fishinwrench

Drew, Yeah....Kinda, but oddly enough L.O. is probably THE best fishery in the state. Angler catch rates are really REALLY good, and the fish are fat and healthy....blows MY mind....but it IS a fact. You can pass up fishing Lake of the Ozarks for alot of reasons....but none can be because of "poor fishing"....cuz the fishing is GREAT here, and not just on select arms either, the fish community is healthy and overall fish population is awesome from one end to the other. And yeah, we even eat the Crappie, Walleye and Cats...their delicious! and nobody I know has ever suffered from their consumption. Maybe the strain of fish here are ultra-immune or something, even LMBV didn't have a lasting effect on LO..... when at the same time it almost made Table Rock (which is CONSIDERED a much more "prestine" body of water) a dead sea.

I kinda have mixed feelings about what their effect on LO will be, mussels are a good filter and LO could probably use a filtering system. Heck, they may act as a savior for LO.....who knows? They saved Lake Erie. Of all the things (animal/vegetable/mineral) dumped, spread, and spilt in LO over its lifetime I find it hard to get "all tripped out" over Mussels. Exotic intrusion? PLEEEEEEZE!

http://www.100thmeridian.org/Documents/Zeb...he%20Ozarks.pdf I haven't heard anything since this came out.......I am on the water alot and haven't seen a one yet myself.

Drew, there ARE smallies in the upper tribs of the Lamine watershed if you want to search for them... finding deep holes with rock is the biggest problem for Smallmouth in the Lamine basin. I know of several but none are worth the drive from KC to fish them IMO Cedar cr. near Columbia I've heard holds a few, as well as certain sections of Auxvasse cr. I've always wondered about Tebo cr. and Weableau cr. (tribs of Truman res.) They both look like they could support Smallies.

I'll back that statement up. I have been working the Niangua over HARD since late September....and you are right, the Browns are few AND puny. It was reported that they released 5000 12-13in. Browns, spread out at 5 locations....I'm beginning to have some serious doubts about the accuracy of that. Like you I have some "reliable" holding areas located, but the few fish that are there are not worth the trouble it takes to get to them, that's for sure. Even the stocker Bows are small and skinny. Lately on the N. I get more sport from the Chubs than the trout.

Brain, I have given up on taking stream temperature readings after having all the "golden rules of river smallie fishing" broken...over and over again, and I think Wayne and several others will back me up on that. They will move, but there is always a way to get'em to bite. And they still fight like hell in cold water...just don't jump quite as much. Hey, I think we are like neighbors....SunnyBeach hu?