Sam

I haven't been to Bridgeport yet this year, but you've touched on something that's sure a mystery to me. For the last three years straight, most crappie I've caught in the James River arm have been 9" to 9 3/4" long. My partner and I even had one great trip there last spring when we got limits of 15 each, including some real big ones - but we caught well over 300 crappie to do it! Catching and releasing is fun, but I keep thinking the majority of crappie there are going to grow to legal size - and they're not. I don't quite understand that.

Get ahold of Mark at Angler's Tackle Box in Nixa. Here's his web site: http://anglerstacklebox.com/ That's the center and meeting place for bass fishing out of Nixa. I notice from his web site he's moving the store to another location in Nixa effective Apr. 15. During the warm months, I think Angler's Tackle Box sponsors bass tournaments weekly. The bottom of that web page shows the phone number, current location, and hours. He'll fix you up.

I never cause a problem with anyone on the water. In fact, I've helped more people than I can remember over the years - by giving them a tow or helping them get unstuck from a mud bar, or whatever. But self-defense is something different, when someone is running that close to you on purpose. I had a couple of guys on jet-skis doing that to me once on Tablerock. I just started throwing a big ol' Zara Spook on 20 lb. test, and while I was careful not to hook anyone - they grasped the concept real quick and backed off. I'd say if someone is buzzing that close to a guy that's fishing, any hooks that might come flying their way is their problem. Either from that method, or from the sheriff, that guy at K Dock needs an attitude adjustment.

The main trouble with fishing the Finley is getting to it. Christian County closed all the access points a few years back - and now everywhere a road comes near it, there are barricades, fences, and No Parking signs. I understand why they had to do it, with all the beer and dope parties and littering, but it's too bad. About the only places you can get to the river now, legally, are the Ozark Park and just below the 125 bridge at Lindenlure. If it were me, I'd try Linden and work downstream from there. The pond above the bridge at Linden is all private property, and the Finley is so low this year there's not going to be much water to fish upstream from there anyway. In past years, in the summer, I've put a car-topper boat in at Linden and fished down to Ozark Park. There are some good holes of water in that stretch. This time of year, though, with the water so low and clear, I think fishing would be tough. One good thing - it's a snaky place, and you wouldn't have to watch out for those in February!

Sure I will. Unless we get a lot of rain real quick now, it's going to be a low-water year. I've had some real good white bass fishing in such years, in the past. Instead of putting the boat in at McCord as usual, I'll be putting in at Bridgeport and working upstream. In past low-water years, a lot of good fishing has been down far downstream from the usual hot-spots. No problem, we'll find them.

I'm no expert (whatever that is), but crappie fishing is my favorite - I do a lot of it. I'm not a minnow fisherman, I like to use jigs and keep moving. To locate crappie, look in the likely places - and that usually involves flooded trees or brushpiles. I like to work down the outside edge of a line of flooded trees, or right through the middle of them. Crappie show up real well on a scope, but they're a narrow fish so sometimes they just show as a bunch of dots. One important thing to remember about crappie - they won't go DOWN for a lure. They'll only feed on something that is at their level or slightly above - so pay attention to the depth of those "dots" on your scope. Crappie like a very slow presentation, though a little bit of action such as an irregular retrieve or the wiggling tail of a swimming minnow is a plus. Often, a crappie strike will be just a slight tap - so you have to be ready with a quick, but not hard, hookset. I do a lot of slow-trolling (5 speed trolling motor on #2 speed) with swimming minnows and a 1/8 oz. jig head to locate crappie. That way I can cover a lot of water and watch the scope. Once crappies are located, I'll stop and cast to them or maybe just troll back and forth over a productive stretch of water. Sometimes you can locate a good brushpile, stop and cast to it, and take a whole limit of crappies off that one spot.

