Fredrick

I spin fish for trout using small jerk baits , rooster tails, and powerbait. Now when I fish I land alot of little ones and the occasional bigger one like 17 inches and up. Is their a way to target the larger ones of is it just a matter of whats around that day?

The action is crazy at turkey creek it is jam packed full of trout. If you follow the feeding school you can nail them one after another. Jerk baits, crank baits ,rooster tails but when all else fails power bait(pure white) its crazy!!! good fishing!!!

I have a number of spinning reels . Thought they are almost all new a few of them have choppy/chunky drag. Is their anyways to fix this or improve this. this drives me crazy.

I don't have a boat or rent one I fish from shore and I catch numbers and size of fish. The green rooster tails 1/8 ounce seem to work well even better if they are generating. I use a small rebel chrome and black jerk bait . This produces less fish but usually larger fish . Its over all good I can decide if i want to go to the dam with my ultra light and work for the fish or I can sit at a dock with powerbait eggs (sunrise) and let the fish come to me.

I got one for the top 3 miles of taney como . I didn't really figure the trick of it I think the flies I had were wrong. But I had luck with rooster tails and chrome jerk baits for my ultra lights I caught an 18 incher a week or so ago up there.

I have been using bass pro 2 lb tourney though clear. I think clear is more invisible then the green. I love it I have had a buncha trout on it its been fun fighting with 1/2 pound of drag not a single break . With my tests it broke just under 5 pounds test after test. The abrasion resistance is great I tired an improved clinch to far up the line and the clinching time after time has not chewed up the line. Better then spiderwire 4 lb test by far. Best part is that its 275 yrds for 3.79. 10 out of 10!!!

I have been using bobby garland swimmin minnows smoke color (clear black)in the creeks as well as the lakes around branson. And let me tell you would be surprised at some of the fish I have caught on the 2 inch. I spent a a evening on a spot towards the end of Indian point on table rock with a tourist waiding catching small mouth after small mouth it was wild we had a blast.I usally don't use a jig head but a small hook and a bb size weight. This rig makes it hard to cast but it swims like a real fish. My brother came down to visit from St.Louis. We were fishing the same rig and his reel started screaming (8 pound test with drag set at 2 pounds with scale) to bad he doesn't know how to set a hook the pig small mouth jumped in the air and threw the minnow back at us. I have been searching for the same bait in the 3 inch. I have looked every were I went down to Lilleys' Landing and we went thought the whole stock of swimmin minnows and they were out of it.I always keep them on hand and they work very well in the small waters and even the lakes.

I trout fish with lures alot but sometimes I like to use power bait eggs. I am having an issue with removing the hook usually its located 1-3 cm from the gullet. I am using #8 plain shank hooks and lately I have been smashing the barbs completely . Now if you rip on it 2 hard then it bleeds and the fish dies and I don't want that. Some people say just clip the line and throw it back it will be fine and the hook will rust out I use the bronze hooks. Some say it will kill the fish . I don't know what to believe after googling it one study says leave the hook in the other says take it out what do you guys think?

I just bought a new spinning reel for my ultra light( http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Crappie-Maxx-Signature-Series-Spinning-Reel/product/10210590/-1758646 ). I fish on a budget and I found this reel for $20 bucks. I am surprise at the quality for 20 bucks . I had a nice pflueger combo before it was stolen . Anyways I am taking the plunge from 4 lb line down two 2 lb for trout in taneycomo. The question I have is the reel came with two spools one metal and one graphite. What are the pros and cons between the two different spools and would one be better then the other for the lighter line. Thanks for any advice

I just bought a new spinning reel for my ultra light( http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Crappie-Maxx-Signature-Series-Spinning-Reel/product/10210590/-1758646 ). I fish on a budget and I found this reel for $20 bucks. I am surprise at the quality for 20 bucks . I had a nice pflueger combo before it was stolen . Anyways I am taking the plunge from 4 lb line down two 2 lb for trout in taney. The question I have is the reel came with two spools one metal and one graphite. What are the pros and cons between the two different spools and would one be better then the other for the lighter line.

I use #4 line I am afraid of #2 just because(how do u set the hook with the drag so low?). Next time I run in to judge smails. Ill try and give him a good one liner. The double take when they saw the spinning tackle was priceless. I got a bubble cast just piss them off.LOL

turkey creek had minnows and small panfish in it and something that was jumping today 02/17. Unfortunately it all so had beer cans and I found a needle (tweekers shoot up under the bridge)not to mention looks like someone disposed of their oil change including the filter in the F'ing creek . I hate white trash I didn't think white trash even changed their oil at all!!

