Feathers and Fins

LOL not suprised, I had the best day I ever had on taney yesterday morning, I found some dead shad and worked a White wolly around them on the bottom super slow and the trout were all over that. Reminded me of fishing trout in AK after the salmon spawned out and died. Managed 3 bass as well.

Probably the same jerks that somehow got al of old PC rd posted for no parking on the shoulder. When i first saw those signs i was flaming mad. I know alot of parents took the family there to fish and now they cant. I had the same experiance with people when i was sticking geese early season this year. When I started heading toward them in the boat to ask them what was up, I had a few f-bombs thrown at me. I just smiles and told them I was legal and God Bless them and have a nice day and promptly turned the boat and stuck my final goose. Lake Atlanta does have some shad and chumbs. Putting in at Holiday and working back up toward the dam is a very good option. If the shad are doing there what they were at Taney yesterday morning they should be very easy to find. I had my best day ever yesterday. I found a few dead shad below the dam near outlit 1 and worked a white bead head wolly inches from the dead shad and had one trout after another. I was suprised at the number of Bass in the area and even managed 2 of them.

4oz is to be sure on a drift it stays in the target zone, also to get to the depth fast, also at 2.3 mph troll speed 73 feet of line off the real = 35 ft of depth so no need for a down rigger. 1/0 hooks allows the bait more freedom of movement which keeps them alive longer and gives a more natural look. One of the biggest mistakes I see people making and I was guilty of it myself was using hooks way to big, When i started fishing I was guilty as sin of it. It took learning on the Sport Boats out of Cali to learn that lesson. The more natural your bait looks the better always for example 30lbs or bigger Yellowtail and seabass I used a 3/0 hook and would watch guys all around me hook up. One of the skippers Ruzz Izor took the time to come and said " Boy your not fishing for jaws" He took off my monster hook and put on a # 2 hook pinned the anchoive through the anus and said try that... BAM I was on, one after another. He said the skill isnt in the size of the hook its in the baits movement after that its up to you! Yes The bait tanks at Academy should work fine, I forgot they even had them. But dont forget the Shad Keeper.

If all states would use Florida's system it would weed out alot of the people who shouldnt have them. 1 YEAR and no less than 1000 hours under a trainer who is already licensed in the care feeding and husbandry of the animal. Inspections are regular, The Bureaucracy is next to nothing. There is a fee for the permit which also helps cover the inspection cost. It makes since and works. Now I will address the comment of the Invasives in Florida. Many of them were released from Andrew and others yes from people who had no bussiness having them. Most people IMO who own exotics do it for Macho image, I have seen it first hand and then there are those who buy them for little Johnny and the cure little 16'' burm quickly grows to a monsterous 12' beast and they let it go. Or the cute Monkey bites child and they let it go. Deffinately happens unfortunately more times than not. But the good is those who really keep them for the right reason and that is love and passion only someone who has it will understand. Those are the people who try and institute the laws and permitting procedures. Im all for it You have to have a License to Drive and to Hunt why not for exotics? Big Differance between wolves and the hybrids is an understatement and nice to see someone else say it. Im not sure i would have wanted a hybrid after seeing some of them. But loved having the wolves, Our big female was the best babysitter alive. When the boys were young if one of them got to far in the yard toward the street she would grab them by the shirt collar and bring them back. If someone was walking down the street toward the house Both would pace the yard and when the person got close would line up on them. My neighbors loved their kids being over they felt they were always safe. To hear them howl always gave me a great peace it was so primal yet so relaxing. Were they capabale of an attack? WITHOUT QUESTION but in 14 and 16 years never bit never harmed a person. Had someone made a aggressive move toward my family no doubt the result would have been instant and deadly. I miss them both each day as they brought alot of joy to my life.

I do my best

I have dealt with Wild Animals most my life, from hunting toactually owing and selling them. I was licensed in Florida for VenomousReptiles as well as other “class permit required” wildlife. With propertraining and a permitting system in place most can be kept safely or as safe aspossible dealing with wildlife. That said there are animals that never belong in the homesof the vast majority of the population! I have kept Mambas, Cobras, Rattlersetc as well as large Monitor Lizards and even a pair of Wolves. Never has aaccident or problem but I was properly trained, My facility was inspected andall safety precautions were in place. So it can be done, but the amount ofdevotion and education needed most people will not do. I know there were many people and probably still are in theUS keeping Mambas as “pets” IMO there is only a handful of people in the worldthat should have them in a private collection as an example. Same with LargeLizards and Wolves etc. I firmly believe in the permitting system Florida has inplace it makes since and weeds out people who shouldn’t have these animals.Accidents will happen just like it does when people have domestic animals. The differenceis when it’s an exotic it makes National News and the type of animal freakspeople out because of a natural fear of the wildlife. Say my cat bit me andpeople snicker, say my snake bit me and they freak out and say you shouldn’t haveit. There is no difference both are animals both can and will bite. The WORD isthe scare factor that and the fear of what is deemed “wildlife”. I always had to laugh when I would get a call to do a snakeremoval or gator removal from someone’s house, No media no big county scare nofan fair at all! But if I had a call to remove a Boa Constrictor I had the newsthere and the entire neighborhood. Trust me on this removing a Boa that wasobviously an escaped pet was far easier than removing a rambunctious 3 footalligator youngster who thought it was his job to show you how bad he was and how sneaky he could be at eluding captureattempts.

