MoSportsmen

jdmidwest, True it may have a little gloss to it when wet. Guess the thing is if we really want to hunt ducks out of our boat we need to cover most anything that we camo clad with bind material anyway. That being said we could probably paint our boat hot pink and still go duck hunting out of it.....though I wouldn't recomend it. Like alot of things we outdoorsmen are atracted to, aint necessary just makes us feel all warm and fuzy inside. Tom

I have CamoClad on my boat. I did it myself. I did a whole van myself as my first camo clad project. I did have a little experience in laying down vineal lettering at work, but not much really. I have a high tolarance for tedium. The stuff does go down pretty easy but you do need to be pretty maticulas. I will say camo clad is pretty good stuff on a boat it has held up pretty well over near ten years. The camo ulpolstry on my seats has faded severly in less years but the camo clad is still bright and clear. Mine is needing a few toutch up where it has endured some seveer gashes and some spots at seems where it has come loose but I would still rate it as good stuff. Wayne, As far as need for camo on a boat for duck hunting, yes painting would do the job.....but camoclad in a wetland pattern looks oh so much cooler...just sayin' Tom

Thanks, how low was the water, any dragging?

You two are not too big for a canoe by any means. I have been in canoes with over 450 pounds of human in them and it is not unusual. 17 footer would be more comfortable but even a 14 or 15 usually has a weight capacity over 600 lbs.

Manuverability depends. Might go without saying but paddles matter. I have a short little paddle that I can handle with one hand while fishing. Helps to make small corections in position before the canoe needs a big correction.

Hargrove's Logo is way cool. Bought some fly boxes that I did not need once because they were festooned with the Hargrove Logo.

Mountian Creek might take you out at the dam, but you have to talk em into it and it is a 25 mile float. They are not wanting to use bird Island anymore. That part of the river is not serviced. That is why I want to do it so bad. Been having trouble finding people that want to do the distance and camp on the river to get it acomplished. Tom

Some of my favorites HC muski lures are....Big #9 Shad Rap, willow leaf spiner bait, rattletrap in the spring.

Great report. As for the lake and a canoe? Great choice, though I would want a trolling motor mounted on the bow. The lake is 500 acres, makes it hard to fish quick, takes some time to get from one end to the other. The lake is electric motor only. The wind can pick up and you can have a hard time with a big boat and a trolling motor. Truth be told the lake is not patroled at all. If you get caught in the wind and need to get across the lake with your outboard at idle, you would rarely be questioned. I have had some of the best fishing days of my life on the lake. The lake opened for fishing April 15, 1985. Man it was great back then and I think it sounds like it is comming back. bluebasser, glad you wacked a couple carp got to have your barbs spread wide for those big bruts. Tom

I like the west end. I could not tell you anything specific for either cats or crappie. I am sure the patterns from other lakes would work. I am due to go back and give it another try myself.

When you are positioning a boat (running a shoreline and bass casting) the bow mount is better. I like the kick steer bow mount, gives me the simplicity of a transom mount on the front of my boat. If you are trolling accross the lake the transom mount might be a little easier to control. If you have a tall bow on your boat and get a cross wind the transom mount would once again play second fiddle to the bow mount.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Reminds me of the ticket I got for speeding in Finger Lakes. The road from the gate to the main boat ramp has little to no foot traffic, few intersections and it is wide and smooth. Also has a 20 MPH speed limit. In my case at least I should have seen the posted speed limit. In your case sounds like there are too many nit pick rules to follow. I have said before if you are an outdoor person you are going to inadvertantly break some rules/laws because there are just too many to keep track of. The sad thing is your activities had nothing to do with endangering yourself, others or the resource. Too much government.

I have not fished it this year, but i have heard it is in pretty good shape. It has suffered in the last 15 years or so from too many grass carp removing all the aquitic vegitation. The latest I have heard is the lake is doing better getting more numbers and as always a good porportion of big bass. I am not sure what the Muskie population is like. I don't know if they have been stocking as many in recient years, seems you catch fewer than u used to. Hope this does not come too late if you went last weekend.

