Nick P

Well, I do love the river in it's natural state. But, with that being said the only time you can really enjoy the river is during the week if you want to fish it peacefully because come the weekend its so over crowded with floaters that it's ridiculous. I sure would enjoy having a real nice size lake in my back yard. If I want to hit a lake it's 1hr 45min to LOZ, 2.5hrs to Pomme De Terre and over 3hrs to Stockton, Bull Shoals or Table Rock. Then I could pursue my ambitions of being a fishing guide, because I would know the lay of the land and terrain; you know get in at ground level, LoL So to answer your question, I just don't know. I love the river as it is, but having a lake sure would be nice. I guess at the end of the day tjm is probably right and it should just stay as a river.

Very nice largemouth!

This sounds almost identical to my very scenario over the years. I would always just buy cheap sunglasses, never wanting to part with $100+ dollars for a pair of sunglasses. This past June I got a wild hair and said screw it, I was going to reward myself. I went to Academy with my heart set on a pair of Oakley Polarized for fishing. I got their and told the guy what I was wanting and what for. he quizzed me a little more and recommended I at least look through a pair of Costa's as well as the Oakley's. He said come on, lets go outside so you can see it in real world instead of here in the store. So we went outside and I tried on the Oakley's with the Prizm lenses because that's what I was sure I was getting. Then I tried on the Costa's and HOLY COW...I was sold. You could clearly see what you were paying for. Ended up spending $183 that day on a pair of GOOD sunglasses and haven't look back or regretted a penny of my purchase. They were the Costa Rafael's with the Green Mirror 580P Lenses.

I would consider this my first "BIG" Smallie. I had caught several 16"ers and a couple 18's, but had never broke the 18" mark. April 2017 I got on the water at 6:45am in my kayak on the Bourbeuse River. I started the morning off with a Pop'R and immediately had one bust the surface and nail it. I knew this was going to be a good day. Then, for the next 30 minutes not another bite. So I adapted and switched baits. I'm the kind of guy who like to try different water columns before I start diving to much into color. So since starting the morning off with topwater, I figured I would go to my favorite method of fishing and hit the bottom. So, I tied on a Z-Man Hula Stickz with a 1/10th ounce Shroomz head in Watermelon/Red. Within 5 minutes I had landed one. Nothing huge, but a smallie nonetheless. Then after having switched and slowly bouncing the bottom I saw my line starting to move to the right. No Tap-Tap, just sucked it in ever so slight. So I raised up on the rod tip to set the hook and then it was ON! You know how we all know when you have a BIG one, well... I KNEW I had just landed my PB Smallie. I fought her for what seemed like an eternity, which I'm sure was only 45 seconds or so. As soon as I got her up to the surface and she swam by me, my heart started to race uncontrollably. Once I got her to the surface and I lipped her and lifted her out of the water she started to try and make one last shake for freedom. She shook so hard that I almost lost my grip and dropped her back in the water. I then locked down my grip and brought her in the yak with me and took a LONG, DEEP breath to try and slow my heart rate. I put her on the tape and scale, so I would know it was official. She was 19" Long and Weighed 3.5lbs. The only thing I was a little bummed out about, is I was in such a hurry to get her back in the water, that I forgot to get her girth. Now I'm in pursuit of a 20"+

Well, I have been reading this forum for a very long time and felt I should finally sign up and start participating. I have been fishing for probably 25 years and it is certainly my passion in life other than my family. I love Bass fishing as it's probably my favorite species to fish for, but do not discriminate as I truly just love the art of fishing. Give me a major lake/reservoir, small lake/pond, large river, medium size river I can canoe/kayak or a simple creek I can wade fish and I'm at home in any of them. I hope to meet other like minded people here whom I can learn from and also hopefully pass along something to others as well. Nick P