MNtransplant

To most folks rain in the forecast is a bummer but when I woke up this morning to thunder cracking, I looked at my phone and saw rain in the forecast for 4 of the next 5 days and I got super pumped. Let's get those creeks warmed up and flowin'! Who's ready to get after it this spring?

Cool pics! Whitetail, and Turkeys...you plant a garden and throw in a weekly fishing trip and you could live off the land while doing your hobbies...sounds like you're on to something

Anyone know if the water is running or if it will be in the am? thinking of trying out this place tomorrow

Anyone around Springfield that could tie me some clousers in some custom colors for a decent price? If you are someone that can, please post some pics of your work 😁

What a beauty of a morning! I snuck out for a few minutes to scout an area along the LS where I thought I might find some early walleye action. No such luck but glad I decided to check it out. There's something awesome about being the only guy out there walking the banks of an icy creek while the Turkeys squawk to life in the background. Again, no fish caught or seen but it was cool to see the different contours through the clear water and take some mental notes of where there is some gravel and rock transition for later this spring when the whites start a runnin' Lots of ice along the bank and when I crossed the bridge at Aldrich there was a thin ice cover as far as you could see. Maybe we're still a few weeks away from the walleyes moving into the creeks or maybe I was just on the wrong creek Has anyone else been as crazy as me to start exploring yet? Tight Lines

Yessir, I was. Might have to bring the spinning gear with next time

@Ketchup congrats on the new place! Sounds like a dream setup for an outdoorsman. If you ever need a quail hunting buddy gimme a shout. I've been itching to find some quail spots. I grew up hunting ruffed grouse in Minnesota and I'm pretty handy with the old over under .20 gauge. Feathers might make some good fly tying material as well! I've also got an almost brand new Tikka T3 .30-06 that's been collecting dust if you need help thinning out the does or controlling the varmint population.

Got out for an hour this morning and managed 5 smaller rainbows...saw lots of boats with guys throwing jigs and stickbaits seemed like everyone was catching. The ticket for me was the ruby zebra midge. Hope to get back down there soon!

@MOPanfisher when is this magic time? Sounds fun!

@zarraspook were creeping around towards February. Could you message me about what part of the dam you're talking about? I'd love to get after some eyes here in a few weeks

Hey Phil, would you mind explaining your comments...when Table Rock turns over you're saying that the D.O. goes up in the water coming through the darn, and that typically makes the fish more active and hungry?

Hi Guys, Relatively new to this area and didn't get to fish much last fall as we were in the process of having a baby. Wondering what some of the fall patterns are for smallies specifically. I know the trout fishing on Taneycomo is good in the fall and into the winter but wondering about the warm water species. Are there resident smallies that stay in stretches of the James or Sac/Little Sac or do most of them migrate back to the main lakes toward deeper water? All I got is a good pair of waders so I'm really just a stream and river fisherman Also, I'm getting fired up about hitting the walleye spawn, I'm told around February is the best time to hit it but when and where have you guys had the best success for finding spawning walleye? My friends in Minnesota would get geek'd out if I told them I was catching walleye in Missouri..ha!

Made it down early this morning and fished from 5:30 to about 7:30. 2nd cast had a nice fat white bass nail my husky jerk with about 6 feet of line left..that was fun!! Then about 20 minutes later landed a small smallie right up by the cable. Had another nice white bass about 10 minutes after that and finished out with a very nice rainbow probably 16 to 18 inches. Hooked about 5-6 smaller rainbows and had them slip off. Saw others catching as well and watched a grandpa/grandson land a couple really nice browns after some long battles. Caught all my fish on my new favorite lure a number 7 husky jerk in the new emerald ghost color. Had to look to find areas deep enough to even throw it with the water being so low. Noticed most of the surfacing and most of my strikes came well out from the bank which would follow the pattern for falling lake levels I guess. Beauty of a morning. Love watching the mist rise off upper Taney!

Hi guys, I'm planning on getting down to the NFOW on Wednesday morning to try some fly fishing from the bank. I will be headed towards the Taylor Bridge area (don't have exact plans).. Does anyone know which bridges sustained the worst damage down that way or what places might have some good access for shore fishing? Thanks! Last time i was down that way I managed one little baby brown..good to see the natural reproduction tho!!

Any crankbaits that you're still trying to get rid of?

How far south can you go on the Niangua before you get out of fishy areas. Thinking about what area might be the shortest drive from Springfield and still give me a shot at catching a few

I've probably fished Upper Taneycomo about a dozen times now since moving to Springfield back in October but this morning was a first. I've tried throwing jigs and other types of crankbaits with my spinning gear several other times with no luck at all but today was different. I did catch probably 6-7 small rainbows on the fly rod with a grey scud and WD-40 but I also caught another 8-10 fish between a size 8 rattling husky jerk and a size 5 floating minnow including a brown and two rainbows that were close to or at 20". Fished from 5:30-7:30AM It was a nice change of pace feeling 'em smack a Rapala vs. watching an indicator all day I hope the shad bite stays hot for a while. I guess if we can't wade fish at least there's bigger fish willing to chase a minnow bait. Has anyone caught any walleye down there yet? I've seen pictures and reports of some nice smallies and some crappie. Another guy next to me this morning said he was up at outlet #1 and caught some bluegill..

@crappie jerk sorry I was so slow on the response. I'm from the Hutchinson area! Some great fishing around those parts

@Phil Lilley what did you mean by the cold side and warm side?

Caught 12 -15 nice sow whites last night between all the rain from the SE side of the lake. I'm planning on hitting Stockton again in a couple weeks in search of some walleye from the bank. I got some good tips from a few of you guys on the forum as far as spots to try but I'm looking for tactics now. Do I throw stickbaits? Jig with plastics? Live bait on a slip right? Or does any one have an empty seat in their boat the week of the 15th???

Caught 12 -15 nice sow whites last night between all the rain from the SE side of the lake. I'm planning on hitting Stockton again in a couple weeks in search of some walleye from the bank. I got some good tips from a few of you guys on the forum as far as spots to try but I'm looking for tactics now. Do I throw stickbaits? Jig with plastics? Live bait on a slip right? Or does any one have an empty seat in their boat the week of the 15th???

@Phil Lilley I was down on Sunday and the water was super high and there were only a handful of spots that were actually fishable from the bank. Has the water gone down any since?

Looking for something in the 150-200 dollar range

Looking for something in the 150-200 dollar range

@Bird Watcher any place where a guy might see some walleye action from the shore?? or are they all out in 15-20 feet still? I don't have a boat yet but being from Minnesota, if i found some 'eyes here in Missouri i could sure make some of my old fishin buddies jealous!! Thanks for the update