Blazerman

Yup same deal- if they were close enough to measure I tossed them back and I probable let 15 go that were just over 9". It was warm (65) and windy again at the lake yesterday and by the end of the day I actually caught my last few good crappie fishing between the back of the dock and the shore in about 4-5 of water. I was dropping the jig next to the ramp piers and I could see them shoot up to eat it. The catfish was a blast especially where I caught it in the boat slip with not much room to move around. The condo dock I was fishing has 10 boats slips on both sides and the locals there have put brush in every slip. So you can fish over cover from the first slip in about 6 fow out to the last slip in about 40 fow. You can usually find them somewhere in that range all winter long. Good place for bass too.

I headed to LOZ yesterday and got there about 1:30. Went straight to a friend’s dock to fish for crappie. The wind was blowing pretty good and it was cloudy and warm so I thought they might be hitting. I was right. Had my limit by 4:30 along with a bonus hybrid. Probably caught about 20 total but I didn't keep anything under 10". Today I got up and fished the condo dock where I was staying and caught a few more in the boat slips. Then while vertical jigging in about 30' I got a solid hit and set the hook and instantly thought this is definitely not a crappie. Held on while the drag was singing until I could finally get some line and we went back and forth for about 15 minutes. After the first couple minutes I was pretty sure it was a catfish and I didn’t really think I would get it in using my little crappie rod with 6lb line. But I at least wanted to see it. I surprised myself and actually landed it using my hands since I didn’t have a net. I did have a digital scale though and it weighed 10.12lbs. After taking care of some business I had to do I went back to my friends dock and finished getting my limit. Was back home by 8:00. Caught all the fish using a Bobby Garland baby shad in Pearl White and also a little tube jig in Pearl. Rigged them both on a 1/16 oz jig head. The baby shad I would cast out and tight line it while it was sinking and many times I was getting hit on the fall. If I didn’t get hit I would work it back very slowly and raise and lower the rod tip slowly and again get hit on the fall. The tube jig I used for vertical jigging in the boat wells.

Welcome Marcus, Fayetteville is a nice area, lots of good fishing around there for sure. Hope to see some fish pics from you soon. I posted one from the Meramec yesterday and hope to have some pics of a bunch of crappie on Sunday from LOZ.

With the weather warming up I took a half day and headed to the river. Got there around 2:00 and like usual put in at Redhorse. Tried my favorite winter baits, jerkbait and pig and jig. Pretty slow but did pick up a couple including the one in this pic.on the pig jig. It is amazing how gold colored they are right now. Tomorrow I am heading to LOZ to fish for crappie.

Indeed, beautiful deer especially with the bow. Nice job. You will have to let us know what it scored.

Fly guy, Beautiful smallmouth. If you don’t mind me asking, what were you using? Hog Wally, is the little Meramec different from the big Meramec? I have not seen any otters up my way but I know there are guys trapping around Redhorse. That might be why. Doing in good with the bow in Ballwin? I would guess there are deer all over there. Are you chasing a big one?

I haven’t hunted for a few years but back when I rifled hunted up north the landowner would get aggravated if we didn’t kill enough deer off his place by the end of the season. So we always saved the last two days for doing deer drives. We would have pushers and standers based on who had filled their tags. During these drives the standers were always positioned on a corner or crossing where you could see a long way and it was pretty much a given you would be shooting at a running deer. We killed many deer this way and on some occasions it took a couple shots. The deer would pop out from the woods into an open field or pasture and sometimes you could see them out to a couple hundred yards before they made it to another set of woods or somewhere else before they disappeared. It was actually a blast and I killed plenty of deer this way with running shots. The position of the standers were always set up so that they were usually shooting downhill and we always knew where the other hunters were. Keep in mind there is way more open spaces in northern Missouri and big open fields and pastures with creeks and fence lines where deer hide out is the norm.

Drew, you can buy all the American made products you like but are you sure they are American made? Almost anything you buy anymore has parts that are manufactured all over the world. Cars, trucks, boats, rods, reels, appliances, any kind of electronic device. Pretty much anything with more than 10 parts. They can say they are made in America but what they should really say is assembled in America with parts made all over the world. This is not a bad thing. Like I said we live in a Global economy now.

Just curious, what area of the river did you fish? When it comes to gigging, not sure more water is what to wish for. It might be that super low, clear water and spooky fish is a good thing.

What do you think? Real pictures from the camera or altered photos. http://www.hutchnews.com/Outdoors/Trail-camera-captures-ghostly-images

I always use the green pumpkin or chartreuse with specs of glitter (not sure what it is called) that Zoom has for their centipede. Great bait! In winter I always switch to deer hair jigs in black and black and orange with a black pork rind.

Dennis Whiteside. I haven’t used him as a guide but we have swapped many emails on smallmouth fishing and I have no problem recommending him. I am sure he can guide you on the Gasconade or any other decent smallmouth stream in Missouri or Arkansas. From his website post, he has pretty much guided on all of them at one time or another. www.denniswhiteside.com/

Yup it was Tony.

Good job on getting one. Sounds like a perfect kill shot. Always nice to have the first one out of the way and have some meat for the freezer. I always thought that the size you shot were the best eating. Now you can let the little ones pass and wait for a big one like this one a friend got up north in Lewis county.

