Browning Guy

There is good news coming soon regarding these invasive species....... they only come out during summer and soon will be migrating back to their caves and stay there from Mid-August to Mid-May of 2019? Let's call it a fall migration....... I was down at TR this past weekend and the boat numbers were down a fair amount and relatively quiet compared to the last few weeks. School can't get here fast enough.

I bet in this case.... if you put a "350 HP" on its arse it would be considered inclusive and appropriate to fish out of in bass tournaments. It might actually run 100 mph if you could keep it straight (still traumatized over the Springfield News MisLeader article). Tough to roll cast with a neck and head that size. BAM!, spinnerbait hits the top of the unicorn horn and your reel blows up, wire gets bent three different ways....never to be tuned right again.

If big pink blow up flamingos keeps them busy and not running up and down the lake........ go for it.

Bill, thanks for the details. Between baseball, softball, building a house and oh ya, work.... haven't been on the water since Late April. Off tomorrow and taking the 8 and 12 year old down this p.m. and putting the boat on the lift ready for tomorrow a.m. I've been hearing similar details from a friend who's saying he's doing well also. Between the two of you it is much appreciated. Need to get the kids into them.

We could all fish from the bank like we used to and not from a "350 HP bass boat" (poor guy- can't believe he said it), but we don't. Different strokes for different folks. My dad used to float the Kings and White before the dam went in, but things have changed to accommodate more and more interests. Looking at the bright side of the current situation of LOZ (or TR)........... as I see 1000's of tiny fry thrive around my fathers' (two stall dock) makes me believe docks play a significant role for increasing the fish population, thus helping fishermen catch more fish. Knowing the spot his dock sits over isn't special and lacks any meaningful natural structure that would normally hold fish. Thankfully, his dock makes for a fantastic place for his grandchildren to learn to catch fish and for him as an aging 77 year old to sit and watch them do so where a boat is no longer feasible. Docks are here to stay and adjustments are made to fish around them as different techniques for catching are implemented just as we see with Watson vs. Sprague.

16' x 20' now and adding "No Ketchup" to it!

Coming from a dock owners standpoint......a boat dock allows families hours of entertainment, fishing, swimming, relaxing, boat storage convenience, etc...... my two kids spend hours on their grandfathers small two stall dock with swim deck. He feeds the bluegills and catfish so it's a little like shooting fish in a barrel (bending the barbs down of course), but they have a blast and they have learned to fish and make fantastic memories. Has a huge one eyed carp that has hung around year after year. Have we had those uninvited fishermen get out and fish off of it? hang baits on it? tie up to it? get into lockers and look around? Absolutely and we have the game camera photos to show it, do we own the water beneath or around? Absolutely not. It's part of owning a dock on public water....... I've been on TR since 1968 and can remember back when also. It was a lot prettier lake then. VERY few docks, very few fishermen and ultra-clear water. Times have changed. Bigger boats, bigger wakes, bigger and more docks, more foolishness than ever before, but many types of fun for many types of people. Bottom line.... a little respect for one another goes a long way. As the lake gets more and more out of control the respect level diminishes. TR has began its transformation into LOZ south. I would like to see Congress/COE limit the size/type of boats on the lake. Wake displacement would be a start. 30'+ and wakeboard boats do more damage to the docks, environment and endanger other boaters more than bass tournaments with "350 HP engines" on the boats. Those who keep their boats in the commercial docks are the first to scream foul and laws are enacted on their behalf to prevent fishermen from fishing around their 30+ and wakeboard boats. Meanwhile, all heck breaks loose for the public when those same protected folks take to the lake. I hate to see the large and commercial docks and believe anyone has a right to fish around any dock. With this said, I'm ordering a new sign for grandpa's dock.... 8' x 10' - NO Fishing within 1000 yards.

