Phil Lilley

Monster Missouri crappie could be international record A private lake in Callaway County produced the 5-pound black crappie. FULTON, Mo.-John Horstman had not been pumping iron before he hooked a state-record black crappie, but he got a little workout landing the fish, which broke Missouri’s state pole-and-line record and could be an international record, too. Horstman and his son Doug were on a sort of annual trip April 21. Doug is a certified public accountant, and after the rush of tax season passes each year he and his dad take a few fishing trips. They had permission to fish a private lake in their home area of rural Callaway County, and started fishing around 9 a.m. It was their first time there. They were fishing with live minnows, hooking the bait fish through the lips, from the bottom up. By 11 a.m. they had caught several nice crappie, including a 15-incher and a slightly shorter one that Doug boated. Then John hooked a monster. "We could tell it was big," said John, "but we couldn’t tell what it was until it got up close to the boat. When we saw it we knew it was a good crappie." The fish fought hard, making several strong runs that taxed John’s spincast reel. He was pretty sure his 14-pound-test line would hold, but he worried that the fish might straighten out his No. 4 wire hook. "Then it got tangled around the anchor rope, of course," he said. After a few tense moments, Doug grabbed the fish by lip and John grabbed the anchor, and they lifted both into the boat. They put the 19-inch black crappie in the boat’s live well and then went back to fishing, but the morning’s action was over, so they went home. When they got there, they put John’s big crappie on a scale. "It weighed a little over 5 pounds on that scale, so we got kind of excited," he said. "Until then we thought it probably weighed around 4 pounds." Doug called the Missouri Department of Conservation and learned that the state record for a black crappie was 4.5 pounds. The next stop was the Conservation Department Headquarters in Jefferson City. With Fisheries Programs Supervisor in tow, they went to the produce department at the Gerbes Food Store on Truman Boulevard, where the scale showed that Horstman’s fish weighed 5.02 pounds. The Conservation Department has certified the fish as a new state record. The previous record dates to 1967, when Ray Babcock of Independence caught a 4-pound, 8-ounce black crappie from a farm pond in Clay County. The state record for the closely related white crappie belongs to Samuel H. Barbee of Poplar Bluff, who caught a 4-pound, 9-ounce fish of that species from a County farm pond in 2000. Horstman’s fish is larger than the current all-tackle record listed by the International Game Fish Association in Dania Beach, Fla. Two fish are tied for their record. Both those fish weighed 4.5 pounds. Horstman’s fish is destined for fame regardless of whether it becomes an IGFA all-tackle record. He donated his lunker-still swimming, to Bass Pro Shops. It will be kept in quarantine and eventually go on display in an aquarium at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Springfield. Horstman, 69, does a lot of fishing. Mostly he fishes in small Missouri River tributaries and blue holes gouged out by the Great Flood of 1993. He said he has not been back to the record-producing lake to fish since his big catch. For more information about Missouri’s state-record fish program, visit http://www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/ and click on "Fishing." Next, click on "Fish and Fishing," and then click on "Fishing records - pole and line." Black and white crappie go by a long list of common names, including white perch, white bream, papermouth (because of their thin, fragile mouths), calico bass (because the spotted flanks of black crappie look like calico fabric), slab (because they reach large size) and sac-a-lait (French for "bag of milk").

Glad to have you... how did you find us?

Bill and I launched at Cow Creek and headed up towards the 86 bridge in search of white bass surfacing- and found nothing. I heard of a report and wanted to check it out. I did though catch a nice smallmouth on a smoke grub running it on the bottom in 20 feet of water off a pea gravel bank. It was 18.5 inches long and fought very hard- jumped 3 times. One other goggleye and that was our morning. Water is coming up. 3 inches in the past 48 hours. Water looked great- not much debry floating at all. Bill has the pic- he'll post it when he feels like it.

From Pat Smith, president of nafff - Yet another assault on Crooked Creek. We need to write letters again. A notice appeared in the Mountaineer Echo May 4 that an administratively complete application seeking a stream-bed mining permit for operation on Crooked Creek located in Sections 3 and 10, T 18 N, R 16 W …submitted to ADEQ …by Mountain Home Concrete, Inc. “Layton Mine.” Same deal as before it is necessary to write request for a hearing within 10-days. Requests need to go to James F. Stephens, Chief, Surface Mining and Reclamation Division, ADEQ, P.O. Box 8913, Little Rock AR 72219-8913.

