mjk86

I think that releasing more crappie full of eggs into TR will just mean more crappie fry for the bass to eat. They dont have anywhere to go, just open clear water. Crappie are like the rabbits of the fish world, they rely on sheer numbers of fry so that a few will make it to adulthood, unfortunately thats a tall order in table rock. Like was mentioned, stockton gets more crappie pressure than table rock and they are def easier to catch there!

Batteries imo need to be replaced early and often no matter what. dead batteries on the water is worse than a dead outboard. I buy the cheapos but replace them every other year.

How much did that big one weigh? Thats a really great fish!

Whats really sad is that id never even pay the 25$ sale price for sunglasses, much less 160$. Berkely polarized fishing sunglasses= 5$ That way it doesnt hurt too bad when my fat butt sits on them.

I ALWAYS catch and release drum. Wouldnt even know how to clean one?

Can you explain when you would use a jigging spoon vs a drop shot? Also about 30 years ago my grampa learned from a guide on TR to use a split shot rig and a crawler around the deep docks and main lake points in the kimberling area 20-30ft down in 80-200fow. Been doing that ever since with great results. Question....in that vertical scenario where the bottom is not in play, what if any advantage is a drop shot over a split shot? Thanks.

I love the nungesser spoon for that casting to chasing fish. I like that they only have 1 hook as opposed to a treble, but doesnt have a weed guard, so you spend more time fishing and less time taking fish off the hook. Just fling the fish towards you, grab the spoon and shake. Fish falls back in the water and ur fishin again.

Do you fish a jigging spoon ever? In place of a drop shot?

I had a live fish flop when i was cutting it and the knife went through the fish, through my thumb, and out the other side. After passing out and a quick trip to the ER to get sowed up I decided that ill never again clean a live fish. It sucked cuz the urgent care in kimberling was closed, so i had to go to the hospital in branson during traffic hour. Gettin iced from here on out!

Not so sure about the whole "machine gun blessing" and such, but we are truly fortunate for all of the wonderful outdoor opportunities we get here. Not just in the USA but in Missouri in particular. Missouri is a great state to live in if you enjoy the outdoors, we are much more fortunate than most other states. The MDC is better funded and does more to ensure outdoor opportunities to everyone in the state then anywhere else that i know of. Some might not agree with all the funding they receive, but it cant be denied "the missouri plan" is what all other conservations departments wish they had, and it ensures Missourians a fair and affordable chance to enjoy the ozarks outdoors!

With your set up and experience level. Get two rods and a bunch of flicker shads. Pull em behind the boat 150-200 ft. Just idle around main lake points and mouths of coves. Youll catch something doing that for sure. Dont need electronics or a trolling motor. Just 25$ worth of flicker shads.

No we cant.

Im really surprised at how high the percentage of smallmouth caught and reported was, idk if thats good or bad? I think your answers to 1, 3, and 6 might all be related. They have to make massive assumptions with mortality rates, every body of water has so many unique variables that cant all be accounted for individually, but must be grouped together. When you have 100 variables, each one having a range of values, you make an assumption by averaging the ranges. This way you have a value to plug into the model, that value however is quite limited, as any individual measurement may have all 100 variables at one extreme end of the range. Most measurements will fall perfectly within your averages, but if you happen to be there on the wrong day, or pull the wrong sample all of your measurements will be on one extreme end of the spectrum. This could have been what happened with the current...or maybe i just need to go fishin there. Seems like lowering the creel limit would be the best way to make a larger population of larger fish, but then again with the low percentage of harvest anglers, and the overall slow growth rates of smallies in ozark rivers its more likely that there would just be more small fish. In regards to number 6 I think that genetics plays the main role in growing big fish. Look at a classroom full of kids, all of them about the same age, but large variation in size.

This is weird. I understand that there is a ton of lead there, but since its so heavy it seems like it would require a huge flood to really move much lead containing sediments at all? Maybe there is more in the actual water column than expected. Maybe since that stretch of river is so messed up already its good to experiment on. That was the stretch of river that I grew up fishing more than any other place combined. Its not the best but special to me. Hmmm.....now that I think about it maybe all the time spent taking lead baths in that river explains alot. Ha!

I think people would be more willing to eat carp if it were called anything besides carp. Carp in a cup? Lol! I saw a bunch of carp really shallow while bass fishing the other day. It made me really think about getting into it. Just one more thing to spend money on. :/

That would by my first guess! I catch quite a few spots incidentally there as well. They tend to be a little bit deeper.

What about when the bottom is not in play? Do you use it to target suspended fish like 20-30ft down in 200 fow? Like around deep docks and such. Any advantage/disadvantage that you can think of there?

what advantage, if any, do people see in using a drop shot setup over a split shot rig for vertical fishing? I use both during the summer with equal results, but lean more towards a split shot for simplicity.

fair enough. Hillbillies is an endearing term to some. Like Hoosier is to people from indiana.

Great slabs!! Thanks for the info too!

Hillbillies being hillbillies oh how I loathe humans sometimes!

Eater size gills stack up on the hwy 13 bridge pilings in summer. Def can get a nice mess that way with crawlers.

Facts and studies....such as the facts and studies conducted by the conservation department and fisheries biologists who set things like length/creel limits? Which leads us back around in a circle to the fact that this whole discussion is moot in that everyones opinions arent worth squat other than to make people not want to post their reports (which is the whole point of this site anyway). Im sure that if you talked to a biologist you could get mountains of primary literature articles from reputable journals, as well as their own personal experience as to why the limits are what they are. Those who disagree are purely speculating without any real data. Who else is better qualified to set length and creel limits for the states fisheries (while keeping the best interest of a large number of sportsman in mind, not just a select few)? I sure hope that Rick posts more reports as I thoroughly enjoyed this one....that said, I wouldnt blame him if he didnt. I probably wouldnt if i got yelled at for keeping a mess of fish to eat.

Ya no kidding!! Although....a guy just caught a 6+ lb fish outta stockton not too long ago! We got some monsters!! (walleye too!)

this time of year a split shot or drop shot rig with a crawler will catch em off of main lake points. Youll have much better luck if you have decent electronics. That said, from what everyone else posts on here , id say just fish with a ned rig the whole time. Start shallow work deeper.