MoSportsmen

The only way to get the real answer is to talk to the MDC fish biologist that is responsible for that lake. He could tell you if it is just a fluke or that there actually was a stocking of hybrids there. Tom

I am not a great crappie fisher either. Interesting you say the bite was better when the clouds were overhead. I have always thought crappie were a sun loving fish. I have always done better on bass with cloud cover and went to crappie when the sun was high. Tom

Good advice Seth, point of clarification, I believe the Ipilot is not available in cable steer. I agree though if you want to troll for crappie the Ipilot would be a great thing. I did not know they will hold position too. That could be really cool for a lot of purposes. Tom

We had a big condo, guest house on the lake for fathers day weekend set up by my nephew.......then it all fell through. I don't even know where it was or what it's name was. Wanting to find somewhere on the lake not too awfull far from the tourist spots (cause the whole fam is going and not entretained by fishing 12 hours a day) Cabin type kitchen included, moderate to cheep price, docks, pool. Any sugestions? I better get this done soon to get reservations for fathers day. Tom

I have a Minnkota. I would be more likely to be looking at cable control foot control if I were in the market.....Do they still make those? The ones with the remote control you can operate from anywhere in the boat are cool.......but for me I trust mechanics rather than electronics. The remote control models have motors and electronics turning the motor. More to fail and ware out sooner, IMHO. Tom

You might consider a bow mount kick steer. Less money to start with, fewer parts to break and fail, has reverse when needed. I extend the control handle, have an on off switch on the floor. I have had foot control before and for the most part I don't want to pay for it. In some situations the kick steer motor is easier to operate, with less mess and efforet than a foot control. Just thought I would throw that in the mix, a lot of people don't know they even exist. Tom

River Monsters guy gets paid to make the show entertaining. Along with all his writers, producers, editors.......... If flathead or blue could top 200. An ozark angler would have got him one by now. I saw the show last night. ......I am still shaking at the thought of those "killer monsters" lurking in our Missouri depths. Tom

Keith, Don't feel guilty about keeping some bass especially if you find some lakes with a slot limit. The bass under 12 inches are the ones to eat. You will probably find the ones over 15 inches are not as tasty anyway. The slot limit is set up so we can take some bass with out hurting anything. Some of those lakes need some of the smaller bass to come out for a healthier population. There are many people in your age group and all the other age groups that don't know how to clean a fist to eat it. This is definately a skill that should be practiced. I do pitty the masses that don't have these skills.

I just can't stop throwing a Seko type worm weightless. Keeps catching fish for me so often. Last night I caught a 6 pounder in about a foot of water on it. She was a hog, belly swollen bad, don't know if she was on a bed, she looked like she was ready to pop though.

Ron, You mentioned the way they float higher than a water snake. I have also seen rattlers swimming and they float pretty high also. Wonder if that is kinda a warning sign for poisonous snakes? Kinda like the head shape. Tom

Should a guy with attention deficit disorder have more that one rod in the boat?

There was a cougar hit in Liberty....but there has never been a capture, kill or evidence of a female in Missouri that I have heard of. Tom

Interesting that OK has a female on record. None in Missouri yet.........yet. I have afriend that did see a pair in their back yard (unconfirmed) one a little bigger than the other last fall. It won't be long before there is hard evidence of breeders in the state.

The lake/pond in Union Ridge has big lot you can camp on and sometimes the fishing can be good there. LaPlata, Memphis, Sears Lake, Green City/ Green Castle, ect. Give me a call be glad to discuss more. I have camped on the swim docks at Thousand Hills, really nice in the summer, no bugs and kinda cool to wake up on an island. Tom

The MDC has not charged anyone with anything as far as killing a cougar, even though I know of one in particular that was probably hunted down. Even that one was claimed as and ruled "self defense" ......that being said, as it stands now you can shoot a cougar within reason. Making it allowed for any reason opens up a whole other can of worms. Tom

