powerdive

Miller time at last, Marty!!!

Rangerman, don't you be messin' with my gar! Good luck.

Ditto--nice to meet you, rps. Sweet boat you've got there! May loads of large walleyes come over the sides in her time. OK, bass too.

rps--new boat sounds like fun. Congrats! Might see you out there tomorrow, prolly near the mouth of RR--look for a tiller Sylvan with both bowmount and transom mount motors and a trolling bag off the bow eye. Will either be bouncing or pulling cranks. BTW, bullitt doesn't post here.

Oops, never mind. Sorry.

[edited] Never mind, it's pointless.

I'm with CaptainJoe--I've given up on fluoro. After trying 5 different brands, the toughest I've found has been Stren Fluoro--but for me, they've all had knot breakage problems. As a walleye guy, I fish a little differently than most of you do. For trolling leaders (behind leadcore) or tying harnesses, it's usually Yo-Zuri hybrid (great stuff) or a good monofilament for me. For jigging, spooning or casting stickbaits, I use braid right down to the business end. Fluorocarbon is a great idea (assuming we can really understand how a fish sees underwater), but why does this issue keep coming up? Only one possible answer: because there's definitely a problem with the stuff. Bottom line, it's caused way too many heartbreaks in my boat. You can have it!

Hey fishofexcellence, are you seeing any walleyes up the White yet?

Wow, sorry to hear that, Sam. Better luck next time. All I can say is, better you than me! Why do even U.S. highways have no shoulders down here?????

What if there were no more national bass tourneys on Table Rock? What then? Eventually, it would no longer be that "legendary" lake where tourists come from afar to pay hefty guides' fees and fish the waters they've seen on TV and dreamed about. Yes, the tourney pros do need to realize they're not the only game in town and folks can't be expected to kowtow to them en masse. The truth is, common courtesy is becoming rarer in every aspect of society. And that includes the locals' reactions as well as the pros' actions. Not every slight is an atrocity...it's a matter of perception. Most folks don't observe others that closely (how many of those pros actually believed they were cutting you off? Probably very few). Everyone has different standards and expectations for everyone else. Our own group is always in the right, though. Like when fishermen complain about the a-holes on their recreational boats. Sorry, most of 'em aren't a-holes. They've just never been in a bass boat on a busy lake, never given it a thought or had reason to. In reality, their only crime is in the eye of the beholder. (Not counting the drunk chick who missed my bow by 3' and whacked my boat with the tube she was pulling last summer.) Good point by RSBreth. George Carlin observed that anyone who drives faster than you do is crazy, and anyone who drives slower than you do is an idiot. No, I don't have clients with me when I'm out fishing. It's not how I make my living. I recognize that if I did, I'd probably feel differently. Then again, the lake expert with over 2000 waypoints getting upset over being cut off with clients in the boat--isn't that kind of like the same hey-we're-more-important rationale some of the pros are displaying? It's just a matter of degree. Most of the problems are in our heads. Some are real, some are imagined. All require us to either adapt, or allow our emotions to take center stage. OK, that's my pacifist message for the day. You can let me have it now.

Bob, great report. Thanks for the info. We fish crappies and walleyes similarly through the winter. Two more things you can do to help with crappie survival in deep water: bring them up SLOWLY after you hook 'em (hard to do, and yes, you'll lose a couple, but it really does help), and also, upon release, very un-gently SPLOOSH the short fish back into the water headfirst. You want them leading with their mouths--I dunno, I guess the forced rush of water helps them revive quickly. Crappies can be a challenge to release, but done correctly, splooshing gets most of 'em headed back down okay. If you do get a floater, then pick it up and try fizzing. Walleyes seldom need special handling, as they seem to handle the pressure change better and almost always go back down. If not, don't sploosh 'em--they're easier to fizz. You may leave a couple floaters behind for the loons and eagles, but most seem to make it. If catching more shorts than legals, we'll move--they're not that hard to find this time of year. Sun makes them run, though; if they stop biting, move around the immediate area (a few yards away), and often you can find the school again and catch a few more out of it.

GL, neither would I, but there are plenty of bassers who do. GF, yes, the Megabaits come ready to fish.

Not cheap, but cheaper than you'd expect... Some friends have started a new biz locally (in Springfield), selling new and closeout outdoor gear on the web. They currently have a pretty good selection of Megabass hardbaits at the lowest price available anywhere, and if you buy 3 or more, shipping is free: http://www.sportsmansfactoryoutlet.com/servlet/the-Fishing-Gear-%26-Equipment-cln-Fishing-Lures-%26-Baits-cln-Hardbaits/Categories As I said, Megabass isn't cheap, but if you like 'em and you're looking for a great deal, there it is. "Reasonable" is a relative term...

Sorry, Ryan, I think I got my threads mixed up. Don't know much about the bass on the lower lake, other than to say that with the water temps, the smallies should be grouped up pretty well in the deeper water. Good luck!

Hey Ryan, to get back on topic, a friend caught a pair of 20"+ walleyes on Saturday, plus a big smallie and several more bass of both descriptions, pitching stickbaits and jigs/plastic at the bank between Powersite and Barker. All released to fight again. The eyes hit only when the water was running, bass didn't care...

Only when I'm fishin' and can't keep them off the hook. Otherwise, they're okay. They keep the riffraff out of my trolling path. Just kidding. There's no doubting that this is bass country, though.

MWG, you've been down at this latitude long enough to know that if they don't mention a species, it's bass. In fact, if you catch some bass, you don't even have to call them bass--just say "fish." The assumption is that everybody will know what you're talking about.

Sorry, I dunno any more about it than anyone else. Leeches are restricted somehow in AR, still okay to use in MO, and the trend is to avoid the use of non-native species in general. Nightcrawlers excepted, of course. That's about all I can figure.

Tying harnesses is fun. You can be really creative. A quick tip: Don't worry if you can't seem to get the hooks to line up. That takes practice (and I still have trouble with it myself). It really doesn't matter. Two hooks facing opposite directions will stick a fish just as well as two perfectly aligned hooks. The only thing that matters is hanging the crawler so it slides through the water naturally, and even that is only an occasional factor. Have fun!

I was on Stockton yesterday, trolling walleyes in 20-23 feet. Was catching an occasional short here and there. Something distracted me and I got pushed thru some 12 foot water, cranks digging bottom, and I hooked a heavy fish. Or so I thought. Turned out to be another short walleye, foul hooked underneath. Hmmm. So I started trolling shallower, mostly at 14-16 feet. There was a much bigger "show" on sonar in the shallower water. Ended up with a 22, and another 20+ lost at the net, and a buncha shorts plus assorted other species. It was an accident. I had pre-decided that the fish would be deeper. I've gotta stop that, and learn to listen to what the fish are saying.....

rps, next time out I plan to supersize my trolling baits. No lie--musky and saltwater stuff. Will let you know how it goes.

Geez, if people can't catch bass on THIS lake... Just tell 'em to go walleye fishing. That'll fix things once and for all.

Attaboy, rps! Been away myself...glad to see someone's keeping the eyes on their toes! Great job.

Thanks, F. Will keep that info in mind for next time. We ended up launching at Kdock...took awhile to find some fish, but we finally connected with about 15 walleyes up to 23", with only 4 of those over 18". All were released to fight another day. Got the larger fish just off a steep bank just downstream from the big flats, and most of the shorts were schooled up on the flats near Hogan in 19 fow. Trolling cranks.

Can folks launch there? Thanks.