RSBreth

Hey, don't be all hatefull to Mr. Martin - I met him at a sport show eons ago and he was just the nicest man to me, even though I was a like 12-year old scrub asking him about rigging for big 12" plastic worms. When I met his son Scott he was just super-nice, too. Called people "Sir". You don't get that much these days. I will admit, his various "marketing" endeavors have been kind of, um, "full of fail". Although Spiderwire did turn out to "revolutionize fishing", as promised, for once. He should stick to T.V. shows, like Bill Dance, Hank Parker, and Jimmy Houston do. Better. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

I like the picture of the Smallie where it's obvious it was taken in the wee hours of the morning. It shows some serious initiative to show up so early, and on a Friday, too. You must not work Friday? Anyway, I see it's your second post, so welcome to Ozarkanglers.

crawfly nailed it. It used to be a slab ford on the Finley but it was replaced with a more modern bridge a few years ago. The first hole downstream after "The Fin" dumps into the James get pummeled every weekend day, so be forewarned. There's still some fish there, but it is a place that gets fished, often. Be sure not to block the gates to the hay fields (you know that anyway) and don't park too close to the bridge, but otherwise you should be good to go. Don't forget to let us know how it went, and good for you, using Google Earth to find access points and scout things out.

"But in reality, a five pound largemouth from a stream is a tremendous fish." Exactly. We just get hyper-focused on the Smallmouths sometimes, and forget the Largemouths are natives, too. Really, ANY Bass in the 20"+ size is an event to me, whether on the rivers or Table Rock. I'm not that jaded, and hopefully, I never will be. God only knows what kind of pompous snot I would have turned out to be if Lake Fork or Okeechobee were my home waters!

Great report, as usual Al. That kind of story gives us hope nature can recover from our mistakes, but it still takes time. But back to the fishing. I like finding big "Green Fish" like that too, but you always think it's a massive Smallie at first, then feel a touch of disappointment when you see it's "only" a Largemouth. Our differing attitudes towards fish so closely related as Black Bass is probably confusing to other fishermen, let alone non-fishing folks! The LC Gunfish is a cool bait I was turned on to by B.A.S.S. veteran Joe Thomas half a dozen years ago when that tour was on Table Rock, he said it was really great for times where you weren't sure if a popper or walk-the-dog topwater was the ticket, because you can work it both ways. I had never seen one before then, but bought one and never regretted it. It's a cool bait, but I think the price is a little prohibitive for most folks. It really shouldn't be, at least for river Bass guys - if you snag it you just paddle over and get it back. Anyway, I think Al will probably be able to answer why he likes it better than I can! I just wanted to put in my experience with it. I also add a feathered treble on the back, sort of more like a popper. But I do that to walk-the-dog lures, too.

No major injuries, vehicle breakdowns, or run-ins with weirdos. Sounds (and looked like) a great trip. Good report!

Crane Creek flows into the James, and Crane has Rainbows in it. No big mystery. (Or secret, for that matter.) I've caught 'Bows on Rapala-type stickbaits in the pool directly where it flows in in Winter a couple of times.

Another idea for that area is rent a canoe or kayak from one of the float trip outfitters on the Niangua and let the crowd float away from you after you put in, then get out of the boat and wade fish some of the better looking spots. Flyfishing from a solo watercraft is a pain in the rear, but getting out and wading could make it worthwhile, the little "play" kayaks can be found on Craigslist sometimes for 150.00-200.00$. The Niangua is a great Smallmouth River, I wish I was able to fish it more often.

Cool. River Smallmouth are addictive, you have to be careful now or you'll spend way to much time floating around rivers fishing for them, like us nuts...

If you gave us a little more time we could have thrown a little info your way. At any rate, I don't know if you were going today or tomorrow, but when you get back, let us know how it went. And welcome to Ozarkanglers.

