Tightline

Hey there Powerdive, boy its not very hard to get a rise out of some folks, I may not be able to get a 19lb walleye to bite but can get a trophy or 2 on this forum. Its good to see all these opinions. Agree or disagree with me it sure won't hurt my feelings because I just tell it like I SEE it. You are right if one lake has the potential to break the record it is Bullshoals and like I said, i really really hope it does happen .But just don't think it will. Powerdive I would sure like to see some pics of those 17 and 19 lbers, bet those were hogs.

Hehe, Ole Babler, I wondered how long it would be before you gave use your expert opinon on old walleyes. You seem to always forget that the old walleyes were there and that it probably took years for them cross. i would really like it if we could pull up the old posts from our disscusion on this years ago,and not just your input but everyones. There were walleye there before TableRock,Bullshoals and Powersite and I believe they were different (not much) from the ones we have today.Yes stocking has made it much easier to catch them, thank goodness for me because the old boys could really do it with less numbers. Bill your memory is outstanding... Good to hear from the man who gives the best fishing advice bar none on this forum.

Wow, great replys from everyone,but if your in the minority of of what you believe to be true stick to your guns man,we've all seen different things and to some its just unbelieveable but to you its true. I believe Bry is correct on the way MDC releases its walleye.Walleye or the old river Jack Salmon are use to running up tributaries to spawn.they have a sense of where they were spawned and try to return to that fresh fast moving water to spawn again.So by releasing fingerlings in wide open lakes we have created a different kind of spawn which in my opinion is why the survival rate is not as good as it use to be.They are trying to spawn on points and flats in wide open non moving water. Ask any of the old time walleye fishermen,and I know one from Forsyth who was in his mid 80s,,he would tell you that the walleye we have now are just not the same fish we had 35 40 years ago.They are slimer, the markings are not as pronounced ,they don't fight they same way,and are not caught as often using the bottom fishing methods they use to use. I believe the MDC messed up by introducing northern strain walleyes to our waters and now they have cross bred,thus we've lost a strain of walleye that were resilliant and did have more success with thier spawn in our waters. This is why I don't think the state record will ever be broke,AND i DO REALLY hope I am wrong. The MDC has done a great job and is one of the best in the nation,but I think they've dropped the ball with walleyes.Yes we have quantity but wheres the quality.

I have no problem with any one keeping any fish thats legal, catch and release is more of a personal thing. But I do think if you preach catch and release of bass or trout then you should be as conservative minded when it comes to other game fish like walleye or whitebass. Walleye,are the premier game fish in our area, in my opinion. I have only released one female that was 27 inchs long ,the eggs were just falling out of her and I had 3 other males already on the stringer to eat.You know it felt pretty good and I hope I have enough will power to do it again. So do what you wanna do when it comes release or eat. One thing I do know for sure is that I won't be releaseing any crappie on Table Rock this year, its just packed full of em.

Bitethis, let me get this straight, I am not a gigger and never have been,but do know some and have had relatives that use to gig. I do think there is alot of speculation,exaggeration and just flat out biased opinions when it comes to gigging and if its banned some day what will be next,grabbing? I do like to go grab a mess of suckers once or twice a year if I can and it is loads of fun.You are right there is plenty of blame in every category of the sport. I could write so many stories about pole and line fishermen,overharvesting,keeping short fish,out of season,no license, and some stories being so incredible that no one would believe it anyway. Of the total number of fishermen in the state how many do you think are giggers, 1%, 5% we all know its a very small amount compared to regular fishermen,plus they only get 4 months out of the year to do their thing ,the worst 4 months weather wise to fish. I just can't wrap my head around the idea that they the illegal giggers do more damage to our fisheries than the year around pole and line poachers do. i would be willing to bet that JUST the catch and release mortality rate of all the Missouri bass tournements last year did way more damage than illegal giggers. Maybe we should ban tournements.. Good replys all,,,keep em coming.

Bill if our grandfathers were gigging walleyes, where did those fish come from if they are such poor spawners ? There wasn't any stocking back in those days.We've been through this before,and I will always believe there is a viable spawn and hatch survival from walleyes,just from what I seen as a young boy and knowing the locals that use to catch JACKS on a regular basis. Look up the fishing regulations for 1915 through 1930s,it is a miracle that any fish survived from giggers,grabbers and nets,but they did and the walleyes did too. Giggers were the reason that alot of walleyes were caught at the Pothole this winter not because they harvested them but because they give the locals word that there were hundreds of them at the Pothole in less than 3 feet of water. Giggers,grabbers and spear fishing always get a bad rap,but if the real TRUTH was known,its the regular pole and line fishermen who do the most damage as far as poaching. Does anyone think the 21 lb state record for walleye will ever be broke? Me, NO!