Thank you Water Patrol. NOT an easy or safe job. PLEASE spend some time down from Cape Fair around Piney. Never seen ignorance/arrogance like this past weekend. Where is the Corps of Engineers on limiting boat size on Federal land/waterways? I'm generally a low tax/limiting tax kind of person, but I'm starting to think an Environmental Impact Tax on wakeboard boats and anything over so many feet that displaces a certain volume of water causing environmental damage to our public waterways maybe in order. If you don't want to be taxed, take your stupidity to Lake of the Ozarks.

Regarding the dense fog you encountered..... funny story. Back around 1978 (I was 10 years old) my dad took me night fishing. We were staying at a resort (Bill somebody owned......?) in mid Aunts Creek. When we went out, no fog, clear, fishing up from Aunts around the island area and doing well on spin jigs. By 1:00 a.m. you couldn't see your hand in front of your face because of the fog. It was cooling off, fish quit biting and we were done. Dad said lets head back....no way to put it on plane and not get killed so the master plan was to have me hold the spot light on what bank we were fishing and make our way in. We start home.....dad had fished TR since its inception and knows the lake right? We idled to the bank he thought he recognized as the east side and would follow it all the way into Aunts and finally across to the dock. We intermittently lost the bank, but we're still tracking.... 30 minutes goes by, 45 minutes goes by, an hour...... FINALLY my dad says..... let me see that light. He shined it on a spot he recognized and said a couple four letter words....... we had been going in circles around the island the whole time! He told me to put my rain gear on (he did the same) and we pulled into the pocket by the island and tied up for the night and went to sleep. 1978...... no GPS and no compass. By the next trip out he had a compass on the driver console. Good stuff. Congrats on the big fish, good times and better memories.

Saw the largest boat I've ever seen on TR just down from Piney on Sunday. How or why the Corp allows this is beyond me. Massive wave doesn't do justice to what we saw in the aftermath of this thing going down lake. Been on this lake for 45 years and NEVER seen the likes. I can't imagine the effects on the bedding fish caused by the wake let alone the damage to the environment and personal property (boat docks). If the COE is truly concerned about protecting the Federal (taxpayer) property on TR then why are these things allowed to go any faster than idle speed? I will answer my own question....... big money and big egos.

Great day! Keep him close. Congrats. The hats are awesome, right Vernon! My wife and I both spent a total of 9 years at KU.

Ya, but they have beef jerky, taffy and if you're really, really lucky they will have fresh hot fudge. Coming to a BPS near you....... characters in costume and rides for kids. Tackle Warehouse for me until BPS buys them out, Denali and Falcon...... I just bought a couple Falcon Bucco for spinnerbait and Fluke fishing from TW for $99 each and so far, pleased.

What's a crappie? Haven't seen one this spring. Our usual haunts from Pt. 11 to 13 on the James have been downright depressing. May need to head to Long Creek to check a few spots there. Early/mid winter didn't produce even close to last years numbers. When they decide to move up, all heck is going to break loose and then it will be over.

Been doing well from Kimberling to White/James merge. Small swimbaits, jerkbait, spinnerbait (with wind). Fished the mid James for two days from bridge down to Hideaway and it was spotty at best. Wart was o.k. there, but the water was dirty and cold which didn't make for a good combination. We will be there for three days this weekend and will fish from Kimberling to the dam and may venture from Baxter to Shellknob. A buddy did very well on Warts and Jerkbaits around Shell this past weekend. Hope this helps. Please remember to be respectful to the locals with docks and be respectful to other boats. Saw something two weeks ago that really ticked some folks off in Buttermilk. A new looking charcoal grey, black and silver Ranger 521C and black/grey Evinrude, no seats was fishing the back of the pocket, fired up 30' from the back of the pocket and put it on plane less than 50' from me and three docks on the opposite bank. One of the dock owners was on his dock and was furious yelling at the guy. I can't blame him. Kids were on the dock fishing and the dock was bouncing like a basketball. I later came around and fished the dock side of the pocket and spoke with two dock owners and they were still livid. Really gives tournaments and fishermen in general a bad name. Now, with that said, many dock owners with wake board boats and tuna rigs have no problem blowing up the lake with their wake, but we as fishermen should strive to be respectful and take the high road.