Great stories! I'm enjoying this. A few years ago we were fishing the spring white bass run on the James River at Galena. The river was high that year, so we were up by the sandbars above Gentry Cave hole - much further up than I can usually take my boat. We were having a ball. We were flipping little lead-head jigs in the heavy current and into the deep holes along the bank, and we were about to finish our limits of good-size white bass. I was with Max, my regular fishing partner, and he's a great guy. Max is 5'3", weighs 100 lbs. dripping wet, and he's the stubbornest man I've ever met. We kid each other all the time, and have a great time fishing together. I brought a 14" white bass up to the boat, and saw that it was just barely hooked by the skin of its mouth - so I told Max "Hey, hand me the net". He responded with "You big sissy. It's just a white bass - bounce that thing!" I didn't say anything, just got the net myself and netted the fish. A few minutes later I happened to have my eye on Max's jig when he flipped it into a deep hole by the bank with a sunken log on the bottom. A giant white bass came out from under the log and gulped his jig - it was a sow about 19" and 4 pounds - then it got out into the heavy current. The fight was on. Now, Max fishes with a wimpy little soft ultralight rod that's fine for crappie but awfully light for big white bass. I just reeled in and quit fishing, and kept the boat straight in the current while watching the fun. The tip of Max's rod was about 6 inches from his hands on the reel - and he was going "Ohhhhhh, Ohhhhhh!". I got a Pepsi out of the icebox and sat there watching him while the fish took him three times around the boat. I knew what was coming. Sure enough, he finally got the fish up pretty close and he hollered "GET THE NET!". That's what I'd been waiting for. I said "What for, Max? It's just a white bass." But then after he cussed for a little while, I netted it for him.

As you say, white bass pretty well disappeared for me in the upper lake after 2002. I haven't tried for them in the Isabella area, as I've been too busy with other species there. I wouldn't count on white bass, but if you start catching some then it's easy to switch over and take advantage of the situation. I always keep a light rig with a Roostertail handy, just in case. While you're fishing for other critters, keep an eye out for surfacing white bass and listen for that "waterfall" sound in the distance - especially near sundown. They're a lot of fun if you're in the right place at the right time.

That's a real good area of the lake for me. It's a long drive, so I usually just make a couple of trips there about July. All I know is to slow-troll (5-speed trolling motor set on #2) in 15 to 20 feet of water around rocky points, gravel points, and mid-lake humps. I like to use a 1/8 oz. Roadrunner tipped with half a nightcrawler. That method has produced limits of keeper walleyes for us, as well as some good bass, catfish, and big bluegills. The water looks so good around Isabella, I've always wanted to fish for bass and crappie but I haven't had a chance to yet. Every time I go there, I've been too busy catching walleyes!

Thanks. Now I've got it - Tablerock KENTUCKIES. Sure, I catch them. Those are the 14 3/4" fish with sandpaper tongues that I have to throw back, while I'm keeping 10" crappies and trying to put supper together.

That's a useful map of Long Creek posted here - the one that shows Gage's Marina. Phil, many of the places you've marked where you caught crappie in 2005, I haven't tried. I HAVE tried most of the spots that you marked saying you haven't fished there and that they should be good. You're right, they're good - it makes me think it's ALL good around there. A question about that map. I understand "C" for crappie and "SM" for smallmouth - but what is "K"? Unless you're catching katfish, I can't figure it out. lol. I'll look forward to learning about that.

I like the jig and float method for crappie. I'll use a maribou jig instead of a swimmin' minnow when doing that, because the maribou feathers don't have to be pulled through the water to have good action. I've fished that way as much as 20 feet deep with good success if there's not too much wind. If you think about it, that presentation is a lot like the slow suspended jerkbaits that are working well on bass right now - just on a much smaller scale. Last year, I found a web site by a fellow who's making the best quality slip bobbers I've ever found. They work real well, and having the little bobber-stop on my line doesn't cause any problem at all. I like to support someone like that - a fisherman and tackle-maker who had an improved idea and is making the bobbers himself as opposed to the big companies, so I'll include a link here. Best of all, they're not expensive and I've never lost one of these bobbers yet. If you break off, the bobber's not attached to your line so it floats free - just go pick it up! Here's the link to the order page, to get more info on the bobbers click on the "ESB" at the bottom of the order page: Everlasting Slip Bobbers

Yep, that's the line of flooded trees just upstream from the upstream point of Bee Creek. That's almost straight across from the Yocum Creek I know about. I often launch at Yocum Creek for night fishing, because it saves a lot of water miles rather than running back to K Dock in the dark. To get there, go down Hwy. M through Cedar Creek then turn right on Hwy. O, I think. Yocum Creek has a good gravel beach to launch from. No problem at all for a 4wd vehicle. From there, we can easily fish from the Mincy area down to Horseshoe Bend - lots of good water.

