vonreed

I would have to say that testing the e-coli level at the park would be an inaccurate example of the whole river. It is overpopulated with ducks and geese and has lots of stagnant water behind the dam.

This sounds like great news to me. Now when the walleye fishing isn't so great a person can have hopes of getting a nice striper if the make good runs upstream. I can't wait for the pothole fishing in about 3 or 4 years. It's nice to have something other than largemouth bass to catch sometimes and not everybody likes catching those.

Well after lots of looking and researching I went on a whim and went to Bass Pro. I bought the Ascend 128T. I had asked about it being able to be stood up in. It isn't my intention to stand up in it a lot, especially when in current. It was just more of a luxury of the overall picture as far as balance is concerned along with always having the advantage of standing up whenever I deemed it necessary or helpful. I took it for a 20 minute paddle on the James at Hootentown today. It sure isn't like my Old Town otter. I paddled upstream with my son on the deck of it. So combined there was almost 300 pounds, plus the kayak. It went upstream ok, not as well as I had hoped though. But it was easier than paddling a canoe upstream with the current. I'm going on the Finley tomorrow to give it it's first real test. Thanks for you guys replying to my post.

Nice info. I sure wish I had the time to take advantage of what you've learned, trolling is something I've always been interested in. I hope some of the others take advantage of the time you've taken to share this. I sure wish I had a nice walleye to eat tonight, lol.

Yeah I got the new Bass Pro ad in the mail and seen the new ascend fs128t and was thinking the same thing. I like the looks of it to, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to know about them vs other models. I went and looked at the Coosas at Ozark Mountain Kayak store and I can't see the big difference in them compared to the Ascend, but I then again I've never used any sit on top kayaks. I definitely want one I can stand in though.

I'm looking at getting an Ascend FS12T kayak. Is this a kayak that a person can stand up in and fish? I'm tall, but athletic. So if it is reasonably doable, I'd like to know. Also if any of you are tall and have been in one, Is there plenty of room for my legs?

It's not the geese that's the problem. I just floated the Finley yesterday and didn't see a single goose. Of course there's some around the park in Ozark all the time, but I doubt they are polluting the whole river. It's Ozark and Nixa who are the culprits. I wouldn't really blame any livestock in the water for that matter, but if you include runoff then that might be the problem. I'm sure RSbreth would know better possibly, but I've never seen a huge problem with cows in the river on the Finley.

I grew up in the outdoors and was doing everything at an early age. When I was 10 I decided the Boy Scouts would be awesome so I joined. I had all kinds of dreams of the cool stuff we would do. The first day I attended all we did was sing and dance for 2 hours. I never went back. It was just a city folks way of pretending they were outdoorsmen.

Uh good luck. With as cold as the water has been, it's been a tough year for me down in that area. I'd definitely try live bait though, unless you're opposed to using it.

I've caught lots of them on the river, but never done much lake fishing for them. Is there any advice you could give on helping me get some? What type of structure? What depth? What lures?

That is one fancy butt canoe ramp. But for those of who know, it will be an easy spot to launch canoes and kayaks. I feel sorry for the suckers who try launching motorized boats there, lol. It reminds me of the time I saw a fancy fiberglass bass boat( I'm talking like a ranger or nitro) on James river between highway 160 and Rivercut about a mile from Rivercut. They said it was a heck of a time getting down that far. I just shook my head. I went about another 500 yards and there was a logjam. I don't know where they launched the boat, but they sure weren't going any farther down stream.

I've been hunting Morels for years, since I could walk. It seems like every year is different to a certain degree. I do know that when warm weather hits and stays that they stop popping. This year has been the best year I've ever had. I found 4 pounds of fresh mushrooms today that weren't there 3 days ago. I also found yellow mushrooms a week ago that were completely dried out and rotten. I think this cool weather sticking around is making them continue to grow. It's also crossed my mind that maybe last years drought had something to do with it, or maybe all the rain and cool temps this year. I do know one thing though. Right now is the time to go find new spots. Right at the end of the season when the big mushrooms are popping is the time to go find a new spot. good luck.

I've personally seen what I thought was a muskie on the James River in the upper end of Springfield Lake. I took the advise of others that it was a pickerel. As they as fairly native to the area from what I understand.

All sold, thank you

I would guess it was the upper section of Mcdaniels. I've caught some white bass out of there before, but I'm sure they have a short spawn with it being a small lake. I could be wrong. Try fishing right at dark or shortly after, using something like a swimming minnow in purple.

To make white bass edible this is what I do. First I gill my white bass just before leaving the water. Either with a pair of pliers or with something to cut through the gills. This removes all of the blood from the meat. Then I fillet them and put them in water. Rinse them really well with a garden hose or massage the meat real well with your hands which helps get the oil out of the meat. After a day I pour the water out and add water again. After 2 days of soaking, I skim the red meat off the fillet, then proceed to cut the center red line out of the fillet. Some people add stuff to the water when cleansing the meat, but I've never needed to.

Were you on 15 ft flats or on points?

The pics of the fish on the stringer are probably from yesterday, not today. He went fishing both days.

You just made my day, lol. It's a mink.

I agree with you Littleredfisherman, It really makes a person realize how low people are to make slandering comments like most on the topic like to do. It's jealousy and a lack of respect on their part. I would guess that most grow up in town and have an arrogance about them that they can't help. I haven't commented on this topic just because I know how radical they are about catch and release and it does no good to voice an opinion against them. In my opinion if a person goes out day after day and catches stringers of fish like those, then that's wrong, but to catch a few here and there I can't imagine what is so wrong about that. Smallmouth are good eating, along with many other types of fish. Just because someone uses live bait or likes to eat fish doesn't mean they're on food stamps or that they're related to Big foot.

I can live with not getting a bite because I suck. What gets my goat is when I wonder if there's even walleye where I'm fishing. Thanks for the info.

The white bass can't make it to the park in Ozark. There is Riverdale dam in there way several miles downstream. Even in the best of high water years I've never seen or caught white bass there. I have caught yearling whites below Riverdale and below the dam on the James River, but never any that migrated upstream that far. You're just seeing someones scraps they are throwing out.

This is the opposite of what ^ he just said, but. I've been up there 4 times and caught tons everytime. The first time was maybe 10 days ago. I went back to the same area and noticed the water had dropped so I moved downstream and did well, etc.... everytime. I think the water level keeps dropping and the whites keep dropping back down because of this. The last time I went, I went to the bluff below Taylor bridge and did very well, well over a limit in about 1 1/2 hrs. Maybe I've gotten lucky, but I think that makes the most sense.

If you find out, I would appreciate a heads up. This has been my worst year ever for walleye. Maybe it's bad luck or decisions on where I go, but it's been tough on me.

Wow, I know where I'm going for walleye next time.