Ketchup

Thats a good thing because it takes the luck out of it, and spreads it out over an experienced season.

I hook atleast 4 a year that never show themselves, but its obvious what just broke me off. Like MO said, those dang things have taken MANY a bait the past 20 years.

Mother nature just threw you a curveball Ham. Those deeper fish will be up shallow soon, then it gets interesting. Im not worse deep water guy known to man, so this time of year i get all giddy.

Good fish guys.

Been fishing Pomme heavy for over 20 years. For me, theres no better lake around. The whites took a huge hit in 08 that still to this day, hasnt returned. My daughter, then 11 would run up to Cave Hole area up the Pomme, and within 4 hours would boat 100 fish each. Lucky to get that in a few years combined now. Acre per acre, theres no better lake around for quality largemouth. Ive caught many over 6, several over 7, and a handful pushing 8, including my avatar picture pushing 9 last April. Almost every fish i have ever caught over 5 came on a WW or C-Rig lizard/worm. Glad you guys caught some good ones. Now stay south as not to put the word out about our great lake up here. 😜

And it shows. Driving from Stockton to Springfield, i couldnt count the amount of boats going down the road. Wishin' I was Fishin'

Congrats Griz. Wish at times my outings were quick like that.

a buddy in Joplin last week sent pictures of 55 nice ones he found.

Its early still. Im excited for thursday when i have a few hours to go play with them.

Give Jason Hoffman a call. I have 2 buddies that used him and that will be a repeat thing as they were more satisfied than any other guide they've used anywhere in the country. Look on his FB page for his contact info. Hes a younger guy verses the old folgies. Hes the real deal. Good luck on your venture.

Do your research on this site alone over the past 3 years. It took me a matter of 30 minutes here in the search area to find multiple comments from guys saying it. look it up chief!

yep

Nice fish. Man those quality fish like that make those crappy days so much more meaningful. Good to see those toads being caught.

looks like one would be fill, and the other recirc.

I need a partner the 28th for our Stockton tourney. You should come join me.

But its really not a double edged sword guys. Again i am a factual guy, and none has been presented here. Heck i have even spent several hours the past week reading online, but all i see are statements of people guessing that tournament fishing can have a negative impact. Well, so can iced over lakes, Ned fishermen hooking bass down deep and ripping their Ned out to save the bait instead of cutting the line, Over populated lakes, i mean the list goes on and on. So as Targa stated, this does no good, so i will opt out of this thread with a smile. Always nice to read others comments on a sticky subject. #tournamentsforever

That statement is obvious. A lake with zero pressure "a farm pond stocked 10 years ago and has never been fished" VS the same pond that all neighborhood kids fish daily, will speak for itself. But were talking about lakes that do get pressured from tournaments. How much does it hurt. Im not nor have never said it doesnt hurt the bass to a degree, but im not of the group that says its detrimental to the bass population. If that was the case, none of us here, since none of us can hold our own day in and day out against the top elites, would be able to go out and catch 50 bass in a day, as reports on this site show we do. So really how bad is tournament fishing as a whole?

True statement. Sad that the people in charge dont show the effort that fishermen themselves do. Yes they pass laws while sitting behind a desk, check you for a fishing license or limit, drive around in boats on certain lakes, but as far as holding open meetings in each county in this state, taking information from the public, and actually putting it into play, it does very little for guys like myself to think to highly of desk pushers. Again, im 99% a bass fisherman, so my comments are only about bass in general. I know helping other species helps bass in a way, but.

Opposite than a nut shot carp. That story tells EXACTLY whats been said. Millions of $$$$ dumped into the economy and other than stressed fish, things returned to normal. Gotta dig way deeper to help if thats what your trying to do.

Now obviously by those statements, there was a virus in that waterway for multi species to come up dead. Just a coincidence that their planned study was just after a tournament. Not the facts i need. Thanks tho.

Nice going BH. Even with the conditions this morning, its good to see you succeed. I will be at it mid week.

Yep, hire a guide for a day on Fork. Spawn is past there, but always a good chance of getting a quality bite.

They dont belong to non-tourney guys either! Its pretty simple. If your not a tourney guy, take your whinning and send the MDC a letter letting them know of your changes that you would like to assist them in helping with. If they see fit that your changes are a benefit for all involved, then we will jump on your bandwagon. Like i have stated before, show me a FACT that tournaments in ANY regards have hurt, depleated, or not brought money into an area. Cant and wont happen. So those that are not for tournaments "of any species" or dont fish them, really shouldnt be commenting on this post, that really wasnt about for/against tournaments. If your a food fisherman, theres plenty for ya out there. Go getem'.

What???? I was about to hit your shop up for a sponsorship so i could afford to come fish a day with ya. That $5.00 sponsorship would get you a mention on this site, as well as a chance for you to ride in my boat and adjust anything mechanically that may need it, of course i wouldnt charge you for that service. I get what you were saying. I was just speaking for the masses, and didnt want them thinking derbys add nothing to a local economy. We all know thats bassakwards.

I fish lakes no matter what is going on. In my thousands of trips on the water, i have MAYBE encountered rudeness from fishermen types on 1/2 dozen times. Now the pleasure boater people, i cant count that high. So dont let a tournament, no matter the size, keep ya away. If your fishing, your not worrying about a guy fishing for money anyways.