Feathers and Fins

Striper no doubt, no broken lines, body depth wrong for a hybrid

Don't worry Quill, they already have the excuse for next year built in. ( We had to divert funds from the county roads department to pay for Rural ambulance service because the people would not approve the additional taxes ) Boy when I saw they were diverting funds from roads to that I knew it was the new excuse. It is called punish people for not giving them more tax money.

It is not complicated, currently the special area is from the Dam to Fall Creek, simply change it to Trophy area and make that from the dam to look-out point. Cease stocking of trout at the hatchery or only do it a couple times per year at most all other stocking to be done below Fall-creek. Taney is not some small little area, it is a very long lake, granted during summer more fish would move up toward the dam area but still I have caught them at Rockaway some 17 miles or so below the dam in the middle of summer.

Randy, I have the entire area mapped and yes it does change to some degree, mostly debris that lands on the area. I do keep a close eye on it for that reason. Right now I wouldn't fish it for walleye as there is very little cover to hold them but on years where there is a lot of debris it is awesome for them.

Greasy you say " level playing field "! But who is the level playing field directed at? I see any put n take fishery as a place people go to take fish that are put in by the state for that reason so there is no need for a " level playing field" as the concept is to take. Now if it was a tournament I could see the "level playing field" as being needed for the {Ethics} of the tournament. But it doesn't fit in for put n take fisheries. I understand this behavior is mostly confined on Taney at least to the trophy area, If MDC wanted to make it a true trophy area they would put far more strict regulations on the area. For instance Only 1 fish may be kept and it must be over 24'' in length and only Fly Fishing with single barbless hooks.

Not sure I understand where "chumming" is unethical it is the standard for many tournaments both fresh and saltwater.

I guess I look at it differently, say these people don't fish often and would like to catch a few ( that is the idea of fishing anyway ) It is not illegal so why get upset about it. You bring up a father and son, I say to that ( he got his son in to fish and that is very important in perpetuating the sport ) I will never fault a person get a child of any age in to the sport so long as what they are doing is legal. Is it ethical? who is to say what is ethical to another person? that is why we have laws. I don't do it but its not for me to judge another or to condemn them when its legal. Many people think its unethical to hunt deer in a corn field with a few rows left standing or to hunt waterfowl in a cut field but still its legal and I dam sure will hunt them. Are they funny to watch? Oh hell ya I get a kick out of as some of them could be Texas Two Step instructors and it is even funnier when one looses balance and goes in. But hey the person may only have a few days a year to fish and have a fish tug his line and I sure wont begrudge him maybe his one day from 60 hour work weeks raising a family and everything else the guy has going on over a little foot shuffle.

According to the MDC Website they are listed in Lake of the Ozarks. http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/striped-bass If you are really wanting to target them specifically, Beaver and Bull Shoals would be a better bet.

Lord I spent way to much money on cranks at one time then I realized lures were designed to catch fishermen more than fish, so I started thinking about what I caught my fish on not what the stores caught me on and it came to that formula. Then I started looking at cost vs works and the two baits that stood out were the Rapala SR and the Flicker Shad, Flickers run 3.99 to 4.99 per bait so I can afford a lot of them and a loss of one is not so hard on the pocket book... The SR baits sometime produce better so I always keep some on hand. Same thing with plastics, I have learned Keitech swing impact is a deadly plastic I can fish in a variety of ways eliminating the tonnage of plastics I use to carry. It all comes back to my theory of finding what works where I fish most. Well that and not buying a lure because it looks pretty or is the newest thing or some pro says its great. Hell what works for a pro on one lake and wins him the trophy might well put him in last place the next tournament. I want what works day in day out where I fish.

With cranks im looking more at the depth I can get them first followed by size then color. I have a formula I use 1. Depth? ( at what depth are the fish at and what crank do I need to use to get there) all things being equal 2. What size bait is in the area or fish species? ( If I know its small 1.5 to 2.5'' baits I want to use that size if need be I will put lead on the crank to help it get down or even run downriggers ) if the lip wont plane it to that desired depth. 3. Color ( Clear water white or a variation on it. Stained a Gold or darker color ) Combine the three for and you can select a bait pretty accurately. Then its a matter of how to get it there, sometimes I will cast others troll depends on what the fish tell me they want.

OP I use those same lures on Devils Lake, TR and the Arkansas River, only thing I do different is use a different color but the baits stay the same and most of them I have used in Cali and Florida, its more about knowing where and when to use them than anything else imo.

I target all species actually bass, stripers, whites, hybrids, crappie, walleye, catfish and Gar. The surface box has pencil-poppers and Pop-r's mostly with a couple jointed swim baits and Flies for when I catch them shallow. I don't use buzzbaits never found the need and never seen the need to use a spinner bait either. What I have is what works. I don't mess with what doesn't and I want baits that can target multiple species at one time.

Here this might help 1.pdf

Im actually doing inventory right now and snapped a few pictures here is my boxes, real simple 1ST IS THE FLICKER SHAD HOMES Next is everything else Pretty much everything minus the crappie jigs and worm rigs for walleye is multy species friendly and what works on Beaver. Not pictured terminal tackle box, spoon box and extra hook boxes. I keep it simple and able to target multiple species with what works.

Find the top 10 baits for where you fish and stock up heavily on them everything else is eye candy costing you money you could be spending on what works... My philosophy anyway.

Actually charted it 2 years ago very detailed that's how I knew exactly where 15fow flat was lol. Im probably going to go out next time and "Genesis" a couple areas for use later this spring. I wish we could get 4 or 5 people to do the same thing and knock out some of the real good areas.

Rumor mill is possibly a dusting on Wend as well... Someone find me that groundhog so I can kill it

lmao, yup that's how I started and now if I have less than 10 of any color I start to panick

Ham, as j-doc can testify they are addicting just ask him about my tackle store lol,

OP, Its fun I do it on 4 and 6lb pretty frequently, Nice thing about stripers in open water is they tend to come to the surface so its just a matter of having a good drag and keeping it set light enough.

My size 13 says that's a big one... almost forgot to post it

10lb floro.

Trust me I know how hard it is to stay when nothing is biting, I was brought up to stick it out but then I got in to tournament fishing and watching tv shows where people run and gun and it took the good habit of being "patient" which is what all god fishermen should be, to being very impatient trying to catch fish. Funny thing is when I compared logs I actually caught more fish waiting out the doldrums as the few I caught running around only equaled the few I caught staying and the bite when it kicked off was the same time all over the lake but I may have been out of position to maximize the time they bit. I wanted to kick myself in the butt after reviewing the logs not to mention the amount of gas I saved staying.

thunder in rogers and sleet and snow mixed. temp on digital outside says 11 degrees. This is a weird storm.

#5 and 6 for crappie #6 and 7 for walleye..... 140ft back at 2.5mph = 17fow with the #7........14fow with the #6...... 12fow with #5