As I read it looks like it has gone to commitee so I am thinking it has not passed yet. I do have issues with some of the way the MDC does things, I do not believe the MDC has or will ever "stock" cougars in the state, mostly the MDC does right by us and our wildlife. We have arguably the best conservation system in the country. We do not want to start any presidence of our POLITICAL leaders setting wildlife laws. I signed the petition. Tom

Yes it is electric only, I do not know what the last stocking was of Muskie was in Hazel, but it used to be quite good for them. I have one Keeper photo on the wall when the limit was 42 inches. Seems like I have heard less and less about the Muskie in HC in recent years. So I do not know what the status is right now. Spring time I have has some luck throwing lip less cranks (rattle trap) in normal bass size. Latter on Shad raps work well. Trolling or casting around the mouths of timber coves, dam can be good with the rattle trap in the spring. At one time the catch rate on Muskie at HC was as good as any lake in "real" Muskie waters up north. Don't know what it is like now. Bass population is on an upswing and it has always been one of the best bet lakes for lunker largemouth.

How'd the heck one of them get in a golf course pond? This is how these things get spread all over our country. Somebody stocked em thinking they were grass carp. Ever notice how many people that are not real savy about fish species refer to all carp as grass carp? Seems to have gotten worse over the last 20 years. 20 years ago carp was carp......now we have at least 4 species in the the USA and they are all imports.

If I had my choice in a small do it all boat light to tow I would go with a flat back canoe. I used a 15 ft flat back canoe with a 5 hp outboard on the back and a troling motor mounted on front on a trailer for years till I got more. Took me a lot of places. Easy to paddle too if you want to go motorless sometimes. Just my .02 cents. Tom

I have rarely been checked and only then by state water patrol. I have not seen a card. Usually if you have your up to date stickers on you are good to go. State parks are good places to get checked for trailer licences, seems they have little else to do but take a close look at your trailer licence.

This is a interesting discussion. Almost 49 years old here so it all ended about the time I graduated high school. Admittedly, I was probably a pro lake guy back then, grew up in Chesterfield. I am happy to have Mark Twain now, saw that lake fill, of course all that was lost on Mark Twain was muddy ole' north Missouri rivers. I am surprised that Mark Twain has not been developed more than it has been. Seems to me it suffers from poor marketing. Of course no modern lakes can be developed the way LOZ has been because of lack of private lake shore land ownership. Glad to still have the Meramec river too. I found me a copy of the book mentioned . I want to put it in my collection. Great Missouri history story no mater what side you are on now or what side you were on then. Tom

If you are refering to his infrence that LOZ money people put a stop to the project, I doubt you are going to find much info on that. If that be the case the money peolpe shurly covered their tracks pretty well. As I recall the thing that really killed the project was that it was determined that the cave system would make the lake leek and not hold water.

A lot like a Johnson Silver minow.....in function. Been around forever I would rig it weedless and drag it over lilly pads or some such surface vegitation. Never have used it much so I have no answers other than that. A big pork frog chunk is what I would use to try to ski it across surface veggies.

I love to see loons in Missouri. They are pretty rare, usually on the spring migration. I have seen them on the big lakes in Missouri in the spring, most migrate east and down the eastern flyway. Would be interesting to see how many cormorants are effected by fishing lead. I would prefer to keep using lead it is the best material for the job. I don't like to see any animal dye from my garbage however. Loons are a sweetheart species, kinda like baby seals. I think sometimes research discovers what they want to discover. Tom

I enjoy tying my own jigs and flys, just never have loved fly fishing. I like it, after all it is fishing. Been tying up some squirrel tail jigs in anticipation of my trip this summer. Looking forward to the thrill of home made achievement with the spinning rod. Speaking of Squirrel tail......Has anyone ever sent Mepps squirrel tails? What is the return? One Mepps spinner per tail? One for Five? Always have saved my squirrel tails but I have never sent them in, usually end up pitching them or loosing them before I get it together and send them.