creek wader

very good report

If your bank fishing, it'll be tough, the Osage is up, not many places to stand. If your in a boat, be careful, as you approach the dam, a lot of metal and rocks there. You'll lose some tackle, a lot of snags. I'd use some live bait ie. shad or minnows. .. good luck, wader

I see.

thanks

Gunner. ... It's Sat. morn. and it's raining in Jeff. City, don't have enough time to hit the dam this trip. Going to have to try it next week, Glad you caught some crappie. Where's COMO? ..wader

Hookem, nice fish. I noticed red spinnerbaits on your poles. Is that what you mainly used or did you try anything else?

I also care. .... Never fished the Rock. But spent some time under the surface, there. Nice lake. Wish I lived closer.

Hey,KCRIVERRAT, Let us now how you do on the Little Niangua. I've been floating it at least once a yr. for many yrs. now. That's the trip were trading off, to do the Big Sugar or Indian Creek. Thought we'd try some place new. Let us know how you do. ..wader

Daze, Yea, I've been doing my homework, reading and looking at the pics, of old posts, on the Big Sugar, Indian Creek, Shoal Creek, and the Elk River. Looks like the Big Sugar will be our destination, plus there is more outfitters on it. Still won't decide till it gets closer. I'm the one doing the planning and I don't want to disappoint my fishing partner. We'll have a 4 to 5 hr drive each way. Chief's been real helpful, but I'm open to all suggestions. I've never fished any streams in the SW part of the state, and I'm getting pumped for it. Of course, the rain will be coming with me. ...lol

Gunner, looks like I won't be in the area till Saturday. Friday still looks like the best day weather wise. Good luck. .. wader

Larry, I copied and pasted it to an email. Give me your e-mail, or e-mail me at gwf0093@yahoo.com and I'll send it to you. I'm sure Al won't mind. He posted it for all to see. Looks like it's been tweaked and time tested. Unfortunately, I use and inflatable and can't modify it much. lol .. wader

Gunner, sorry, I haven't been down there, lately. I see that they are still releasing a good volume of water, though. Now that this last front has moved through, and the temps are starting to warm, I think you should do well on Friday. Please post as soon as you can. I may try to make it down there Friday morn. If you don't do well. I'll try for smallies on a stream instead. The smallies have been study since early March.

Love the pics. Looks like it was a good time. I did however notice more spots and lgmouth, than smallies. Is this the norm for Shoal? Or just for that day? I've noticed this in most Shoal Creek posts. Reason why I'm asking, is that were trying to plan a smallie, float trip in May. Chief suggested this stream along with the Big Sugar and Indian Creek. On most streams we floated, the ratio is much higher for smallies. Nothing against spots and lgmouth. We'd just prefer to hunt smallies.Thanks wader

Cricket, Don't worry about people giving you crap about keeping stockers. That's just what they are "stockers". They are a renewable resource. That's why the mdc raises and stocks them. Glad you let the lunkers go. If you weren't keeping stockers, someone else, would be. I respect anybodys choice, to do whatever with the fish they catch, as long as it's within the laws and regs. I let almost all my fish go but, keep crappie and white bass, to eat. I mainly fish for bass in streams and C&R. I love to eat fish and am curious what a smallie would taste like. But, have not and will not ever find out. Maybe next time I go to Canada, walleye fishing. After all, they think anything other than a walleye are "trash fish", lol. Thanks for the reports.

Wow, we were thinking of taking a trip, after Memorial Day, on the Big Sugar. But, if all of you guys only boated 1 fish total. We may have to consider another stream. Just kidding, I'm sure it was just the weather, lol.

Very good/detailed report.

Welcome, Bimmer. You'll find many on this site, from the area your living in. Don't be afraid to ask questions. People on this site will gladly steer you in the right direction.

Ok, not sure this one would count because it was on a jug line. But, since It was totally my fault in losing it, here it is. I had been fishing an old quarry on private land for several yrs. (yes I had permission). Anyway, most of the bass were 3 lbs. plus. I had caught quite a few over 5 lbs., in the past. It was mid-May. My brother and I took my 2 man bass boat to it, for crappie and bass. I had some large chubs left over from a previous day on the Mighty Mo. So, I thought I'd put out a few jugs with the big chubs on them. There were some nice cats in the quarry, also. I didn't take my river box with me. So all I had was some aberdeen wire hooks, for crappie. I threw out the jugs, and we went about fishing. An old boy and his grandson showed up, and after awhile hollered at us. He said a certain jug was going wild. We trolled over to it. I started pulling up the jug and felt no weight, so I kept lifting. My brother, who is a firm believer in a net, told me to wait till he reeled in his line, so he could man the net. Like an idiot, I kept lifting, out of the water comes the largest bass that, I personally had ever seen. It dwarfed the largest bass that I had caught in the pond in the past. It's mouth was huge and so was it's belly. I'd say 8 lb plus maybe over 9 lbs. I should of waited for the net. Instead, I thought I'd just lift her out and put her in the boat. I should of grabbed her mouth, but I lifted by the jug. When her full weight came out of the water, the hook straightened out, and she fell straight down into the water. She never even flopped. The old boy that was about 20 ft. away, swore it was over 10 lbs. My brother was very angry and I felt like my usual idiot self. I would of let her go anyway. But my brother had a brand new digital de-liar. We both had tapes and I had a disposable camera. I guess that's why I lost her. The following year the quarry and surrounding land was sold to a lawyer. Needless to say, I never got to fish it again. I had many other near catches. But, I always wondered what she really weighed.

Fisherfriend, here's the #. .. 573-365-9205. Also, here's the site of the flow. They've been letting run hard for awhile. At the top of the site, you can change the # of days of to 60. So, you can compare the flow. .. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/uv/?site...065,63160,00060 gunner, I agree with you. I'm always honest with my catch or non catch for that matter. Nothing worse than driving hrs. on a false report and getting stiffed. That's why I take pics and tell where I fished, what I used, and how others were doing. This is a great site. Many good people on this site. I believe everyone is telling the truth. ... wader

Gotta agree with RSBreth. Like your web site. Ok straighten me out here. I'm a little slow and a tight wad, to boot. If I and one friend did and overnight on the Bryant. Let's say we left the morning of the 20th. Camped that night on the river. Then got off the river the afternoon of the 21st. Say, I was paying the whole bill. Would it cost a grand total of $400, or a grand total of $800.

Nice haul, Leonard. That's what I'm talking about. A spoonbill on a flyrod or ultra light, like gunner. A 18 lb. carp vs. boy. Snappers, yea, what a hoot. I think many of us had that experience. It's like hooking into a German Shepherd. But, let's talk about fish. I'm just killing time, till this crazy weather breaks again. The wind chill is in the teens here, at St. Joe. Any others out there?

Ok, I'm game. ... How about ... ... June 8th.... ... Final answer. Wader

Thanks for the report Gunner. I'm gonna wait till this weather breaks before I head back down.

Just tried to upload a pic 1.2 mp. It wouldn't work.

[i had problems the other day. I haven't tried lately. Will test it in the morning.