bluebasser86

I had the one of the worst experiences I've had with either uneducated or stupid people on the water this weekend at Table Rock. My wife and I were fishing the end of a bluff near the dam that was holding lots of spots and a few smallies. I had been working hard all day to make sure my wife caught some fish and even though they weren't big ones they were biting almost every casts she made and she was having fun. Then a deck boat comes cruising straight towards us on plane, comes off plane and idles towards us. They were a short casts away when two younger kids jumped out and swam towards the bank. They were both young girls so I thought maybe they needed to use the bathroom so they just ran to the closest shoreline. Now we are right against the bank to stay out of the wind so I can hold the boat and make it so my wife can cast her ned rig right against the bank where they were holding. I see a movement from the top of the bluff maybe 15-20 feet in front of my boat. When I look up I see one of the girls peeking her head over the edge of the bluff. I thought to myself she isn't really going to jump right on top of the spot we're fishing is she? Then the shouts of encouragement from the "adults" in the boat made it painfully obvious she was going to jump, and she did, right on top of the spot we were fishing. After they both jumped they swam back to the boat and they left. Our fish shut off completely and I never did find another school of fish that size and that willing to bite. It really sucked to have that happen. I felt bad for my wife because after that little flurry she only caught a couple more all weekend. I felt bad for the little kids on the boat being taught that behavior and complete lack of respect for other people on the lake, and I felt bad that there was little kids on the boat so I couldn't tell their parents exactly what I thought of them.

I've caught lots of really unhealthy fish with hooks in their throat where someone had caught them and cut the line before. It can basically pin their throats shut if it's in a bad spot. Personally I'd rather take my chances getting it out like Greasey B described. I guess I figure if it was me I'd rather die from bleeding out realativly quickly instead of starving to death. If done properly you won't hurt the fish anymore than what damage the hook did orginally. Some fish you just aren't going to save no matter what you, part of the game.

Is anyone even catching anything with the A-rig right now? Haven't heard anything about it since it started to warm up it seems.

I think I was misunderstood a little. I couldn't afford one of the cabins at Big Cedar, no way, even with a discount since my wife works at the BPS up here in Olathe. I know there are several other cabins you can stay at and the regular rooms at B.C. are very nice and it's a cool place to stay with lots of activities to do, good dining close, and right on the lake. Something maybe to check out on a future trip. We must have gone to the wrong shows. We saw the Titanic thing. It was cool but $40 at ticket?? Thought that was a little steep. Ripley's was $35 a head. Would have cost more for those two things than it did for a night at B.C. and that would have only taken a few hours at best. This are just my opinions an experiences from a single trip though. Obviously the fellas that live in the area would know better than I do what is good and what isn't. My wording was a little strong on my orginal post I suppose as chances are there are some people on here that probably have family members or friends that depend on Branson for work. So I'll say it was not for me or my wife but obviously people come by the hundreds to see the shows every year so there must be something to it.

IMO, Branson is a big, overpriced tourist trap for the most part. There's a couple shows that might be alright but last time my wife and I went neither one of us was impressed with anything we did or saw and probably won't be going back to any of it anytime soon. The lake on the other hand is beautiful and well worth the drive. We spend most of the time fishing, my wife reads and tans a bit too. If the fish aren't biting or if we get hot we get as much away from the other boats as we can. I'll drop the anchor and we jump in and just float around. I get my snorkle gear and swim around and look at the cover and the fish a little bit. For a really cool experience try staying at one of the nice little cabins down there or try big Cedar Lodge. We've stayed at Big Cedar once before and will be staying there again for our anniversary this weekend. Lots of stuff to do there and some of the resturants have really great food.

Sorry about losing the 'fin. I've never had much success with one but I know the potential is there. Thank you very much for the pictures of the craw. I'll be down there in a couple weeks and have a couple colors of homemade jigs that should match those craws really well. They were eathing this one really good last time I was down there, only on a football head.

One of my favorite little bass lakes up here in the KC area went down the crapper when they put hybrids in it. Almost impossible to find a bass over 4lbs in it now, although there is tons of dinks in there if that's what you're looking for. Used to see huge schools of shad getting slammed by 2-5 pound bass all day long during the summer. Now we only occasionally see a few really large shad darting in and out of the weeds. I've never caught a striper and although they do seem fun if I want to try to catch a striper I'll drive to Beaver or Norfolk where they're already at, no need to go putting them in every lake just so we don't have to drive as far to fish for them.

They have a very good spitting and walking action. It's similar to the action of a Lucky Craft Gunfish but I think the flat profile when it turns on it's side to glide looks very much like a dying shad kicking around on the surface. It seems to look like an easy meal that is very appealing to big fish as most fish I catch on it are bigger than average topwater fish. I think I got mine for 5.99 at BPS in Olathe Ks.

