Feathers and Fins

And this is why I have a hard time keeping Walleye in the freezer 1st soak the Walleye in ( Zesty Italian Dressing ) for 24 hours in the refrigerator 2nd Pour 1 bottle of Vegetable oil in a large pot and cook on high for 10 minutes then reduce heat to half for 5 minutes. While the oil is heating Crush 1 package of Saltine cracker in a 1 gallon zip-lock bag and add 1 cup of Flour and ½ bottle of McCormicks Lemon Pepper to the mix. Shake well for 30 seconds to blend the mix completely. Break open 3 large eggs and mix well, add these to another 1 gallon zip-lock bag. 3RD Drain the walleye from the soaking solution and blot dry with a paper towel and then add to the egg bag. Shake well for 1 minute and then let sit for 2 minutes. 4th Add the walleye to the mix bag, DO NOT SHAKE! Gently roll the bag over and over for 2 minutes to completely coat the Walleye. By now the oil should be perfect ( I do not know the temp as its more a visual) 5th Place the Walleye in a metal strainer and gently place in the oil mix for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes remove from heat for 2 minutes or until the oils stop popping. 6th Remove the strainer with the Walleye in it and place on a towel or plate for 2 minutes to allow excess oil to drain off. 7th Place Walleye on a plate and then lightly re-sprinkle with lemon pepper.

Randy, Its a combination of finding the pattern even if it is almost invisable. The walleye want the long points but the key has been finding something that breaks up the barren flat, a rock a stick anything that has just a little change. Trolling them I will mark a waypoint on the chart and then set a troll pattern to optimise those features in it. The bass it was the sharp turn that triggered the bite. By doing that turned i forced the baits to round the point instead of just straight lining it. The Hybrids were no brainer when they are pushing bait on to the shore it was a throw the bait in it and burn it back. I pay attention to even the most small thing on the water If i see a area of water that is even rippled diffrent I fish it. Quill, I have a few fillets But they go fast lol. I havent kept a white, hybrid or striper in awhile got plenty of those! But I keep running out of Walleye for some reason. But I would love to have a fish cook one afternoon. Something We should all talk about I was to tired last night but here are some of the pics from yesterday.

Air Temp: 75 Water Temp: 72.4 Water depth: 6 to 25 Lure Keitech: Swim baits in white with 1/4oz lead head and Rapala Shad 14ft diver Lure presentation: Trolling 1.5mph Wind: Out of the North at 10 to 15 Water visability: 3 7to 5ft Totals: 43 WhiHybrids 5 Kentuckys 4 Largemouth 2 smallmouth 5 small stripers 2 17pnd class 12 Walleye 2 Keepers So much for 100% chance of rain it actually was a beautiful day on the lake. Location was Rocky Branch, I worked the long points again today. The Hybrids were on the inside of the points busting bait most the day in very skinny water actaully chasing the bait in to the brush. The Bass and and larger stripers were located in 20 ft on the edge of the points. Pretty simple fishing if you wanted walleye you had to keep your boats bottom depth between 6 and 8 ft. Hybrids were backs out of water busting shad on the shore and for the bass and stripers you want to run the points out till you hit 20ft and then make a hard turn to come back down the other side of it, as you made the turn the Stripers and Bass would take the bait. i did go down Starky and Point 3 to see whats happening there and didnt mark much at all. The majority of fish seem to be concentrated in Rocky Branch right now with all the shad. Dont think you will cast net the shad as they are in 8 to 14ft of water and not balled up good.

That pictures means more than any words ever could. You and the little Man are most welcome and the reason I post as accurately as I can.

LMAO, He had to have seen the video out of Cali with 5 12'' castaic trouts on one.

Blue, Not all lakes should have stripers or need them and in fact they can be very bad for lakes under some circumstances. For instance your little lake would not be a place I would want to see Hybrids or Stripers as they can and will eat out a small lake, the stunted growth you talked about I have seen happen in lakes that someone thought was a good idea to put in hybrids or stripers ( why i laughed at bella vista for doing it ) It has to be managed carefully to work in the manner I am talking about. I have enjoyed this thread a lot.

Grady, not without searching all over the internet for them now. There were many studies done in the late 90's and early 00's on the subject. I know Minn, and Wis were two of the state's heavily involved and showed the preditation. I havent researched in years but im betting Mo and AR probably have done stomach content checks or some researchers in the lower states.

Academy is a "Sporting goods store" Cabelas is an {Outfitter) Academy caters more to sports where Cabelas will cater more to the outdoors. The more and more I have been looking on line at Cabelas the more I think I will go there for only things I cant get at Hook line and Sinker and of course sales Its funny im in Branson and Springfield a couple times a month and I can walk in to either of the BPS and not spend a dime. I like to buy what works not the eye candy stuff.

