basska

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 😅

People will learn. I am 19 and work a M-F 9-5 and take 2 college classes online. If kids live long enough to taste what adulthood is, they will learn, or else, I'll take advantage of it.

Interesting to read. Trash really bums me out when I see it in the Ozarks... Seeing clean nature is some of the reason I try to get out of town so much...

Definitely not rocket science, but I understand where he is coming from. For me I will probably have one day on this river and not see it again for at least a year or two. I will have to choose a stretch that is easily doable in a day and hopefully one that has both decent scenery and fishing. With a river of this size, it can seem a bit intimidating, at least compared to wading creeks where fish are limited geographically. That being said, an Ozark River is an Ozark River, and most of the time, patterns remain true. So now I think, maybe I will try to float Onondaga to Campbell Bridge. OR, I'm really starting to get further away from homebase, so maybe I just bite the bullet and go all in on the upper Courtois or far upper Meramec in an attempt to find a more isolated experience. A lot to weight out. @Lloyd, let me know what you find out on the river this season. Maybe we can tear em up.

Would you suggest further upriver for better fishing?

Upon further research it seems like I would be better off floating above the park. Can anyone attest to Campbell Bridge to Blue Spring?

I thought I saw it on the Ozark Smallmouth Anglers fb group, but now I can't find it. Could've been entirely different.

Was definitely thinking about it. Maybe the State Park to Sand Ford? Would need to find a shuttle service. I was thinking about a guide to take just to see if we can't get tons of fish, and to maybe take my young cousin. I'm not sure though, might be unnecessary, especially when I'm planning to go with Tommy on the Nade this autumn.

Is Nick Hamra still a guide? If I recall correctly, I saw some information a little bit ago that he guided the Meramec below Huzzah. Just curious.

Don't fret! Weekend to be in the 50s and Tuesday to hit the big 70!

This applies to everybody, regardless of age. I HATE winter. I read something online that I thought was pretty funny. Goes something along the lines of this: "Everybody denies seasonal depression exists until you feel the sun on the first warm day of February and you feel like you've been actively injected with ecstasy" Now, I have never done ecstasy, but I can relate to that sentiment completely. Good sunshine is nature's medicine.

I saw a video similar to this to. I thought it was on the Little Sugar in Arkansas though.