Smallie Seeker

Only time I’ve consistently caught catfish on top water was the last cicada hatch in 2011. They were smashing jitterbugs with reckless abandonment!

Correction made. Too much fishing not enough sleeping 😂

Meant Lookout to Fall Creek. And as Phil mentioned recently, that bluff side section has been getting pounded by fly fishermen with the cicada hatch going on. In the One Cast he also mentioned how strange it was to see zero boat traffic up there on a Friday before the Memorial Day holiday.

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I was heading up in the blue Tracker as you were heading in. There wasn’t another boat the rest of the evening between the narrows and Fall Creek. I guess they adjusted to the uptick to 2 units because I caught about 10, all on cicadas, including a 20”er.

My main concern isn’t top speed, just getting on plane better. Would feel safer with more power when things get choppy. The 40 is a dog getting out of the hole when loaded down. I gotta ask, what did you top out at with the 115?

Just the info I was looking to hear. Thanks Wrench. It looks like some model years the PT 175 was rated up to 90hp, but they changed it to 75hp in 2011. I guess the speculation is the that the change was to possibly force more sales of the PT 190 if you wanted a bigger motor, since the hull wasn’t changed on the 175. So it looks like I’m in the market for a 75hp. Thanks fellas.

The only way I would have a motor bigger than a 75hp installed is if it was okayed by the coast guard first.

Recently bought a 2011 Bass Tracker Pro Team 175 with a 40hp EFI 4 stroke. At time of purchase the boat had only been on the water 14 times, and less than 30 hrs on the motor. It was originally won in a BPS contest by a guy who doesn’t fish. He sold it to his buddy, the guy I got it from who barely fished with it. So no one ever paid full retail price and I got a deal too good to pass up on, despite having a 40hp. So now I’m looking to sell/trade up to a bigger motor and while reading up on the subject, I’m hearing that although the boat is listed from the manufacturer as 75hp max, you can get coast guard approval for up to 120hp based on the hull length/width. Does anyone know if this is true? Since the Merc 75-115 is the same weight/block just different restrictor plate and ECU, would it be worth it to go bigger than 75hp? And lastly, which boat shop would be best to contact regarding the upgrade? I stay in St Charles county but am in Branson almost monthly. Any help or advice is appreciated!

No 6.5x was for the zebra midges. mouse was on a leader of 12” of 20# then 16” of 12# And that fish was one mean lookin hombre. 😂

Wanted to mention something about tippet size. @Phil Lilley mentioned getting more bites on 7x with this low, gin clear water. I'm always torn between 6x and 7x during this time of the year. 7x gets more hits for sure but can be a task to quickly land a fish which can be daunting in the hot summer months. And I've lost a fair amount of big fish on 7x. Rio has a Fluroflex Strong tippet in 6.5x (3.1lb) that worked great and I haven't broke a single fish off with it, only a few pulled hooks.

I must say the fishing is as good as I’ve ever experience on Taney. Put the yak in at the hatchery ramp Sunday morning. Plan was to fish the trophy section and then catch the afternoon flow back to the truck at Cooper Creek ramp. Fishing was excellent. Size #18 black and copper zebra midge was the ticket. Landed over a dozen fish before the flow started around 4. All were healthy, chunky and swam away unscathed. With this minimal generation going on, it’s been an awesome opportunity to wade fish at night, and I’ve been out each evening, Sunday-Tuesday. Caught rainbows the first 2 nights on a black and purple slump buster and black leech patterns. Decided to strip a topwater mouse last night with the bright moon we had out, and it paid off. About 2 hrs into the evening at 11:30 this nice brown male smashed the mouse I was throwing on my 7wt, and the rest was history. Quick pic and was grinning ear to ear, heart still pumping as I watched him swim off. Haven’t touched spinning gear since I got here. Strange how things change.