Wayne SW/MO

I don't know of anyone, but I have one and I'm familiar with them. There's no reason you couldn't use them. You would obviously have to watch the flow and not allow one of the boys to be overwhelmed, but most of the creeks and small rivers can be rowed during normal water levels. You could add the Osage Fork to your list with the 'toons.

If you're not in a hurry, a little cheap charger is probably the best. Slower chargers will give you a longer life.

Are you sure your name isn't Earl?

Fishin4fun if you ever see your way to get a canoe to transport you and the boys, there are lots of rivers and creeks that have good wading potential, but with a few deep hole barriers. Any type of canoe would expand your waters, even if it wasn't big enough for all of you to fish from. The problems with the deep holes is that they can be hard to get around because of steep banks, private land, fences, and plain old heavy brush.

You would be fine oneshot, as long as you weren't overloaded. The lake is pretty well protected and doesn't get that rough. You would be fine out of Empire or Rockaway. There's seldom enough current to really notice.

I agree brown or green in ugly. A weedless 1/8th-1/4oz tube jig works well. They don't have to stick to the bottom, in fact sometimes a drift is the best presentation. You do have to stay alert with tubes in streams because they will swallow them if you're too slow in setting the hook.

I think that's a good idea. A report that you had a good day in Taney county should be enough for most fishermen.

I don't believe there is a lot of difference between swan and Beaver when it comes to Smallies, except that there is more room on Beaver. All streams in our area depend on the water level when it comes to wading. You can park under the bridge at Beaver, where the park is, and go up or down stream. There are always some Smalies in the hole under the bridge, but they don't last long after the live bait fishermen hit them. Flat Creek to the west and Bryant to the east offer some wading, but it will depend on their levels as to how much is available. Don't overlook the upper Niangua, hit the MDC accesses. The bass are mixed.

I'm thinking its something in this area also. I've also fished 4 Curado's, 100B's, and never had a problem, nor have I heard of any before your post. Possibly you have changed your hook setting technique, without realizing it and you are putting to much twist on the side plates.

I don't know how old your sons are, so I'm not sure what they can handle. You would have been better off to stay on 160 and hit Beaver rather than Swan. There are some accesses on Flat that might work for you, check out the MDC web site.

Its always comforting to be able to think that way, but don't confuse those that post here and all those that visit. As I type this thread has one reply and 54 views. Given the small size of Bull, one can only hope all would catch and release.

The Kentucky's are moving higher in those streams also. I haven't seen any mention of hybridization, which seems to produce smaller fish in an environment that produces smaller fish naturally. If you're not a Smallmouth stream fishermen, you probably don't realize the impact.

There's a cafe in Omaha that does a booming business serving fried carp. You must have cooked it wrong.

The few times I've been forced to fish muddy water, a spinnerbait did fair. The old Okiebug with an orange blade and a brown and orange skirt always produced. Most of the fish wouldn't weigh though.

I add a wire to a football jig mold that is originally without. I use a jig saw blade of a known diameter and saw a groove in the mold. I only saw the groove in one side, that way I don't have to match it up, the guard ends up only about .015 off center. I buy a roll of SS wire and cut lengths off. For the stranded I buy the light resistance strands, I think they are adequate to make a jig weedless in the rocky bottoms we fish.

I don't think there's a drop of Meanmouth in that fish, just a very nice typical Smallie coloration.

You can't know that's an accurate statement. They're native to the big rivers and there's nothing to keep them out of the Meramec. There's no way of knowing that they haven't been in the river in the past. The general consensus, as I understand it, is that the rivers are warming and attracting them farther upstream then we know of historically.

The CXX is a heavier strand and a different diameter than the CX or the Floroclear. It better suited to baitcasters.

I like the wire, such as Jewel uses on store bought. On my poured jigs I use a single strand SS wire or a light multi-strand. I can buy 3 different levels of resistance on the stranded, I like the light.

Nothing finer than a huge Smallie!

Pay close attention to diameters. Premium CX is the thinnest, with Floroclear close behind. The CXX, etc are thicker. The rock doesn't have much to worry about when it comes to abrasion, and what it does have is probably covered by the Fluorocarbon coating on the Cx and Floroclear.

By lower do you mean the wilderness? If so you might check with Reilly's Station, they're directly across the White from the Buffalo. They're very nice people.

I've seen that bar before, in about a hundred different locations, or more.

I don't think the problem is with the Kentucky's, they are native, but with their location in a lot of streams. They're crowding out the Smallies and cross breeding with them. Neither they nor largemouth can hold a candle to a native Smallie when it comes to a hardfight, even if they could grow to the same size, which they don't.

I crank a lot if the fishing is slow, but I can and its questionable if its economical feasable for the professional guides to do it. The real guides have to produce and its unlikely they would carry 10 or 12 cranks in the same size and color of each that they thought might be productive. Fishing with 2 people of unknown experience, not wanting to risk running out of a producing lure, worrying about a lot of trebles, and chasing hangups just doesn't sound like something would do. Don't forget they don't search for fish as much as they check out spots, and plastic is cheap and very productive in the right areas, areas they are very familiar with. I would be suspicious of a guide that said we were going to pull crankbaits for bass. They can be a good tool for amateurs looking for fish.