conman

I had a very good day Sat. It was REALLY nice to be throwing something other than plastics. White spinnerbaits in the wind and small jigs when I tried to get out of it. Happy with the number of quality fish, 5 over 15" and another half dozen over 13" on Sat. Great weekend. Chris

Thanks Trav, I was down this weekend but wasn't able to spend a lot of time on the water. Best bite I had was a goldish Bitsy Bug jig with a pbj small Eakins trailer. Also picked up a few on white spinnerbait. Most everything was on main lake and secondary points in 5 feet or so. Good Luck

Has anyone been doing any good on the bass since they started lowering the lake? thanks chris

This is the Muskie report out of the Conservation Department's 2009 annual report. Muskellunge A total of ten fyke nets were set the second week in April and fished for three days, giving a total effort of 30 net days. A goal of capturing 90 adult males (>20 inches) was set in the 2007 Muskellunge Species Management Plan as a statistically valid sample. Of the total 107 muskie captured in the 2009 sample, 64 were males. The total catch rate for muskie was 3.57 per net day, compared to 6.95 and 7.63 per net day in 2008 and 2007, respectively. Size structure is good with more than 57% of the fish greater than the 36 inch minimum length limit, and more than 22% of the population greater than 40 inches in length (Figure 2). A total of 8,019, 12 – 14 inch muskie were stocked into Pomme de Terre in October 2008, which was the first of the prescribed pulse stockings that is scheduled to occur every sixth year as identified in the 2007 Muskie Management Plan. The targeted stocking number for the years 2009 – 2013 is 4,000 each year.

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Where have they gone??? Is anyone seeing any, catching any?? Thanks Chris

What should I fish for this weekend and how? Discuss. Chris

I agree its a blast to catch a lot of fish, but as I always say I wish the lake would throw me a bone every now and again. It does from time to time, but they are few and far between. I fish at least every other weekend and I doubt I have 6 fish over 3 lbs this year. My buddy had a 6.4 and I had a 5.3 this spring, but I would think between the two of us we should get at least five fifteen inch fish a weekend... There is the bonus muskie every now and then that keeps it interesting. Again, I agree it is a blast and I love the lake. Chris

I asked a conservation agent the same question earlier in the year and this was the reply I got. I’m glad to hear you were able to catch a lot of bass last year. What you experienced, is similar to what other bass anglers reported last year. First, let me tell you that I do not believe the bass population on Pomme de Terre (PDT) is stunted. Like any large reservoir, fish population densities vary from year to year. Fish population density can be strongly related to spawning success and recruitment of these young fish into the population. I believe what we are seeing at PDT is related to a few consecutive years (2007 – 2009) of sustained high lake levels during spawning season that resulted in very successful spawning and recruitment of largemouth bass. Consequently, what this means for the population is that a large number of individuals in the population are young (small) fish. I do expect to see these fish grow over the next couple of years and provide some outstanding bass fishing on the lake. Largemouth bass on PDT grow about two inches per year (at the size class you were catching last year). So, I would expect those fish you were catching at 10 – 13 inches last year, to be 12 – 15 inches this year. See average age/growth information for PDT largemouth bass below: Age 1 = 6.0 inches Age 2 = 11.0 inches Age 3 = 13.0 inches Age 4 = 15.0 inches Age 5 = 16.5 inches Age 6 = 18.5 inches Age 7 = 19.5 inches PDT lake does also have smallmouth bass. However, they make up a very small proportion of total black bass population. Higher numbers of smallmouth bass can be found in the very upper ends of the lake where the Pomme de Terre river and Lindley creek enter the lake. I hope this information has provided answers to your questions. Good luck and good fishing.

Holy Cow, a Pomme thread that is more than 5 posts long. I love reading all the post in the Table Rock thread and always wish there was a lot more Pomme talk, but I guess that would mean a lot more Pomme pressure too... We fished mostly on the Lindly arm on the main lake points. I was very excited Friday evening getting a 4 and a 5 and had very high hopes for Sat, but we just could not get the big bite. If I make it down again this weekend I think I would throw the spinnerbait alot more than I did as that bite was picking up when we left on Sunday. The other thing I would recommend is having a jig ready when you get to breaks in the flooded trees where you can get up to the bank. Chris

We did pretty good Fri evening up in the bushes with shakey heads. Got a couple of very nice fish. Sat and Sunday got pretty tough, we caught fish but the numbers were low and they were mostly all shorts. We were fishing mostly plastics but got on some spinnerbait fish too. We have not been able to get on a topwater bite at all this year. Anyone who has I would appreciate your help. Chris