I caught a small one by the dam the first time I fished pomme on a dropshot, haven't caught one since.

My friends made fun of me after I broke out one of those Top Dollars after seeing you catch so many nice fish on them. The fish around here kill them too and they don't laugh anymore when I get it out

Planning on doing a guys float/fishing trip on Big Piney about early June. Never been there before but seems like a nice river with some good fishing. We're mainly interested in smallmouth/largemouth and will be strictly catch and release fishing. Basically just looking for some good fishing with the shot at a nice smallmouth as I'm sure there will be daily pots on big fish. What stretches of river would be best? We could also fish the Gasconade if it would be a better option by that time of year. Also we're looking for a place to stay that either rents or shuttles jon boats since a couple of us are bringing our own and all of us would rather fish out of them. I've found Dixon resort, any others? Thanks guys for any help you can provide me.

We fished around the Osage Beach area Tuesday. Water was a little stained but not bad. We had water temps from 48 in the morning to 57 in the back of pockets in the afternoon. Fishing was tough for everyone we talked to and wasn't very good for us either. Caught about a dozen bass on sticks and shakeyheads with a few crappie, whites, and drum mixed in.

Dang! My wife and I plan to be there the 21st-23rd for our anniversary and do some fishing, hope they aren't all sore lipped by the time we get there.

Don is who I have used the few times I've had fish mounts done. He does excellent work and is priced very fair.

I have fished one and they are not really an advantage. They snag like crazy and just like any other bait you have to be around the fish to catch fish. I can fish much faster and cover more water with other baits and I have way more wasted casts because of tangled hooks and baits with the A-rig. It's far from my favorite bait for many reasons including these ones.

Anyone been on Stockton lately chasing bass? I might be down there in a couple days so if anyone could point me in the right direction that would be great.

I threw mine for 2 days on 25lb P-line fluoroclear this weekend and didn't have a problem with it. I got snagged several times and managed to pull it off each time, never retied and the knot and line was still strong by the end of Monday. Wish I could say I caught a lot of fish on it but I did catch my very first meanmouth I believe, a keeper at that.

I'll be down there the next couple days around the dam and only have one A-rig to play with so I'll probably fish a stick a lot. I'll make sure to post if I find anything.

Planning on being at Pomme for a day the second week of March. Assuming we aren't suffering from the winter that we haven't had yet and the water temps are around 50 or so, has anyone done any good for muskie at that time of year?

Is there a certain time of year that is better than others for catching browns on jerkbaits? I know that higher generation times tend to be better but is it better in the winters when there is a shad kill or anytime there is a heavier current? Any better colors/brands of baits? I have a lot of lucky craft 78 pointers and planning on getting some size 8 and 10 Xraps in their trout colors because most of my pointers are baitfish colors. I'm guessing that the bigger browns probably gravitate more towards the larger baits and the small baits attract more stocker 'bows. Thanks in advance for any help.

Thank you for that info, that puts my mind to ease a little bit. I was having nightmares of my boat getting beached or high centered on a rock that wasn't there earlier. Big rocks and logs are still a big concern I'm sure. I know a big log can be a few inches under the water on the kansas river and you'll never see it in that muddy water. The good thing is we'll have 3 sets of eyes to look out for stuff, a fast starting and good running motor, and a strong trolling motor to help out also.

Good stuff guys, thanks for the insight. I fish quite a bit of moving water in my area (including the Mighty MO) and I understand how dangerous moving water can be and how fast you can get in a bad spot. The sudden dropping of the water is my biggest concern I guess. It should like it would really be possible to be left high and dry if you're not careful. Sounds like we might just have to bring the boat and only plan on using it when they are generating plenty of water and stick to deeper areas to reduce the chance of getting stuck somewhere.

I have fished with one of the gentlemen from Ned's group of finesse guys. In the hands of someone who is good at it his techniques are scary effective. Some of the lakes that he has 100+ fish days on are tough for most guys to put 20 in the boat on the best days.

Would you be able to fish the White from a larger aluminum river jon boat? It's a 16' Lowe Roughneck and I have an outboard with a shorter shaft on it and had no problem with it on Taneycomo all the way up into the trophy area below the dam. We are planning on fishing the area around Cotter and planning on getting a guide for the first day to help show us around and hopefully help us find some fish.

Beautiful fish! Gives me a lot of hope for my first trip to the White that I have planned in early March. I'd love to catch one of those nice browns to get a replica made and just to say I've caught a brown.