basska

Thanks for the news. I've noticed an increase of them in the guide service's posts online. I'll be down in 2 weeks. Should be fun. Hopefully get at least 3 species.

My simplest way to *roughly* explain the difference to friends who don't know is to think of a Spot as a Largemouth body with a Smallie jaw.

My biggest Smallmouth ever (out of 6) is 14 inches. This year my goal would be catching 100 fish and an 18 incher in 6-8 Smallmouth trips. Sometimes I feel a little imposter guilt knowing so much about Smallmouth but not having any real experience with them. It just took one Ozark float trip for me to KNOW I had found my favorite sport fish. I am an obsessive type, have always been, but usually my obsessions don't last. I get really into something, learn a bunch about it in a month's time, and then it just flares out. My obsession with fishing has held strong for about 1 year now, and I think that can be attributed to the never-ending rabbit holes of the sport. You never know what will come next, and every fishing trip is a learning experience, no matter your skill level. There's no limit to what you can learn when fishing. As for the fish, though insignificant, I might as well share the story. Lower Jack's Fork August 2024. First Smallmouth Float of my life. Everyone was doing fair but me. Near Two Rivers, I caught my first respectable Smallmouth (over 12 inches). It was that moment I realized that Smallies fighting harder than Largemouth was NOT a myth. It did feel light, and I knew it wasn't a huge fish, but the way it ran.... It was just different. Faster, more endurance... and the beauty.... Another thing - that trip, for some reason, the Smallies we all caught were darker than what I normally observe in Ozark Streams. Whether that is due to genetics or habitat, I will not speculate. Needless to say, I don't have my story yet, but I'll be darn if I don't post an 18 by the end of this summer. I love these fish and our region. Makes me feel like a truly obsessed child.

Welcome. Treasure trove of information here. I'm fairly new and have learned more about fishing our local waters here than anywhere else BY FAR.

Old topic - but WOW. This fish had to run within a pound of the state record. Got to be close to 2 feet, 7 lbs. The fish we all aspire to.

Looks like Beaver Lake getting hit fairly hard. The Laclede co. area and LOZ region seems to be getting the brunt of it in Missouri. Will be interesting to read the gauges.

I get most of contemporary music in the form of Billy Strings. Seeing him live a couple times this summer.

Well - went down to this area on Sunday with a buddy of mine. We waded at Fiery Fork. Didn't see many fish and ended up skunked for our couple hours of effort. It is a beautiful river. More scenic than the rivers in McDonald County, IMO. I lost one fish in some deeper slack water near this eddy looking formation by a downed tree. We drove down to Bannister Hollow and parked at Cedar Camp and waded just upstream the bridge for 30 minutes or so. No luck there but great looking water. The people at CC were awful kind so I have definitely made a note to come back and float the river this summer. Beautiful place. They seem like they would offer a shuttle...

Well, I would consider if I didn't have the exact same rod as my primary!

Love the Slavic names running through your family lol

Really can't get much better than that. Cranks and swimbaits seem to be what I'm hearing the most positives about. In a couple weeks I will try some small Osage tribs to see if they have moved back up there...

Plate looks absolutely delicious! Nice day and congrats on the first pile of 2025.

Old topic, but me and a buddy will be down in this area last weekend of March with this exact set up and intentions. I imagine they will be fattening up before the spawn, but if not, White Bass should be around.

One of the best times of the year in sports will begin tomorrow - the NCAA tournament. For any other March Madness fans out there, what are your bold predictions?

Nothing like stress-free fishing on a familiar pond! That just about 4 lb Bass is built perfect!

It's not the phone, it's the forum!

Well, I certainly understand how you provide the "What's Cooking" topic with such great recipes! You are hanging around the right crowd (my mother might not say so with the Jasper's group...) I can't lie, a solid sized bass felt so good. Been 5 months since I caught one that size... Now to catch one twice that size! It's hard not to be romantic about spring fishing. We're back!

With this beautiful weather, it’s been hard to not think about fishing everyday. So, today, I headed straight from work to a local pond I know has some decent Bass fishing. The main goal was to try and catch a fish, and more importantly, to pick up on a pattern. I realistically had a little over an hour to fish. Well, I went with a classic technique, weightless T-Rig senko. Really tried working it slower then I would normally. Casted all over the pond, trying to see if they had moved shallow or were staying deep. About 30 minutes in, on a corner of the pond, I threw it about 5-6 feet off the bank. I wasn’t paying super attention, and when I went for a slow vertical sweep, I noticed a strong pull. Felt really great to experience a solid bass tug. Pictures will be attached, work attire and all. So, I started working parallel to the banks, and lo and behold, 5-10 minutes later another decent fish hit it. He would be the last. Both fish hit on the initial drop in the shallows. I will say, as a testament to their aggressive habits - At one point I was unsatisfied with a cast I made so I attempted to reel in the lure as fast as I could. While the senko zipped across the top water, a 15 inch Bass almost beached itself trying to hit it. Unbelievable. What a fun day to spend an hour after work. These fish are trying to feed. Get out there yall.

Rockbridge, I'm sure.

Are you an SME grad? Just curious. I agree with all this. I could not justify myself going to a big university. For what they want in money, I have neither the vision is academic prowess to make that deal. Currently, I am also a licensed insurance agent taking 2 CC classes for 700 bucks. The goal? Get a degree as cheap as possible, with no big rush... Get into financial advising, more life insurance and retirement planning. Work remotely. Leave city, buy land. Fun plan, sure, but like you said, these things are all easier said than done. My biggest vice is pleasure spending on the next beer (shh) or lure, and compounding that with routine costs that I already get assistance with, it's pretty ridiculous how money just seems to fly out the bank. Things are just not cheap. at all. A similar sentiment to what you said, I don't know if people are not just becoming flat out discouraged. Follow the cash.

I honestly believe most people I talk to my age are set with a solid mindset, and one I'd might take over a lot of the millennials born in the 80s, but I won't get into that... I notice a mild, general sense of pessimism with a lot of other men my age. I don't think it is necessarily an awful thing. In our short lives, we have seen many aspects of culture and society change, and I think this has led to this polarization of a lot of young people. I think there are some Gen Z people who really want to preserve a more "old-school" way of life; however they might interpret that to look. This is probably a reaction to social media, political radicalization and Covid. One reference to this thought is a simple fact that I have noticed, in which I usually find it easier to make friends with people 30 - 40 years older than me than those 10-20. One thing is for certain though - there are a lot of people my age who don't think these ways, and if they can't adjust to living a life with work, I will take advantage of it. I tell people looking for sales jobs that now is the perfect time to get in, a time where you can capitalize on others incompetence.

Oh, I understand. I just think it's funny some people get so spoiled. I have grown up fortunate, my parents have provided me with every resource, but now I'm a grown man, and while they still do a lot for me, there are certain expectations and responsibilities. I will expect the same in the future. I seriously just don't understand people 18-25 who don't work. Do the parents just not care??

I just don't understand. Do people not have car payments? Rent to pay? Groceries? Utilities? Hell, people don't like to spend money on pleasure?

Can't hype myself up too much though... much of my 9-5 is spent browsing this forum until my calls get answered 😅