LOL you educated the California birds good for you... Ya I cant wait till MO season, Ive been scouting it alot lately and there are birds in decent numbers already. I think its going to be a bigwater year because of the drought and that works for me Im set up for big water deep water, Besides shoot ducks in the AM and then switch to fishing for the PM. Is that King in the Picture I cant tell it fuzzes up when i clicked on it.

LOL you educated the California birds good for you... Ya I cant wait till MO season, Ive been scouting it alot lately and there are birds in decent numbers already. I think its going to be a bigwater year because of the drought and that works for me Im set up for big water deep water, Besides shoot ducks in the AM and then switch to fishing for the PM. Is that King in the Picture I cant tell it fuzzes up when i clicked on it.

I just read Baileys Report. If its accurate Prairie Creek is wide open it sounds. I would verify this if possible. By verify I mean Launch at PC and see if the Striper Guides are in the area. They are easy to spot. If they are then alter the Map and work PC hard. When they are there they become easy pickings.

So too juice you up for the upcomming season here are some pics from Beaver last year. And Yes I do kill a few as well

For Shad you really do need a circular holding container, Cut a trash can in half take PCV pipe and threads and insert it 8 inches below the top, screw on two PCV nuts to hold it tight in place and then affix a 45 degree angle to the inside focus the stream so it causes current in the tank. NOT STRAIGHT DOWN. Attach a flexible tube to the outside to the Bilge. And you have your filling and aerating ready to go. The Bilge can be placed in the water to fill the tank or in the tank to keep water circulating. When I use this method I also put a hole 1 inch above the nozzle same method only using 1inch pvc pipe so that if I wanted to I could keep the bilge in the lake while drifting or still fishing and as the tank got full it would just flow out the 1inch and back in the lake. Also be sure to have Shad Keeper with you, Academy has some back in stock. As to where to get shad? Mudflats and creeks are your best bets or early before sunrise around boat docks that have lights on all night. The condos on the other side of 12 bridge from the ramp usually have shad under the docks. Point 6 has some around it now but they are 2inch not the ones the stripers and LMB of size are keyed in on. Those shad are in the back of Rambo and in the back of Rocky Branch near the South Ramp on the mud flats or at least they were before this front. I would try the following areas If I was able to go Saturday, Branson with family took out my striper time But im going to go play with trout in the AM so its a decent trade. Anyway Start at Rocky Branch as noted. Be sure to keep your bottom depth at 50ft you should see the stripers in 42 to 35 and most will be around 37 feet. This front should have cooled it down enough to really get them on a surface chew so be ready for top water action early and late. Anyway here is a Map to try and help you

Dawn early no need to get out there before that. Here is an article I wrote for a friends Bait shop some years back maybe it will help. Ask away any questions you have about it.

Save the years, get a good graph if you do not already have one I use Lowrance HDS 5 on the bow and a HDS 7 on the driver seat. A single HDS will work fine. If you get one of those two set your colorline at 53 and your sensitivity at 64 ping speed at 19. You will see bait and fish with no problem plus the cedar trees with bass in them. You have two line counter reels so you are pretty much set for rod and reel for striper. Spool them with 20lbs test, as I said before use a weight ( I prefer 4oz egg sinkers) put it on the main { pretty much Carolina rig } with a 4 to 6 foot leader and a 1/0 circle hook on the end ( if Academy restocked after my shopping spree lol ). Remember your transducer is 12’’ to 18’’ below the boat plus gunwale height so if you see fish at 40 feet add the distance to tip of rod normally 2 feet for a set on the line counter at 42 to be in the fish but keep it at least 1’above them I prefer 2 to 5 feet. Now as to catching Shad you have two options. BTW your net size is perfect. Go to the back of the coves EARLY and you should be able to get them with no problem REMEMBER to let your net sink to within 1 foot of the bottom before closing it. Option 2 is go to a local creek and get bait. Shad a round take is best always. A simple bait tank to cut a trash can in half , put a 500gph pump in it and have the nozzle pointed to circulate water NOT STRAIGHT DOWN. Also get some Shad Keeper and add it. Remember when getting them out of the tank to wet your hands and be gentle with them they are surprisingly fragile. Chubs and Golden Shiner are far more tolerant to handling and abuse of casting. Good luck

