stuartsx5

I agree with you wrench. I dislike winter for two reasons. One is the mud that develops after snow and ice, two is the restrictive clothes. Sometimes just getting dressed to go outside wears me out. Bibs and a heavy coat are hard on a fat guy. But man, I do love the cold weather fishing. Its to the point it feels really weird to feel a warm fish in the summer.

That's a nice one. Hope you do well this weekend. Think I will try Monday. Post more pics. If I can't fish I at least like to look at fish.

Truck is in the shop, water pump should be replaced by Thursday at noon. If I can cut some wood Sunday afternoon I might try to go fishing Monday. Got a friend with a house up by Shawnee Bend, need to call him for a report. Old Plug, what kind of jigs you been making?

The last time I went I caught the majority on the slick side of the bank which is rare for me. Of course, slick was relative that day since the wind was gusting to 30 even the slick side had a little ripple. I'm more interested in the sassy shad. I have never had any luck with anything other than a Bass Pro marabou jig in a 1/16 ounce. What color of sassy shad are you using? I have thrown those up a Bagnell trying to catch some hybrids but have had no luck and this summer I trolled some pearl ones without much luck.

I don't know what the water temp is right now but I have caught white bass up there all the way past New Year. I don't know what the water temp was then either. Wind blown rocky points for them. My boss has a place up there and he told me this morning that he is catching a lot of crappie around his dock. He put out the brushy attractors. This is my favorite time of the year to be up there fishing but unfortunately the water pump went out on my truck today and don't know when the mechanic will be able to get it in. Good luck, post some pics.

Took the preacher man up today. Put in at PB 2 and fished mainly down around Anderson's cove and up by the prison property. I ended the day with a limit and my preacher had 2. The wind was absolutely terrible but I did find one spot out of the wind where they were biting. Caught em all on a red/chart/white 1/16 marabou jig. Probably gonna try again next Monday. Too cold to pose with my limit but did get a selfie of one.

Great video. Fishing in the snow can be a blast.

We had some in the 12" range yesterday and one little one, probably round 6-8". That is all the small ones I have caught all fall and that was around Windermere area. While fishing around PB2 area I didn't catch any small ones at all.

My wife and I went up to Larry Gale on Sunday. Spent about 3 hours on the water, not too far from the ramp, and came home with 21 whites and one really nice crappie. The whites were nice but I found more size over around PB 2 a couple weeks ago. It was a beautiful day on the water but we may not see that again for a few weeks.

Thanks for the pointers fishinwrench. I kept fishing the points and the week went south. Thursday was pretty good but Friday and Saturday was lousy. What caused all the crap in the water? I've heard some say the lake was turning over but not sure that was it.

All of ours were caught between 10 am and 6 pm. The bite is very inconsistent even on the points. There one minute and gone the next. I do believe this is as good as I have ever seen it this early in October the way I fish for them. My wife and I are spending the next four days in a lake house on the Osage just off the Glaize. Hope the bite stays decent. I will try to post reports while I'm there.

My brother and I fished Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. We had 18, 24 and 20. Most were caught on main lake points with wind and chunk rock. We used 1/16 ounce jigs and the color is up to you. When they were on they were on and it didn't matter what the color was. All were caught in the Glaize arm near Anderson's and in the Osage arm in various places. Here is a picture of one.

I sure hope so. Never really fished this area in the fall but fish it a lot in the spring. Hoping some crappie are thrown in there as well.

My brother is coming in Friday from Texas for our annual fall trip. Probably put in at PB 2 and fish that area chasing crappie and whites Sunday thru Wednesday. Then Thursday my wife and I rented a house just up from the Glaize bridge for our birthday trip (we both turn 46 on the 24th). Then the kids are coming up on Friday for the rest of the weekend. Sorry to bable on about nothing but I am sooooo ready for the fall fishing and I haven't been able to get out yet. Will try to post reports.

Thanks for the input. If I can getaway between working on broke down cars I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the report. This has the be the greatest time of the year to be on the water. I'm hoping to get up there Thursday or Friday to try my hand at trolling cranks for the first time. What kind of bottom/water do you look for when you go trolling?

It is hard to beat fall and early winter on Lake of the Ozarks.