I was down this weekend and struggled on the Bass. The only bite we could find was on the bluffs on plastics and it was nothing to write home about. Water came up two feet from Friday eveing to Sat morning and is not 10 ft over normal. We stayed up in the dam area and the water is stained but by no means muddy. Chris

Trav, Any recommendations or thoughts on how you would approach fishing Pomme this weekend? Thanks Chris

Thanks for the report Trav, nice job figuring out a pattern. After a slow Sat morning, things picked up very nice for us Sat afternoon and continued on Sunday. Fishing mostly Senkos and Shakey Heads on points near spawning coves. Nothing big. Averaged 1 keeper for every 9 caught, but keepers were barely over 13" with only one over 15. I think you are right, things are getting ready to bust loose. Chris

Lake is 2 ft above normal pool. http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/pt/daily.cfm What kind of temps has everyone been seeing?? A couple weeks ago I found 52 deg up the river bit last weekend the warmest I could find was 47. I assume with the real warm weather this week the surface temps should be mid to upper fifties during the afternoons. Any good fishing reports? Chris

I recently sent an email to the local Conservation Dept agent about the status of the bass population at Pomme, particularly asking about what I consider to be a very small average size. I thought some of you guys may be interested in his response. Very encouraging for the next few years. Chris, I’m glad to hear you were able to catch a lot of bass last year. What you experienced, is similar to what other bass anglers reported last year. First, let me tell you that I do not believe the bass population on Pomme de Terre (PDT) is stunted. Like any large reservoir, fish population densities vary from year to year. Fish population density can be strongly related to spawning success and recruitment of these young fish into the population. I believe what we are seeing at PDT is related to a few consecutive years (2007 – 2009) of sustained high lake levels during spawning season that resulted in very successful spawning and recruitment of largemouth bass. Consequently, what this means for the population is that a large number of individuals in the population are young (small) fish. I do expect to see these fish grow over the next couple of years and provide some outstanding bass fishing on the lake. Largemouth bass on PDT grow about two inches per year (at the size class you were catching last year). So, I would expect those fish you were catching at 10 – 13 inches last year, to be 12 – 15 inches this year. See average age/growth information for PDT largemouth bass below: Age 1 = 6.0 inches Age 2 = 11.0 inches Age 3 = 13.0 inches Age 4 = 15.0 inches Age 5 = 16.5 inches Age 6 = 18.5 inches Age 7 = 19.5 inches PDT lake does also have smallmouth bass. However, they make up a very small proportion of total black bass population. Higher numbers of smallmouth bass can be found in the very upper ends of the lake where the Pomme de Terre river and Lindley creek enter the lake. I hope this information has provided answers to your questions. Good luck and good fishing. Craig Fuller Fisheries Management Biologist Missouri Department of Conservation 2350 S. Jefferson Lebanon, MO 65536 417/532-7612 x224 craig.fuller@mdc.mo.gov

JBrant, My temp gauge is not working, cant help you there. The Corp is showing the surface temp at the dam to be 40 deg. If anyone fished the main lake this past weekend I would love to get a report. I will be down again this weekend and would rather not trailer 30 mins to the river. I went out again Sunday for a couple hours and had decent results. Three of us fished for about 4 hours and ended up with 15 fish with 5 keepers, two over 15". It looks like about a 15 boat tourny launched out of Bolivar Landing, I will be curious to see the results. Chris

Put in today at Bolivar Landing. Slow at first, picked up around noon. sent down into the river and ended up doing pretty well on the bluffs on plastics and jigs. Had the lake to ourselves. It was cold and wet, but ended up keeping it interesting with about 20 fish, 3 keepers and my buddy lost what had to be a 4 at the boat. I will be at it again tomorrow. Good luck all! Chris

I will be down Sat and Sunday. I am expecting a pretty tough go, any one have any good advice? Thanks Chris

Nice job Brad, thanks for the report. I will be down tis weekend, hopefully we will be able to get after them. Chris

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Regardless of which week you pick, you need to read this several times before you leave. I read it again today and am so ready to go I can hardly keep a thought in my head. Still probably the best read on this site. Thanks again Bill. http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9675&st=0

Wrench, This is a timely topic as my buddy is going tomorrow to look at a 05 Ranger with a 150 Opti. The owner fell sick not long after the original purchase in 05 and has run just 125 gallons of fuel through it. What would be your advice on this? Is there a year where the Optimax got much improved that you would reccomend buying something from that time on? Thanks for the info. Chris

Thanks Dutch. We will start out from Fisher Cove near the mouth of Decker and we will be bass fishing. Chris