jay bird

Fished from 6:00 AM to 8:30 A.M on Beaver today out of the Dam site boat ramp. We stayed within one mile of the Dam most the trip. We had ( I mean my fishing partner had 4 kentucky's) all on top water and had a ton of blow ups. We where using Super Spookes and I think that bass had a hard time getting their mouths around the lure. I did not see anything besides bass most of the morning, but if the bass are up the striper should not be that far behind. The water was 75-76 degrees, but I am sure by the end of the day it will be near 80. We did have one pig of a kentucky that was almost as wide as he was long. I am guessing he went 3+. Also the reason we had on the Super Spookes was that our real goal was striper.

Took my oldest son (3 years) to the lake yesterday for some swimming and fishing. Water was 79 degrees and as it started to get a little later in the afternoon I started seeing some top water action back in the cove. For the most part they where smaller fish chasing shad, but this is usally how it starts in the spring. My little boy was bringing in a small blue gill and I did see a big silver side fish take a swipe at it. You can be sure I had hold of his life jacket after that. I would guess as the water cools to the mid to lower 70's that the top water would increase. The problem would be the same with this spring the water would not stay at that optimal temperature for very long. I will be hitting the lake in the next couple of weeks and will see if any top water striper action develops.

All my wife's family is from Iowa and they sure enjoy coming down here in the Spring/early Summer for some time on the lake, and I enjoy going up there for some Pheasant hunting in the Fall. I am also a Therapist at a small local hospital (OT) and love to fish both the lakes, streams and tail-waters of the Ozarks. Next time you come down do not forget to try the night bite at either table rock for bass or Taney for trout. This is a good way to keep the wife/family happy and still get in some great fishing.

Good point. My neighbor has a TH224 and did not have the right prop to get his RPM's where they need to be. He was amazed when he did get the right set up. I have always been told that your WOT needs to be at the top end of the reccomended RPM's with just you in the boat. This way when you start to load the boat with people and gear you will still be in the engines power band and not lugging the engine which can lead to numerous problems. Be careful you can spend an unlimited amount of Money to gain 2-3 MPH on the water.

The prop is a Viper 17 pitch and I trim it up as far as it will go. I could run a 19 pitch and get a little more speed, but with more than two people in the boat it would really lug the motor. I agree the Prince Craft is a really nice boat, but they are also very proud of them. The reason I went with the Loce is the floor plan. It is very open and it is very easy to get from the front of the Boat to the back of the boat with out climbing over seats or go through a small gate. No boat is perfect

I have a Lowe Deck boat 194 tahiti. It is a good combination of fish and runabout type boat. It is a little over 19ft long and 8ft wide. I have a 150 evinrude on it and can hit about 48-49 MPH. I usally take the Bimini top off during the fishing season to have more casting room. The only thing that I would have changed was to get a 150 Mercury Engine instead of the Evinrude. It has had some problems with the evinrude and some people I have talked to on the lake with the same boat and the merc. get more speed/performance.

If you do any topwater fishing for striper on Beaver you better get ready because it is about ready to turn on full steam. We went out today and only had one about 5-6 pounds, but there where balls of shad showing up all over the lake. This cold front my slow them down a little, but I would bet that the first and second week in May are going to be hot. Wait before you jerk. PS I have had alot of people in my boat and have not had a chance to do any fly fishing, but that will change in about 1 1/2 weeks.

No striper today and the fishing was kind of slow. Got on the lake a little late about 6:30 and there was little to no top water action close to the dam. Did get into some off of point three, but they where mostly spots. Did pull a 2 1/2 foot gar on a top water plug which was a great thrill for the 11 year old boy that caught it. We did see what we thought where striper/hybird boils, but these where far and between. We did get into some late white bass action at white bass cove, but the sun came out and shut it down. Water was 66-67 and I hope that it will get a little better in the next week and a half.

Fished on the 12th and did pretty good. Wed. had five whites and five striper/hybirds with the biggest being about 8#s. No big ones, but we had some huge blow ups on top water. We could just not get them to really hit them just yet. Topwater bite was still going on when we left at 1:00 am. Should just get better in the next 3-4 weeks. Look for a channel swing up into a pea gravel point. The longer the point the better. Tight lines and wait before you jerk

Fished Beaver lake Yesterday evening and did pretty good. I had 11 whites up Indian Creek and then got into some Hybrid topwater action just before Dark by the Dam. I got snapped off by a really nice one (old line) and landed one about 10#s. The top water action was still going on when I left at 9:00pm. Spring has Sprung

Nice fish I can not wait to see what you pull up when we are after Striper again on the lake.

I have a Lowe Deck boat that I really like. I can fish for both Striper and Bass and it also serves as a good family boat for cruising/sking. It is not a speed demon by any means only going about 50 MPH at top speed. It handles big water with no problem and is nearly 20ft long and 8ft wide. The big problem is the wind, it has tall sides which make it great for kids, but acts like a sail in the wind. It does make a nice all around boat for camping so I do not have to have a fishing boat and a family boat when I am down for the week.

RRV is right this is the first time we have tried the top water bite at night. We only tried it for about an hour and the blow up that we had was huge. I think that this is pretty good just for some guys trying out a theory for the first time. We fished a channel swing where is was about 7-10 feet deep on the gravel and 150 yards out in the lake it was 120 ft deep. I am going to hit it hard this year and I will post the results. It was really cool to be out there in the dark and bringing in thoes zara's and hearing that one just blow up on RRV bait. Tight lines.

