep it stocked and have created their own little "eco-trail" on campus. I found a use for a Heddon Teeny Torpedo (their smallest). These guys don't get pressure at all. Anything cool sounding that hits the water gets nailed. Not big but fun. Also, I'm a huge fan of inline spinners. The small PMs and Tru-Tungstens I use for trout are paying dividends with bass. The larger Mepps, Terminators, and PMs are gathering attention from larger bass. Plus, I've been making it fun by using an ultralight.

I hadn't thought of putting that combo together. I have a mini-chatterbait (white skirt); I'll give it a try with a grub. Thanks for the tip. I'm focusing on the ponds as well. Having fun with the crappie, but, would rather give the bass a try. Troy