Feathers and Fins

Who can ID these ? These were in a 48qt igloo 26'' long Ill get some more later today, Blast from the past

Point um out I know how to solve that problem!

Here is something I was thinking about, many people talk about how poor the quality of Beavers fish are! Yet I continually pick off bass that average 3 pounds and get many 4 to 6 pound fish, I believe I have posted more than enough pictures on this forum to show that. So here is my thinking; The vast majority of Bass Anglers I see are fishing shallow and in the brush 10 to 0 fow basically. I am working deep water targeting shad balls for walleye, stripers, crappie and hybrids 12 to 35 fow. On a typical day I can catch a 5 fish limited that will go 15 to 19 pounds on a good day it can be a 20+ pound 5 fish limit, the difference is where and what I am targeting! I'm Deeper than the typical bass angler and targeting shad vs the Guys targeting the shallow bass who primarily are feeding on crustaceans and worms. I truly have come to the conclusion the "BIG" bass on Beaver are chasing the shad balls or following the stripers, hybrids and whites picking off the easy free meals that the three species stun and or kill during their feeding attacks. This would seem to make since as when im fishing shallow the 10 to 0 fow my average fish size seems to be 1.5 to 2.5 lbs yet in deeper water that average goes up to 3.0 to 4.5lbs. Also the deeper fish seem to be much thicker in the shoulders and look like they have been to a Chinese Buffet with the belly's on them. Now I understand trolling is not a legal method in Tournaments but the simple fact is just because its not legal in tournaments does not mean those fish are not in the lake. We had 13lbs yesterday and missed out on almost 4 hours of primetime fishing, wonder how much we would have had with those four hours back? My guess would have been at least 2 more bass probably in the 3 pound range based on many recent trips putting us at 19 maybe 20 pounds. Something to ponder!

Thanks Wilson, Honestly it wasn't that bad till about 1pm then Jason and I were both ready to go it was getting dangerous. Patrols were out and man I was glad to see them we saw several things that people disserved citations for and a couple a trip behind the Barn would have been warranted. I know the two of us will be hooking up for some more trolling and lessons in ( TV Fishing ) Fisher, we were right at 12 bridge area, 22fow was the target bottom depth with fish suspending up to 9fow until boat traffic pushed them down to 17fow. We tried some of my deeper running baits but no dice the boat traffic certainly turned off the bite. Oh we did mark a few nice paddlefish and Doc got to see them on the graph pretty neat when you can see a fish that defined but what shocked me is how shallow they were and where they were. Be careful if you go.

I'm very relaxed with a belly full of Walleye. Cover with Picante Sauce and wild rice seasoning and cook for 1 hour. Followed up with a home made Apple Pie.

BF, J-doc and I were talking about this a little today, with the high amount of spotted bass in the lake the forage on the same prey as the LMB and Smallmouth, I personally feel it is competition from other bass species that are playing a large role in the health of Beavers Bass population. Doc caught one nice LMB today and all the bass we caught were nice and chunky. The smallmouth population from what I have been seeing is doing phenomenal though. It makes me curious and the Smallmouth seem to prefer a more rocky environment where butt the largemouth and spots seem to prefer areas of Pea Gavel, transition banks and timer if it truly isn't a case of to many Spots eating the prey source of the LMB. We all know LMB are a ambush predator and it would seem logical that the more they have to move to find the forage the less size they would obtain as energy used is equal to or more than the protein they gain from the meal. Hypothetically speaking.

Well started off the day cursed but found the Gremlin's handy work. J-doc and I managed to finally get on the lake about 9:30 or so and within minutes had double ok a triple hook up I had a White and Doc has a Kentucky and Crappie on the same lure ( and he accuses me of things lol ) We fished till about 2pm trolling flicker shad for 25 fish between us including some very respectful Bass. Ended up keeping I believe 4 crappie 1 white and my Birthday Walleye that was 27 inches Hey Joe I believe we had around 13pnds how did you do ? Anyway great day until the hatch happened BUT nice to see the Sherriff out in force today. Docs got more pictures on his phone so he will need to post them up later.

Champ. Why do you "Loath" them? If all the science says they are not a problem what harm are they?

All science disproves that so its purely speculation on your part. I posted a link to just 1 of the many studies that verify that and why. And Tablerock cannot compare to 38 other lakes. Comparing one lake to another is like comparing apples to oranges. So again speculation on your part. Couldn't have anything to do with Black Bass anglers raising holy cane when its brought up can it? Hmm wasn't there just a lake that they were wanting to stock that the uproar from bass anglers put that on hold. Not sound science but pressure from people. Speculation is not science.

No Need I took out my trash last night and there were some carp from last weekend in there....

