Wayne SW/MO

If you take a right at the 4 way stop in Forsyth it will take you to the Pothole. You'll pass a park on the lake, but that's trout water, and after you pass the dam look for a gate opening in the fence. That's the area where you can park and fish the Pothole. If you travel on down that road you will eventually cross Swan creek and be in Shadow Rock park. If you want to skip the Pothole just go straught ahead at the 4 way. This will give you lots of bank space and areas to fish, it will also probably produce the best fishing. The powersite side is most likely under water and not available for bank fishing.

Yeah Baylor and KU have done the Big 12 proud. I guess MU will find out if they can run with Kentucky.

Or a BVK.

I didn't do anything to my my Mohawk but lower the seats to their lowest level. If I hadn't been able to do that with the factory hangers I would have made new ones. I think the seating is the most important thing to address first.

Amen to that, but strangely enough there was nobody boating Beaver for the most part.

Ask him about his high dollar camera.

I've never been on the Black, but I've always heard about its clarity. I think however it's hard to judge most streams because we see them in different envronmental periods. The ones we fish often aren't hard to rate over a period of time, but to rate across the state, or worse challenge someones opinion isn't feasible. I would have to throw in The Niangua below Bennett. You can distinguish what's on the bottom in 10' of water on it. Then there's Beaver and the Eleven Point. Of course civilization is changing them so fast that it's hard to keep up. We know, and if we don't wer're going to find out that not all the problems with water quality were the result of poor sewage treatment. I think Table Rock was at one time one of the clearest lakes anywhere, but saddly it has been loved to questionable.

I prefer one piece baitcasters, but 2 piece spinning rods. I don't always rig a spinning rod, but I like to have one in case the need arises. I like the Lightening spinning rods, they have a good action, better than the ugly's, and no inserts to get knocked out. My baitcasters are my bread and butter though and I don't mind spending the money to get the action I like. It's hard to get light tips without buying up, IMO. I like the short rods also, but it's almost impossible to buy one in the action I like. I have an Extreme 5 1/5', but I only use it for Sammie's and in the fall for jerkbaits, it's also the only rod I have braid on for river fishing.

Just waiting for the rain to stop and the whites to run. I thought maybe you had a handle on some white/hybrid fishing over that way. I don'y get on the rivers as much now so I'm going to see if I can do more with the temperate bass and carp this summer.

Drags? My thumb is smarter and more responsive than any drag. And that is why I keep mine loose on my baitcasters until its time to land. I don't use them at all for the most part on my spinning rod. I keep the anti off until its time to land and backwind when I need to give line. I'm not a fool and i've probably fished a few more years then you have, I just know when stretch will help me and when it will hurt.

Swan must have cleared up some. It was chocolate when I was there and there was a distinct line between it and the lake.. Did it go over the flat across from Shadow Rock? It was starting that way. I think 54 is on the bottom rung of acceptable temps for the whites.

Are you catching any temperates over there?

Swan is pretty dirty, I would look for the whites around the color line outside the creek.. Boats were all the way up to the shoal below Fishermens Nose before the rain. I haven been over to Beaver so I can't comment on the color, but after the rain last night I would be surprised if it wasn't pretty dark.

My goto baitcasters are a pair of Falcon Low Riders, 6 1/2' with 3" chopped off the butt and Cabelas 6' 3". 2 of them are rated 1/4oz on the low end and 1 is rated 3/16oz. They are all topped with Curado 100b's. My spinning rod is a 6' St Croix medium. My flyrod last year was a cabelas glass and I really liked it, it's an 8wt 7 1/2'. It's slow enough to push deer hair and poping bugs with a nice open loop. At 7 1/2' I can keep the tip protected in my solo canoe, one less thing to worry about. I don't think it's important what spinning reel one uses, or fly reel for that matter. Modern ones are all good when it comes to smallie fishing on our flows. Line is more important then reels, with the exception of baitcasters, IMO.

I have to agree that stretch plays a part in the equation. It can be the line saver when sudden changes occur.

Sounds like a plan. Does your cell still end in 53?

They make 4 weights, read 6, that wouldn't be to bad. They're just like other flyrods and the fight on heavier rods isn't as bad as many think. The biggest advanatge is and would be distance and the ability to get some distance with trees hanging over your shoulder when fishing here.

I've been all over this, but BUT, it is another whole ball game and one should do a lot of research before jumping in. I have one that I'm just beginning to get acquainted with, which is why I realize the chance for expensive mistakes is great. To answer your question, yes I do believe there is a place, but my thinking is that winter would be the time for a switch or a spey rod. When they are generating in the winter there is very little bank space and virtually no space for a backcast. I would love to have one during a shad kill.

I can only imagine. Maybe when you have some time you can go into some detail regarding hunting them and fishing to them.

I would be very cautious. The forecast is for more rain and you certainly don't want to be the first one under a new strainer, or the last.

The run in Swan is never very long, time wise. It's hard to say that far ahead.

Bennett never stays up very long, the stream feeding it is normally almost dry and has a small watershed. It should be high but reasonably clear this weekend, if there isn't another storm.

Yes, and I see I kind of left that one hanging. I meant trophy hunting smallmouth. Trout tend to cull themselves when it comes to lure size and can be fished to, so to speak. Smallies on the other hand don't seem to about lure size and they can be impossible to spot when they're large. So I don;t understand what someone would differently if he or she were trophy fishing for smallmouth on say the Gasconade?

I have it on good authority,KY3, that it will stop Friday.

I would think the only reason they even stock browns is to produce trophy fish, I can't think of any other reason. If they aren't part of the put and take, and I don't see why they would be, then protecting them statewide makes sense.