Me and the little scrub fished the Linden area early yesterday until the river started looking really off color. Thinking about rain upstream, we left in a hurry, but the water wasn't really rising all that much, so who knows what the muddy color is about. We went to the park in Ozark for a while so he could continue his casting practice (a new-to-him spincast combo for his birthday) but the water there stayed the same slightly dingy color it was for the past few days. Running errands this morning I drove by the boat ramp and there were several folks with boats standing around looking at the 'Yoo-Hoo" colored water. It isn't up that much, but it's muddy, so be advised if you were planning to fish the Finley today or tomorrow. I went by the Lake Springfield ramp (under 65) and the James looks fine, just a little dingy from the rain. I can hardly wait, the little dude is learning to cast pretty well already, and I don't post as much good stuff as I used to, so here you go.

I was going to post this story later tonight on my website, but I don't have the "scoop" on it anymore. Even if he did catch it on the Arkansas side, it's one hell of a fish. You don't know how many "schoolies" I've fought on Beaver trying to find one bigger than 20-lbs.

I use either 2/10 Spiderwire Stealth or 4/10 Fireline as my main line for drop-shotting, and really the only difference is Fireline needs a little "breaking in" period before it is at it's best. PowerPro is kind of like this, too, but to a lesser degree. I like the thin 2/10 Spiderwire for it's ability to get down a little quicker, so on my dedicated drop-shot rods, that's what I use. I like a small swivel, then Orvis Mirage Fluoro tippet material for my leader, usually 3X.

Of course I'll be the odd man out and ask why? Why worry about a native animal (or two) that hasn't killed healthy adult who wasn't screwing with them intentionally in years? If you don't mess with them, they won't mess with you. Driving to put your boat in at the ramp is the most dangerous thing you do every fishing trip, not anything to do with snakes.

I'm haven't hit the James in a couple of weeks, and now looking at that, I'm getting the itch! Nice tubin' or kickboatin' fish.

The big hole at the bend just before you get to Shelvin is one of my favorites. Nice fish!

Yeah, it used to be me with the flyrod in the canoe pestering panfish for a quick trip, but fishing with a 4-year old out of a canoe is, um, problematic. That's a good term to use.

I bought one of the telescoping "panfish poles" just for my little son to use, and we had a great time yesterday, catching a mixed bag of Green Sunfish and Bluegills. I was using a length of yellow braid as a main line with a short 2' length of Orvis Mirage in 4x for the end. This is one of the "poles" without a reel, an actual "pole" like an old cane pole. 10'. One small foam strike indicator and a #10 Mustad 3366 hook with a chunk of Gulp! nightcrawler made up the rig. We walked along the bank and put it in every little spot near brush or lily pads, and really caught a bunch of little guys. We probably fished for about 2 hours before he got bored (he said he wanted a Long-Ear Sunfish, and I couldn't manage that) and it was time to go. Hard to imagine having a great trip using a stick with no reel, but it was fun. I did catch myself looking for backcast space in case I want to come back with the fly rod, but I always do that.

I drive by that spot 5 times every week at a minimum, and there's always cars parked there, so I think it gets hit pretty hard.

Dynamite. Scoop up. Repeat.

Good for you, but it is disturbing to see the total lack of responsibility from some people. I fished Bull Creek the other morning and had to stop on the way out to pick up half a bag of crap-o-la left at the slab ford bridge left from weekend idiots. But I expect it, and carry a couple of heavy duty yard bags just for that purpose. Idiots abound. Even Woodstock left behind a huge mess, you'd think the same "Earth Day" folks would pick up their used bong water, but not so much. So I'm not shocked a maroon at The 'Rock left his junk behind. Which is too bad, I suppose.

That's the great thing about "Social Media" - people often don't know they've crossed a line (legal or not) until they post about it. Then the fun begins...

I had a strike like that today, but on a Bass Bug, then lost the fish as it did that "backflip jump" thing Smallies love to do. That Gunfish is an awesome lure that most don't know about. I've caught more "schoolie" Stripers at Beaver Lake on the Gunfish than any other lure. They can't leave it alone! It's good on the river, too. Great report.

Angler's Edge @facebook Across from McDonalds. I haven't been in there yet, but will sometime soon, if nothing else just to see what he has. We also have a new indoor shooting range opening here in Ozark next week. It's almost like a city.

Helga or Hans. (Oh come on people, You Only Live Twice. List of Henchmen from You Only Live Twice. ) I didn't think it was that obscure of a reference.