Fisherman Sam

Hey everybody. I'm heading down to the Cape Fair area in late September and wanted to see if anyone had any advice, locations, depths, baits, techniques, etc. for targeting smallmouth in the upper James River Arm on Table Rock. I've never fished that part of the lake before so any advice would be great! Thanks!

Thanks for the advice everyone and sorry for the lack of specifics in my original post. I am mainly after bass (lm, sm, and spotted), but some goggle eye here and there aren't bad either. I would really like to stay within an hour of Columbia, if that helps with the distance.

Thanks all. I caught her on a green/black jig and frog. Depth was approx. 14 ft as I was dragging the bottom. Location was in the Little Niangua Arm around the Big Island.

Hey all I recently moved to Columbia MO and have been trying to find rivers other than the Missouri River to float and fish. Does anyone know of any rivers/creeks that are floatable and good for fishing near Columbia?

Hey all, I haven't been on here in a while but I thought I'd post this picture of this hog I caught at Lake of the Ozarks last Friday 3/16/12. The official weight was just short of 7lbs at 6lbs 15oz. Check it out. I was pretty proud of it

That's some great paddling advice, Al. I couldn't tell you how many times I either flipped or took on a ton of water the first time I ever canoed; and it was because I did exactly what you're not supposed to do-turn away and paddle like crazy. Luckily, a seasoned paddler watched me flip going through a curved riffle. After much snickering and helping me get my gear and canoe back, he proceeded to instruct me on the ferrying technique. This complete stranger taught me a valuable lesson that has kept me from flipping since!

Thanks for answering my question Smalliebigs! I'll start saving for one today!

I've actually been thinking about getting a Coosa for while now. I want something I can go out in by myself when I don't have another person to go in my canoe. To those who own a Coosa, how far back does the front storage compartment go? Does it go back far enough to fit a 6 foot fishing rod? On the promo video, Drew Gregory makes it sound like you can but maybe he is referring to a two piece rod. If that storage area does fit a one piece rod, I wouldn't hesitate to get one. If anyone could answer this question for me, I'd appreciate it!

I would like to ask everyone to keep my grandmother, Jerrine, in your prayers. Over the past six months, her health has declined at an extremely rapid pace. She can barley walk or talk anymore, she has constant tremors in her hands, she says she has so much pain in her back and legs she can't bare it anymore. She has been seen by numerous doctors, and none of them have any idea as to what is going on with her body. We even had to put her under around the clock medical watch for a few weeks because she was talking one day about how she wished she could "just end it all". I pray everyday that she gets better and I would appreciate prayers from you all. Thank you God bless.

Welcome to the forum Bulldog402! You are correct about the bluegill for bait. I've seen much success with Flatheads by using bluegill (or any other sunfish for that matter), cut bait, and even stinkbait. In my opinion, the kind of structure you should look for is flooded timber. Table Rock is beautiful and a great fishing lake so I'm sure you will enjoy yourself regardless! I hope you are successful this August in your pursiut of flatheads on TR. Good luck! -Sam

Haha the $75 reward would be tempting! And in no way did I intend for my reply to sound mean or unpleasant to you, and please accept my apology if it did. I just felt that I needed to make it known that I was not just going after the money. Anyways, Al thank you for helping me to keep my fishing motives in the right place!

I can see your point of concern Al. Maybe MDC shouldn't have publicized the exact streams in which the tagged fish were. However, from a conversation I had with the resort staff of one of the resorts on the Courtois, the tagging has caused no significant increase in fishing. My feelings on the issue are that the tagging only presents a great opportunity for the avid fisherman. People who do not regularly fish on MO streams will not be willing to put forth the effort to make a trip they would not normally make based on the prospect of having a slight chance of making money. So I do not believe that this project by MDC will harm our streams in any way. Furthermore, to politely and respectfully combat your proposed "example" of my desire to catch tagged smallmouth, my excitement towards catching tagged smallmouth is solely planted in a scientific viewpoint. As a 3rd year biology major with a special interest in studying fish habitat and life cycles, I could hope for nothing more than to help my state's conservation department gather data on the habitat and movement of smallmouth. I want nothing more than to preserve and protect the fish we love. Believe me, Mr. Agnew, when I say money is of the absolute least concern to me. If you have any other questions or concerns for me, please feel free to PM me.

