bassman1308

Tim, So, you're the ONE. lol. I imagine that word gets out and the stocked trout get thinned out quickly. Too bad it's not catch & release or at least a 2 fish limit. Then again, someone would have to enforce the rules to make them work.

Tim, How do one find out when Capps & Hickory are to be stocked. Are the stockings posted on line ?

To draw larger numbers, lower entry fees, payback one place for every 4 boats. I know, not much payback BUT, the boy's who only fish tourney's for the winning's won't show up, the boys who enjoy fishing and competing will. The 'average ' guy is usually happy even if he places 7th in a 30 boat tourney while winning only $40. He can go home and tell everyone he 'placed' in a bass tourney.

Thanks guys. Safety is always smart so I'll stick to the north side until I learn the water better. 'Less people' sounds good though.

I finally bought waders, stocking foot style. The first pair had a slight leak so returned them for another pair. My son bought the same kind but his didn't leak. He found them on sale so he got his pick. lol I think this fly fishing will be fun. My son really enjoys it anyway. We're staying at Big Cedar starting Saturday so we'll try Taneycomo for the first time, wading. My next question: is there a good place to enter/fish on the south side below the dam or is the north side better ?

Thanks again, off to purchase some waders I guess. Any particular brand/model ?

Daddyo, Brian, Thanks for the help, So would fishing from the bank be possible at all or is it that wading is more productive/enjoyable.?

My son & I have taken up fly/trout fishing at RR and would like to try the area below the TR dam. If I'm looking at the map correctly, we can park around the boat ramp there and it's a short walk to the fishing area. I know it depends on the amount of flow from the dam but can that area be fished from the bank or are waders needed ? Would hip waders be enough ? We'd like to know what to expect so we don't at least feel like complete rookies or get in anyone's way. lol Thanks JC

Tuesday,my wife and I made our first official trout fishing trip to RR since the early 60's. She doesn't fish but enjoyed the day, reading her I-pad, walking the dog, and just relaxing. It was a nice day after this long winter. I had planned to explore the park waters more than I did but after a slow start, the catching picked up. I was fishing upstream from a young couple and their friend from the Joplin area. Every time I looked their way, at least one had a fish on. They invited me to join in their spot but I didn't feel right butting in on them. They went to eat and insisted I take over so I did. I ended up catching 15 or so before they return and joined in . I truly enjoyed catching fish and combined with the generosity of these people, it made for a great day. Can't wait to return. I'd like to give a big thank you to Steve, Jeff and his wife Stephanie. JC

Do u know what they are asking for these on ebay ? A guy would almost need a small loan if u bought many. : - )

Is this what your looking for ?

Sprint's right about pre-spawners. Fish were definitely moving up. It was a noon to midnight tourney. It was overcast and rained till 5PM with water running in the back of the coves pulling them in . Most of my fish( I had 3 limits ) were caught on a 1/2 oz Stanley SB but after dark the jig produced better, at least for my partner & I . The 54 lb string was all crank baits fished in the very back ends. They said they lost at least two 7+ lbers at the boat. They also said about half their casts were wasted b/c of the leaves, debris, but I imagine it was hard to give up on the crank baits. The better strings were caught in the back ends while the guys fishing otherwise had lighter weights. Most were throwing SB.

Biggest LM- 9.8 near pt 19 on TR. 4-26-1989, 9 PM. Easy to remember those details. My first grandson was born that morning and I became a grandpa. My wife had an 8'8 in a h/w tourney. First bass she ever caught. Don't think she realizes to this day how big that was. I've weighted in over 40 lb 2 or three times but the day I remember most was In April 1992. Our local club had a tourney out of Big Indian/Baxter area, that produced over 430 lbs, total. My partner & I weighted in our 10 bass limit (per boat)weighting 33-15 but that didn't excite anyone but us. It took 54 + to win and 37+ for 2 nd place. 8 of the 17 tourney boats had over 30 lbs. Best tourney ever for our club and it's been around since 1973. Every tourney on TR that day produced big weights. That day was by far and away the best fishing day I've ever heard of on TR and that covers a lot of years. Fun to rehash those times.

