buckcreekmike

Anyone know what the clarity is like near the dam and up long creek 5 or 6 miles?

Is it worth while to use worms when bank fishing on Taney, or just stick with powerbait type stuff? Will be there this week and into the weekend, but not bringing the boat this time. If I was bringing the boat I would probably be bassin' on Table Rock. THanks for any light you might shed on this for me.

WOw, I have never heard of this technique for a backlash. I usually sit there picking at them like a dumbass for 10 minutes. Luckily I don't get them as much as when I was first learning to throw one.

The only thing I don't like is how the plastic wears out where the tube crawls across the bottom at the jig head. Have any of you found "durable" tubes that don't do this as bad? I always used the Bass Pro Magnum Tubes, but I have seen and heard of solid head tubes, just never used them.

Wow, sounds like some marathon days nad nights you put in. Great job!

Nice result for you and your old man. I was there at the end of March and that same pattern was working great then too

That's a nice trip, nice 15" crappie too.

That sounds great, you gotta think they are still spawning. I always thought smallies spawn earlier than the others, but maybe the water conditions had a lot to do with it.

I would second Alhonna, we are on the other side of the lake, right across from there and go there for breakfast from time to time. It would be a good place to take a family and the kids would like the pools and docks and stuff.

I always use unpainted, but mostly fish at LOZ, but the water there can be pretty clear from Fall to Spring. I mainly do that because they are cheaper, besides, a lead head is somewhat the color of a minnow anyway. I like to use Blue ice Bobby Garland jigs too, they are not outalndish in color, and have good profile and action, good for shooting too. (Super glue the jig to the head and it will stay together a lot longer)

I don't know anything about that area of the lake, but Buck Creek is at the 7MM, so that is a far run from the 45. I would recomend Buck Creek if you decide to go there though! If it were me I would just try the same techniques and types of areas as you would further down the lake and see what happens.

I was at Big Cedar (Wilderness Club) from Wednesday to Sunday, and I was surprised by the lack of tourney rigs I saw, or boats in general for that matter considering it's not far from the State park where this thing was held out of. I also couldn't the mudddy water when I showed up, 1' visibility. I got out at about noon on Wednesday and didn't catch anything, though I broke off on one and lost a couple of bites. But that afternoon I went out with my Father in Law at about 4:00 and we were skunked after going way back into larger creek (I forget the name) looking for spawners, but it was dirty as all get out, so didn't see any. Then about 5:30 I pulleda along a bluff that ended and went into a shelf rock transition pocket and i caught 4 keepers and lost another and he caught one keeper, and not ot mention we had at least 6-8 shorts in about 45 minutes all from a 50 yard stretch, all on a wiggle wart. That ws some of the best fishing I've had south of Canada in my life. Next day we caught a few, not many keepers, but all off of a wiggle wart in the same general area as Big Cedar, not more than three miles away anyway. That night was capped off with a 20lb flathead on a wiggle wart over 30' of water, that was a first for me! Next day more of the same, but father in law did land a 24" walleye on a wiggle wart. Did I mention we were using wiggle warts!? Last day (Saturday, didn't fish Sunday) headed toward the dam and found some clearer water and landed a 19" smallie followed quickly by a 16" spot in the morning about 7:45. Fished the rest of the morning until 12:00 and lost another nice sized spot right near the dam and that was it for the the trip. I gotta say I love Table Rock. I sometimes hear complaints about pressure or boat traffic, but in my opinion that lake is fishing awesome, and the variety and quality is very high. Apparently I was unknowingly fishing the area that the tourney was won in, and I can believe it. I really only got to fish about 5-6 hours a day split up into two separate outings, and never first thing in the morning, so I can only imagine what if I had! I know it's easy for me to say, but all you guys that call that lake your home lake, don't take it for granted, it is awesome and I really need to get there more often.

I personally love Bass Pro, but I'm in KC and there ain't a whole lot of other tackle shops around, they pretty much went the way of the do-do bird. I can tell you one thing, their fishing department is 10 times better than Cabela's is (at least for bass and crappie, Cabela's may have them beat for walleye and muskie). I went to the Bass Pro in Branson and I will admit that it is small and not a great selection that I was used to in the Olathe, KS store. Ever since I was a kid I loved Bass Pro because i went every once in a while to the headquarters in Springfield and that sealed it for me.

I liked the Jayhawk comment, but I understand how you feel about it. I'm headed down tomorrow, and from the sounds of things I will have my work cut out for me (even though I wouldn't call it work, but I do like to catch, not just enjoy being on the water BS). I wonder if the big time pros will make it even harder to where a nobody like me will be even to find a spot to even attempt to coax one out. I'm sure as hell going to give it a shot. I heard there were 25 tourneys two weekends ago on LOZ, and I still squeaked a few out, so you never know.

Extremely Nice!

I hope gets a little better, I'll be there Wednesday in the area you guys are talking about, we'll see.

Aren't some of the Great Lakes (Lake Michigan) yeilding some huge smallies right now. I recall an In-Fisherman a couple months back that was saying something along those lines. My biggest smallie came form Melvern Lake in KS, it was a tad over 6lbs. Funny thing is I've been to Canada 5 times and not caught them that big there, which really isn't surprising because they grow so slowly up there.

Wow that is a heck of a contrast between the two. It looks like one keeper and one non-keeper, amazing to know the "small" one is 16", very cool.

I was down last weekend and our place is at the 7mm, and water avearged 56-58 around the main lake area. I fished a jerkbait with decent success on main lake type docks either right on the main or just inside of coves right off of the main lake. usually the first or last in a line of docks, or an isolated one. I caught along the sides and along the back (deeper portion). I did really shi!!y in the morning on Saturday, I was told there were 25 different tourneys being held Saturday. I did better in the afternoon between hail storms!

I am excited as hell (pardon my Frnech)! I was wondering if the stickbait bite is or should be still on then, because it was at LOZ for me last weekend. Also is it wishful thinking to attempt topwater, because I love it and have confidence with it, but obviously if it is too cold I won't use it just to be hardheaded. I haven't gotten into the whole A-rig craze yet (probably to my detriment), but I would like to think that you can still do alright on other baits. I figure I'll have the following tied on at at all times: Jig and Pig (plastic), wiggle wart, stickbait, shakey head, maybe topwater. Any suggestions would be great, and I'm going with someone who isn't exactly the greatest and experienced with many lures, so what would be good for him (cranks, spinnerbaits, etc?) Thanks, I will post my results. I'll be staying until Sunday.

I used to fish tubes a lot. There was a brand called Oldham's jig heads that had a wire that you could hook under the barb and make them extremely weedlees, then Bass pro started making them and I have not seen them in a while. I used to use them all of the time, in fact I caught a smallie a little over 6lbs from Melvern Lake in KS, just a few ounces off the state record at the time (which has been broken a few times since), on the weedless tube jig mentioned above. I have beev thinking about using it again at LOZ skipped under docks, and now I will try it with the stupid rig, thanks for the info.

Wow, that white in the bottom picture is almost a circle, that is wild!

My buddy caught a lot of nice sized (keeper) crappie in the Gravois Monday the 19th, all came from one dock though,but he said they were on fire.

There was at least 6-7' visibility at our dock on the 7MM, and I would say at least 5' or more in the Gravois back around the middle of the Gravois where I was. Not sure if it rained there like it did in KC, but I would think that would dirty it up some. I did get a lot of moss on the wiggle wart I was throwing, that sucked, i didn't fish it that much because of that.

Was there this weekend, about 45 degrees at 7MM on the Main Lake, and about 47-48 halfway back in the Gravois.