Forsythian

Must have just missed you... the Mrs. and her fluffy dog wanted to go for a ride & swim, so we launched about 12:30 and came back in about 4:00. I didn't wet a line, other than put out a couple of jugs for catfish. Caught a decent channel on Sonny's dip. Pretty busy day for Kdock, including the requisite launch-ramp swimming crowd. I made the mistake of trying the ramp, rather than asking the swimmers to move off the gravel. The darn courtesy dock angles over the ramp to where the trailer tire fell off the pavement. Darn near got stuck, bent one of my axle bolts all to heck

Great read guys, and nice catch PD - you seem to be in the zone right now. Anybody ever tie a crank or spinner behind one of those bottom bouncer weights? I'm gonna hit it again tomorrow (Sunday) with the crawler harness. Probably throw out a couple of jugs too while I'm out there. I'm pretty much resigned to using my trolling motor and the wind. I guess I'm a little worried about using drift bags and such as I don't think these big motors are keen on hours of idling.

Powerdive, I went out on Monday and tried bottom bouncing crawler harnesses for the first time. Tried it for mebbe 2 hours. Didn't catch any, but I don't really know what I'm doing so that shouldn't be surprising. Seems like a viable technique for me, using the trolling motor and drifting with the wind... especially since I can't troll cranks with my rig (175hp). I'm gonna keep after it and try some new locales. Anyways, was it my imagination, or is the thermocline at 20 ft in the Kdock/ Mincy area? Seemed kind of shallow, but there it was

Got a call from my gigging partner, the lower unit on our motor is apparently shot. This is a circa 1976 9.9hp Merc 110. Model 1110226. Anybody got a good lower and a bad upper? Willing to pay top dollar (not!) for whatchoogot, thanks. Alternatively, we'd prolly sell the upper in pursuit of new propulsion. thanks

You guys are all kind of alright... thanks a bunch

Hey guys, what's your opinion of the mohawk probe 12 footer? Is it fishable, or strictly a play boat?

Appreciate your advice, I'll keep up my passive search. As it is, I usually bring enough "provisions" along to make the Disco 169 a serviceable solo. Man, that Wenonah is a beautiful boat Gavin... tell me that's not the same boat Ness was sporting last winter !

Hey guys, enjoyed the read... mind if I start up another discussion? Got a lead on an Old Town Stillwater 12 footer... $400. What's the difference between that canoe and the pack? It comes with 2 wicker seats, but other than that? I looked it up on Old Town's website, but they don't reference it anymore... thanks for your input.

Great reports Mr. Worley... sure is great to have a regular contributor in your neck of the woods. Just wanted to say it is appreciated- Ken

Phil, was the low road open? Thanks. 657ft and falling.

Wannabe- ofcourse you can't promise good fishing, but last weekend was good. I crappie fished last weekend and did well in the main lake area, except all I caught were bass! I would say if you throw twisters and maribou jigs around the submerged brush you should pick up plenty of fish. Might or might not be crappie, but a fish is a fish eh? Try pockets and coves where the gravel on the shoreline is no bigger than a golf ball, and where there's a pretty good slope so that the outer edges of the brush drop off into 5 or 10 feet of water pretty quick. When my youngun was small, I would tie on a maribou jig under a bobber... never know what you'll catch. I hope you do well.

Nice report. I fished out of Elbow on Sunday and caught big numbers (not alot of size) of bass on grubs... watermelon & flake worked best for me. The bass were on the edge of the submerged buck brush. Fun day, but I was hoping for crappie!

No love? Here's the website: http://www.lmvp.org/ It's easy to do and no big deal... if you boat out of Empire at least once a month you're already there! Takes 20 minutes out of your fishing time, maybe, and you provide help provide the kind of data that municipalities like Kimberling City and Branson need to get their funding for sewer upgrades, septic tank removals, and etc. I know you're out there, and I'm gonna keep hounding you until you step up!

The past few years I've been involved in the University of Missouri's "Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program" water sampling. I have collected water samples on lower Taneycomo, as well as Upper Bull Shoals. It has become a bit too much for me to do both lakes. If you are a regular boater out of Empire Park, please consider volunteering. This would involve doing a secci disk reading and collecting water samples once every 3 weeks during the boating season. The sampling locations are just above Powersite dam, and the area below the 160 scenic overlook (near Cedar Point Resort) This is a good opportunity to become involved in the stewardship of your lake. If you are interested please send me a message or otherwise reply. There is also a data review session this Saturday in Kimberling City (I believe from 10 - noon), which covers Table Rock, Bull Shoals and Taneycomo. I'll check back here in the evenings if anyone has any questions or interest in helping out... Thanks a bunch, Ken

Looks like you got a pretty good deal Tito... I've got their stainless Tracker 357, and I'm pretty happy with it. I wouldn't win any target shooting competitions with it, but it's serviceable no doubt.

Not sure about Beaver, but Swan looked pretty good tonight (Friday)... at any rate Swan is more clear than the main lake right now.

I put in at Hickory Hollow yesterday and fished from there to the 86 bridge. Nothing like fishing in a 45 degree rain to make you question your sanity. Caught 6 shorts from 9 to about noon. No wiggle wart love, all bass were caught on a grub. Gave up on that and started fishing for white bass instead. Ended up with a mess, but really had to work for them. I fished a pearl slider on wind-blown mud flats. Just about had to drag it on the bottom to get bit.

I agree, it was worth the trip up from Taney County. Thanks to Brian and Phil for putting it together! Ken

I'm gonna make every effort to make it as well...

I got my behind handed to me in Elbow yesterday... fished noon to about 4, tried grubs and stick baits. My graph wouldn't work, so I was fishing a bit blind. Tried some flats for whites too... no takers. Odd thing... there were dead and dying shad all over the place. Gulls were having a field day, and I imagine the bass were as well. We've got some warm rains between here and next weekend, it ought to get good here pretty soon.

Nice post Roy, way to get after 'em... I like that water from Tucker to Mincy during the summer, but I'd be kind of lost in that area this time of year. I'm gonna poke around Elbow Creek tomorrow, will post a report tomorrow night. (although my reports usually document what doesn't work )

Good fishing to you all... I'm gonna head to Elbow on Sunday.

Also- please note you can pick up all the gas, groceries, and bait while you're in Forsyth. There's also a couple of nice eating establishments. signed: Forsyth Chamber of Commerce

Just now getting around to a report from last Sunday... This was my first trip walking in to this stretch of water. Actually, considering I usually either float from Hammond to Sunburst, or from Patrick to Dawt, this might have been my first time fishing this stretch at all. I fished fairly hard from 10 to about 2, and just managed 2 fish. I lobbed a stone for quite a while before dropping a prince behind it, and both fish came on the dropper. Impressions? My first is that 900 cfs or more would be a chore to fish! My second impression was kind of a surprise about the no tresspassing signs reaching right down near the shore. I guess after spending some time on the Current and Eleven Point, it was just a bit of a surprise. Anyways, I only lost 1 stone, so I probably wasn't fishing deep enough. I probably ought to quit being a cheapskate and pony up for some professional help on that river!

Sounds great guys, looking forward to getting away for a day. Looks like it'll be Sunday for me. Thanks for the tips Brian, & thanks for the offer Justin. I may just end up walking, but either way I'll swing by the ranch and see if I can catch up with you for a visit.