A friend caught a few small males from the 86 bridge and down a mile or so. He said there weren't any large females there yet. Maybe another week or so. A little rain / minimal river rise would help.

Pop ups are one way of keeping up with what your teenage sons and daughters are looking at while you aren't watching. "Son, you have some splaining to do......". I like cookies as much as the next man, but dang. I am certain I couldn't eat those no matter how good they are.

AirNed of course.

Unfortunately, in my Federal job, we're deemed "essential". Always wanted to pack my bag and even volunteered to go in 2013 but to no avail. Meanwhile, non-essential eventually rec'd a paid vacation. You darn "non-essentials"! Glad I found this place, but more than happy to be leaving in December. Morals, ethics, honesty, principle not required.... apply within.....wish I would have kept a notebook on the stuff I've seen.

If you watch the video after...... they are using swim noodles, cutting them to fit and float in the tops of the live wells so the fish don't get beat all to pieces in rough water. The noodles float at the top of the waterline in the live well providing cushion.

Fox News is reporting Federal Parks will remain open this time. If true, the ramps shouldn't be affected like the last shutdown in 2013. I hate to use common sense and government in the same sentence, but maybe we escaped complete stupidity this time. Let us know if they're open.

Bass Tournaments - 2 or MAYBE 3 bass weigh-in per team. Large mouth slot length limit? or increase to 17" every odd year. Crappie - enforce the 10" length limit or increase it to 12" every odd year. Have game cam photos/videos from the dock showing crappie being thrown in live wells that CANNOT be 10". I can't remember the last time a game warden stopped me to check live wells. Catch & release for us generally, but if a Walleye or decent crappie come along we keep JUST ENOUGH to have a fish fry for our family of four once or twice per year. More and more consistent game checks on the water and at the entrance of the parks as folks are leaving. No offense to residents on TR, but in the 80's there were folks that lived in Buttermilk that if it had gills it went in the grease. Size limit? We don't need no stinking size limit! was the attitude. With all of the work of "catch n release" there's just as many that take more than needed. The excuse not to enforce or be more involved in building a fishery...... not enough money.

Fished a Central ProAm waaaay back when Ernie had it in the late 80's. A late February tourney 8° with 12-15 mph wind. Thankfully on the first day I drew a guy who went about 1 mile from take-off and stayed in that area all day. Next day? drew a guy who ran from Port of Kimberling to just above the Shell Knob bridge, but the temp was clear up to 12° that a.m. with a high of 19° no windshield and his Gambler something or rather ran 78-79 mph and he made sure he didn't let off until we stopped. He was jerking the wheel like a mad man as the front end whipped back and forth like a dogs tail....... IT SUCKED doesn't even begin to describe what I went through on that day. Neither of us had a bite and it was 79 mph everywhere we went including back to weigh-in WITH NO FISH. Almost sold all my tackle after that. Anything above 20°-25° and very light wind is o.k. with me. I think.

My hands, ears, face, arms, legs and finally torso get extremely, EXTREMELY cold as I'm hooking the boat up then I stop hooking the boat up and go back inside. Was down less than a week ago and found 54 degree down to 51.3 water temps. Bet that has changed a bit this last few days.

Spoke with a gentleman about a Ranger 198P aluminum for my kids to start learning to run.... He's seven miles from the Ranger factory and as he was pricing a boat I asked him about the "rumor" of a new company and he said "they're doing the ribbon cutting as we speak". I wondered aloud how many current employees at Ranger may jump ship and go to the other side and he said it's already happening. Not sure that means much to Ranger, but.......Should be good times around Flippin. I hope they are successful and open the market up. Never was a fan of complete control over any one type of product. It will be neat to see another brand and style.

Not seen this before. Interesting. Does the hook just pull free after he fights or line break? No doubt been used many times, but in my naïve state hadn't seen or heard of it. Whatever method as long as it's effective. Wonder if you could use a small crappie hook and bend the barbs down? As far as tournaments.... fished many in my life and have come to conclusion that a two or three fish limit might be the best alternative other than going MLF at the boat.