waterpossum

I guess with a little research after posting this I may have helped answer my own question regarding fluorocarbon. As I understand there are different qualities of fluorocarbon and a common pitfall is buying line that is just coated with fluorocarbon which is very vulnerable to excessively diminished strength when tying or nicked.

I have had bad expierence with fluorocarbon in the past and just don't have much confidence in it's durability. my first encounter was on Grand Lake a few years ago after breaking off a couple of fish on a stick bait. I realized at the time if you have any wear in your guides it will fray this type of line terribly. I have been too stubborn to change as I guess the quality has improved over the years, but my fishing partner LAST year chunked his rod to the bottom of the boat after breaking on hook sets with this stuff. I use low vis 8 or 10 pound mono with my stick baits. What is the over whelming argument for this line. Someone convince me???

From what I gather there is a good spoon bite for bass on Table Rock fishing shad schools over deep water. This is typically the time of year if your good at using electronics fishing for crappie over deep water can be real good. I just wish I had that skill. Or should I say the skill and patience.

I don't know for sure the water clarity at the ramp , but both arms, the Big Sac and Turnback are running clear. The lake level is about four ft above normal pool so there will be plenty of water going into the winter months.

I would have to agree with Hammer time on this one. Kentuckies may be a problem on Table Rock, but are not near as common on Stockton. As a percentage of bass in Stockton an agent told me it was probably less than 10%

I was in that cove a couple of years ago during a torrential rain and thunderstorm huddled down against the bank.

I believe ever word. I had a similar expierence on Grand many years ago at Sailboat bridge in October. A friend and I were bank fishing off the rip rap on the NW end with 3' rollers pounding the bank. We were throwing a 1/4 jig with a big white curly tail grub and the waves would literally wash the thing towards the bank. The best news most of the fish we caught were hybrids up to about 5 lbs. Never done it again. I think you and I have been around long enough to have experienced a lot of one time phenomenon's that are just hard to explain.

I think I recognize that cove. I think at one time somebody had a flat bottom boat chained to a tree back there where the road comes down on the left. E.487th Rd runs close by if I am not too far off base. My rain gauge here in Joplin shows 5". I think the cat fishermen should be on high alert.

I think Dale at Southwinds Motel there at Ruark hunts them some. He used to own some property through out the area, but I think he recently sold some of it. I understand he may be looking to retire from the motel business. Last year there was plenty of hog sign on the flat across the lake (SW) from Chicken Rock. There have been a few killed in Greaser creek according to a property owner I talked to last spring.

Sons creek. Cove just past the power lines.

It's hard not to catch the irony here concerning the name of the topic and the poster.

Texas used to have only certain days of the week you could quail hunt. I think Mondays and Thursdays were closed days. Don't think they still do that, but sounded like a reasonable conservation measure. Also I talked with a guy from Kansas the other day, who said he has quail on his property. He said he purchased the land about 20 years ago for hunting purposes. He swore that about every three to four years he eradicates as many predators as possible and will inevitably sees a drastic increase in his bird population. On a side note saw five hogs at the water on Stockton yesterday.

Hammer time: here is a positive forecast for this year- numbers are up in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. There is an especially good forecast for Texas.

Another factor not discussed much is in most areas where a person would hunt there was usually at least two coveys and depending on the acreage maybe more. Toward the end of season as the individual coveys decreased in size they would intermingle and form a larger covey, thus there was a constantly evolving good gene pool of birds. Wally makes a very valid point about the out of control predator population. It's simple for anyone to understand when you travel anywhere and count the road kill of possums, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, and an occasional hawk.

Wally, well done. Count me with you about being old and seeing things in a different light. As a kid raised in NW Ark around Harrison Christmas morning mom would fry up some quail to have for the Christmas dinner. Local enthusiasts would argue the fact that a pointer was better than a setter or vice versa. Missouri quail season would open about two weeks before Arkansas and men and boys would plan an early hunt by traveling to Missouri farms. Deer season paled in comparison to quail season. I spent time on my grandfathers farm on the outskirts of town and never had trouble identifying from year to year where I could go to find a covey. Creating quail habitat wasn't even in the discussion. Of course there were numerous small family farms as opposed to the giant farms of today. When I moved to Pittsburg, Kansas in 1972 for a short time there was still good quail hunting. Deer season was very restricted in Kansas and not as popular as today. The one thing very noticeable was the smaller size of quail in Kansas and Missouri as opposed to the Arkansas Ozark population. In 1982 our land in the panhandle of Texas had an unbelievable quail population. Last year I jumped one covey on the whole section. The habitat there has not changed and there is no way you can help create habitat in that semi arid region. What happened to change it from prime quail country to what it is today? Air pollution? Oil exploration? I guess I shouldn't belabor the quail discussion, it just depresses me that no one has figured it out, but can put a man on the moon, locate a fish from a boat at 100' and zoom in on my typing this to you at any time.

Why is the conservation land around Stockton not holding any quail? I have witnessed the depleted numbers of quail on Bushwhacker which comprises nearly 5,000 acres. There used to be a decent number of prairie chickens, they even had a special site where you could watch them boom, but that has even been abandoned. Buffalo wallow on the west side of 71 highway close to Nevada which comprised nearly a section had a few quail and an unbelievable maintained habitat. Last year for some unknown reason the whole place was bulldozed, why I haven't got a clue. Numerous farmers with big spreads in Kansas to the man will tell you that their wild turkey populations have exploded and it's their opinion that simultaneously the quail starting disappearing. When I was young trapping was done by a lot of folks, but there is definitely not as many trappers now. On a recent trip driving around Bushwhacker I counted 47 hawks on this vole haven. I am no biologist and can only relate an observation that on good habitat I still don't see quail crossing the road, singing in the spring or reports other than" we used to have some." A perplexing scenario. Herbicide and pesticide use surely is also a big contributor. Where I have trouble digesting the habitat loss theory is on good habitat there still are no numbers of quail.

That's one nice looking fish. I see one of your interests is quail hunting. It's very discouraging for an old timer like me to see how drastically the quail population has declined since I was a kid in the sixties. Loss of habitat is the most discussed problem, but to me there seems to be a lot of other factors contributing. I have pretty much given up on quail hunting, but I do get out and about and still don't see any quail where habitat is ideal. Any thoughts?

They said he was an EMT in St. Louis and he had to get back home, but he would have to pass a polygraph before the money was allotted.

Lucked out in the last hour on Sunday with an exact 3.00. Saturday we fished docks close to the 36 mile marker. When we started we were catching fish on the outside corners in 9-12' of water. All the fish were hitting just after splash down, but I held on to this technique too long. If I heard the winner right, he said his 6.88 fish came from behind a dock in 2-3' of water somewhere close to the 36 mile marker. Sunday I adjusted fishing behind the docks in the Niangua arm with better success. I had to fight swells and cables to land the 3.00. My partner was in no position to net it so luckily I was able to get it before the cables sawed it off by laying down and reaching out with the net.

I am fishing it. I am bringing a friend that doesn't fish much, He is really excited to fish a bass tournament. I am staying at Red Oak Resort. For anyone living around the lake. Has there been fog early?

Talked to Dale, who owns Southwinds Motel at Ruark yesterday and he said they were surfacing on the flats across form Mutton Creek

Thanks for your reply. Wish it would get a little colder to start a big shad migration.

It's been along time since I have fished at LO. I have only fished as far as Hurricane Deck probably 15+ years ago. Are there any significant underwater hazards say around Porter Mill Bend up to Wilson Bend?

How many people fished ? And what ramp were they out of?

I was at Carthage golfing this am and picked up about 20 of them. maybe next time to the lake I can give them to you.