Buzz

It does get a lot of bank fishing pressure. I'm sure there are quite a few people who boat fish it also. I haven't done it in years but, I fished it with my ex brother-in-law in his bass boat and we caught a bunch of bass. The walleye are in there too, by what I've been told, but I've yet to catch one.

There are a lot of wading opportunities all up and down the creek. Tipton Ford access, both up and down stream, has very good water. The Undercliff Campground is another place, although you may have to pay a fee to park your vehicle. Drive up Old Scenic Route Rd. and you'll see many areas that are fairly close to the road, just avoid the purple paint. Below Grand Falls, where the creek narrows, has some good spots when the water isn't too high. Old Hwy. 71 bridge ( Gateway Drive ) mainly below the bridge. Cherry Corners access has some good wadeable water also.

I agree with Allen Bridge to Lime Kiln.

I like the stick on indicators when I'm fishing water that has a consistant depth and am using very light flies. Other than that, I've had the best luck with the small football/toothpick indicators with the slit up the side. They are easy to move around and you can remove them without having to clip off the fly.

If I recall, there were a couple of sightings south of Joplin last year.

Peewadden = pee water. At least thats the definition I was given as a kid. If you get my meaning.

Sure stinger160 can ride with me. Glad to have you and Knot Head aboard.

I guess one way to find out would be to run out to that spot and blast off a couple of rounds into the ground and run like hell to a spot where you can tell if the cops show up to check it out. You didn't, by chance, give them your name when you were asking questions did you?

Ok, but it is definitely on the short list for you and I to do. And KC of course.

I have yet to find any city that allows the discharge of a weapon within the city limits, no matter how rural it seems to be. I can't help with a link, but a phone call to the city Police Dept. would be the easiest way to get an answer. That is if it is actually within the city limits. Otherwise the Sheriff Dept. would be the next call to make.

1. List your name, screen name is fine. Buzz 2. List how many will be in your boat. Myself and anyone who needs a ride. 3. List what you may bring for food if you guy's would like to stop for a shore lunch like we did last time. Condiments for the dogs and Coke or a mix of soft drinks. 4. List what river/creek you prefer to float. Shoal Creek is fine.( maybe up around Ritchie and Granby ) 5. Pick you preferred date to float. Looks like May 29th is the most popular, so I'll go with that. >>>>>Now can I be on the list Chief????? Anyone who wants to ride with me in my canoe just let me know.

Glad to hear that. I was thinking you might have to have a perch fry to help them out a little.

Is that a bullhead catfish in it's mouth? Cool pictures.

I could probably do May 30. ( the day before Memorial Day ) I'll bring the condiments for the Dogs and maybe some pop for anyone that doesn't bring alternative beverages. Any float on Shoal Creek will work for me. I'm pretty easy.

Man those sunfish are huge!!!!! I bet you had a blast. Are those bass a little skinny or is it just the way the pics were taken? Maybe they have already spawned? Nice fish, I'm hoping to get in some fishing this weekend.

Those are some great looking flies. I have been thinking about getting some. Would you say that the small size would be best for a 5wt.?

I'm in for a Spring float too.

Nice report. I bet that drum gave you a run for your money. Did you think you had a record smallmouth? I know I would have.

Great looking fly Brian.

Something Chief didn't mention was, that we didn't take pictures of all of the fish we caught that day. Most all of the Kentuckies were nearly identical in size and color. We decided that it would look like we took pictures of the same fish, only with different backgrounds. I don't remember how long the float was, but we caught them throughout the day. I've also caught both Spots and Largemouth with the same coloration from Table Rock and always figured they were deepwater fish.

Eric, they really do look like any other smallmouth until you really get close enough to see the slight differences. The main one that I noticed is that the lower jaw protrudes past the upper jaw. This is one of the differences I've been told to look for. I've only recently started taking notice of these things and I'm still comparing to see if I notice any others. Heck, until last year I didn't know there was a differece. I will tell you one thing that is not different between the strains, and that is the fight. The Neosho's just don't get as big as the Tennessee Smallmouth do. At least I haven't found one yet. This is a picture of one of the nicest fast water smallmouth I caught last year. It came from Shoal Creek like all of my bigger smallmouth.

I'm glad to be a part of the team. Thanks go out to you Ollie for all of the behind the scenes work that you do to pull these things off. I was lucky enough to have another forum member, WoundedOne, help me from my canoe. Thanks Mike. It was definitely a Heavy Metal Day, with all of the metal strapping and the water heater we managed to pull from the banks. I swear that creek grows metal like my yard grows rocks.

Here are the links to the stickers.

Probably a goggle-eye, I would think. I'm not sure about the red lines though. Turkey Creek was the first creek I ever fished. It was just a few hundred yards from the house and I used to catch perch, catfish, and some small bass. There are some good creeks around Joplin, Shoal Creek and Center Creek are a couple. There are a lot of others in Jasper and Newton counties. Some are good for wading or floating, and some like Spring River in Carthage are better floated. Hope this helps.

I know what your going through. We lost our "Rosie" almost 2 years ago. She absolutely loved riding in the truck. She was 12 also. Thankfully she didn't suffer. She will always be my favorite dog. BTW, she was a dumped dog, but became one of the family. Sorry for your loss.