No and in all honesty it would probably benefit the lake. If you want to use the BASS top 100 lakes as a quays guide so to speak you need to look at each lake and its predator’s species above Tablerock.11 of them have Stripers, Hybrids or a combination of both, 11 more lakes have Pike or Musky or a combination of both. So 22 lakes have apex predators, Stripers do little predation on Bass and Crappie where as Musky and Pike are notorious predators of bass and crappie. The lakes health is benefited by the predators that keep in check other species when they grow beyond the predation capabilities of Bass this is simple biology 101 of keeping a balanced ecosystem. There are few lakes in the US that support striper breading and thus must be stocked by the DNR’s for each state. Those departments can raise or lower the population of stripers thus using them as a ecosystem control tool. Then there is the financial benefit to communities around the lakes, almost every lake I have ever visited with well managed striper populations have guides that specifically target them and they are pursued by anglers, some areas actually become destinations of interest to anglers specifically for them. Both of those factors increase revenue to the local economy. Its always interesting to me how the detractors of managed striper fisheries seem silent as soon as the science comes up in the conversations. They like to say how bad they are or they don’t want them because of a million reasons but when the facts present themselves silence follows. Shame as I said before as if they pushed for a well rounded managed fishery they would only improve their catch rate and size of fish. Again go back to the top 100 those lakes with apex predators have large Bass in them. I wont say stripers are perfect as if they are not managed they will eat themselves and everything else out of house and home but in a managed controlled lake they are a great tool for the health of the lake.

Funny, I was watching the news yesterday and they were talking about lessoning the funding for climate research to force more work done on storm prediction. Heard a few scientist that were more than upset about it as it took ( WAIT FOR IT-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> Money from their budget ) Sorry guys and gals and all the boats at sea. But there is the root of all evil right there! This subject is so political its pathetic and I mean that sincerely as it shouldn't be but because of politics and the funding it is and as honorable as people might be trying to be its really not in their funding's interest to go against the grain.

Chief is spot on as usual. I would say if you have teenage boys and are doing a weekend float put saltpetre in their food

As my Professor once told me. " I can guess what's in bear crap but until its in the lab and the proper test are performed its only bear crap "! If there is a die-off going on the Scientist / Biologist should gather samples and take them back to the lab and find out what it is. It has been a strange year but if I was getting reports I think due diligence on the part of the biologist would be to go gather the affected animals and 1st visually inspect them, then take them back to the lab. I would hate to think a wild guess is how they maintain the health of a lake.

Joe, Send me your map I kept working on it till I went to bed last night but My Pc isn't being nice. I will try it on my work PC today. But Montne is an oddball your spawning flat it right but where they set-up for munchies is actually on the flats on the North Shore and at the mouth on the south side going into the river... I hate when PC Programs don't play nice. Beware the spawning flat a lot of bow fishermen been chasing carp on it.

ok for some reason my paint program isn't working ill try later

Oh so many things I could say here lol... But ill be nice and do a map myself give me a few...

No sympathy from me to the Driver at all ever.... They need to be charged with murder!

Champs Married, he has a "Right Brain" who will figure out the math on that doesn't work lol.

Ab this is just a simple discussion its already stated TR didn't get stocked. Besides if the bass ever discover how good trout are you will be replacing them anyway lol.

My opinion is pure size of stripers is why. They are the " fish of a lifetime " for many people. Most hybrids max out under 20lbs and that's not in the FOAL size. Walleye would be a hard argument is why, they are native and taking on the Native vs Introduced argument is one they know they have no leg to stand on plus they know there is no chance in hell with states reintroduction of native species "directives" they would win that one. I laugh at them never complaining about trout and know its because they know nothing grows bass better than trout-snicker-bars. Even though trout could be argued as non-native.

Wayne there is no "might about it" Hybrids love trout. Use to watch them chase trout all the time and a 12pnd hybrid will easily take down a 10 to 13'' trout. So long as the state keeps an eye on the lake and especially the shad population stocking of striper and hybrids can be beneficial but they will need to keep that eye on the lake. MDC does a great job of this and due to that I believe it could be done in a beneficial way on a limited basis on the rock. But (if) they ever did I would want them to base it off the ratio of Large Gizzard Shad to Striper ratio so its a control means for both species. Currently there are actually Game and Fish departments actually now using striper as a carp control means. I have been following that very close and indications are it is have success, this will without doubt improve base fishing in those lakes. They may also be used for controlling the flying carp populations. There seems to be a great deal of use for Stripers ( if managed correctly )

Hodge, If you read a few of my tail water reports I enjoy pursuing them on the Rock as they tend to be Monstrous size thanks to the rainbows . But why I like they are not in it in very large numbers is " I have salt in my blood " Something goes off in me when I see flowing water AKA Generation and know trout are nearby and stripers love trout. Ya I know they are both fresh and saltwater but its the dang Salty in me that cant leave it alone. No double standards at all. I know they do not harm and in fact most data supports them as actually good for the health of a lake as they eat the larger gizzards that Bass cannot prey on with good success thus eliminating them so the smaller shad can thrive. So on the science end of it no double standard. The personal side is where it might be perceived as when im on the rock I like chasing walleye and as stated above if I saw generation it would pull me off the walleye and put me as far up the White River as I could get to tie into those stripers. So the conflict comes from inside me not the science. The biggest reason Bass anglers don't want them is not based on sound science its based on they don't want any perceived competition for their beloved bass. Ive been in this argument for years and when presented with the facts and tons of research and many state and federal agencies even backing it the Bass guys wont back down. The sad thing is if they acknowledged the science and fact and pushed for striper stocking they would most likely see a boost in the Bass health and lake health.

I was a scout but dropped them because it got in the way of hunting and fishing.

How much you want Wayne? There is volume after volume of it and NONE shows they harm the fishery http://etd.auburn.edu/etd/handle/10415/1096