Gary Lange

I guess I should go out an buy two new rods now Tim. I am frugal by nature and I am sure that the Falcon Rods are great but I am cheap. I just can't justify paying $220.00 for a rod. I like the BPS Extremes and think they work fine at $100.00 and for the reel the Pro Qualifier has been flawless for me. Besides I am 65 now and on Medicare cut me some slack or buy me coffee youngun.

I would start with a BPS Extreme 7' Medium action rod with a Pro Qualifier Reel spooled with Seaguar Florocarbon line in 8lb test I like the VizX myself. Then some good 3/8oz Jigs in various colors like Crawdad, Peanut Butter and Jelly, and whatever else strikes your fancy. Next some good stickbaits in Chad color with some orange and blue. Some good Top Waters and some nice Crankbaits in Crawfish, Chad and chrome with some blue. I would also go back through this forum and read every Fishing Report that has been done by Bill Babler, Don House, and Eric Prey and collect all that info into a booklet and choose tackle from the recommendations they have made over the years. I would also be sure to attend the Seminar that Bill Babler is going to give on Feb. 16, 2010 at the Springfield Nature center because you will learn a ton about Table Rock. Oh, and some finese worms in Watermellon Red and Red flake. Welcome to Ozark Anglers.

Capt. Joe I use the fish-n-fool on Florocarbon and it works very well with no problems at all. I grew up with Fishing Facts and used the Figure Eight knot for years as it is easy to tie and has good strength also. I started using the Fish-n-fool after finding it on Knot Wars and although it is harder to tie then the Figure eight it seems to be stronger.

I too have been using the Fish-n-fool knot since it won Knot Wars competition against the Palomar Knot. It takes a little practice but is not that hard to tie once you get the hang of it. Here is a video of how to tie the Fish-n-fool knot. http://www.versuscountry.com/itemdetail.aspx?id=3515

Flippin, they have the corners made of plastic, metal and paper. I suspect by looking at Capt. Joe's setup that he used plastic. This would make the most sense because you don't want a torn rack as with the paper or a rusty rack as would happen with the metal. That is a very nice setup you have Capt. Joe. You're and innovative guy for sure.

I will be there this year as I was for the last Seminar put on by Bill. It will be a good one for sure.

When you go in Ahoy's just look for a loud mouth with a knit cap on his head playing pool. He is about mid 20's and about 130-140lbs.

I know they are most likely out by now and hunting again.

Tim, I slept through the whole thing. Stop by the HydroTec Shop and talk to Wayne as he signed charges on them so he may have the names. I know one of them had a long rap sheet and would be going away for a while.

It could have been some of us. With the rain we went to Applebee's in Nixa for Lunch and then to HydroTec for a tour of the plant with the owner Wayne Worthy. Some did stay behind though.

The Yellow and Blue one is the really fast one at 111mph with a 300x. They have one in Florida that is all Kevlar that has run 118 with a HydroTec Yamaha. We had a great time for sure.

Yes, that was us running boats when it wasn't raining. We did more Friday with a little better weather. They even got in some fishing since the rain hurt hitting your face.

Some frinds of mine had a little get together on Table Rock Lake this past weekend called the Ice Pirates Rally. I guess we had about 10 boats out playing and hanging out. We stayed at Kimberling Inn. On Saturday after Ahoy's closed and we were tucked in our beds nice and comfortable we had a couple visitors. They removed Tackle from one boat and some tools and cooler from a friends pickup. However, what they didn't know was that one of the guys wasn't quit ready to hit the sack yet and was covering his boat and saw them loading this loot into there vehicle. He called 911 on his Cell Phone and the Kimberling City Police and the Sheriff Dept. apprehended the two via the discription and the Lic. number of the vehicle. They are now guests of the City. Wish I could have gotten some mug shots of them. They were both in Ahoy's all night drinking and playing pool and being your typical jerks. Having been a cop for 27 years in Chicago area I figured they were useless fools when I first saw them in the Bar. Gad they are in Jail where they belong.

I would look at the last week in May or the first week of June. You can go back and look at some of the Fishing reports for the period before and after those weeks to fine tune your choices. This web site has a wealth of information in it and I am sure you can find the exact weeks you want to take off work.

Fonzie, Take a look at www.illinoissmallmouthalliance.net and you will find that fishing in Illinois is outstanding. The best places are the many shallow rivers scattered around North and north Central Illinois. Like the Fox, DuPage, Kankakee, Kishwaukee, and Apple. I moved down here in July of 2005 and caught a whole bunch of Smallmouths wading the rivers up that way. Welcome to ozark anglers it is a great site for sure.

I don't have any first had knowledge Wayne. However, what you are saying is that they got these big lights and now they are targeting Gamefish that stay in deeper water. You're saying that these big lights identify the fish better and that the users know that they are taking gamefish and not suckers. I guess you have first hand knowledge on this and have been out on the water and viewed this first hand or are you just assuming that this is the case.

Well Matt it has been about 7 days since we have heard from you what is going on and are you going to get a meeting going or not?

The last two post are totally off the track. The advancement in equipment used by Giggers or by Rod and Reel fisherman has no bearing on the subject. I have no problem with the advancements in equipment. Both groups have a right to improvements in there equipment. I think it is that over the years most of the posters here have evolved into Catch and Release fisherman and have taken on a conservation frame of mind in that the resource needs to be protected. I am quit certain that we have individuals in both Giggers and Rod and Reel fisherman who target the Smallmouth as food and take them. To say that the MDC should have been looking at the advancements in lights for the gigging boats is ridiculous as they have just as much right to improvements as any other group. That includes Boaters, Waders, Fly Fisherman, Spin Fisherman and what ever other group that are out there. You can bet that Gigging is not going anywhere soon so an attempt to get those that do this to thinking in a conservation frame of mind or at least a legal frame is going to do more good then harm.

If the streaking is come off the bow mounted unit then I suggest turning off the console unit and see if it is interference between the two signals.

Before jumping all over giggers and their fancy lights, lets not forget the major advancements in electronics in these fancy bass boats buzzing up and down the lake at God knows what speed. The advance that electronics have made over the years has in no way given the average angler any real advantage over catching Bass in the same way that the more powerful lights and the giggers hand have. Fancy Bass Boats don't catch the fish they are just another of the tools good fisherman utilize in the pursuit of there sport.

I am wondering if the Heron is eliminating competition for the food source he utilizes when he stabs the Bass and kills it. They both eat the same thing. Kind of like Wolves and Coyotes.

The Education part I believe should come out of there pockets. The only way the individuals that are taking Smallmouths could care less about reading the regulations and wouldn't follow them anyway. The one thing that will get there attention is taking money out of there pocket book in the form of fines. This goes one after dark and with boats it would be hard to monitor if not impossible. They know this and use it to there advantage and most set up on a bank and drink beer and fry fish with nothing coming back to the ramps. Perhaps the MDC needs to be educated on the fact that Smallmouths and other game fish are being taken and that Smallmouth anglers as a group don't like this and want something done about it. Whether that is more enforcement, shorter seasons or simply stopping it in SMA's all together.

Matt, Doesn't Bass Pro Shop have a meeting room on the upper level. They make it available to a worthy cause such as this.

Sounds like we are getting the show on the road.