The Tactician

Gross. I didn't civilized people kept fish. Oh yeah, I keep forgetting the economy screwed most of you people a few years back. Caviar dreams, peasants!

Be nice to see the fangs on that bad girl. If I recall correctly Gaboons have the largest fangs of any snake and get over an inch long. Better you handling it than me I suppose.

Dang! Das a neat cat. I wanna keel it! It's a good looking. I wanna erase him from the earth. Just think a how many field mice I could save. Why heck, I seen about 7 or 8 of 'em at stockton while I was night fishin. They must be the reason I only see groups of 30-40 turkeys at a time. I am glad they can't swim underwater. They'd eat ALL the bass!

I only read these topics until I get to "umbrella rig" or "A-rig", then I have to go out to my warehouse and release some aggression. I won't get started, but I can't wait until this trash goes away.

Oh, uhh...hmm (cough) well, nothing...at all.

I agree with Gavin. It is easier to just say no tresspassing than a sign that says "no toddlers in dirty diapers throwing rocks, hot dog campfires, loud stereos, rope swings, jumping off of the dam, mullets, beer cans, cut-off jean shorts, etc. I understand where they are coming from, but this is really frustrating. I enjoy catching smallies and goggle eye there when I don't feel like driving an hour or two to a lake. It's a relaxing spot. I don't go in the summer for the reasons I mentioned. There is nothing like slaying 40 goggle eye until you are tired of realing 'em in. (All thrown back, of course). It is really hard to find good river spots in the summer where people aren't screaming and getting plowed on Busch Lite. It would be nice if there were some designated fishing only areas along the James and Finley. Oh well. I feel better now.

I sure am. Guess I can't delete the topic? Cool.

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110930/NEWS01/110930033/-1/rss

I use spinnerbaits and Love 'em. The main benefit of a spinnerbait in my opinion, is the cover and areas you can fish them in. I can't count how many times I have flipped or cast a blade and thought, well that ones gone, only to have it whip right out of there without getting hung up at all. Also, I have fished some days when the fish are there and biting but are hugging structure like there tied to it. With a little practice, you can whip that blade into spots you wouldn't try anything else. You can knock it into a tree or stump and get the fish's attention and not worry about getting snagged. Good luck to all!

This kind of thing gets me fired up. I was there 2 weeks ago and saw 2 dead spoonies on the bank that had obviously been snagged. What is the point? I do believe it is totally illegal as well. Thanks for reminding me to put the phone #'s of the MDC in the locations I fish in my phone. I don't want to be a "snitch", but it is our job to protect the areas we love and treasure for future generations. The MDC can't do it all by themselves. If you aren't sure about a regulation or code, just give them a call. They are nice guys.

Awesome! Stupid question I know, but do you mean the Sac, north of the dam. I always fish the south of the lake around Ruark. Thanks!

There is a parking lot right below the dam. Just take your first right after the bridge and it takes you back there (no gates). It is a public fishing spot. You can walk the banks on the trails a ways on down. Keep an eye out for snakes in brush, I've seen plenty. It is a surprisingly good place to catch some decent LM bass. There are a good amount of root piles on the other side of the banks that hold some nice bass. I've caught a crappie or two there as well. Ask anybody about Springfield lake and you will hear spinnerbait mentioned. White or chartreuse (of course). The water holds a good amount of vegetation and rocks so use something weedless or close to it. Bring something kind of shallow running if you plan of fishing very far down from the dam. It's a fun little spot and loaded with bass. Good luck! You might even see a bald eagle or two. Tactician

I guess technically, this means the bumper of my truck has leprosy.

Wow! This got blown way out of proportion. Sounds like everyone in this topic needs some nice weather so they can head out and fish. Jeez! I am wondering how this turned into fly fishing is more conventional than other types. There were a bunch of guys talking about snagging spoonbill on here, I don't necessarily agree with it, but to each their own. Me being snarky isn't going to change anyone's mind. C'mon guys!