Ham,I must appauld this statement because if you can put back a 30 inch walleye that is full of eggs you are the ultimate sportsman.Regardless of what some people think these fish do spawn and a certain amount do survive,and they need some catch and release just like bass.I say keep the smaller ones to eat throw the big ones back,and the same goes for female whitebass.JMHO. Bry,I don't where you witnessed the walleye grabbers doing this but I wouldn't have hesitated one second calling the conservation agent and until we start reporting this kind of poaching it won't get any better.I do know that it use to be a massacre on Swan creek every spring with the grabbing of walleyes but the Conservation got smart and put plain clothed guys down there after dark and have pretty much taken care of that problem. Wayne if you seen a guy grabbing whitebass and he had more than 1or 2 then he was the worlds best grabber because the whites do not lay on the bottom like a sucker they always ride up a ways and are very difficult to grab, I have grabbed suckers right underneath whites and never touched the whites. The only exception would be that there are hundreds of whites piled on a shoal.

Josh ,I thought I recognized you but you were no bigger than a popcorn fart last time I seen you. I sent you a message.

Hey Ducky thanks for the compliment,I just tend to take things the wrong way I guess sometimes especially early in the mornings. I enjoy your posts especially in the spring so keep it up. I know that there are alot of fishers that would love every detail of a catch,me I just like to hear about anglers success and that they are biten. Josh, if you are from the same bunch of Holts that I know then fishing just comes easy for you,especially crappie fishing nice nice bunch of slabs in your pic,way to go. Fish on and on and on!!!

Vicious rumor,ayy Ducky,no wonder their are hardly any post about catching anymore theres always somebody whining or crying about something..If you guys would read what Bill Babler posted about winter time crappie on this forum about 4 lines down from this then you might get an idea of how and where as he absolutely nailed it right on the head.You know Babler can catch something besides bass or maybe you just thought he was talking out of his @%* I dont know. Thanks to you guys who are confident enough in your fishing abilitys to compliment our catch and our great day on the water. Tightline

Hey there Josh,I probably know your dad or uncle,and yes my son has been doing the same thing for the last month,he finnally talked me in to going and boy did I have a blast,but where he had been catching them has started to thin out ,so we tried a place where we usually catch them in March.Much to my surprise they were there..

Theres just nothing better than fresh fried winter time crappie.My son and I both limited out last friday on Table Rock.We put in at 9:30 am and left at 1:30 pm. All were good size from 11 to 14 inchs with a few 10 1/2s . 17 to 22 ft deep 1/8 ou heads,color didn't seem to matter to much. My son is back down there this mourning and threatened me if I told where we were at, you probably woudn't believe it any way. This is a pic of my limit. Get out and get after em. Tightline.

Hey ness,not bashful here or scared and I believe your right. Smalliebigs, this ( IgnoranceBlissAnglers ) isn't that the Forum you visit and like the most. Flyflinger, 10 pages hasn't helped you either. Al, you say yes and I say no, around and around we go. I don't think we will ever agree on the biggest demise of our quality smallmouth fishing. But, I do wish you guys the best of luck on catching those poachers on the Meremac, It sounds like they are really putting a hurt on the smallmouth, and giving legal giggers a black eye.

Just for the record I am not trying to sound like an expert on all things fish related like some do on here,just saying what I have seen and experienced through many many hours on water.The sad thing is alot of the ones with knowledge and thousands of hours experience remain quiet. I am not an expert at anything, just saying what I think. Al, I don't buy your assertion that it wouldn't make a difference with the suckers over populating especially on the bigger streams and rivers where they don't need to run back to deep water to feed.I think it would make a huge difference. As far as the smaller streams not being accessable to giggers,that has been the point I have tried to make.The smallmouth populations are not anything like they use to be on ones I have fished.Why,CATCH AND KEEP EVERYTHING fishermen. The James is probably the hardest hit river in SW Missouri by giggers,Why don't we hear of piles dead smallmouth hid away,why don't we hear of bunchs of smallmouth with gig marks.I have never seen any holes on a bass that I have caught out of the James,just broken jaws and fungus from catch and release. Some people have an agenda and try not to look like they do. Oh yeah, what was it the smallmouth evolved from,wasn't it a salamander because you can clearly tell the fins use to be tiny little legs.

OK, rangerman then there is a problem on the Meremac,what would you suggest be done? Ban ALL gigging because of these boneheads or go directly to the problem.They (the MDC) for most part have taken care of the problem on Swan creek with the walleye. If your checking boats then you must be with the MDC?

