fishinwrench

What is the actual growing season of cotton and rice ? Does a flood this early really mean a loss of crops for the year ?

I've always heard that the water on the bottom of the main channel remains calm and reasonably clean. So I assume that they hang out there and just chill while all the craziness goes on above them.

If you could rig the pond hopper up with oar locks it might be fun. A trolling motor is gonna be worthless. Either way I wouldn't go over the Falls in it.

What I find odd is that boat manufacturers don't mind that they cover the boat with bling from other sponsors. If I was providing you with a nice boat I'll be darned if I'd allow you to bugger up the looks of it with everyone else logo's. Outboard manufacturers don't go for that crap. No Gay Stickers On The Outboard Cowling !

Lamplighter resort has a nice (but skinny) ramp, and a 5.00 fee the last time I used it. Southeast side of the bridge, just past Niangua falls.

It does the same thing on the upper Gravois, and we're only 15 miles from the dam. Moving water is not level. If a log or stick is moving then the water surface is not level. The difference between the lake level at Gravois Mills vs. the level at the dam can be as much as 3-4 feet during a flood. And remember that is only 15 miles. Actually during this last inflow the level of the creek just 1 mile up from the access at Gravois Mills was 20' higher than the level at the access. You'd expect some kind of big wall of water between point A and point B.....but it just doesn't do that, gravity doesn't permit it.

There are two "creeks" north of I-70 that I grew up fishing, and they are special in more ways than one. Too far north to be thought of as smallmouth rivers by most folks who associate smallmouth only with clear "Ozark" streams, but they are home to plenty of excellent quality brown bass. They are what you might call transition rivers. Kinda muddy and slow for a mile or two where largemouth and catfish are abundant, then you round a bend and for 1/2 mile to 2 miles it is rocky/bluffy and quite a bit clearer from some spring seepage, and the current picks up a bit. That's where the smallmouth live, and while you won't catch the numbers of fish like you do on Ozark streams the ones you catch are fat, healthy, and are quite a bit larger on average. 14-17" is an average smallmouth there during the Summer and on a good day you'll catch 8-10 on every good stretch. After floating them for years we know where all the good stretches are and often found ways into them that didn't require a lot of paddling. When I first moved to the Ozarks my first impression (since I'd always heard how much better the smallie fishing was here) was "yeah there's more smallies here.....but they are all dinks". I never ever hear those two rivers mentioned, except by catfishermen and walleye chasers. They are the best kept secret in this state I think. About the closest hint I'll give is if you guess what county they are in I'll give a yep or a nope, after that you are on your own. ?

These creeks fall out really quick. And I truly expect it to be crazy good as soon as they are safe to wade in again.

R. Howell needs his own reality show so he can get out of fishing. I'm totally burnt out on his "look how cute me and my wife are" thing. Swindell too, his crap was cute for about a minute....now it's embarrassing. Fish Fishburn tried it, it didn't work, so just fish or cut bait. Nixon, Clunn, KVD, and the other genuinely good sticks never had to motorboat their wives and families in order to be noticed. Get that crap out of the pro fishing scene because it's vomit worthy.

Yeah I know, everybody thinks I say "terrible things" all the time. If I had as many thoughts that I couldn't share as some of you guys my head would explode. I'm not ashamed of what I think.....so I just let my thoughts fall right out of my mouth. For the most part I feel like if someone gets offended then they are living in a dream world and I'm scared of being around them anyway. So get offended, leave, and life stays good. Reality is a much healthier and safer place IMO. One thing you can take to the bank is....if I act like I like you, then I genuinely do. There isn't a phoney bone in my body.

Considering what is still coming this way I think we might hit 662-663 before the lake crests.

Absolutely. Actually I just ran down and checked the Gravois ramp, it was choked with logs and debris last night, but it has cleared enough to launch/load now. I'm sure there's a logjam further down.

It has settled down alot since yesterday, but still rising with alot of debris. I'm fine tuning spinnerbaits. ?

It's a great app. Requires a bit of fine tuning, but once you figure it out and get your settings right it is really good.

I underestimated it. Looks like it hit 660 at 3:am and is still coming up this morning. The Niangua still hasn't crested (unless the guage is broke). And at this rate Truman will be maxed out in 3 days. This is interesting!

Yeah if you stay hard left coming out of Rise branch you'll run out of water pretty quick. The main channel heads over beneath Devil's Chair bluff. Plenty of water over there.

The Niangua hasn't even crested yet so we have a ton of water headed our way. The Gravois and surrounding creeks were as violent as I've ever seen them at about 1:30pm today. I expect the lake to hit 660+ by late morning tomorrow. Maybe even sooner. We have alot of water headed our way.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning The one my wife and I saw looked to be as big as a car, but it's hard to say how far away it truly was. Seemed really close, less than a mile away. My grandma told the story 1000 times about one that passed right over her house once.

Well now see, I look at it differently. Those guys train like crazy, and our tax dollars buy them all the best toys to deal with things like that. So for anybody to whine because now they get a chance to use their toys and training....is just rediculous. Don't kid yourself, those guys get off on that crap like two fat lines of fine Bolivian cocaine !

By the way..... I witnessed my first ever "Ball Lightning" today. Heard about it all my life, but today I actually watched a ball of electricity travel through the air like a comet on a rollercoaster. Wicked cool !!!

Now now, don't get all bent. ? I'm just saying that whether hauling fish to a weigh-in at the end of the day, or scoring immediately and releasing..... Bass tournaments are bass tournaments and shouldn't be cancelled no matter what. If you're scared or are too smart to fish under certain conditions then forfeit. Some guys have the balls and the boat driving skills to go after them, and conditions like these favor those guys. That's just the way it's supposed to be IMO. If I was in it and had put up the money then I'd fish....I just wouldn't run very far. I don't know about you but I didn't stay hid indoors all day today. I didn't go fishing but I could have if I wanted to....and probably would have caught some. That's all.

Not disagreeing one bit. I just think it should be personal choice and not a force play. Delayed take-off because of fog really pisses some competitors off sometimes because their strategy doesn't involve running a long distance. You are fully aware of the predictions (or you should be) so your decisions are a part of the game. Actually your decisions are the MAIN ELEMENT of the game. If conditions are such that you aren't comfortable traveling outside the takeoff cove......then so be it. Do your best and see how you stack up. Nobody is forcing anyone to travel 60 miles in dangerous conditions. If you are scared or lack confidence in your skills then power pole down just outside the take-off bouys and start casting.

I hear ya loud and clear, and kinda agree, but this is what makes competitive fishing unique. Some sports include an element of danger. We all have wicked awesome rain gear and all our boats are rigged for extreme conditions. Whether we decide to use them to their extreme purpose is irrelevant. That's what this stuff is made for.

Looking Good ! Everything is blown out here now, nobody is going to be rushing me to get their boat done, and I can't go chase Whites. I have nothing to do today but try to get you in trouble.

I hope it washes all those pellet gobblers into the river.