Gotcha. Thanks for the info Gavin!

Is it floatable at all upstream?

I'm thinkin about giving the Courtois Creek near Steelville a try this weekend. Anyone know how the fishing is there or what stretches are the best? I know that MDC released some tagged smallies in there. I'd like to get after some of em.

I've caught some weird looking smallies on the Big River also. Some have had a humped-spine like the one in this topic and others have had weird shaped fins. The most odd one I recall was so dark brown that it was almost black. It had an abnormally large mouth and a very short dorsal fin, but it was a smallie. It was 18" long. I caught it in the stretch of Big River near De Soto, so that probably explains it... Just kiddin De Soto folks

Yeah as far as eating, crappie and trout are definitely the way to go. To be honest I dont think Ive ever eaten smallmouth meat. Does it taste good? Thanks for all of the info everyone!

I have a .177 cal RWS Diana Model 34 break barrel wood stock pellet rifle for sale. This gun shoots at 1250 fps and is a great varmit gun or a great first gun for the kids. I bought it three years ago but have BARELY used it because I found a good deal on a .22 right after I purchased it. It has one very small scratch on the stock, but other than that, it is in mint condition. At the time of purchase, I paid $279 for it brand new. I don't know exactly how much I'm asking for it yet, but since it is a beautiful gun and in near-mint condition, I'm not posting an asking price, but I will consider all REASONABLE offers with respect to the gun condition and original purchase price. Thanks!

That makes sense. I had the idea of parasites in the back of my mind but I never gave it much thought. That definitely explains the discoloration of the fish. Think I should report this to Missouri Conservation? Fishinokie1, could you post the link to the article you read? Thanks!

A couple of weeks ago I was fishing the Huzzah Creek near Steelville, MO. I caught a couple of these guys along a current seam. At first I thought they were just really light colored smallies but the black spots on the stomach and the lack of vertical stripes tell me otherwise. Tell me what you think- light colored smallies or something else?

Hi everyone, I've been a member on OAF for about a month now so it's probably time I do an introduction. My name is Sam and I've been blessed with growing up in the beautiful country we call the Ozarks. I've been a bass fisherman all my life and love to catch crappie in the spring and fall. Smallies are by far my favorite, but I would never turn down a nice largemouth or Kentucky. I am now in the process of expanding my fishing experiences and I would really like to start learning how to fish for trout, walleye, and other fish we have in the Ozarks. I live in a little town about an hour south of St. Louis, but I consider Table Rock my home waters. Fishing for me is hardly ever about results. I focus on the peace I find in marveling at God's beautiful creation and taking time to reflect on things I've learned and who I am. Anyways it's nice to meet everyone. Good luck and tight lines!

It's nice to see MDC getting involved in some of my local waters. I definitely cant wait to go fish the Current and Curtois for some of these tagged smallies.

Ok guys here's the follow up- We got out on the water around 5:30 and fished the stretch around boiling spring for about an hour. We caught some nice smallies on buzzbaits below a riffle just up from the boat ramp and managed to catch some nice google eye on grubs off of a big slab rock. Just like Flatbottom Boy said, the topwater bite was pretty much done after 7am, so I started fishing a jig and craw and my buddy started fishing a broken back rebel. My jig and craw seemed to be the hot bait and I caught pretty nice smallies and largemouths and a few goggle eye here and there up until 11 am when the fishing seemed to stop dead. The fishing was definitely more quantity over quality this trip, which is perfectly fine with me. I think we all agree that fishing isn't necessarily about the results. I had a great time floating this river and was very impressed by the natural beauty of it, especially up around the boiling spring area. I'll definitely be taking more trips to float the Piney.

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll be sure to do a follow up and let you all know about the trip.

How's it goin' everyone? I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when an old buddy of mine asked me if I wanted to come and fish the Big Piney River in Missouri with him this weekend. I have never fished this river before, but I have heard nothing but good about it. We will be putting in at Boiling Spring and taking out at Slabtown, a 14-mile float. Does anyone have any tips, tricks, or advice you could offer me for this stretch of the river? Thanks! As always I appreciate it!