Grappling Coach

Does the water level below powersite dam raise and lower during the day, based on if they are generating or not? If so, how much does it change? I know that taneycomo can go up or down 3 or 4 feet in a very short period of time. Also, is there a way to find out the generation schedule for Powersite Dam like you can Tablerock Dam?

Bill, when you get a chance, please check your messages. I sent you a couple questions. not urgent, just when you get a chance.

The last two weekends, I have caught a lot of smallmouth in the dam area on the puke colored tube. Last Saturday a friend of mine that was fishing with me caught them good on a green pumpkin tube also. both seemed to work well.

Has anyone been catching any bluegill yet. Last year we were catching lots of big ones on points near the dam weeks before now.

I have family that has come in from out of state and am taking them fishing Friday evening through Sunday. I usually put them on crappie and whites because they are easier for them to catch and they want to eat fish. I was catching crappie really good a couple weeks ago up the james and Flat Creek, but have not been since. I am wondering if this cold front is going to make it tough on the crappie and send the whites back to the lake. I am trying to plan ahead for this weekend. I would appreciate any advice on any changes that I need to make. They are fishing by themselves below powersite dam tomorrow, so I hope the whites don't disappear on them. I hear that they have been biting good there recently. Again any ideas about any changes would be appreciated or if we should keep with what has been working.

My dad and an uncle of mine are getting together this week to fish Pomme. They will fish for anything, but like to catch crappie and whites. Can anyone give me some information that I can pass on to them in order to help them out? I live in Branson and cannot get away to help them out. They told me this morning that the water was dirty and 52 degrees. With the rain that is comming, I imagine that the lake could get really muddy and make it tough. Any information that you can give me would be usefull and appreciated.

52 tonight

The river is up a couple of feet and has just a little bit of color in it, but the farther up you go, the clearer it gets. I did not run into any debris, except for a few leaves. It will probably be clear again by the weekend. The water temp tonight was around 49, give or take depending on location. I fished for a few hours and caught about a dozen crappie with 8 keepers. All of the fish came out of 6 to 10 feet of water, but I did not try fishing deep. I spoke with another angler who caught a few bass on a Wiggle Wart. There were some insects coming off of the water with a lot of small fish surfacing to feed on them, but I could not figure out what they were.

During duck season this last winter, my wife found a forum where they were talking about gloves. What they recomended, which worked great for us, was to wear jersey gloves with chemical gloves over them. We ended up using the rubber gloves that she uses to put chemicals on women's hair that she gets at the beauty supply store, which come in different sizes. While setting out and picking up decoys, my hands stayed warm and dry. If they did get wet, I simply put on a dry pair of Jerseys. The rubber gloves also held everything tight, so that I had good dexterity with my fingers.

Bill, Are you pitching jigs into the back of the stalls, using long rods, or drowning minnows?

I heard that there were a lot of Crappie caught from under docks last winter. Does anyone have any information on the kind of water they caught them in that they would be willing to share?

I took a friend of mine fishing Friday afternoon near the dam. I had been telling him about the big bluegills that we had been catching and finally got to go chase some with him. The only problem was that we could not keep the spots off our hooks long enough to catch a bluegill. we caught around 20 spots, 4 of which were keepers, in about 2 hours. We finally moved a couple times and did catch several nice Bluegill on the side of a chunk rock point. We also caught 2 goggle eye, which was a nice surprise. It turned out to be a good evening.

After eight years, the boards on my trailer need to be replaced. The trailer came with lag screws underneath to hold them on, but I am thinking of putting carriage bolts on, so that they will last longer. I am thinking of countersinking them a little to keep them from rubbing on the boat and then carpeting over that before I put them on the trailer. I am wondering what kind of wood to use and find out if anyone has any good tips.

We have been catching a lot of nice gills on points from 16 - 22 feet. Crickets and night crawlers have worked equally well on a drop shot. Every point we have fished has had fish on them. I stopped by a friends boat dock to talk to him for a few minutes. While I was there, I dropped a few crickets down and caught a few fish there also.

I was fishing a long run out point on Tablerock with a marker buoy down and had a boat pull up within 30 yards and start fishing. When I picked up my buoy to move up the point a little, they dropped a buoy where mine was. This got me asking myself how close is too close. With more boats on the lake every year, it keeps getting more crowded and people have to share spots with other anglers. With that in mind, here are a few questions. If a boat is fishing a long runout point, is it ok to fish the same point if an angler keeps his distance? I know that I may move up and down the point trying to find fish. If someone else sets up in an area, it limits where I can move. If a boat is working down a long bank, such as a bluff or long bank in the river, that is your prime fishing area, how do you set up? I generally try to drop in behind the other boat, but sometimes they move so slowly that I catch up quickly and do not want to pass them. At other times, I have started at the other end of the bank and passed by in the middle. This happens a lot in the spring while crappie fishing. If there are several boat docks on a bank or in a cove and a boat is fishing one of them, does one assume that they are going to fish all of them over time and leave, or just fish a different dock than they are? Are the rules different in a tournament or for a guide who has people who have paid to catch fish? More boats on the water just means that more people are wanting to enjoy what we already do. Most fishermen at the lake are just wanting to relax and catch some fish.

What is the best thing to do if a bass swallows a grub and gets hooked deep?

I listened to it earlier and just did again to make sure it worked.

The best steak I have had in Branson was at the Outback Steakhouse. Danna’s has good BBQ, especially their loaded baked potatos and Memphis rolls. Sugar Leaf Treats has great sandwiches and wonderful deserts. We don’t go to shows, but people have told us that six is a good one. Other than Shows, the Titanic Museum is worth seeing.

I have asked this question for several years and have gotten different answers. The shallow more target oriented fishermen say that it is illegal, while the deep guys who want to cover massive flats and points say that it is ok. I have heard some say that you are supposed to move your bait with your rod and reel, not your boat. If you cast to a bank or point, the wind or your forward progress will create an angle that causes the bait to be dragged a little while you work it back to the boat for the next cast, but this is different than casting the bait behind the boat and never intending to turn the reel while you cover hundreds of yards with your trolling motor. Also, dragging a jig or carolina rig behind the boat for hundreds of yards without turning the reel is different than letting out line and actually reeling a crankbait in. I wish that there was more clarity and cosistancy in the rules. Either way is fine with me as long as it is called consistantly. The few tournaments that I have fished had specific sections of the rules dealing with the outboard motor, but never mentioned the trolling motor, which left a lot of grey areas.

Do you ever fish it deeper on a heavier Jig head in the summer?

I fished there about a week ago. The ramp near the marina is a corps ramp that is open and has a courtesy dock. It is a little steep. I used to struggle to get out with my old truck. The campground was closed last week with the gate closed, so the ramp in the campground is out of play. It is much flatter, which makes you back way out into the lake. Parking may be a problem if your tournament is very big.

Where is the information about rigging the tube located?

We are catching a lot of fish on shakey heads with watermellon red zoom finesse or trick worms . I just take a 1/4 oz ball jig head and rig the worm texas style. We have been catching largemouth, smallmouth, and spots on the same thing.

Congrats on your 220 pounder making it to state. Tell the Panther that I said hi and I will see you this weekend. Lets fish together sometime. Jerry

Hog _ Wild, Where do you coach at?