Well Mitch then the guys that see this happen and know where its going to happen need to get it together and stop the poachers by turning them in,its that simple.They don't need to get on here and call people stupid white trash hicks,that just shows imaturity. Years ago the grabbing of walleye on Swan got so bad that it really put a dent in the population, and they blamed all that on sucker grabbers when in reality it was alot of rod and reel fishermen who couldn't catch a walleye legally,some were locals some were not.But it was the locals who raised enough cain with MDC and turned these pochers in that eventually got it stopped. I also see alot of bashing about Ozarks traditions.If you have ever eaten deep fried freshly caught yellow sucker fillets on a gravel bar or just anywhere then you would know why its been a tradition for so long.Theres just not anything better.The guys I know that gig or grab wouldn't trade just a few yellow suckers for a whole tub of wormy smallmouth. I'd say if somebody really really doesn't like our Ozark traditions then they ought to go back to where they come from and or don't visit. MO

Very well put Vonreed. I have seen this gigging thread come up alot in the 7 years I been a member and it always amazes me that( some )people think that thier favorite fish and method are the best and they are the premier fishermen,and like to put us all in categorys from the least desirable to the most desirable methods and species. Just try to look at the big picture when you talk of banning a method because of a few idiots. Suckers are very big eaters.If you haven't ever seen a group of hog suckers attack a smallmouth while on the nest then you probably don't know that they are a predator too.The smallmouth can defend against blugill and perch but let 6 or 7 suckers move in and its just no contest the suckers will pick it clean in just minutes. I have seen this happen. Theres always a certain amount of yellow and hog suckers that stay up in the upper portions of our streams way past the spawn of bass,perch,goggle eye, etc. They (suckers) eat everything that the smallmouth fry need to eat to survive, if they (the fry) get to hatch. So lets put a few thousand more suckers in the streams and rivers every year because gigging and grabbing was banned and see what happens in about 5 years. I like to fish for about anything and have nothing against anyones methods as long as its legal. The smallmouth streams I visit the populations are clearly hurt by catch and keep bait (crawdads) fishermen not giggers or grabbers. JMO

Nice Jack,how long was it? I was told a few nice females were being taken at the Barker hole.

Sorry Phil,but you are the Head Honcho around here,had to use a high profile example.

No hiding here,I'm not accusing any one of cheating or making fun of misspelled words. You can PM me big guy and we'll exchange info,maybe after you tie some flys and have a beer I'm sure your really good at atleast one of the two.

Congrats to the man who caught the big Striper.Its hard enough to catch a small one let alone a state record. If someone suggested that I may have cheated after catching a once in a life time catch like that one,well I'd be looking to kick some (arse), woops did I SPELL THAT WRONG. I've even seen Phil misspell words before,we all do its no big deal.Some people get really mouthy when they can hide behind their key board. Tightline.

Started out early yesterday wadeing the River Run side up by the dam where I always fish,the water had dropped about 2 feet which wasn't good,not a bite. Went over to the Wheeler hole and fished my favorite spots,nothing. As I was leaving I seen a john boat heading for the dam.As I drove by the dam the two guys in the john boat had anchored 100 yards right below the rock pile and were just heaving them in the boat almost every cast. I got my binoculars out and watched.At first it looked like they were throwing chartreuse stick baits,but after a while I realized it was sluggos or something like that.They weren't even reeling,just throwing out and letting them drift. They had their limits in about 30 minutes.This was at 11:00 am. I headed for Swan and caught 22 in about an hour with a Rapala.I kept what I thought was bigger males mostly, but after cleaning them I had 4 males and 11 females that were mostly spawned out.

I was also down at Swan this evening, and I think I may have seen you Phil.I started out at the old dam and went up. Seen nothing but Bass, one tree that had fallen I counted 13 bass, all largemouth,some were real dandys. Thats Swan for you,last night they said the bottom was covered with Whites. I'm headed for TR in the mourning to catch some slabs,hopefully.

Good posts Dutch and Sam, I agree 100 percent.I don't care if its White Bass, Walleye,Bluegill or any sport fish,if your throwing some females back because your conservation minded and your trying to protect the specie you enjoy fishing for you are all right in my book. Health wise,if you eat fish as much as I do during the year your better off keeping the smaller of any specie to eat as almost all fish in the United States have some kind of contamination to a degree,mercury,clordane,to name a few.The bigger the fish the more contaminates in the flesh. Read the fish consumption advisory thats in the Summary of Missouri fishing regulations that the MDC gives out. Its your right to keep what you want as long as its legal, no one should be chastised for keeping fish or throwing them back,regardless of the specie. We all know,from Phils posts that he is very conservation minded when he thinks its needed.

I have never caught whites at the Blunk hole in February,but there were so many of the little dinks last year I'll bet they are strung out from Capefair to Galena. Its cool to watch my sons graph go completely black for several minutes as a school of whites goes under the boat. Its only going to get better from here on out!!