Blazerman

I went to Rainy lake this year the first week of June which is on the boarder at International Falls. We were on the Canadian side but you could easily stay in Minnesota. There are a ton of resorts with everything from rustic to extravagant. We were mostly after the giant smallmouth but the lake had great Northern fishing and Musky too. Plus walleye. We did not try for Musky but had a blast catching pike a couple days when we decided to fish for them. i think our biggest was around 10 lbs. It is a very large lake so be prepared for large water. if you start looking on the Internet i am sure you find a ton of possibilities up there.

Here in St Louis we have the BPS in St Charles and Cabela's is just 8 miles away in Hazelwood. Hard to imagine they would keep both of them open. And this Thursday we will have a new Gander Mountain store opening in Chesterfield. Might have to check that place out since i have never been to one.

I agree. it is a simple way to get a fishing fix. I sometimes work at Weldon Springs and it is a great after work thing when the weather gets cold and nothing else will bite.

Welcome to the post Jim. I too had a Blazer 1752 and just this fall replaced it with a new 1856 Blazer. if you see me on the Meramec flag me down and we can chat. Yeah like Brian said it doesn't take long to realize running upstream is way easier then running down. You have way more control and can see the appropriate channels and obstructions way easier as you head upstream versus down. And this time of year with the sun lower on the horizon you will get the glare off the water a lot too that makes it really tough to see going either way. I have run my boat pretty much around Redhorse on the Meramec up to the caverns and can tell you it is tough running right now with as low as the water is. Unfortunately, i have never heard of a jet boat driver training school and the only way i know to get good at it is running your boat. You will learn by experience what your boat can do and where it can go by using it. And you will also have your share of incidents like everyone else. Which leads to stories to tell down the road. Just ask any jet boater and they will have plenty of them.

Whenever i fish a deep diver on the Meramec that gets to the bottom i end up with a bunch of algae. How do you prevent that?

This fish is huge. http://www.flwfishing.com/tips/2015-10-21-record-smallmouth-caught-in-tourney-

Yeah Seth guess i got a $175 walleye dinner. I am terrible at skipping with a baitcaster as well and brought a heavy spinning rod just for that purpose. But didn't end up using it much with the wind blowing the way it was.

I missed my chance. At 2:30 on Saturday i was slow rolling my spinnerbait in front of a dock that was getting hammered by the wind. it was down about 5 feet and a big bass slammed it and almost yanked the rod out of my hand. i was really not prepared and should of been gripping the reel tighter so i missed a good hookset and the fish shot straight to the surface and came flying out of the water, shook it's head and threw the spinnerbait. It was right in front of me and from the size of it's open mouth and belly i know it was well over 5. I weighed one that was close to 3lb but ended up 2.91 and i had a 2 other smaller keepers and a couple shorts on Saturday. Sunday was definitely tougher and i only managed 2 bass total, a small keeper and a short. I did catch and clean a nice size walleye on my spinnerbait Saturday.

One thing i was thinking is with the Open being down at Table rock this weekend there may be some anglers headed there instead of being at LOZ. I would think you might find some of the better bass anglers fishing the co-angler side of the Open, (or even the Pro side) which would keep them away from the BBB. I not talking pros, since pros can't fish the bbb, i am talking about the good bass guys who fish all over the Midwest every chance they get. Which might leave some fish for guys like me.

Yep I will be there again. I have fished it a few times and all it takes is one good one to get your money back. And like everyone else, i am thinking maybe the fishing gods will look down on me and say ok it's his turn and allow me to catch a big bass for big bucks. i have fished the lake a few times lately and it has been hit and miss. But i don't think it will matter much because this cool front coming in will change the game by this weekend and what worked last weekend won't matter. Like every other time though, enough people are throwing enough baits in front of enough bass that decide to bite so that all 20 spots pay out money every two hours and and three people will win big money.

Nice report. Sounds like you have a really good spot there. If i wasn't going to Columbia this weekend i would definitely try and join you.