Well - we've got rain and lots of water. Had 3 inches in the last 36 hours which I think will put Table Rock over power pool. But at the moment our lake out in front of our place is pretty brown from the rain this morning with lots of small debry on top. The wind has pushed to the banks for now but you still have to be careful when boating. Fishing is a little tough but it will improve fast when they run water later today. They have been running water every evening for about an hour. The report is that there is good water above Fall Creek and fishing is very good up there. Vince fished up there last evening and caught lots of rainbows using jig and float, sculpin jigs. Steff and Jean have been fishing yesterday and today and reported the water situation to me today and that they are doing well on brown (mink) scuds and red zebra midges. They caught over 50 rainbows yesterday and 22 as of noon today. I'll report back everyday to update the water situation.

http://ozarkanglers.com/fff/nafff-5-06_newsletter.pdf

If a person were thinking about a one day float, what stretch would be best in regards to fishing for smallmouth bass? If a person were thinking about a two day float, what stretch would be best (again for smallmouth bass)? Where you a person camp on this float?

A gentleman rents a stall here several times a year and fishes about everyday he's here in town. He trolls up and down in front of the resort and catches his limit... just saw him go by. I'll have to ask him what he uses.

It should really be getting good over there on Beaver. If bass are doing well on Table Rock, stripers and hybrids should be on top on Beaver. Any word? Any rumors???

Sooner is, yes.

Not sure if you're 100% right on the statement that everyone kills all legal walleye, regardless of spawn or not but I understand your point. I guess it's because they're at the top of the list of fish that taste good- very good. And for most people catching a legal walleye is rare- an accomplishment of sorts. But I'd say that there are those who fish for walleye alot and are successful at catching them that do release a walleye he or she can identify as a sow with eggs. Good point though. There's a gal who works at the local Wal Mart that told someone in front of me at the checkout line that she lives on Bull Shoals and loves to catch walleye. In fact, she said, she'd had just caught several 16 inch walleye the night before that went directly to the dinner table. She said she didn't pay much attention to the limits... they taste so good. My turn - I told her I didn't appreciate her conservation ethics and warned her of the fines. She didn't say much but I when I'm at WalMart and see her, I still think of her as the walleye thief.

Sam - The time(s) you said you've seen bass floating after a tournament, I'm curious if it's after a local "bass club" type tournament or a sanctioned regional or national tournament... the bigger, more organized contests boat the bass to various areas of the lake for release--I'd think releasing the fish at the dock would be almost frowned on by even clubs now a days. I tried something many years ago after a trout tournament that ended in disaster. I filled a big tank with water and released the trout in the tank after they were weighed instead of carting them to the lake where they may not live. The idea was we could work with the ones that were having trouble. Problem - I filled the tank with well water--too warm and not enough O2. They all died- quickly. So I know first hand good intentions can end in a bad way. Accidents do happen but we learn.

By "river" which do you mean? I'm planning a float trip or two the next 10 days with my daughter before she heads to K-Colorado for 6 weeks. Thinking about a 2-day trip- may be the Current. But I am fishing for smallies... I throw a 3/32 oz sculpin marabou jig that they will not leave alone. If you're looking for river fishing, this is the place to be.

Sooner Lake is just north of Stillwater, OK. John Johnson asked me to come over and fish for hybrids along with his friend Joe and I said sure. I did a quick trip and for my age, I wouldn't recommend it. I left last night at 9 pm and got to the lake at 1:30 am. I slept in the van thru a lighting storm and rain and woke up to John calling me at 5:30 am. We got on the lake at 6 and headed to the north side of and "cold" side of the lake where we immediately found some hybrids on a wind driven bank. We casted chug bugs and hooked up on several nice fish. I missed several blowups before hooking my first hybrid. We bounced around the lake for the next 4 hours and caught fish on almost every bank we stopped. About 8 am we started throwing rattle traps because they quit htting the topwater baits. We ended up cleaning 31 fish, about 6 were small whites and the others were hybrids ranging from 3-6 pounds.

Guess how old Babler is???!!

Not sure what you mean by north/south... The channel doesn't come into play till Short Creek--there's not much of one till you get up there in the lake. The chanel generally is on the bluff side of the lake. I fish both sides and the middle... I have said there's alot of trout on the shallow side that people miss because they don't think about them being over there... not that there's more fish there. I like to fish the middle or drop from flat to channel because trout will hold there. Lures- jigs would be best. We have a new micro jig - orange headed sculpin- Bill Babler special ordered them and they are in. They'd be excellent.

Sorry- was refering to Bass Pro's guides.