Forsythian - That's a good picture. It reminds me of a sunset photo I took a few years ago on Bull Shoals. This is in the flooded trees across from Yokum Creek, a good bass and crappie hole in my experience. I sometimes use this photo as wallpaper on my computer.

I figure white bass taste the way they do because of what they eat - shad. Any time I have to handle a shad, I can't get the smell off my hands for the rest of the day. In the past few years I've taken to throwing white bass over 14" back, they're just too strong-tasting. I've tried cutting off all the red meat, but we're spoiled by lots of crappie filets and the white bass just don't compare for flavor. I'll try that suggestion about soaking them in Sprite, though. I sure like to catch white bass on light tackle - what a fight they put up.

I'm not a tournament fisherman either, so I'm just trying to guess WHY tournament fishermen wouldn't want the length limit on spotted bass lowered to 12". In a tournament, they weigh the heaviest six fish per boat, right? The methods and locations that produce big largemouths are often different from what catches spotted bass (Kentuckies). So if a boat spent all day targeting big largemouths, and had four to weigh - and if another boat did the same and came up with four slightly smaller fish --- what if the guys with the smaller largemouths spent the last hour of the tournament targeting suspended spotted bass in the channels with spoons or whatever? It's not hard to catch a few that are currently not of legal size - 13" or so. So if the rule was changed, the guys weighing six fish (including the two little spots) would probably beat the guys weighing the four biggest largemouths. Maybe THAT'S why they're opposed - in order to win a tournament you'd have to complete a six-fish limit by partly targeting spots instead of sticking to only largemouths and smallmouths. If that's it, then their opposition only comes from strategy to win a tournament. And as you say, a small group of tournament fishermen shouldn't be able to keep the rest of us from bringing home a good fish dinner.

Bass groups like the tournament guys? I wonder why they'd want habitat and food sources taken up by a bunch of short bass that won't count in tournaments. Seems strange. Like everyone, I occasionally catch 15 1/2" or 16" spotted bass on Tablerock. Maybe even a 17-incher once, but those fish are in the minority. According to the charts, those are five-year-old fish, and if they were largemouths or smallmouths they'd be 22 or 23 inches or more at the same age. If the bass guys are protecting 12" to 14 3/4" spotted bass because they think they can fill their limit with the few that actually reach 15" or better - I think they're 'way wrong.

As it stands now on all of Norfolk, Bull Shoals, and the ARKANSAS portion of Tablerock - the minimum length limit is 15" for largemouths and smallmouths and 12" for spotted (Kentucky) bass. On the MISSOURI portion of Tablerock it's 15" for spotted bass also. I'm guessing that the tourist industry in Branson wants it that way, so visitors to the area can C/R lots of undersize spotted bass. I'd like to see MDC adopt a 12" minimum for spotted bass in Tablerock, though. There are several reasons: The majority of spotted bass never reach the legal 15" size - studies show that they die of old age first, and that's a waste. Lots of people, like me, often fish in both states on Tablerock during the same trip. When I'm on the Arkansas side it doesn't seem right that the Arkies fishing around me can keep 12" to 14 3/4" Kentuckies while I can't (knowing that I'm going back into Missouri). Those fish are a good eating size. But mostly, I think it's good for the largemouths, smallmouths, white bass, and crappie to cull out more spotted bass at a smaller size. An acre of water can only support a certain weight of living things - whether it's sportfish, rough fish, turtles, or whatever. Since the spotted (Kentucky) bass is smaller and slower-growing than the other two species of black bass, there's no advantage to fishermen in having large numbers of undersize ones. Every pound of spotted bass taken out of the lake puts a pound of weight on something else, like largemouths and smallmouths. Comments?

