Bushbeater

Went to the St. Louis Cabelas today with the intention of buying the Pfleuger Purist they are advertising at half price. Of course they had none and the sales staff seemed as if they didn't even know there was a sale. Most of their other advertised items were also in short supply. Bought a few Bandit cranks for $2.99 and went to bass pro to spend my money. Picked up one of the Browning airstream rods for my new spinning reel I hadn't bought yet. Got home and ordered two of the Purists online. Bought one of each size offered, a 1330 and a 1335. Never had a Pfleuger before, I hope they work out. Planning on using one for a Crappie rig and the second for Ned rig type baits. I guess my point is I felt it was a waste of time at the Cabelas store and I wonder if the merger or proposed merger has already ruined them?

I have to take my boat off the lift every winter as it becomes to shallow to be useable, and now with the lake so low it's difficult to find a nearby ramp to use. On the plus side it seems we've had the best Feb.-March fishing I can remember.

Had no luck with traditional bass jigs but did get bit on texas rigged chompers. I hate to keep crying about the wind but it's been difficult to feel a slowly fished bait.

Watching the whitecaps roll down the channel and trying to get my nerve up to go out. We had awesome bass fishing both Friday and Saturday with a few nice Whites and Hybrids as bonus fish. The best areas seemed to be windblown shallow points although shallow gravel flats produced also. Most LMB came on shad type cranks and Whites on Swimmin Minnows. Yesterday may have been the best I have ever done on LOZ.

Sounds like a plan. I'm in.

3 White Bass from LOZ Saturday.

On the plus side we seem to have shad between the BBQ and the Glider, what bait do I need, Whopper Plopper?

Lost a Richline Deep Vee and 3 Kayaks that were parked in the yard. 2 Orange Pelicans and a Green Old Town. The rod Shed is 4 feet deep but at least it's still here. We did turn off the power to the shed and dock. I went canoeing to look for the lost boats but the current scared the crap out of me. We are luckier than some, my sister next door has 3 feet of lake in her lower level. We have also watched 2 docks with boats float past and seen several just down lake twisted, up side down and otherwise mutilated.

If your boat costs more than your home....

The striper was LOZ, an accidental catch in a deep bluff hole upper Niangua, late fall on a small swimming minnow. The one that I lost this year was same spot on a deep crankbait.

Pretty sure some are pure striper. Here's a small one from a couple years back.

Back to the Hybrids and Stripers I darn near got unspooled 3 weekends ago. I saw the fish, looked to be 30 lbs, then he took off about 100 yards and came off. Had 10 pound test on a good reel but there was no turning him. The fight only lasted about a minute although it's hard to say with all the adrinalin flowing.

Hope you do well Greasy B, Its dry enough here now that I aim to leave the fireplace get the boat out.

I too love and use the old Garcias and have about 15. I find them at the garage sales and flea markets, give them a good cleaning and they are ready to go. As Wrench stated the XLTs are also a great reel, I have 3 I still use regularly. There is a wealth of online info on the Garcia round reels, try Mikes Reel Repair for schematics and parts as well as Boca Bearings and Alan Tani reels. My favorite upgrade is to a ceramic line guide pawl and perhaps new style handles. The carbon fiber drag washers can also really improve an older reel.

Matt, we're in the same area and from what we see, fishers having success with the whites are trolling the area between the bridge and Ha Ha Tonka or fishing live shad at the Tonka Cove inlet. Casting points or flats has been working but for us the action has been slow with just a couple of fish per hour. This past weekend the cat fishing was so good we concentrated on them.

Perhaps we need a new forum called Jerks on the Water where we can all post pictures of the rude things some boaters do.

I always thought they were native, I've seen them on Stouts Creek in the Lake Killarney area going back to the 1950s. Do any fish eat them? Might need to come up with a Jellyfish lure.

We are considering upgrading from a small 2 slip to a 3 slip dock. I see some listed at what seems reasonable prices but I am wondering about moving and setup costs and how Ameren is about changing permits. Has anyone had experience with this and would I be better off to attempt to sell my dock and have one built new.

I highly recommend Hawkers Point although you may want to plan on anchoring slightly offshore to protect from the rocks.

Went out about 6:30 till 9 Saturday evening. Bass were biting but it was brutal. Couldn't keep my glasses clear and the windshield fogged over on the way in. Most were short fish but did manage one about 4 lbs. Plastic Lizards and the infamous little grub rig. We are finally moving down this fall so I am really amped. I look forward to seeing some of you LOZ regulars on the water.

My father and grandfather always set lines on the Ozark lakes and rivers for carp with great success. Their favorite bait was cottonseed cake cut in 2" squares with a hole thru and a hook on each side. Is cottonseed cake still available and does anyone still use this method?

I'll agree with Greasy B on Brickhouse Slew and Haris about Unger Park. My nightmare is the Meramac downstream of Palisades.

Wrench is right about Camdenton, although the night life is slow in the winter months, depending what your looking for. It is though only 20 minutes to Osage Beach which has some of everything. Plenty of places for sale. Good Luck

We caught ours boat fishing while in the backs of shallow gravel and sand coves. Shallow running cranks in thin water. All were at least 18" or better although they need to be at least that size to make a fillet worthwhile.

While fishing the BBB last weekend we caught more keeper Walleye than keeper Bass. The walleye must really be on the feed right now. We were in the big and little Niangua arms. I agree with the comments about the jerks at Ameren.