Bassmaster21

Went night fishing the other day around standing timber and tore up the fish. We all cought our crappie limits (45 total) and brought in a small one for every keeper. Also caught a handful of catfish and white bass. Only fished for 3 hours too. Outstanding night on the water.

Went out and fished from the bank by the boat house. Fought the heat from noon to 1 then called it quits. Did manage to catch to LG mouths. Didnt have a tape measure but both would have been keepers. (One below the slot limit and one above) Im goin to try and get out on the water here in the next week or so to fish a little harder.

I would be perfectly fine with that haha

A lot of people. Mostly older guys with their fly rods. I think they are great for trout.

I have just recently started trout fishing and I go to roaring river about once every other week. I love it. The water keeps the temp. comfortable and the fishing is great! I have caught my limit everytime in about 2 hours or so. I use rooster tails, small rebel crawdad crank baits(which I have been made fun of at least once every trip for using, yet I Ive caught about half of my fish on them), and some pink and white flies. I just wish the waters held some bigger trout.

Went last Sunday morning and caught 10 largemouth on spinner baits in 15-20 feet of water near the tree stick ups.

Thanks for the advice. I went out the other day and put in at Masters and found a few coves. Caught 10 largemouth bass in about 4 hours then called it quits due to the heat.

Im not asking for you super secret spot but I am new to the lake and am looking for spots to preferably bass fish but im not that picky. I have a bass tracker with a 60hp so I can go most places. Just looking for simple stuff like where to put in? Then what coves? Areas? Spots? Any information would be greatly apreaciated.

Kayakers and canoers, yes can go to streams and rivers, but like your problem those are an hour drive away. If you really want to spend that much time on the water with your son and it is too far away to drive anywhere else you can always get a different boat. Thats what I had to do, sold t the 25hp and bought a 6hp. There are very safe and sturdy boats out there for equal or less price than just a good 35hp motor.

Well unfortunately that is how a lot of things go. There ARE more important things for city police and conservation to enforce and a lake like springfield often gets lost. The bummer is that people have less morals these days. They know it is weakly enforced so they break the rules without hesitation where I would HOPE that most people would just be law abiding citizens. Oh well I guess it wont be a big issue to most unless something serious happens like someone capsizing and injuring/drowning somebody by running a motor too big and not safely.

Is there still a hp limit for springfiled Lake? As far as I know it is still 6hp but I have seen an increasing number of people with 10,15,25,35, and even 40 horse motors on the lake. And even if they dont open them all the way up is it not illegal to just have them on the boat? It is not as much an issue with them using the motors as it is the more ppl out there with big motors the less room for people with only small stuff. Waters get crowded and there are other places those people could go where kayakers and canoers cannot.

I dont fish down there really but about the paddlefish: there is a season for them in the spring where you can catch them. Most people just snag them. I havnt eaten any before. If you accidently catch one out of season you are to do whatever you can to release it unharmed. They are the state fish in Missouri i believe

If you put in by the 65 bridge you would go down stream(to the left, away from the 65 bridge) and just keep going and then you cant miss it.

If you can get on stockon with minnows there are a lot of good places

I have tried for crappie out there and never had luck. (caught 3 in last 2 years) BUT... I have seen ppl catch them in the summer in front of the boathouse on spinners, road runners, and wiggle warts.

Went today and had pretty good luck ( 5-6 bass in an hour or so) on black and blue bass jigs by the railroad tracks. Not much luck anywhere else though

If you are interested I have a bow mount foot control trolling motor that doesn't work right I am looking to sell

It was a good time. Caught some 30 plus inch pike and a lot of good bass for that far north(a handful of 18-20 inchers) surprisingly no walleye, muskie, or crappie. A couple of big perch though. All in all a great time with friends in the middle of no where for a week.

Yes i did and didnt have much luck. Caught 3 small largemouth early then nothing else. I just got back from Minnesota on a fishing trip. Had a lot of fun and caught a lot of fish. How'd your tournaments go?

I have been out of town and havnt fished these waters for about two weeks. Was wandering if anybody had been out and how you have done. I am going tomorrow morning so maybe i'll see some of you out there.

In a perfect world I would find a great running one for just a few hundred bucks, hah. i have seen some 6hp on craigslist for around the $400 dollar range. Of course there are some really old ones for less but $400-$500 is the range ive seen for decent 6hp motors.

Yes I am looking for a motor specifically for that lake. 6hp is the max you can have on those waters so 7.5 is going to be to big for me.

Yeah the MN one I caught was 21 inches and we didnt have an accurate scale on us but I would say around 5-5.5lbs. The state record largemouth in MN is 8lbs 14oz or something close to that. (may be off a few oz). I have caught a couple here in MO 21-23 inches but nothing over 6lbs so not quite there yet on my trophy scale. Thanks for all of the replies. Lots of solid information.

Well I understand that motors arent cheap but for a gas motor i want to keep it around $500 or less. Trolling motor pretty cheap though cuz i can buy a brand new transom mount one for $150 or less.

I know that bass(largemouth to be particular) grow to much bigger sized in states such as florida, texas, alabama, etc, than they do in northern states like Minnesota. But I was looking for some clarification on to what is a trophy in the north and south compared to hear in MO. I would say a trophy in MO is anything bigger than 7lbs. I ask mainly because I caught a 6lb largemouth in Minnesota recently and thought not that much of it but everyone I talk to says that is a monster for up there. Just would kind of like to know for when I go back, or if i ever go down south(i dont want to look like a fool for getting excited over a 5 pounder in FL if thats not big, ya know?)