MoSportsmen

This forum is quite lacking on Mark Twain info. I know it is not Ozark but surely there are people on this board that fish Mark Twain. I intend to make a trip or several over there this year. Seems like Mark Twain has and is a little lacking as far as good info available on the web. Any other MT fishers out there? Tom

Yea, the quality line does probably make a difference. I am a big fan of good ole Triline XL just because it works for me for most things, nice castable.....just works for me. I just haven't fallen in love with flouracarbons and the like. Usually extra tough/abraision resistant means less castable and more prone to tangles. Maybe I need to give em more of a try.

Nope, said earlier the smallies are for fun and the goggle eye are for shore lunch/dinner. Might try for some cats off the shore after setting up camp. Never have thought much of eating smallies, just rejoined MSA. Was a member years ago and just reuped, looking forward to getting my membership stuff. Been limited to one or two ozark trips a year for many years. Too easy to catch a fish within 30 miles from home to venture to the Ozark streams too often, but I love em. I never eat largemouth much either unless they are some over abundant shorts where there is a slot limit.

Will do. Is the part just the soft plastic sleeve or does it include the harder plastic roler under that? Can I put the new one on by just slipping it over the plastic roller? I will order one but.........eight bucks seems a little steep for a plastic sleeve. hole in the water........eight bucks is not much compaired to all the other expenses I guess. Tom

True about snapping a rod tip. Hoping to get a few boat loads going in on this trip. Surely we could afford the room of a rod case with a couple extra rods tucked away for the group. I have always leaned toward spinning gear and lighter tackel for smallies. What do most of the serious smallie fisherman use? baitcaster or spinning tackel? My girlfriend wont be using a baitcaster for sure. Maybe I could bring a bait cast and she use the spinner till she wants to take a break. Guess the priority is to catch as many and as good a quality as possible......like every trip. Sure we won't starve if we don't have fish to eat....just a plus.

Planning a big three day two night float camp this summer and going to try to limit my tackel to one rod each for my girlfriend an I. We want to catch smalies for fun and goggle eye for shore lunch dinner. I have a buddy that usually brings his bait cast with 12 pound test on float trips for smallies (probably not my choice) I was thinking more like 6 or 8 lb line. Maybe a baitcaster with 10 on it if I bring a second rod for me. 6 lb is a bit light but would we catch more with 6 over 8? The 6 would probably provide more versatility in being able to throw smaller offerings, but would it handle the abuse. Or would I do better with 4lb? Niagua River July. What say you? Tom

Fishinwrench, Put that plastic tube back where I figured it went. The tube was broken, split so I wraped it with electrical tape and stuck it back on there. I think the boat did run better in that 12 to 18000 range. Lots smoother. Man your good. Wish I had you down the road from me to work on my motor any time it needed a little tlc. Tom BTW now that I have a good cold start procedure......I gots no trouble getten her a going.

Ok too far. There are many reasons that getting into the rental boat business is not the chosen profession of many people any more or ever for that matter. darn the global warming.

Tournaments? There is a whole new ball of monofiliment. Boat has to be pretty capable for tournaments. If you want to fish tournaments join a local bass club. There are usually more boaters than non boaters in clubs so they are quite often looking for non boaters to fill the backs of boats.

I have said before on this forum I don't know what it is like to live without a boat of some kind. I have always ignored the expense of it and I am not wealthy by any means. I believe that the only way to buy a boat is buy a used one. That being said you better be handy or very comfortable paying for repairs and alterations. There are a lot of things to keep working on a fishing boat. Renting is probably the most cost effective, but this world ruled by lawyers and insurance companies has rendered the availability of rentals slim. Most of my best fishing has been done in places that there are no rentals available. If you get a boat you just might go more often. You might become a better fisherman and enjoy it more. Personally fishing from the shore and fishing from a pontoon with five others is not fishing in my book. Sounds like you mostly fish in big water, otherwise I might sugest starting small with a little 10hp / fishing boat or even a canoe. You might try that route anyway and try some smaller water. I has a 14ft V with a 20hp that I had no trouble with on LOZ, but I chose where and when to go, didn't try to fight the 5 ft yacht waves. But there are a lot of places a 14ft v bottom can go. I would stay away from a flat bottom. No answers, just some thoughts. If the good lord had intended us not to have boats he wouldn't have made 3/4 of the world water. Tom

Jerry was/is one of the best. Is Jerry still making shows?

Nope, not the red head, that will be my girlfriend. I surely hope I don't have to get out of my boat to catch fish........I don't do bank fishing..............will take a lot of skunkin for me to get out of the boat but I see the bank guys haulen em in I guess I do have two good legs.

