chi0082

By saying the lake is not unsafe by any means to boat on is in itself discounting the high probability of property damage, injuries, and lost lives with water this high. Anyways, I've had a good laugh at this thread. It only goes to show how dumb some people can be. How dumb you say? Well, while y'all were busy being all "diehard" trying to find fish to catch on this flooded pond, we've been killing the walleyes up north, crappies out west and smallmouths down south. Walleyes are in postspawn mode and are feeding heavy on the flats. Smallmouths are killing the buzzbaits down south in the early mornings. And crappie are spawning all over out west. But I ain't no diehard. I just fish between work and family time. Maybe some of y'all just need to get out a little and try something new.

Me too.

Nobody is being overly dramatic over this flood. It only closed down half of southern Missouri roads and left many people stranded in their homes killing some in the process. Most of you have fished TR and have boated long enough to know what to look for and how to be safe while on the water. To make a broad assumption that everyone else does too is very ignorant.

Some of you guys crack me up with your "Diehard fisherman" attitude. LOL! We don’t know if the op even knows how high the lake has come up. He might be thinking it’s just a few feet high from this rain. But to say it’s not so bad and that nothing should stop anyone from fishing is just plain stupid. To the op, the lake is abnormally high, so much that many of the popular ramps are closed and the lake will not fish the same for awhile. From one fisherman to another, don’t go full retard…I mean Diehard. There’s better fishing further north. Contact me via pm if you need specifics. Good luck whatever you decide.

What is life without a little adventure. Come on guys let's all go fishing with a thousand things floating underneath our boats. Heck a fenceline ain't nothing these days most trolling motors these days are built to handle a wrap or two of barbed wire. And lower units these days can handle a rock bluff no problem. Don't be scurred come on in, the waters fine.

Stump I feel like I've asked you before or someone on here about those lights before. But which ones did you buy? There are so many variations of led lights it's mind boggling. Same with youtube vids, so many different ways to make the lights. Is there a particular video that you watched you could recommend?

I don't know but the last one I bought the drag wasn't consistent at all. It wouldn't hold the drag where I set it. It would work itself loose after several minutes of fishing if I'm constantly throwing a lure and reeling it in. I would find myself catching a fish and the drag would be wayyyy too loose almost like it was on free spool and have lost fish this way. Thought it was a fluke so I bought another one, it was great when it was new, but after fighting several 20-30 large (3 lb) white bass, the reel now has some play in it and wobbles every now and then when reeling in. So I stopped buying them and sold them to some guy who could repair them. I really wanted to like them as they are cheap and look good with a million ball bearings, but I couldn't risk losing a nice bass or hybrid because the drag failed. I went back to the old workhorse Daiwa Revros reels I've been using.

Most any reel at most any retail store is gonna be made in china. Some better than others, but mostly made from the same materials. I bought one awhile ago for $10 on ebay with no name and no model number or anything. Just a nice solid reel I use on occasion for crappie and white bass. It's been a few years now but it's still very smooth, no wobble, and casts just as well as any of my Daiwa Revros or Excelers. I haven't caught any big fish with it or done any serious cranking with it to test its robustness but just for dipping minnows or tossing small jigs for crappie on a small spinning outfit they are excellent reels.

We floated the James and Cape Fair area creeks/rivers in kayaks. Some places were stacked with fish and we were hooked up on every cast. Some places were slow, we kept moving not spending more than a minute or 2 on any particular spot. Best bites were in areas with good current with structure nearby. Was using 6 lb flouro and broke off a few good ones at the side of my kayak and some broke off in the current that I couldn't bring back. Mostly dead sticking on slack line and the bite was very aggressive, you didn't have to watch your line, you just had to hold on to your rod real good or they'll yank it right out of your hands. lol. After I ran out of plastic I started using a 1/2 oz brown/orange jig with a craw trailer and had better quality bites off that, but bites were fewer. The ned rig caught more fish of all sizes though. It was a blast.

Naw just video from my gopro. haven't had time to edit and all that, plus the videos will reveal more than I want to on my honey holes. hehe.

Just wanted to say thanks to Dave for his awesome ned rig heads. We killed the smallies this past weekend. I'm on my last one. Looks like I'll have to order more. lol.

Glad you guys think about me. It's flattering.

It's the internet, grow some thicker skin buddy. Panties in a wad much? Pwahahaha.

Sometimes I wonder how Bill ever has time to post. But I'm glad he finds time to as busy as he is.

Champ, there's no use fixing stupid. Been there done that got the t-shirt. Best we can do is sit back and let the idiots hang themselves.

Well I'd rather be one of those children trashing the place then a scared little girl crying to the sheriff and whining about it on a public forum.

I know, I know. Father forgive me for I have sinned.

OldMill I'm not saying it's the only way I handle these types of situations, but after so many times you honestly have to say enough is enough. If this was any other place or if I wasn't with my boys and was with anyone else, I would've handled it much differently and probably would've taken the high road/legal route. I don't know how y'all grew up but where I come from when someone dumps all 3 coolers and 2 kegs of your beer onto the ground THAT my friend, leaves a mark no fine from the county sheriff will ever do.

I guess nobody ever got anything stolen. Everyone seems to be upset that I did such a horrible thing to the thieves that stole my traps. Funny thing is....I really don't regret it. We were well prepared to confront them if they had returned and saw us trashing the place. We were prepared for an all out backyard redneck fight to be completely honest. Sorry if my lifestyle offends some of you. I was raised differently I guess.

Yes, Bass Lives Matter!

I understand abkeenan, if I was alone, I probably would have done just that. But with enough guys in our group and a pretty solid plan in place, it actually happened very quickly and we got out of there in record time.

My family supports everything I do. They wondered why we didn't call them to join in on the fun.

I hope they are. Funny thing is they'll never know who did it anyways.

And what do you suggest I have done instead? Turn them in to the authorities for a slap on the wrist? Cry about it on a public forum?

Oh we had friends that got video of their reaction....let's just say it was absolutely priceless!