Thanks, Waterfowl is what I do alot of. My friends know I will stoop to know ends to mess with geese from Archery to a Canoe I put shells on to sneak into rafts just for giggles I look at goose hunting diffrent then most people, they are there for my laughter factor. Ducks I have two passions for Shooting and Taking Pictures of, I think its fun just to sneak ducks jus to get a picture of them going HOLY $!@$! and bust up. Stripers on a fly on deep water lakes is my third passion in the outdoors i had one of the best teachers possible for that and I blame him to this day for getting me addicted to it.

I have been reading this forum for some time now and finally decided to join up. My Name is Scott and I have been blessed to have fished and hunted 28 States in this wonderful country and managed to go to 4 other countries to wet a line. I grew up in Socal and spend 7 years in Florida before coming back to the Families roots in Arkansas. I am an avid Waterfowl hunter as well as Fisherman and on occasion get struck with buck fever. Fishing and Hunting were not acquired later in life instead they are in my genes, my grandfather upon finding out my mother was pregnant promptly went out and bought me a Saber Rod custom build by Leon and a Remington 870 ( im betting my mother was glad I turned out to be a boy talk about pressure). From my first Bluegill of mere ounces to a Grander Blue marlin and from the first Rabbit to the majestic 6x6 bull elk, the lord has truly blessed me. On occasion during those cold days of winter ill even write up a short story about the outdoors as my mind wonders. It’s a wonderful world we live in and country to be able to experience the freedoms of the outdoors and the warmth it gives to a persons heart just for being in them.

Ropes and takes it slow

There is a guy who hunts Beaver with a rig like that for his decoys he just took a decoy sled and put 6'' PVC pipe all around it and filled it with foam. I think he is nuts because ive seen him out there on days i question myself in a 19' boat! But he sure kills alot of birds.

Thanks they were, Only bad thing about the entire day is I was no more than 50 yards from where i like to duck hunt and the birds were migrating in which made it hard to concentrate on fishing lol.

WC, When you read the reports about Beaver they are mostly comming from Baileys who is a striper guide on the lake so his reports are geared toward stripers. The Points as stated are Yellow signs the Army Corps has placed on the lake to aid in Navigation. I live in Rogers myself and chase stripers as often as possible,if you want to catch them its not as hard as people make it out to be. I preffer a 7ft fast action rod 12 to 25 lbs line class with a baitcaster that can hold up to 300yrds of 12 pnd test. The other set-up is again the 7ft rod but get a rod with a line counter so you can present bait at the correct depth. 3rd set-up I run is a 7weight fly rod with sinking line. Live bait is by far the best producer of stripers on beaver and not to hard to get with a cast net. Golden Shiner, Chubs and Shad all produce well. I use both my 7 foot rods 1 I simply tie on a 1/0 circle hook and pin a live bait on it through the nose and let it free swimm behond the boat putting out about 50 to 100 feet of line depending on how deep the stripers are. Second rod with line counter I tie on a 4oz egg sinker then a swivel add 5 feet of leader and a 1/0 circle hook I use my graph to find the depth they are at and set the bait 2ft obove that. The fly rod I will let out all the sinking line with a 6 foot leader of 12pnd line tied to it is a 4 1/2 to 6 inch white fly. As the boat drifts or a i troll with it. Very simple and deadly on deep stripers and if they come up shallow im still able to get at them. Right now the stripers and large bass and catfish are keyed in on 4inch shad around Rocky Branch and as with most this year seem to be keyed in on the 37foot depth. They are moving up river and should be near 12 bridge in the next week or two. Check Prairie Creek when AGFC starts stocking trout in Lake Atlanta some of those trout make it over the spillway and into PC ive seen stripers chase them down there and big swim baits work nice. These are from Last Saturday, Blue cat, Channel cat, Hybrid and Striper caught many fish that day but those were bound for the fish fry lol. The Hybrid was on a fly, one of 6 on the fly, the others were live baiting in 35 ft of water If you want LMB and Small mouth find the striper fleet and work in shallow from them the bass are keyed in on the same shad schools and this time of year very nive quality LMB are possible.