MrGiggles

There might not be. Most just call them whites. I thought they were hybrids, but I wasn't sure, not good at telling them apart.

Did better yet tonight. One keeper one short crappie and a nice hybrid trolling. Once again pearl white was the favorite, didn't get any hits on black/silver or blue tiger. Had another keeper crappie near a brush pile jigging too.

Did a little better tonight. Two drum, a bluegill, a decent bass, and I lost a big walleye right at the boat. Pulled the hooks. The overwhelming favorite was a pearl white #6 flicker shad. No takers on purple tiger or black/silver. Still no crappie. Makes me wonder where they are at.

Me too. A couple weeks ago I was catching them pretty regularly. Not filling the boat by any means, but I could get a decent meal out of an afternoon's fishing. I did look at Bandits at BPS, but they were 8 dollars each... Academy has them for 5 and change, will get them online or the next time I'm in south Springfield.

Fished Sunday after the rain and caught a 15" Walleye and a couple dandy bass trolling flicker shads. Fished Tuesday and caught a decent 15" smallie on a roadrunner. No luck trolling. Fished tonight and tried trolling over many different areas with different baits and had no luck at all. Tried jigging around some brush with no luck either. Skunked. How everyone else been doing? Haven't seen any recent reports.

I just called the office in Stockton at (417) 276-3113. They mailed it to me, had it in a couple days.

I'm wondering how the water is now after the rain on Sunday and the rain that went through this morning and last night. I will probably put in tonight to unwind and see if my "fixes" to the outboard were successful if nothing else.

Trolled around this afternoon around Masters. One short walleye, a tiny but fat small mouth (boy they fight hard), and one keeper white crappie. Had some light rain part of the afternoon, and the wind picked up around the same time. Had two flicker shad out, purple tiger #7 seemed to be the favorite around 2mph. Although I caught the crappie on a blue tiger.

It's not stained any more than it has been. Surface temperature just shy of 80*.

I'm starting to like braid more and more. Spiderwire Stealth Braid will work in almost every situation. It has way less memory than mono (less loops and twists), and is 2-3x as strong as mono of the same diameter. It's also way more UV resistant, most of my mono is junk if I leave it sit in the sun for longer than 24 hours. I've got some braid that is three years old and still as strong as ever. Some guys use a mono or flouro leader if visibility is going to be a problem. I don't bother. I only have one pole left with mono, and that is 6lb silver thread on my ultra light. I never have tangle problems with it, the silver thread is good stuff.

I trolled around for a couple hours tonight. Had two flicker shad and a bottom bouncer out. Caught a channel cat and small crappie on the bouncer, and two keeper crappie on the cranks. Yesterday had a white bass and a 20" walleye on the same setup, both on the crank.

It was a 2010. My Ranger is supposed to get 27 too, but I've sure not seen it. Compact trucks will pull 90% of boats out there down the road just fine. Pulling them out of the water is a different ball game, and you'll find out just how limited they are. Don't back in past the waterline (slick algae), and avoid ramps that are steep. A basic tin boat like mine will weigh in at around 600lbs altogether, while a decked out fiberglass bass boat can top 3000. I'd say the majority fall between 1000-1500 llbs.

You're sure right about the whites. They were tearing up the bait fish. Wish I had a cast net or a convenient place to buy minnows on my way to the lake. Trolled a bottom bouncer and a pearl white flicker shad for an hour or so tonight. Caught one white and a 20" walleye.

I downsized from a Chevy K2500 to a 4 cylinder 5 speed Ranger. The small trucks don't get nearly good enough mileage to justify how limited they are. Unloaded, the best I've gotten out of the Ranger is 21 mpg. It drops to 18-19 while pulling my boat, which it does fine. It's a 14' Alumacraft, much less than 1000lbs altogether. My close friend had a basic Colorado, 4 cylinder, manual. His average was around 18. If you get a V6 model, you will get the same or worse mileage than a full size. A half ton V8 4x4 will get 20 on the highway these days. And you can actually put them to work, fit more than two people, launch on a steep or slimy ramp without worry, and not have to worry about buying too much boat. I'll be selling the Ranger soon and going back to a half ton gasser or diesel. Haven't decided yet.

Up north it is common practice to jab them in the head with a screwdriver and toss them back in the lake. They call 'em sheep's head. Not condoning it, but that's what I've seen done in Minnesota, where I'm from.

Thinking about trying out Truman this week, never fished there before. Will put in at Brush Creek since it's only 15 minutes away. Has anyone fished this area lately?

I will idle along in an area that I know has brush piles until I see them on sonar, then I toss out a buoy to mark it. I'll mark two piles then circle back with the trolling motor and start dropping jigs on them. Yesterday I was using a black roadrunner with a variety of tubes and grubs. Going to try a couple different jigs tonight and see if anything works better. Like I said, I'm new to the lake and still honing my technique. I have only tried trolling a little bit and was unsuccessful, I don't have a way to know how much line is out, or a plug knocker, I don't feel like donating my 5$ flicker shads to the lake.

Crappie bite was okay in the afternoon, but I'm still figuring the lake out. Had two keepers in 2.5 hours. Wind was not bad around Masters. Was able to stay put with just the trolling motor. Lots of boat traffic though.

I need to grab some the next time I'm in Springfield. I fished last night and Friday night. One keeper crappie on Friday and two last night. Two barely over 10" and the other was over 11. All pitching jigs in brush piles. I bought some buoys for marking the piles, and that really helps me zero in on them.

The third set of numbers on screen is speed in mph. Most were taken while drifting or idling in gear. The tree I was talking about is in the first photo, the red cylindrical mark just off center. Not sure why it didn't mark where it attaches to the bottom?

I snapped some photos of my Sonar on my last outing and could use some interpretations from more experienced eyes. I'm thinking this is a tree trunk with some scattered crappie/bluegill along the bottom? More panfish? I drifted over this and wasn't sure what it was. By the time I got my phone out it had mostly passed over, but it looked maybe like a pile of lay downs or brush? Just the end of it is on the graph. I apologize for the blurriness of this photo. Bass or other game fish suspended? These were taken last Sunday on Stockton.

Fished again tonight and got skunked. Was in the same area, tried jigging a couple brush piles, and I trolled for a little while in deep water with a flicker shad. Not so much as a bite.

Put in at Masters tonight. Ramp was a piece of cake. It was pretty choppy so I was too weary in my small boat to try trolling the big water. I anchored by the island and fished a while near a brush pile, caught a 13" smallie on a jig and tube. Just a couple short bass and gills after that. I'd like to fish during the week, it should be more calm and cooler.

It's actually a little further, but not by much. I'll check them both out. My trailer tilts so I barely have to get it in the water, and can keep my truck tires far away from the slimy part of the ramp. But with the truck being a manual, the less steep the better. Thanks for the tips. I will try trolling. I have a 14' Alumacraft that seems pretty stable, it was fine on Pomme with all the boat traffic and wakes.

I'm a new boat owner and have always bank or pond fished in the past. I live in Collins and have fished Pomme for the past couple days, and the lack of size in the Crappie leave me wanting to try Stockton. Crabtree looks like the closest ramp to me. Any pointers or tips for this area? I target Crappie more than anything. Wouldn't mind some Walleye either. Also, how steep is the ramp at CC? I have to launch with a 2WD Ford Ranger.