My Grandfather Past away at 78 and had a fishing trip planed with me that weekend and a 3 week Tuna trip planned for the summer. I think so long as you are capable and honest with your limitations you will be fine.

Stripers are scattered so it might be tough to target them right now. Whites and Hybrids are the Fishing For Dummies Book they are everyplace and easy to get. Cats I would go into PC or even Avoca and sit back and enjoy the evenings. TAKE YOUR THERMOCEL!!!

It has not mattered for them. Daytime work it slow along or very near the bottom and as evening comes on look for surface fish.

It is not that Gizzards are a "BAD" food source, it is the big ones that are the problem 8'' on up as a rule. The primary size preffered by Crappie and Bass are 2 inches and up to 4 inches. Big Gizzards get to the point they are no longer Bass and Crappie food and because of that become in simplest terms useless to the lake and in fact bad for it because they compete with the smaller shad for food. There are only a few freshwater fish that prey on those large Gizzards, Striper, Muskey, Pike, Walleye and Flatheads. You have to remember the average size bass in many lakes is 2 to 4 pounds NOT 10lbs. You want to have and maintain a very healthy smaller size shad base. Unfortunately there is a lot of research showing that Large Gizzards actually stop breeding so all they are doing is taking up the food source for the optimal size bait. Of all the prey fish on the big Gizzards I would love to see it be Walleye, BUT, Walleye are KNOWN to feed on Crappie and Bass at will. So I would prefer the Striper for maintaining the health of the overall fishery. Trust me before I really got into Stripers and started reading the science on it and talking to Biologist I was like many other Bass fishermen and never wanted to see them in "MY LAKE"! But when I learned about them, I started to change my mind and thought of them more as a Management Tool to help my lake.

Fly patterns I Like San Juan worms and Mullberry's. If you can find the Mulls along the shore when they start to drop it can be some of the best action ever.

Abkeenan, as I pointed out there is plenty of scientific research to go along with my opinion. The stripers are part of the lake management! They are eating the larger shad that are NOT the main food source and are a Biomass competing with the lesser size shad and other fish. That is not opinion but fact from multiple biologist and spanning many years of research. I have posted some of those reports before. So you see they ARE a fish lake management tool. There are many lakes not on the list that have stripers that are used for lake management to help the over-all lake's health. It is very difficult to dismiss the facts that many lakes on the BASS top 100 have stripers in them as just a coincident. It is difficult to dismiss all the scientific papers showing they are part of very healthy lakes as coincident. Both Northern and Southern lakes, Eastern and Western Lakes, lakes with Florida strain and Other Strains. No the stripers are not the end all be all part of the equation the healthy lakes but are without doubt are part of lake management. I have seen and been part of these conversations for many years. Most the anglers who are against them are ones who believe they would harm the fishery or draw more attention to the fishery. Its proven if managed correctly they are beneficial to a lake and as far and them drawing more people to the lake, that is not a bad thing as increased license sales go to the resource and increased spending by anglers in the community benefit the community. Arkansas did a survey on how much Striped bass provide to the state and off my head I believe it was 16 million dollars a year! That is a serious boost to the economy. Much of the negative about the fish in lakes is spread by honestly Bass anglers who have heard rumors or just don’t want their little lake getting spotlight that creates more competition for them. I fish Beaver you can read my reports frequently, I catch a lot of stripers but I also catch a lot of bass and BIG bass at that! Along with Walleye, Hybrids, Whites, Crappie etc. Beaver is a very healthy lake and very productive on most days. I don’t have any secret to my success other than I don’t fall into any mold of ( you have to fish like this ) I fish many techniques and will change it up fast if need be. I see the striped bass as A fun fish to catch but also as a great lake management tool. I like to keep an open mind and do my research on a subject before condemning it or supporting it. This is one tool that has the years of evidence to support the use of them as a lake management tool and a tool to boost local economy.

Ok Bill, then what about #31 Potomac River, Maryland/Virginia #44 Falls Lake, North Carolina #48 Pueblo Reservoir, Colorado #63 Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia #68 Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey #96 Manasquan Reservoir, New Jersey I didn’t bother to go through the entire list just grabbed a few I had knew had them, so here are a few off the same list NOT in the south NOT with FLMB in them. Hmm children for striper bait???? Why didn’t I think of that, could have saved me a bundle in raising mine. Dang it!!!!

