nomolites

Oh yeah! Little tricky getting her to hand and in the boat - my wife did a great job assisting! You can see behind me that our Weim wanted no part of this fish and stayed well clear.... Mike

Wife and I got out this evening looking for hybrids or walleye and it was pretty slow for us too but I did stick a toad of a blue cat on a 3/4 oz spoon and 8# flouro. Made the evening worthwhile...she weighed 45#. Released her right after this snapshot... Mike

OR12s are what you want. The standard clips work fine for mono or flouro but you need to take a wrap around the top half if you use braid to keep them from slipping in rough water - OR you can purchase the adjustable clip made for braid. For walleye or crappie I rig with a double clip so they stay put. For striper I rig to slip on the strike and ride freely on the line; I put a large swivel in the line 8' or so above the bait so it will stop the board from sliding all the way to the fish accidentally before I can remove it. IF you will be using 10-20# braid with a slip setup you should get the adjustable clips or they will release prematurely. This is what I have found works best for my style of fishing; I don't always use boards but some days when the fish are spooky the only lines that will get bit are the boards out away from the boat.... Mike

They perform better in about all conditions. Keel weighted and won't flop over and ride true in all water conditions. They are worth more money if you regularly use boards but they are pricey. Mike

Cool! Love it.. Mike

I'm in. Mike

Looks like for three days, no? Any thoughts on where one might stay and if there could be a special rate negotiated? I know others like to fish the moon, especially in spring with a top water bite... Mike

Nice; I usually employ a bit more snap when horizontal jigging - I will have to try the more subtle approach I see you use. Hoping to get out this week; had hoped to get out but had to help my wife (moral support only)car shopping instead this week/weekend as hers was totaled by a young lady on a cell phone Tuesday. Everyone is ok, the cars not so much. Thanks for sharing - like to see how another walleye chaser approaches things. Mike

Nice. That deal just does not work well on LOZ; catch more drum and channel cat than the law allows. Glad somebody is catching fish while I work... Mike

I am interested. Mike

I think you are a guide; you just don't charge a fee. Nicely done! Mike

Aargh. I am working....

I have seen some of the big girls you catch...hard to take pictures of lesser fish after landing those...? Mike

Awesome. I need to get back to Bull! Love the WR lakes and their walleye... Mike

I fished the Osage from the dam to the 8 and the Gravois arm up to the 5. This time of year I look for a thermocline and then target bluff end shelfs and flats in that depth range looking for shad. The same approach usually translates well in other parts of the lake. Mike

Those are some nice slabs! Cranking for crappie is a blast and it fills my belly....best bait for me are UV bright Wiggle Warts, but if you put it at the right depth seems anything the right length will do. Mike

I have the grandkids in from Florida this week and we went on a mid-week family trip which consisted of lots of kid stuff but there was time to spend a few hours here and there fishing, mostly the last couple hours before and an hour or so after dark. As has been my MO I chased walleye and hybrids but caught about every other species in the process. I had a couple of surprises, and that is the reason for the subject line: 1) I caught not just one but a number of sub-legal walleye, all in the 14-15 inch range. I had not caught a short fish in over 5 YEARS! They all were in the same class it seemed, and I am very excited to see them!!! I hope MDC has followed that group with more... 2) In addition, between myself and my family members in the boat we caught at least 15 STRIPERS, not hybrids, not whites, STRIPERS. These fish were all in the same class at 10-12ish inches like the walleye(maybe a year behind?), and they were fat healthy footballs that were banging 3/4 spoons jigged vertically and horizontally around flats like they were somebody. Again, I am excited - we have loads of gizzard shad in LOZ and the fish should thrive. I caught a 22#er when I was 14 years ago up in the Gravi and that is the event that started me down this road to ruin.... Ameren was moving minimum water when I was down so we had to work for our fish but we had a decent week considering time spent. Probably caught 80 whites(many of which were 2-3#) and three hybrids - the biggest a 7#er. Had a handful of keeper walleye, the biggest a fat 22" fish that I would have bet when I saw it was longer given it's girth but the Golden Rule said 22 1/4. As always, had a number blue cats with a few in the 5-10# range, all released. The lake was like bath water with temps 87 and up and what thermocline was present would fluttering between 15 and 23 feet. Caught most fish on spoons(clown or red/white) in 15-25' although we did troll cranks on lead some with good results but the spoon bite was a hoot with all of the whites mixed in. Did not take a lot ofpics but here are a couple that made it to the freezer and my granddaughter with her first "fish on"...she loved it! Mike

On the water armed with 10" worms, a full moon, and moving water and you spanked 'em! Well done!! Bet it was worth the heat and humidity.. Mike

Like Wrench I have been around LOZ for many years and It keeps getting busier. Not to be a condo hater, but there is a direct correlation there when you can put 100 boats on the lake in a real estate space that would only support a handful of single family homes and watercraft. I can't believe some of the mountains and cliffs that have been developed and that people gladly negotiate to get to their condo docks. Mind boggling and absolutely not my cup of tea. That is all. Mike

Beautiful smallie! Black? That is why I love this site, always learning... Mike

It is usually manageable until 9 as stated above; then it gradually increases to SOB level by 11 and stays that way until after 5. Mike

So all my old ones will be worth $$? Sweet.... Mike

Yikes!

I usually run four rods with cranks but just one when bottom bouncing. I usually run deeper diving cranks in the inside and I do not stop when hooked up but may slow down some if it is a big 'un. I am almost always between 1.7and 2.2 mph with cranks and shoot for .5-1.0 with bouncers? As suggested get too aggressive with contours until you are comfortable where your baits are running, plenty of hang ups will come later once you think you've "got it". Add complexity and risk of tackle gradually, you will likely find one way that suits you best. If your wife enjoys it too you will eventually have a great time working together running your system; my wife and I do! Mike

Sent a check. Man's got to fish... Mike