Hit Beaver lake this weekend and am putting in a late report. Steve from the Dam Store went with me in the A.M and we had a good time. We only landed one fish (no striper but a nice little smallie) and I had one on. Looks like Steve got into some later on in the weekend if you look on the where to fish section of the Striper area.( you dog I was working in the yard) I stayed for the rest of the day and did get into some white bass action on the very end of Indian creek. Talked to a guy in a boat and he said at first light the action was great, but it had slowed down a little. I am hoping that this area will do what Bill says the other white bass runs do in that the hybrids will run up there a little later in the year. It is a really easy run from Indian creek campground and from my house I can be on the water. I was not able to do to much flyfishing for the whites because of the wind, controlling the boat, and other boats in the area. This looks like a really good area if the hybrids to come up later on in the spring.

SKMO Have you heard about anyone putting in at Hickory Hollow and just trying to slowly motor around that area, or is the water to low even for that.

I talked to a guy that caught a 40 pound plus striper below Tenkiller a couple of years ago and the guide was using trout for bait.

Thanks for the report Steve. I would like to make it down there for one more trip, before the fishing gets really good over here. I talked to a guy that caught the number two Striper in OK below tenkiller a couple of years ago. It was over 40 pounds, but was caught on bait. I have heard that thoes Striper move up below the dam and start eating the trout like candy in the hot summer months.

Bill, First off the white bass seminar was great. I think that every one that went really enjoyed it and all of us really appreciated the effort you guys put into it. I know that Gammon and I learned alot in a short time that we are going to be able to apply right away. The presentation was great and the flytying portion worked out perfect. For thoes of you that did not go you really missed a great chance to learn from som guys that really know there stuff. I caught hints of a possible future topic of Hybrids/Striper seminar. I think that would be great. For the people that have never experienced one of these fish on a flyrod you are missing the boat. This is saltwater quality fishing that is never more than a three hour drive in any location from anywhere in the Ozarks. Thanks again for the great seminar and Phil for the central location.

The wading from the power company up to the dam is a little slick so be careful, below the power building is easier wading. I had some friends that went and stayed a little to long after the horn went off and had a little hard time getting back to the boat ramp. When that horn goes off my advice is to end the fishing trip and play it safe.

Fished the Spring at the 10c bridge. Alot of boats, but did not see alot of action. Went up river about 3/4 of a mile and had two small blacks and some small whites that followed my fly. Alot of wind, but looked like a great place to fish in a couple of weeks when the whites really move in.

I will have to get my map out and refresh my memory, but I have heard of all the areas you are talking about. Hogscald is at the very end of a arm on the other side of point 5. Instead of going into Clifty take a right and at the end of the arm there is a large no wake zone and a big cliff. Popular spot in the summer for boaters. There is two points on your right about 1/2 to 1 mile from point five that always seem to hold some A.M fish. See if this map helps.

In the good old days ( two years ago) when we had enough water to run from Sweet Water past the 86 bridge with out to much trouble I watched a father and son fishing for white bass pull out a monster walleye. I would guess 9 pounds +, it was a great fight and they where thrilled to death. This was in late March early April and I guess it was a stragler from the early spring run. I have personally caught on average 2-3 walleye a year fishing for white bass up the kings. The biggest was about 26 inches long and after we got it home and cooked it up my wife said we needed to start fishing for these and leave the white bass in the lake

I usally put in at Indian Creek or Lost bridge South. I do not do any trolling or live bait fishing. In the past I use either top water or big swiming baits. This year my goal is a big striper 15#'s or better on a fly rod. This limits my Striper bite to April, May, and somtimes June, but it is a blast. I had some really good luck in site of the Dam, but have never hooked up right by the Dam. I have been driving over the Dam and watched them bust the top so I know that they are there sometimes. I have been fishing for about Five years on Beaver for striper in the spring and have found some areas that seem to produce every year. Right around point 1 or the island is a good place to start in the Early AM, then moving down the lake point 5 is another great place for late AM action. After point 5 head down to Hogscald and there is 2-3 points down there that seem to hold fish. I have learned to never run wide open and keep one or two pair of eye peeled for any top water action. Even if you are sure they are just carp take a minute and try it. Some of the biggest fish I had last year was something I thought might be a Striper, instead of the 5-10 yard circle of exploding fish that you sometimes see on Beaver Lake.

The Striper Guides on Beaver are known for being a little tight lipped. I am hoping as the season starts really moving that there will be enough of us on this board giving reports to make a difference and help each other out. I usally fish the Dam area of the Lake to Big Cliffty, but I am interested in the Upper White area. What boat ramp to you use down there, etc. I am hoping to hit the Upper End of the Lake this weekend and will also give some type of report.

I have seen some nice cats come off limb lines in Big Clifty Arm and up Indian Creek. I am not sure about jugs, I know that there most be some people fishing jugs because in the early A.M I have to keep a close eye that I do not hit some as I am pulling into different Arms and me and my wife had to pick up three that where in the main lake right by the dam with huge hooks on them and in clear 2 liter bottles. This was on a hot summer day with a ton of people skiing and tubing all over the place. I feel that with anuthing if you do it right there will be no problem. Have fun and be careful.