Merc, the way I read that is that is a suggestion. It isn't in the wildlife code so I think it is just a tip. The wildlife code requires only a tag marking your contact info or conservation I.D. number. The tags I use for jug lines would also be legal on a trot line but would be very hard to see if I tied it up in a tree above the waterline.

F&F, I see your points and all of them are valid and hard to argue. The only counterpoint I can express is that if the marking laws were a little better they would be easy to see and avoid. If you had a 25' trot line maybe it should be marked at both ends and the middle with a reflective buoy (something like a 2 liter bottle with reflective tape) and go on to say that every 25' requires three markers. I know some would argue that would cause them to get stolen but anything can be stolen. You can't legislate morality or ethical behavior. I get most of my advice from my brother in-law on jugging and trot lines. One thing he is very adamant about is that in hot weather, like we are predicted to have this week, those lines have to be checked at least every hour during the day and at least every two hours at night or the fish will not survive. That's one reason I only put them out in spring and fall and usually only at night. I tend to get sidetracked during the day. And, by the way, thanks for keeping this site up and running. I get very valuable advice from all the folks here and hopefully I will be able to give some once I get a little better at all this stuff.

This is the point of my postings. We get upset over wake boats but there is nothing we can do about it. They do their thing we do ours and we would each be happier without the other. On the other hand, as a group of anglers we can work things out to make it better for all. Just because a practice is legal doesn't mean it is ethical or considerate of others. I ask these questions for knowledge. I don't want to screw up a day on the water for someone else because of my activities. I do, however, have to disagree on your opinion of not being able to leave a trot or jug line. I do think we need additions to the code as to labeling and marking of them, although the ones practicing illegal activities won't change.

I haven't done much jug fishing and haven't caught very many. The largest I have caught is a 25 pound flat head. I was using a two liter bottle anchored by a normal brick. The fish didn't move the jug more than a couple feet. My jug lines are always marked legally and checked at the least every 10 hours. I only leave them overnight because I don't want to have to check them through the day when the lake is so rough. I also do not set them in the kind of heat we are expecting over the next few days. Set em at dark and check em around 6 the next morning. My question isn't in the law. My question is how can I set a trot line in a manner that it won't get cut by a bass angler that gets hung up in it. Legally all I need is a tag attached at one end with my information or conservation I.D. The tags I use on my jug lines are made from a cut up antifreeze jug with the info on it. If I used these same tags to mark the end of a trot line above water it would not be visible at night unless you were looking for it. These discussions are great on this forum. With these we can help each other share the lake in the manner of fishing we prefer.

I do a little jug fishing and have thought about setting some trotlines in the future. Of course my jug lines are clearly tagged by a bright orange pop bottle and reflective tape and a white tag with the required info. Now you can just put your conservation I.D. but I usually put both the I.D. and name/address just to be safe. So, I looked in the Missouri wildlife code about what exactly is required for a trot line to be legally marked. Legally, all that is required is a tag of durable material with name/address or conservation I.D. number. No other markings are required. The code is here on page 5 under Fishing Methods http://www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/3csr/3c10-6.pdf . Although it is recommended to mark them in open water according to this article http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2005/03/watch-those-lines?page=0,1 . I am not putting this out here in order to cause any trouble. I am putting this out here because there is discussions of cutting lines that are not "properly marked". The way I see it, if it is labeled with a persons I.D. then it is properly "marked" according to the law and therefore if it is cut then the cutter is the one engaged in illegal activity. I am a person that goes to great lengths to make sure that my fishing activities are not only legal but ethical so I have a question. If I do set trot lines, what is considered marking my line? Is ethical and considerate marking of a line marking it at both ends with visible tape or other material just to let other anglers know where both ends of the line are? Just curiosity in order to get along. Lastly, I am in no way dismissing the practice of leaving trot lines unattended so the fish die or leaving an old trot line or jug in the water just to hang up crank baits. Those activities are illegal and unethical no matter which side of the argument you are on.

I had researched the vortex a little and I thought they might have been electronic. Is that legal in MO?

Most of the lures I found will need new hooks if I use them.

Wow, now that's a history lesson. Thanks Al, that's why I love this site, lots of knowledge on the fishing I love. I will do a little more research on these so I know which ones to save back as keepsakes and which ones I should use.