That's my guess, too. I'd say the picture is taken to the northwest, and that big new house with the American flag flying would be on top of the bluff on the sharp point across and to the right. Directly across the lake from you would be Mills Branch (I think that's the name), and there's a big dock on the shore below your house and to the right a ways. Let me know if I'm right, or completely lost. That's a nice photo - it must be great to have a place there on the lake!

Marty - That was me, looking for the Roostertail I broke off there last June. We'll have to get together again at mushr..... uh, CRAPPIE time. It's good to see you here. - Sam

Phil - Here's the Bridgeport-to-Galena section of your map, marked with all the place names and information I know. This section is white bass country in the spring. A couple of comments. I didn't mark Galena Park as having a launch ramp because the ramp there is so poor. The private ramp at McCord Bend ($2 launch fee) is much better. There's a good ramp on the west side of the river at Asher Cane Bottom too, but it's private for the homes there. What I have marked as the "$3 Hole" is just downstream from McCord Bend, below the shallows. Coming from Galena by road, it's the next left turn-off past the one for McCord Bend. It's a dirt road on private property - owned by the fellow who has the canoe rental business near the Galena Bridge. The road passes his house then continues on to the river - he has a mailbox set up in front of the house, put $3 per vehicle in it. Where that road gets to the river, he has a GOOD place to bank fish for spoonbill and white bass and good 4-wheel-drive launching off the sandbar. If we don't get a bunch of rain, I'll be launching at Bridgeport this year to get to as much as I can of this area. The way the river is now, I can't even get my Tracker through most of it! The guys with jet boats will have it made, though. I'll email this map to you also. Hope it helps. - Sam

That's lots of good information you guys have posted here. I have just two more comments to add. One advantage of using a monofilament backing under some of the premium lines like Fireline is that it keeps the line from slipping on the spool. The first time I used Fireline, I got out on the lake and couldn't fish because the line was going around on the spool. Fortunately I carry superglue on my boat, so I stripped off all the line, put a drop of superglue on the spool and knot, and re-wound as soon as the glue dried. Using a monofilament backing avoids that problem. The other thing is about twisted line. If you troll a Roostertail, even with a good swivel on the line, it's going to twist. I've been surprised too at how much line will twist when fishing a wacky-rigged weightless plastic worm. You let the worm drop straight down, but every you retrieve the worm it goes round-and-round - and a few hours of doing that really twists the line. When that happens, I'll run the boat at full speed with the outboard motor and trail all the line out behind with nothing on the end of it. That straightens out a twisted line pretty well.

That shallow? Based on past years, I'd think you'd catch bass on the bottom in 45-50 feet right now - and not so much on the points as in cove entrances, on deep flats, and on mid-lake gravel humps. I know we've had a warm winter, up until the last couple of days - but if the bass are ever going to be in that deep-water winter pattern on lower Tablerock, it oughta be now. I don't think I've ever caught a bass in 15-20 feet there in early February, you might want to try deeper - they generally scope real well when you find them down there.

I hook the Senko wacky-style with no other weight. Use 8 or 10 lb. test line and a spinning outfit, you can cast it a long ways. Let the worm drop straight down, and twitch it a little as it drops. Watch your line - when a bass picks up the worm, the only way you'll know it is by seeing your line act funny or jump a little - then you set the hook with a big sideways, sweeping hookset. Most important - USE A CIRCLE HOOK. I use a #1 or #2 Kahle hook straight through the middle of the worm, then leave the hook point in the worm as it comes back through. You're fishing with kind of a slack line, and you're not going to know you've got a bite until the worm is in the fish's stomach. The Kahle hook will pull the worm up out of the stomach and give you a good solid hookset through the lip every time. If you use regular hooks with a Senko, you'll gut-hook and kill every bass you catch.

Watermelon/Red works because some of the less picky bass are willing to say "Well, that's CLOSE to Motor Oil/Red Flake, I guess I could bite it."