Years ago, back when I fished the upper Meramec below the trout park during summer, I used to snorkel in some of the deeper holes to see what was in them. I was stunned to see the size of the fish I saw. Right where the Dry Fork creek comes in there was a deep hole with a ton of big logs and rootwads. When I got down where I could see under these I saw big Brown and Rainbow trout plus some huge smallmouth. The rest of the year I spent a great deal of time trying to catch them. One thing that worked some was letting a Mepps spinner sink into the hole and then jigging it so that the blade would barely rotate in the current. They would shoot out and grab it as it was hovering in the current. Never caught the huge ones but I caught a few 2-3 lb rainbow and some really nice smallmouth. I finally went back later in the fall with a Husky jerkbait and caught a Brown a little over 4lbs. Did the same thing- let it hover in the current alongside a tree with a deep hole and the fish shot out from under the tree and grabbed it. The key thing was wading to a spot where you could work the bait so that it would sit in one spot and hover in front of the holes. If you tried to fish these holes from the opposite bank you were always pulling your bait away from the cover and they wouldn’t come out to get it.

When somebody posted about this Reeds Sports having the buy 1 get 1 free deal on these rods I bought the two listed below. Absolutely love them. I used the 6’6” medium to throw the LC slender pointer that caught my big smallmouth on Saturday. This rod is perfect for throwing these. Drew, we live in a world with a global economy now. I work for a large company with a global presence. If all our customers thought like you did I would be out a job. http://www.reedssports.com/Category/main.taf?cat=4412&pc=4410 Gary's Freshwater Signature Series Spinning 6'6" L 1Pcs. Fast Action Line Wt 4-8 Lure Wt 1/16 (1/4 - TFG FWS 662-1) Gary's Freshwater Signature Series Spinning 6'6" M 1Pcs. Fast Action Line Wt 6-12 Lure Wt 1/4 - 3/4 - TFG FWS 664-1

That is a dandy Mitch

Got out for a little fishing on the Meramec yesterday and today to see if the warm windy weather might have turned on the smallmouth some. Hit the river about 3:30 and was off by 5:00. Man it was windy! Tried a spinnerbait and swimming a jig with no luck. Finally ran to some of the winter holes I know of and caught a few on my favorite traditional winter baits- Pig and hair jig and jerk bait. Caught about 5 yesterday and 5 again today including a couple Kentucky bass each day. Got this one real nice smallmouth on a LC Slender Pointer 112. It was 18.5“and as fat as a football. It is so cool watching the fish come up to see the suspending jerk baits, and then twitch it and see them attack it like this big one did.

Mo. conservation agents say mystery animal could be large coyote, wolf or hybrid of both By Associated Press 3:13 p.m. CDT, November 3, 2012 COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — It could take up to six months before conservation agents figure out what a Missouri hunter shot when the thought he was bagging an unusually large coyote. The man — who asked officials not to disclose his identity — was hunting for deer Tuesday at Franklin Island Conservation Area when the animal came into range. The Columbia Daily Tribune reports coyotes are in season and the man had a permit, so he shot what he thought was a state-record coyote. But when it weighed 81 pounds — seven pounds more than the national record — a Cooper County conservation agent ordered it taken to a regional office for testing. Experts say the animal could be a wolf, a large coyote or a hybrid animal with characteristics of both Here is a link to the story. http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/nov/03/experts-say-hunters-kill-might-be-a-wolf/ ___

My guess would be he is probably 3-3.5 years old and they grow bigger bodies with bigger racks in northern Missouri.

Buddy here at work sent me this pic of this amazing 10 pt buck he caught on his deer cam. Can’t believe how symmetrical it is. His deer cam is set up on his property by Mark Twain lake.

For smallmouth I always have a jig and trailer tied on to one of my rods. But in November, I switch to a hair jig with and without a pork rind trailer. I have found as the water get colder the rubber jigs have less action. But cold water doesn’t affect hair jigs. Also, during winter when streams are low and clear, I do a lot of site fishing. A hair jig can be jigged in front of a suspended fish to entice a strike when nothing else will. When using a trailer, I work them very slowly in deep pools usually around large rock and boulders. Many times all you feel is a tick or very slight tap when a fish picks up the bait. I have caught some of my biggest fish on these baits. I will admit though that I don’t tie them. Mine or store bought. That would be type 1 that Gavin refers to.

Been by it to look it over but haven't fished it yet.

370 Lakeside Park in St Peters opened not too long ago and is another option for folks wanted to fish with a boat in the St. Louis area. I have visited but have not fished it yet. http://www.stpetersmo.net/rvpark.aspx Boat on the 140-acre lake. You can use the boat launch for your own watercraft, whether it's a paddle boat, kayak, canoe or any boat with an electric trolling motor (no gas engines, please). Boat rentals are also available at the check-in station near the marina.Choose from kayaks, canoes, paddle boats and sea cycles. Fish from a boat or the bank. The lake is stocked with bass, bluegill, channel catfish, crappie and any number of species that have made their way from the Mississippi River. Bring your fishing gear and a state fishing license.• A 5-mile biking and hiking trail goes around the lake. There's a great view of the entire park from atop the agricultural levee on the north side. Bikes and tandem bikes are available for rent at the check-in station near the marina. Picnic tables are set up near the marina for the public to use free of charge. *Nominal fishing and lake usage fees apply beginning Oct. 1, 2011. All persons fishing or launching watercraft must check in at the RV/Ranger Station before accessing the water. The lake is closed to boating and fishing during winter (Dec. 1, 2011-Feb. 29, 2012).

If the deer was mostly broadside slightly facing you with it's head to the right and your arrow hit behind the shoulder then my guess it wasn't actually a kill shot. Based on that angle you probably didn't hit a lung or maybe one but not both and no major arteries The deer probably went a long way and bedded down and may or may not have died eventually. I have shot deer with a bow and your best shot is either directly broadside, behind the shoulder for a double lung, or better yet, slightly forward low behind the shoulder.for a heart lung shot. For that shot the deer should be slight ahead of you.