The guys on the dock next to me had a 25 pounder this weekend. Looked about that. Hard to judge but there should be a length chart somewhere. What be the width of your shoulders? Heck of a fish no matter what way you slice it when yur landing it on bass gear. I landed the bigest one I ever got this weekend from a trot line and it was only 7 lbs on my digital scale. I was a little supprised.

I would think the sensitivity you want for worm fishing would be more about the whole rod rather than just the tip. Your line choice and graphite content will play more toward sensitivity. I like a pretty stiff rod for worm fishing for setting the hook especially since I am usually fishing a weightless seko worm these days. Tom

Thanks for the report. Gona do that trip in a month. Did you catch many goggle eye? We are wanting to have a fish fry our second night out. Thanks for the trash pick up. I am sure most of it floated down from above Prosperine. We are planning on putting in late Friday and hopefully getting out early afternoon on Sunday. How was your pace? You spent more hours on the water than we are planning. I am hoping for a slow pace and lots of fishing and camping the last night not so far from Tunnel Dam so the lake trip is not too bad. How slow does the river get in that last section before it turns to lake? Tom

I am with Woodman. There are lots of cool designs available that you can make yourself. But I like making them. Definatly more rewarding than simply plunking down cash. Here is one source of designs that includes something for just about anyone's needs. http://www.jemwatercraft.com/

I would double check. Maybe call someone. This may be only for motorized boats. My former home lake in Kirksville had a graduated scale according to horse power with paddle craft being the cheepest. Probably not in this case though. Something is screwy though. Why would it be cheeper to get a permit for all lakes than it would be to get one for one? I would dig a little deeper. Knowing you have more than one boat I surly would try to get by with one permit and figure out a way to swap it on all my boats.....but that is just me.

Was planning on setting some anchored jug lines too, baited for big flathead. Wonder what would be good locations for these. Points? creek channels? steep banks?

Going to be On LOZ in the Sunrise beach area MM44 on June 15, 16. Bringing my elderly parents and my girlfriend. Looking to catch anything that swims. What is the best bet this time of year on LOZ? Thinking crappie may provide the most fun for a crowded boat. What pattern would be the most likely to pay off? Tom

I talked to a friend in MDC media a couple months ago and told him they should get GPS points for all the noted places in the paddlers guide. I told him there would be a lot of people, canoe outfitters, ect. that could help get these. He said it was a good idea and he would mention it to those involved. I never heard what the reaction was and he never mentioned that the book is currently being updated. I would love to have GPS coordinates for every point mentioned in the book. I would think within a few months "we the people" could get the list pretty full.

The campground at Mark Twain SP out on the west end of the lake has trails from the camp ground that lead to the north shore of the point. Might be worth the walk. There is also a lot of shorline to the south and west of the camp grounds that might be worth trying. Good luck. Send in a report after you get home. Tom

Yep small bass fillets mixed with crappie and it is pretty hard to tell the difference. I fish a lot of slot limmit lakes and don't hesitate to keep those between 10.5 and 12 inches. That is what slot limmits are for. They say slot limmits don't do much for large lakes but it is standard in the smaller lake I usually fish. I do agree that bass over 15 are less tasty so for me throw em back and eat something else. Hopefully catching them again another day when they bend the rod even farther.

Yep, tough for me too. We mostly fished for crappie. Caught a good mess but only kept 8 in two days. Mostly little ones. The bigger ones did come out of 6 to 8 ft of water. Caught a lot shallow too but those were all small throw backs. Set a couple cat lines without success. Still learning the ins and outs of that cat game. This was my first time exploring the east end of the lake. The boat ramp at Ray Berhins was a mad house......wow have not seen that too much lately. I don't do high population areas too often. Quite entertaining. Made my girlfriends butt pucker while she drove the boat and waited for me to park the trailer. We mostly fished Little Indian, lots of good looking structure. Seems like we caught better fish on average two weeks ago on the west end of the lake but that just might have been because the bite was harder to find this time.

You should be happy. I have talked to fish people that say these red ear are a better fish that Hybred bluegill. They get bigger.