I got out for a couple hours of fishing in the morning yesterday and again today and with all the boats running around, I wasn't expecting much. But i actually did better then i thought i would. I ran upstream like i usually do and tried some of the faster water spots and caught a fair number of smallmouth. Nothing real big but fat and sassy 12"-15" inchers that are always fun to catch. I got most of them on soft plastics and a small yellow shallow running crank bait. Yesterday morning i missed a good one when i threw next to a big root wad and as the bait was sinking i looked down to adjust the trolling motor and when i looked back my line was headed to the left with slack in it. So i tried to reel down and set the hook at the same time and, like usual, that didn't work to well. I managed to pull the fish up to where i could see it and then it spit the bait right back at me. i got a good look at it a knew it was a good one and i thought well at least i know where it lives. So this morning as i came back by that spot i threw in there again and got the tap tap and my line started moving and reeled down for a good hook set, blasted it, and broke my rod in two. And missed the fish again. Guess it wasn't meant to be. That spot is the tail end of a fast stretch of water and once i go by there i usually make a run to the next spot because in between is a long stretch of slack water with out much depth. But i got a text from my daughter as i was getting ready to run so instead of running with the motor i ended up texting here back and as i did that i was floating down. I floated past a log pile that was sitting in the middle of the river so i though might as well throw my spinnerbait around the logs. And i ended up getting three more bass off of the pile. One spotted bass and two smallmouth. Then a few minutes later i got the one in the pic. All fish caught were released.

Yesterday, after work, i ran down to my river place to cut the grass. When i opened up the garage to back out my mower i found this copperhead coiled up just inside the door like it had been laying against the door on the inside. And he was aggravated that i had disturbed him. I don't really have a problem with most snakes but a copperhead is on my list of not wanted along with any other venomous snake. So I took a shovel and cut off his head. This is the second copperhead i have seen at my place so now i am wondering if i should be concerned about running into more of them? Do the form family units and have territories?

Here is a video shot with a drone of some of the lake flooding http://www.417news.com/2015/07/02/lake-of-the-ozarks-flooding-a-tour-by-air/

when my daughter was about 15 she got a ticket from the water patrol for not obeying the no wake zone by the grand glaize bridge. it was her and one of her friends on a jet ski. i asked her if she was running or idling and she said she was going slow but he said she was going too fast. I didn't really think i could fight it so i sent in the payment like any other ticket. I think it was about $150..

Very nice report and pics. Thanks for sharing.

I bought a battery tender at walmart and have used it for 2 years now. i too have my boat in the garage and every time i bring it back i hook up the charger and leave it on. i also leave it on all winter. Since i have started using it, i have never had a problem with the battery being low and it shuts off automatically once the battery is charged. http://www.walmart.com/ip/15779498?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227010284036&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40838790032&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=78652093952&veh=sem

F & F, just went by what the guide said. In missouri i know common water snakes are normally red and brown. And i have seen cottommouths and they are usually totally black or brown or dark gray. I leave them alone and never had any problem with them. i was not sure of water snakes in florida so i didn't get too close. just grabbed the phone and started taking pics.

I went fishing down at Okeechobee at the end of February this year and while fishing with shiners I had a cottonmouth go after the bait. I ended up hooking it and reeled it end and once I saw what it was I handed the pole to the guide. He said no big deal, and pulled the snake up on the gunwale of the boat (which we were not too crazy about) and then proceeded to smack it with a thick steel rod he had. Once he had crippled it, he shook it off with a pair of needle nose and said it’s gator bait now.

Nice report Mosmallies. I am headed down Wednesday evening to bass and crappie fish and then will be fishing the BBB. I would be thrilled to get a sixer during the tournament and hope to get into some crappie as well. And your right, it sounds like it is about to bust and i imagine there will be some real nice bass caught to earn the money. Nice thing about this tournament is you don't have to catch five good ones to earn a nice check- just one. And even a blind squirrel like me might get my bait in front of one that will eat it.

When I was a kid of about 12-13, I got snagged behind a boulder in the Meramec. When I went to get unsnagged it turned out I was snagged on a 9.9 Johnson outboard laying on the bottom in about 4 fow. I called my dad over to show him and he pulled it out and you could still smell the gas in it and it looked new. We ended up hauling it home. Last year while fishing with a buddy at LOZ, his crappie jig got snagged on a piece of rope and was cussing as he was pulling the rope in. He quit cussing when he saw there was a crankbait attached to the rope. And when I saw the crankbait I said holy sh-t you know what that is? And he said no, never seen one like this before. It was a new looking Megabass vision 110.

Beautiful fish for sure. Guess the high water doesn't stop people who know what they are doing like you too. Good job guys.

Yeah saw your pics Aaron. That was some amazing fishing. Hope you have some really big freezers between all your deer and now those spoonbill.

Looks like you got your wish for high water. Probably get more high water before spring ends. Amazingly, i saw four boats running upstream Sunday.