Yep, far from certain. The gas station was the one on 215 and CC. (I think that is the intersection.) It's one of those places that locals just hang out and have pictures of people's fish, turkeys, and deer all over the walls. I asked them about mountain lions, and all 7 to 10 people in there said they had seen one in one way or another. I do know that proves nothing and I may have had the same answer if I were asking about a skunk ape. Next time I'll fill my truck bed with raw chicken and bring a predator call.

It would have been a very large dog, and the toes on a mountain lion paw are a bit more pointed than a dog's. And about the poo...I didn't think to smell it. It tasted terrible though.

My friend and I went to Stockton on Saturday and we were around the Ruark Bluff area. The first place I got out, I found these tracks. I have heard for years that they are around Stockton, and that makes sense with an endless supply of food for them. I thought I heard one about 4 years ago when a friend and I were night fishing, but I had a spotlight and we saw that it was a bobcat with 2 cubs. I asked a the two people working at the convenience store on 215 about them, and they said they have seen a few mountain lions and said that during last turkey season, 2 hunters said they had seen one with "little ones". I in no way want to start an argument. I just took some cool pics, and I don't think anyone is denying that they are here, breeding population or not. So, with that being said, the tracks were approximately 5 inches wide. The toes are kind of pointy and not rounded and blunt like a dog's. Dog tracks are most commonly mistaken for mountain lion tracks. You can compare the two online. There were not claws present which are almost always present in dog tracks. The main indicator is the trapezoid shaped fore pad. Dog pads are triangular in shape, not to mention the stride of the tracks was about 3 feet apart. Finally, we have the scat picture. I couldn't resist. I wish I would have put something next to the pile of scat to show size. It was very large. Much larger than the other known predators in the area. (bobcat, coyote, etc.) After seeing these signs and how fresh they were, I can assure you, I was a bit jumpy the rest of the day. I just kept telling myself, "They have plenty of food, and I will just jump into the water because cats hate water right? Let's hope!"

With all of the topics on here and different areas to post topic specific items, I don't think reading something I don't want to has ever been a problem. If I see a topic that says "Halltown man eaten alive by chipmunks", I will not click on that topic to find out how to set up a Carolina rig. The idea of a forum is to have a variety of inputs and opinions. This forum is easy to use and find what you are searching for if you post/search under the appropriate location. I really enjoy this site and I personally don't want drastic changes made to anything. Last thing: What you read is something that you have 100% control over. Thanks Lilley!

Keeping the local numbers in my phone is a good idea. I will have to get the numbers for the different locations that I fish. I don't want to be a snitch, and when a lot of us see an "angler" doing something against code it is easy to blow it off and just blame it on them being "good ole boys", but fishing is very important to me. I want my son to be able to catch the same type of beautiful fish, in the same beautiful locations that I have for the last 25 or so years. It is up to us to help.

By Saturday the lake should be good to go.

Didn't have enough time to head to Stockton or Table Rock on Saturday and HAD to do some fishing, so my buddy and I stopped by Springfield Lake. I saw a few pictures of some nice bass on here and decided to give it a try since we just catch and release everything anyway. We fished from below the darn on down as far as the ice and mud would let us. I actually had a blast. We fished about 3 hours for bass and caught 7 or 8 LM's with a few nice ones. I had a bunch of new lures that I wanted to get familiar with so we threw everything but the kitchen sink at 'em. Caught one on a red craw colored Bomber A. Caught 2 or 3 on various colors of the Storm soft swimbaits. Caught one on a Clown color X-Rap. Caught one on a little Rapala silver minnow floater. Got to watch a bald eagle for a little while and did ok. Jason

Thanks for the report! Last year at Ruark, around January, the entire lake was frozen and I noticed some really smart person had dumped about 5 bags of ice melt off the cliffs onto the ice by the bridge. I know this may be a shock, but it didn't work at ALL! Just chemicals for the water.

I hope he had full coverage! That is a nice bass from Springfield Lake, especially out of a canoe! Did it give you a bit of a ride?