showmebass

I was throwing a DD22 near the cut at Beaver across from Monte Ne 5 years ago when I hooked into a yellow nylon rope in about 35 FOW. I started pulling it up, and noticed that it was extremely heavy. Long story short - on one end it was tied to a 2.5 gallon bucket full of concrete, and on the other end was a chain dog collar. The possibilities of why that was there sort of turned my stomach a little.

I agree, Mr. Sweeney - especially when you consider that many larger lakes over in OK have a daily limit of 37 per angler. As you stated, crappie are prolific breeders. Lake of the Ozarks (my home lake) is a place that's pounded with crappie fisherman throughout the year and I've never seen any evidence that the pressure is harming the crappie population.

For my small (but growing) family, it only takes 5 crappie of 11"-12" for a good meal, thus a full limit makes 3 meals. I stockpile them through the spring and summer, as we usually have crappie for supper 3-4 times per month.

I love the high water years, and I hope this is one of them. Lots of fun to drag bass out of the bushes and trees on jigs, flukes, and Biffle Bugs.

I had similar results, using similar methods, in a similar area of the lake today. I didn't catch 47 though.......caught my crappie limit and headed home. Probably caught 23-24 total, with the largest one at little over 14".

A friend of mine is on the dive team that is searching for her. I was on the water fishing on Wednesday, and stopped by to scan something with my side-imaging unit for him (their's wasn't working properly at the time) and the channel in that area is 130'+ in some spots. It's gonna be awful hard to find her.

I haven't, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I've had some really good days on Beaver using a Scrounger head with a Fluke. It seems like every year some pro wins a tournament on a lure that makes me think, "Why didn't I think of that?".

For those that may not know this site exists, here is the link: http://beaver.uslakes.info/Level.asp Pretty useful when determining which part of the lake I'll be fishing and which ramp I'll be launching from. I like the feature that allows you to overlay historical data as well.

+1

Interesting report. Thanks!

I stopped launching out of PC this year for that very reason. Problem is - it seems every ramp needs corrective measures. I agree - they close the parks due to a govt shutdown (like we need personnel to help us launch our boats), yet those same employees who are supposedly furloughed because of the shutdown are there to write us a ticket if we decide to ignore the orange barrels and launch anyway. Makes perfect sense.

Sorry to see that, FnF. Hope you heal up okay. Nice legs. Saturday a boat full of morons did the same to me while iI was fishin. Came by throwing a big wake and waving at me from about 30 yards. I guess they thought they were really something. When I was putting my boat back on the trailer at HB, another wake boat came past and their wake pushed me right into the unprotected metal corner of the courtesy dock and it really boogered up my boat's rub rail. Luckily it didn't sustain any fiberglass damage. I guess that's what the rub rail is for. Dear Army Corps of Engineers and Park Rangers, Please use our tax dollars and launch fees wisely. Perhaps the next time you stop by the launch ramps to re-spray paint "No Fishing" on the courtesy docks, maybe you could take note of whether any repairs to the docks are warranted. Sincerely, A concerned tax-paying boater/fisherman/citizen

Well said. It seems that the number of jug fisherman is on the rise based on the number of jugs I've seen floating this year. We used to do it quite a bit on LOZ when I was a kid. It can be a lot of fun, as you never know what is on the end of the line. We've caught everything from big catfish to big snakes....it can get real interesting real quick when you pull alongside one of your jugs. That said - people need to make EVERY effort to collect EVERY jug they set....anything less is irresponsible. I've recently had a couple of different jug fisherman cut between me and the bank (while I was bass fishing) to retrieve a jug. It didn't ruin my day either time, but a little courtesy would have been nice in those instances nonetheless. J-Doc - you sure covered a bunch of water yesterday. Hope the break-in of your new rig is going well.

Nice work. You have some serious perseverance. My advice: don't tell a soul the exact location where you found them. You should be able to go back there again and again and load the boat with slabs. I'm a bass junkie, but there sure is something addictive about catching good messes of crappie in the heat of the summer.

I personally like jigs with blue and chartreuse coloring, but I've also had luck with colors like black,white,pink,purple, and orange as well. Talk to 10 guys and you'll probably get 10 different opinions. Seems like black/chartreuse is the most popular. I like a 1/16 oz round jig head that I make with a #2 red sickle hook. I don't bother to paint the jig heads. If the fish are deeper I'll add a small split shot about 12" or so above the jig.

Had the boat in the water before daylight this morning, and the early crappie bite was really good. Water temps 82-86 degrees. I somehow managed to have a limit in the livewell by 7:30. Every crappie I caught was in open water schools. Once I found them I would just drop a Bobby Garland jig right on top of them. All were caught between 15'-22' down. There was also a great top water bass bite until about 8:30 or so. I didn't catch any keeper bass, but It was fun nonetheless. I did land a keeper walleye that I accidentally caught dragging a 1/2 oz football head jig under a dock. All in all a great morning.

Yeah - kinda like those guys with antler, archery, and duck stickers plastered all over the back window of their truck. It doesn't necessarily mean they have a clue what they're doing in the woods, but it sure makes them feel like they look cool.

At the very least, I think it would be useful for planning a trip. Even if the markings are a little inaccurate, it gives a general idea of bottom contours and structure. .

Awesome link.

Just be careful that you have the tape evenly distributed around the spool. I bought a couple of used Shimano Citicas once where the original owner used electrical tape for backing. On one of the reels he had done a poor job of applying the tape, and it was quite lopsided. I discovered that I had to replace some of the inner workings because they had been damaged due to thousands of casts on his out-of-balance setup.

FnF - I've had a similar experience on Beaver. Never been checked in 8 years. I grew up near Lake of the Ozarks, where boaters and fisherman are checked frequently on a lake that's over twice the size (and 10x as crazy) of Beaver. My Dad and I were even stopped once after dark because the Water Patrol noticed from a distance that the red and green lenses on our front nav light were backwards on our boat. Talk about observation! We didn't get a citation, but the officer made us switch them around while he stood by. I also had the misfortune being forced to move to the Chicago suburbs for a couple of years for work, and EVERY time I launched on Lake Michigan I was checked by some sort of govt authority. Granted - IL is the land of big govt. We definitely need a stronger enforcement presence on Beaver.

I really like the looks of these. For rattle baits, I'm pretty devoted to Red Eye Shads, but I'm gonna have to give these a try: http://www.livetargetlures.com/products/freshwater/index.php

I've never learned the art of jigging spoons, but it's definitely something I'd like to add to my arsenal in the near future. I've considered trying smaller spoons in schools of deep crappie to begin getting the feel for it, but when I'm "in the moment" it's awfully hard to abandon an almost guaranteed mess of fish for the sake of learning a new tactic. One of these days....

On Saturdays I make a concerted effort to be on the water before 6 AM and back at the ramp by 11 AM. I find that I avoid much of the idiocy by doing this. Pleasure boaters don't seem to have a palette for getting up terribly early.

Now that I think of it - I'm pretty sure I saw you on the water around PC this past weekend. Next time I'll briefly stop by and say hey.