Old plug

MITCH I stopped fishing down there must have been in the late 70s from then on I was spending most my time on the lakes in Southern IL an SE Mo. I mentioned on here one time thst the first time I had been to Leasburg ( my wife peoples area) was just a year or so ago. When. I seen the campground and all those people down there i left and vowed i will never go back. It made me sick to see it. But when i left it was till a good fishing stream. I fished form Birds Nest to Onandaga. I Imagine as soon as the float tubes got popular thats when things changed.

I hated the cold also. In I think it was 59 we took a squadron of twin prop anti- submarine aircraft aboard and hauled them up 500 miles north of the Arctic Circle. They were practicing following Russian subs for a few weeks. Let me tell you standing in back of a bunch of prop blast and the accompanying exhaust was the warmest place you could find. We could not wear face mask because they limited your side view. A few got frost bit up there. It earned me my first crossing award.that is a big tradition in the Navy. It was what they call Royal Order of the Blue Nose. They really get into that kind of thing issue orders,give you certificates, id cards and sometimes have large initiations. All that is entered into your records.

Hmmm 1958. Brings back memories of Maria who was from Naples, also Barcelona and of Mamma Son on the other side of the world. Any of you old timers know any if them?????? I just amazed me how most women I met in the mediterranean sea ports were named Maria. I conducted a through search too for others. Wrench----- I was up yesterday saying happy Thanksgiving to the Bryant's and giving Ed and James a hard time. Ed told me he is having a hard time catching anything but those little crappie like the 27 I caught off the dock here before I went into the hospital. I was down on the dock day before yesterday and caught 6 running my motor for awhile. Was the same thing again. Usually there are some pigs in there right now.

When i used to fish the 25 mikes above Onandaga. I used to catch walleye with a fair regularity. I was about the only one doing so. I still do not know really the reason except as I recall i caught about all of them on the bottom of the deepest bluff holes in that area. I used to love that River. I wrote a story for MDC magazine called River of Surprise back then. And a short one in the old hunting and fishing weekly. Yeah I know that sounds hard to believe the way I type and communicate this day in age. But its true. I have written reams of government things.

I am heading down to springfield Monday and was thinking about looking into those cheap bait casting reels at Academy. Since I never heard heard a H20 reel i went onto the internet and looked up some stuff on them. First thing i found out was the reel on sale is a H20 Mettie. There are more than two models of that same reel. The H20 mettie and the H20. Someone on here that the one they bought had a alum frame but from my research all they are selling for $29 is the mettie model and the other one is $129.00 be careful what your buying. They are not as good a deal as it seems from some if the failure complaints I seen. They are also very hard to work on and clean properly. That does not surprise me a bit. I will stay with my old standards like Garcia.

Theboat show might be a good place to cut a deal when it comes to town. You can pit em against each other.

I can watch people fish on Gibson's Point from my front windows. Been over there about a million times. I never heard anyone call those points around the corner Guidos Hump. I was just up in town talking to Guidos brother in law and nephew and they never heard it called that either I will say this though that area used to yield some large bass. But it has been a few years since I have caught them over there. Last summer there were big gar hanging around over there in the evenings. I caught a couple in the 4ft range over there last summer during the dig days.that can be a hell if a thrill.

Well maybe the best solution would be to import fresh water sharks that exist in certain places in the world to eat the carp. WOW after that suggestion i might just file for a seat in the US House.

Ive eaten a pack of squirrels. I have used them in a German stew called Hasenpfeffer. True German cooking from my long gone aunt. I have not made it in years. Since were on the subject. Anyone ever eaten monkey or better yet a Balou. As a drunken sailor in the Philippines i tried a bit of both but could just not put Balou in my mouth.

I think i have seen this boat of yours fishing what is rumored to be a hot crappie hole up in the mill creek.

I have been real close to some but never under one. Any of you who have been out here at the lake know how big a 2 stall dock and ramp is. They run about 30x30 and up on the average. Any thing that can pick one of those up an fling it up in the yard often with maybe a 24ft pontoon and a run about in there is something to be respected. You were very Lucky Mitch. Sound like you about go swept up. Storms are scary for sure. When i went through my first Hurricane at sea we were taking blue ones over the bow. Ant the carrier had 65 ft of what we call free board.