Is this walleye patern still working there? I assume this is up in the no boat section. Would you just cast against the shore while drifting in a boat for the same results? See ya on the water Saturday morning camo boat with a hot red head on the back deck. Tom

Some of them Canadaians need to enter the MR 340.....they would walk away with it. Can't sign up this year though it is already full.

I think your idea of a solo canoe is a good one..........but I agree it will be pretty hard to find a used one. If it were me I would make one, but I realize this little hobby is not for anyone. I will say there are a lot of designs you can make that are great little solo fishing boats that you would never find made commercially. I also agree that you would do well with a short tandem canoe and paddle it backward. Added benifit you can take a friend along when you want. Didn't find any of those 35/40 mph youtubes, aint no paddle craft I have ever heard of. Best racers I know might hit 12 mph with a current and wind in their backs. Tom

Drives me crazy when I see a Hollywood movie that has fishing or hunting inaccuracies, little things like the actors calling a fish a bass when it is obviously a trout or vice versa. Fishing is something that so many people do and know something about why don't they get a decent consultant for these minimal scenes. They spend big bucks to medical consultants to make sure things are done and said correctly why not outdoor stuff? Shouldn't be that difficult? Most media outlets don't even know enough to know that they don't know. Tom

from the article " Also, an umbrella rig is not in itself considered a lure, because it is incapable of catching fish unless lures or baits are attached to it." I would think if you would make the connection from the wire to the lure permanent then the rig would become one lure capable of catching fish on its own. Attach lures with O rings and swivels instead of snap swivels. I think they are spliting hairs applying these rules to this method. I have a feeling the A-rig would not ever cause a fish management problem by making it too easy to catch fish. But then again, one thing the MDC has gong for it is laws in place for just about anything that may come up now or in the future and if something comes along that does not fit they figure out a way to either alow it or not. ie. air guns of a certian caliber alowed for deer hunting. I will bet we have not heard the end of this. Tom

I did the MR 340 last year, so I have spent a lot of time in a kayak seat. I get pretty uncomfortable sitting locked into a kayak seat so I got one of these http://www.rei.com/product/810392/therm-a-rest-trail-seat at the recomendation of others that have tackeled the 340. These pads are wonderfull not just for kayaking but for many outdoor purposes. I ended up buying two and I keep one in a hunting pack also for sitting on the ground, great around camp too. Sitting on one right now at work. Your butt will love you for it. Tom

Well looks like the cards I have been delt dictates I go this weekend or not go for a while after that. Would be glad to get into just about anything walleye whites and hybrids sounds good. If I put the boat in under the darn where do I go, what do I do from there? We have been catching small hybrids up here in Thomas hill on bait, but we would like to get into some bigger ones. Got a tackel box full of stuff to throw at em. Would anchoring in the current flow be a good way to go? or just drift with the current untill you hit some fish, run the shore line with lures? Never been so I really don't know where to start. Tom

I see links to what is published by the COE but I do not find surface temperatures published there. Is there a good source for surface temp for Truman Tailrace? Really wanting to give it a try this early spring but it would be a road trip and I want to get in on the best I can. Tom

I have had problems with trims that never leaked noticably but checked the level, filled it up and no more problem. Be a first step anyway. Tom

Like I said, I am not sure about that. The manufacturers would be hesitant to say their line would not work well on any reel. The thing about spincast is that the real generaly does not have any means of level winding the line on the spool like a baitcast or spinning reel does. The braid line would tend to cut into itself more on a spincast reel. Mono line would be a little more forgiving of this. I would always spool a spincasting reel with a limp/castable line such as TrileneXL the XL stands for extra limp. Tom

Not sure about this but, I thought braided line was not recomended for spincasting reels. When You say 10lbs is that a 10lbs diameter line? Most braids are rated like 10/30 which would be a 10 lb diameter with an actual 30 lb break strength. Your briad would also have very little strech so might amplify the shock at the end of the cast an cause your stuff to snap back on itself and tangle more frequently. Tom

That ain't no good......who's gona make money with selling that, I already got all that stuff in my supplies, I won't get to spend any money to give it a try, it surely couldn't catch a fish. I love it, looks great, can't wait to give it a try. Thanks for sharing. Tom

Thanks again. I will have to look up where and how that goes in my manual. Got new drink holders on the clearance race at wally world to instal too, cut down on the beer waistage......boats are all about time and money. Two happiest days in a boat owners life the day he buys it and the day he sells it.........I have never been without a boat in my adult life so I wouldn't know about the latter. Tom