FF- good points. I am a trout fisherman and feel the same way when someone says "I love smoking a big brown... there's nothing better!" I've had to put a knife to 2 keeper browns in my day and it was after someone caught it in my boat with me "guiding them" as a friend. Just so happens it was the same guy- a doctor from Springfield. They were caught 3 years apart, if you wondering. Anyhow- I hate to see a big rainbow die for the same reasons as all other c/r people- I want to see them swim away to fight another day; they have survived multiple hooksets and heron pokes-- and to see one get caught with power bait like the 11.5 pounder... well if he was that stupid he deserved to be stuffed. But you know what I mean. They do set limits for a reason and I don't think it's my place to judge someone who likes to eat fish or have one mounted. I have a 8.5 lb largemouth on my dresser... caught in 84 on BS and it's the only one I'll ever mount. They all the look the same anyhow. Spawning fish are different story. Poaching short fish or overlimiting is another.

$275?!?!? Try $350 - $400 plus.

and more water in Table Rock ensures generation this summer. Table Rock continues to rise with the help of continuing rain. And it's the best kind of rain--long and gradual--good soaking rain which our water tables need. TR is rising at a click of 12 inches per day the last couple of days and today is no exception. Fast approaching 911.0, it's only 4 feet from power pool but to be honest, normal pool for this time of year is about 917. When the Corp finally cuts loose the water, the junk that's collected for the past 6 months will break up and some down... it won't be pretty. But it's much needed. The upper lake's bottom is covered with alge and roten stuff. I can't imagine it's good for the bugs. Fishing is good. Well it was slow today off the dock but most everybody caught their limit- it just took longer. I told some people this morning early that the chance of rain was 20% today... I was looking at the NewsLeader not the computer. Opps- how about 100%. It's just now starting to stop. So not many boats were on the water today.

I've heard guides say the the spots are their "bread and butter" in the summer months, being able to catch them off points using night crawlers- easy fishin' for their clients. So I'm not sure they would be favorable to the idea that they should be taken for the reasons you stated. But I'm not a guide- I just repeat what I hear. And in saying that, I wonder how many of these guides who drop shot spots like this keep them. I'm think specifically of guides out of Big Cedar, not to be picking on them. Alot of "sunday fisherpeople" like to take fish home, especially if they're paying big bucks for a guide. So what do you do? Blue gill? Personally, I don't keep bass, except white bass. Actually I don't fish for them much but when I do catch them, they go back. Not for any other reason than... just because. But what about the idea that big bass eat more and leave less for the others, say, like in a farm pond... not that TR is a farm pond. Too many big bass will keep the population of smaller ones from gaining a foothold. Then there's the situation of too many medium-sized bass for the food base. One other observance and I'll quit... does fishing pressure really effect fish populations that much? In a big lake like TR? I mean, with all the catch-n-release fisherpeople now---and I think there's something to be said that these c&r fisherpeople are better equiped and skilled than the sunday-fisherpeople who are after fish for the skillet generally---does the harvest of bass really hurt enough to effect the population. If so- how much?

http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=379 Shows BS coming up a bit but I wouldn't think there'd be any bad runoff. TR isn't muddy and neither is Taney. Our rains have been steady rains- not gully washers. Level is almost up to powerpool- fantastic! Crowds will be much less on BS than TR. If you go I'd really be interested in what you find. It's hard to get a report from BS.

We are in the middle of a major dock remodle... I'll tilt the lake cam a bit to show what we are doing. http://lilleyslanding.com/webcam.php We closed the gap between the docks to add more stalls. The ramp is temporarily closed with a make-shift ramp there. We'll add a new ramp closer to the middle of the dock downstream. We're going to swing the dock out just a bit to make room for the ramp and boat travel between the dock and the bank so the ramp will be open. But we will send bigger boats and pontoons down to the public ramp at Cooper. I have always wanted to build a good sized building on the water behind the dock for meetings, fly tying classes, outdoor sports library and other fun activities. After all the stalls and ramps are situated, we'll do the building. But to answer when Jerry will be online- after Curtis gets the power restored on the upper dock.

After the last rain, TR's level has risen to 910.3, 1.3 feet from the rain yesterday and about 7 feet from the lowest level back in April. TR Dam is running just a little water each day and won't affect the level much at all. At this rate, TR's level will be back to power pool within a couple of weeks, if not sooner, if these rains keep coming every 3 days or so. Good news for boaters. Good news for the bass spawn. Good news for Taneycomo and generation this summer.

Ah... they fish with Bill all the time!!