Yea I was at the boat launch by the dam from 10 30 am till 2 pm I was indeed expecting low water. I still caught 4 small rainbows biggest being 14 inches(rooster tails) . I had fun, too nice of a day to be inside all day. I was their a few days ago when the water was alot lower. A few days ago people were giving me had time because I use ultra light spinning tackle. I guy even said "you won't catch anything with that junk" wth? Are these people really like that?

well as messed up as it is they say there are springs that keep some parts above 55 . I hope they all die off but if they don't then i don't know what to say. But i did crack a smile when i heard in Asia were jumping carp come from they have gar coming in . I hope gar cause a massive issue just as payback!

Yes I was back at empire park why you ask. Because I catch fish their more often then not. The trout dock looked pretty full so I fished off one of the little green docks. I tried my power bait eggs that had worked so well before and nothing.....nothing...bite... got off. Then I went for a rooster tail and and I got a violent strike with a hook up 16 inch rainbow.I kept the power bait and casted it all around but got nothing. But I got more trout on rooster tails and one on a chrome jerk bait. Bumble bee pattern seemed to work the best. 3 rainbows and 1 brown all at least 13 inches. All and all a good day

Yea well if it were a game fish it would be different gar are bad arse in my book .

I grew up catching yellow perch in northern wis lake minocqua as a kid. We let them go . It was like catching a blue gill here. What nut job stocked them here?

Carb spray haha the dogs will get high . I ran into a whole family of wild coons (no pun intended) at swan creek . I sat up from my chair and they ran up a tree shaking afraid to death . Now when i lived at Indian point they weren't afraid at all they begged like puppies at the Dumpster .But during the deer rut I was a little worried 2 bucks got into a fight on the path back to my apt they didn't care that I was the their I yelled and told them every profane thing I could thing of I was like 25 yards out. when I whistled they took off

Chris Hansen said it best. On to catch a predator ."I want to wrestle you so freaking bad just to feel you on top of me "

Go barbless for trout I never keep em

My family is he type of family who drinks and is full of smart asses. Every year it is civil until the drinks start flowing and then the cheap shot fly like grease off the lake. I use to get mad now I fire back with one liners, its somewhat in good fun. But some one always get mad . Their all ways good wild stories but its fun. But I skipped out on them this year I feel kinda bad. I can assure you even with out me the gang in st louis was out of order. But hey you don't you pick your family. Its like a roast of every one its dirty.

That's a mean mouth for sure. I am not a scientist but look at mean mouth(small mouth/ spot hybrids) that's a text book case . I find that a small mouth are the hardest fighting bass this combine with a spot I would love to catch . I lived on Indian point and my apartment manger was a fishing guide on table rock. He had caught a few of them in his day.

I Thought I'd let you guys know about the luck Ive been having at empire park. I lived in Forsyth last year now I live in Branson . I have had tons of luck at empire park in Forsyth. A few weeks ago I landed a 19 inch rainbow about 3 pounds. I have had so much luck with power bait eggs sunrise color. I uses a sliding weight rig with a small split shot to stop it but I know a barrel swivel works much better (don't have to re adjust every cast). I have been using 4 pound line with great success. I grew up using 10 pound line for bass so I was very afraid. But I set the drag on my reel with a pull scale just a tick above 1 pound. I have out fished every one who have been their with me ( i think its the 4lb test and the color of the eggs) I used rooster tails and chrome crank baits last year and got lots of trout and bass two 18 inch rainbow in one day . I see other people doing well their too . I talked to an older man with a basket full of big suckers he was headed home for a big fish fry . He was fishing off the end of the point by the public fishing dock . We were fishing in the cold rain but we were both happy because we both caught tons of fish. So Yea I have had great luck.

Hello my name is Fred .I have lived in the branson area for almost 2 years now. I have to say I love the fishing . I grew up in st louis every year when we were kids we we would go fishing in northern wis . Yea my family and I had no clue how to fish . Worms, bobbers we had some luck . Then when I was 13 I landed a job working my butt off on a farm an hour from st louis . I learned the basics from a guy named Roger Morse a great and funny guy who taught me so much about fishing and life . He was a great guy who was in great shape who suddenly died at the age of 49. One of the fittest people I have ever met and then boom dead . Any ways I love branson and the fishing has become a big part of my life . I don't think I could ever go back to city life . Fishing has helped me thought a lot of hard times in my life.I love this place. So as I say fish on!! ps I am also a computer repair man who would be happy to fix local ozark anglers computer issues free of charge around branson

I use an ultra light ulgy stick and I like it . But the cheap o micro spin UL shake spear spinning rod with the cork handle had tons more feel. With that and rod (it was a gift to me)you could feel a minnow sneeze near your bait. It broke on a snag . But hey it lasted 8 months and I got some bigger bass and trout on it and I abused it. I see it every time when I go to wall mart . Now it comes bigger spooled reel on it. For 19.99 you cant beat it if your on a budget. It was probably the the rod I caught the most fish on in my life. I have had a bunch of ultra lights in my day that one gets an A++++ for feel and a C for durability . I will most likely buy another as an extra rod . Fish on!!