GOOD TIME????? Those things are never a good time. We have had 4 small ones close by in the 25 yrs we been here. Even the small ones can lift a 2 stall dock boats and all and throw it in your yard. I have seen that on several occasions. Few years ago we set here one evening with 3 tornados on the ground SW of us. I did not think we had a chance of avoiding one. I died one hit Camdenton. The third turned into a F-3 and went up near Hwy 5. It came in Wrench's back door and wiped him out like somebody had come in there with a truck and carried everything away. Maybe he could get on here and describe that thing. He watched his house rise up right around him and just disappear.

Hurricane weather please do not remind me. I have been through two at sea and and when your out in the middle of the Atlantic they can make you feel so awful insignificant. We had a steady blow all day nothing really violent but enough to bounce docks pretty good.

I try to make decisions on lures with some kind of rationale that seems to make sense (to me), but sometimes it all boils down to what I like fishing the most.

I have fished them all 25 yrs ago. I was always fond of Little grassy and Devils Kitchen.

If there were any thunderstorms west or Southwest of me I would be concerned. But that dies not seem to be. My son is in O fallon and my daughter is either in Hermann or Cottelsville depending on what house she is at. Ijust looked at the weather map and your wind should be coming down from the Northwest.looks to me like all of you better enjoy that 75 degrees for a few more minutes. I think the cold front is in those dark clouds coming

Prayers coming. Its hard when they are young and have children

What fascinates you dew03

Blazerman----- i can remember some years back fishing with another guy on a saddle hump for bass. We were both using plastic worms rigged the same and fishing the same area. He caught about ten small bass and I had not caught any. Before we quit he caught another 10 and I still had not caught anything. We decided to stop because nothing larger was showing up. The reason for the difference I believe is best said by saying I was fishing from my rod and he was fishing from the worm. There is a whole world of difference and its connected to being in the right state of mind. And I assure you it will effect retrieve.

Maybe it was not the rogue maybe it was your retrieve.

I googled it. I did not recognize it anymore. Thats the way of the rivers.

AL---- I have a question since you fish a lot where i used to. I want to know if that deep hole is still in the Huzzah just above the marriage with the Meramec. Coming downstreem the creek sweep left on a fairly steep drop ending in a deep hole about 100 yards above the confluence.I have some fine memories of that place. Caught trout there in very early spring and a smallmouth 4 3/4 by the locale grocery scale in Leasburg. Not to mention a lot of suckers that were the perfect frying size. Used to be a wonderful place. When the suckers were running i used to tie to tree in a little washout on the right side of the bank below the riffle and nap and just have one hell of a fine relaxing day. I can still see it. I have a private painting of it in my mind.

I have never had to go through all that much with to tune a bait. You can really spend to much time and thought on a fishing tuning a plug. Being a lake type most of my tunes are temp in nature and have to do with sink rates. Or straightening the running out after having goofed and smacked the the rocky bank with the plug. If that is not happening to you on this lake now and then your going to miss a lot of fish in the winter and early spring. I get most my strikes when the lure is sitting still or when I first touch the line t twitch it. I use mostly the lead stripes in my balancing because i can alter it right there on the spot. I have seen days where the plug needs to rise faster than what it does and vice versa. What bugged me about the post was Kayzer seemed to be feeling feeling he was messed up about fishing these type of lures. I did not want him to feel that way. NOW I am through with this and am going to make a couple Gar lures to drop off at my Cardiologist Office next week. I am going to let him figure out what you catch on them.

Everyone to their own. I will go with what I have been doing for over 60 yrs. $18 to $20 plugs are way over priced. I remember the time of the BigO frenzy. The only reason they were so outstanding is because that is what was being reported on. And yes I can balance and tweak my lures and there is very few have not. But I do not fish plugs much anymore. I tend to fish 90 % plastics. All over the water table.

KAYZER I am just in the mood today to tell it like it is. A lot of people on here think they got to have a15-20 dollar plug in a variety of colors etc etc. I am from the days when you bought a Rapala and wrapped led wire around the hook to make it suspend and i think there are still several stuffed away in a box somewhere. If you like your jerk baits there are simple things that will make you a top notch jerk bait fisherman, Use them often. When you do study them in the water from splashdown to the side of the boat. Buy yourself some lead strips and learn how to modify it. This insinuation i see splashed around this particular thread about stuff like " well it works well OK for a $7 plug " and all the other such comparisons show me nothing. The main difference between what is its all about marketing and being cool. Fishermen often remind me of white bass. Throw something in front of a bunch of them and give a little presentation and you got a bunch in a frenzy. So in short kayzer I would not put much weight into most of the them say.