Wayne SW/MO

Swimming minnows are the favorite. I don't know that they are anymore effective then what you're throwing however. They have always been available in bulk here and at a cheap price making them attractive. As far as I know smoke, white and chartruese are the favorites. I think many keep purple handy also.

I would trailer down. There isn't much need to run the roughly 26 miles by boat when you can drive about the same milage. I would suggest you put in at Empire park in Ozark Beach.

River fish have always been leaner and meaner. I suppose it's the environment and the physical strain. It's not confined to smallies, trout exhibit the same tendencies.

I would choose the 20 fish if it really were an option. I prefer the shorter floats, especially when I'm not real familiar with a float. I used to do a 13 mile float about a dozen times or more a year. We were familiar enough with it that we knew when to bail and head to the take out. When the fishing was outstanding we might only fish half of it.

Tx you don't say how travel. If you're wading it does cut into the available water.

you can paddle up from Oklahoma, but Ollie had problems with vandals at the put-in/take-out.

I stand corrected, not "very", but "pretty". Buddy? Why didn't you just say Stoneroller, or why didn't he post them? Get my point? Given the fact that those are two things that tend define performance the Tarpon must have some whitewater blood in it right? So if the coosa is from a whitewater hull, I can see some rocker, but where's the rest of it? WW yaks aren't very stable because you don't want to be upside down in a yak that wants to stay that way. I don't believe WW yaks have runnels either, buut then they aren't SOTs either. Face it, they designed it off of successful fishing yaks and engineed in features tweak it toward flows. Nothing wrong with that, but when you do that you often give a little too. Hull performamce isn't rocket science, its more a case of deciding what features will make it sell and how much can you cut some features.

You just learn to tune some of it out. Cricket is fun to fish with.

I heard last night that some others had done well at Barker. I was told they limited out on big sows. I have no reason to doubt the source.

If you're set on flyfishing out of a boat on the rivers, a flat bottom jon would be hard to beat, especially when you can get Cricket to do all the control.. Well unless you can afford a drift boat.

Wow so do I, and two canoes, I'm the.....I don't know what i am.

I believe Essox Niger has done that.

Whitewater yaks have hard sterns? The rear stern design and the runnels are very much reminiscent of the Tarpon. Don't WW yaks tend to be sit-ins? Rocker does make for better response,but poorer tracking and that would make the Coosa a better float yak. The Tarpon, while not a true flat water as you call it, does appear to have an advantage in tracking. This would make it a better choice for the lone fishermen who puts in, paddles up, and floats back or intends to fish flatwater and paddle some distance.. Any craft that is very responsive will track poorly and eat up energy on long paddles. There's always some comprimise. That's why anyone interested in yak should choose carefully and match it the task, rather than buying what someone who doesn't know what's needed recommends.

Across the lake. It's at the bottom of the hill coming out of Forsyth.

Did y'all make it up to the pothole?

Not true Smalliebigs, as usual, and all I said about your sneaky commercial was that I wouldn't call it "Very impressive". Did you think members wouldn't be smart enough to notice that your post was from a commercial interest? Try being a little more forthright like the others who have legitimate services of interest. I see a lot of good features on the Coosa, some identical to the Tarpon and probably taken from it. The thing is many on here and you're one of them want everyone to think it's the only SOT an intelligent person would buy. It depends on the intended use. As for the wannabe, I've probably run more class IV than you've seen.

Need warmer water and a full moon. I know the water has to be in the 60's and this cold rain won't help that happen.

I knew you had a place up by Cross Timbers and were living there, but I didn't know you sold your place at Lead Mine. So where are your kids going to pull out?

I thought I told you, they baked up a bunch of passenger pigeons to celebrate. I tell you things and tell you things and it goes in one ear and out the other. Nymphs I think are prone to roll around like Eric says. I've watched them many times when sight fishing and I just didn't see them drift with any consistant atitude. Upside down seemed to be the normal for a lot of them and I suspect the tie makes a big difference. If most of the material is on top of the shank then whether it is bouyant or not will have some effect.

I haven't been over that way. I haven't seen or heard anything around the Pothole or Swan yet.

By blacks I asume you mean largemouth or greenies. I don't think the water has warmed enough to know what the spawn will bring.

Bring rain gear.

What I heard was that store business dropped off during HillBilly days because there were fewer fishermen and vendors competing with the store and restaurant. Given the fact that BSSP is all about the money it's no surprise. Did your place stay safe during the fire?

How far up were they?

I know a dog that would disagree with you, he hates water, even rain.