There is the challenge lol.. Old is only a state of mind and back aches and wrist aches and head aches and lol.. I feel the pain.. Someone really needs to find the fountain of youth for us,

I can respect your opinion, But you still have not answered the question as to why you Hate Stripers or why they would not Benifit Tablerock? I respect you do not like the guide breaking the law, I to agree with that as its clearly in the MDC regs. Not trying to be mean or anything but when the science and the evidance points to something being benificial to a fishery I would think people would want it, so im trying to understand why you hate them and dont think they would benifit TR.

Wayne if you want that Challenge I got one for you... Slowly cruise the banks looking for carp feeding on the shore. You have to stalk them just like you would deer hunting and present the bait on shore to them at an angle that the line will not touch them but you can bring the worm to them. They will hit it like a Redfish if they see it and talk about an explosion and fight. Go a little heavier on the gear because of having to get it on shore but still lite enough to cast with accuracy and distance. Jason, I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU!

Actually he is doing it because how easy they are to get on TR, They also go over to the Grand to get them. It has nothing to do with the shad population on Beaver being unhealthy but the ease of getting the bait. Beavers Shad population is in great shape! Anyone who was in Praire Creek, Avoca Monte Ne etc this last fall and winter can tell you that. But those are the few shallow areas where you can get them vs the TR and its numerous areas especially around the rivers. Gizzard and for that matter Threadfin shad's optimal size for a foreage fish is 2'' long. That is the size that is most productive for Crappie and Bass to feed on. There is also a great amount of scientific reports showing that when shad get to big they stop reproducing. But the larger shad none the less are a Biomass in the lake that competes for food from the smaller shad which are the primary forage fish. The removal of the Large Shad will keep the population healthy and large thus generating more and larger game fish. The only fish capable of predating on the larger Shad with any affect is Striped bass. If you want direct evidance they are good for lakes you can look at the big bass lakes out west ALL have stripers in them yet they produce monster bass and lots of them. The biggest threat to TR bass ( from another fish ) is the Walleye. Unlike stripers that prey primarily on shad, walleye are known bass predators! Tablerock would actually become a better bass lake all around with Stripers to keep the larger shad population in check because it will provide more smaller shad for the bass and crappie to feed on. There is plenty of science on the subject, but the best proof is as I said look at the west! It undeniably produces LARGE bass on a frequent base and Numbers. Lets look at the BASS TOP 100 LAKES #1 Falcon #6 Amistad #8 The Delta #12 Pickwick #15 Toledo Bend #17 Kentucky Lake # 19 Sam Rayburn Are there any doubts about the Bass producing capabilities of those lakes? And there are plenty of Lakes on that top 100 that have stripers!

Daryk, I have a friend in Cali and the two of us loved chasing Carp from shore with Ultra-ultra light gear. Standard rod was a 7ft light and ultra light rod with a Reel capable of handling 300yrds of 4lb test line and even 2lb test lines. We landed many 30 to 50lb carp on them. Some of the fights would last over an hour but it was possible, mostly due in fact to the area was a large sandy bottom with no snags or rocks. We made a special bait for them that no carp can pass up. Take 1 loaf of Bread add in 2 cans of cream of corn, 1 table spoon anise, 3 cups dry dog food, 1 cup of corn starch and mix by hand slowly adding water till it becomes the consistancy of pie dough. Place it on a #4 treble hook and just lob it out from shore no weight or anything. Leave your bail open and let the fish run for a count of 10 then lightly raise the rod to set the hook. PS this also works great on catfish for some reason Channels love it.

River, Please explain to me why you hate stripers and why you think they would not benift Tablerock?

Duane ( ducky) and I were talking about this yesterday while at Taneycomo. There are far more stripers in TR then people know. If you are near the 62 bridge at the tailwater at the right toime you will see a wall of them charging trout. I have caught them with enough on the RR AND WR arms and several in the Kings arm and a few other place on TR to know there are far more then you think. A 10lb striper is both unsettling and at the same time makes me smile. Unsettling because that is not an old fish! Possibly came over the Beaver dam but Possibly means a Spawn took place and held. Smiling side of me because I really think TR could become an outstanding striper fishery! I know TR has a ton of Gizzard Shad in it and Stripers will Eat those Big shad which could improve the Smallmouth Fishery and I am all for the Double WIN they could provide for the fishery and for the local economy.

Jason is it safe to say you have come over to the dark side? LOL. Your next mission young Jedi is to go after them with spinning tackle spooled with 4lb test line Ultralight rod. They are an addictive fish when you find out how much fun they are.

Thats a nice looking smallmouth, colors are awesome and proportions are great looking. With the shad population in Grand I am suprised bigger fish are not caught often.

If they were Gar, YES people fish for them and they are good eating but cleaning them is time consuming but IMO the rewards for the meal are worth it.