We're staying at Big Cedar and would like to rent fishing equip to fish for trout on the upper Taneycomo. Can we rent equip at Lilley's Landing ? JC

Good luck trying to educate these people. I usually try to politely explain the error of their ways. The most common response is. IT'S JUST AS MUCH MY LAKE AS YOURS. Well, how can you argue with that ? I've had guys pull in front of me, maybe 20 yards, and proceed to fish slow baits down the bank. I'll fish up to that point, pulled up my TM, motor about 20 yds in front on them, asked them if they were having a good evening, dropped the TM and started fishing. I really don't think they had any idea they did anything wrong b/c they we all had a nice visit with them until we left that bank. Night fishing gives you another way to get even and have a little fun. If a boat pulls right in front of you, wait until you get to the water they've already fished. Yell, ' get the net', splash the water a bit, and loudly discuss the 7 or 8 lber you just caught in that 'used ' water. I've had um turn around and want to see it. Of course, we released the imaginary fish. One evening my wife and I were fun fishing on the drop off point across from wolf pen. I caught a bass that scaled 7 1/2 lbs. 2 guys in a bass boat came from the inside of the point, asked what I caught it on, depth, etc. After I gave them the info they both rigged up with a similar worm and started casting litterely within inches of my bass boat. I was so shocked, I didn't know what to say. They them informed me they had a club tourney that Satr night and I was welcome to fish it. Sometimes all you can do is laugh and mark it down as a funny thing that happened on the lake..

I believe the reason they made these 'piles' was to help increase the bass and crappie population for the future, not just to help us catch fish, now. I've personaly not caught many bass from them. In my opinion, they are to big and take to long to fish. If you want to make piles just to catch bass, 10 piles with 2 trees each is much better than 1 pile with 20 trees.

I didn't go to the weigh-in but was told it was less than 16 lbs that won. Knowing the guys that won, I can see how it's grown to 20+ lbs in less than 3 days. : - )

Yes, it's open to anyone. Not excatly sure about cost but I think about $30 a boat. Well run tourney that's been going on at least 30 years.

I caught one in a tourney in the mid 90's that weighted in at 4 3\4 lbs. I remember it fought very hard and We were actually disapointed it didn't weigh more. Maybe the hardest fighting fish I ever caught under 5 lbs. Caught it on a gravel bank not far from a spot where we had previously caught 3 much smaller meanmouth in one night. JC

I attended a Veteran day function honoring local veterans at our local jr. high school in Aurora. A WW 2 veteran who was on the US Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor, talked to the kids for almost 30 minutes, recounting the events of that day and giving the kids some insight into his life leading up to and during WW2. I didn't know if kids this young would understand what these guys gave up for their country but Every student in that crowd listened intently to what he had to say and gave him and all the attending veterans a long, standing ovation at the conclusion. Needless to say, I am very proud of these kids for the respect they gave these great veterans. JC

Whack um, There's been a few times I've caught bass within a week after putting in a new pile, but the piles were made in the summertime, and I didn't make many at that time of year. Most of my piles were made in the cold of winter. You catch bass out of shallow cover when the waters up, so, what would be the difference ?

I've sunk maybe 200 brush piles in the last 20 years. In my opinion, hardwoods and cedars, combined, were the best for me. The cedars have to be replaced as they break down faster than the hardwoods, but if it's a good pile and your not getting any help fishing it, it pays off to add a couple cedars occasionally. Almost all my piles were small, mostly two or three trees. If we caught a fish, we might make 1 more cast to the pile, then leave to hit another. We seldon caught more than 1 bass from these small piles. I didn't have a GPS then and had to be VERY careful about lining them up so I could find them. What's funny is, I can go back and find most of these piles, but can't remember what I did last week. :-}

I'll second 'Brian Hayter'

here

Vince, Everything Eric says although we've been catching our fish 20' to 30' deep. I haven't stayed out past 1:00 am though. Good Luck