Whopperstopper

Thanks Bill for the informative article. It left no stone unturned. I've been working on the boss, (my fishing partner), to book a trip with you this year. In years passed, we made a few trips down to Lunker Landing at Shell Knob. Not a whole lot of success with our shallow, stained lake tactics. As I read the post's on this great site I can see why. Anyway, thanks again to you and all the members that contribute to this site. It makes the winter seem a little shorter. Dan

Leg Buster, I have been wondering the same thing for a while now, but had no luck at getting current info. I finally tried Truman tail race bait shops with the search engine and got a list of baits shops in Warsaw. I e-mailed THE STATION BAIT AND TACKLE on the Dam Access Road. A couple days laterthey replied to answer all my questions. They said that right now they're seeing walleyes, some crappie, whites and catfish coming in. A little early for the walleyes, but they beleive its becuse they are running more water through the dam right now. For the big cats she recomends a long rod to launch your baits farther into the current. They said that if you just need to get out comr now and you should see some success. If you want to fill a stringer, wait untill mid march. Thats about all I have for you. Before you go give them a call at (660)438-7664. Dan

CMAC, I,ve been back from the lake for a week now. We stuggled a bit as well at the Niangua end of the lake. Graphed fish on a lot of piles, but the few takers were pretty small. Bluff pockets produced the best for us. Better size and numbers. The shallow points and banks with a lot of wind would produce some white action, but again the fish weren't bunched up very well. Give the bluff pockets a try next time out and let me know how you did....Whopperstopper

Just back from a week at the Niangua Arm of the lake. Didn't slayum but we caught a fair number of fish. When the wind blew hard the hybrids were active on shallow points and shallow banks. They had a taste for Roadrunners with white curl tails and white Roostertails with gold blade. Both about 1/8 oz. Caught a 4.6 white or striper.??? It had unbroken lines like a white but two rows of teeth like a striper. Several people looked at it to I.D. it with mixed answers. Some said a giant white and some said small striper. All agreed that it wasn't a hybrid. Sure was fun on an ultralite rod. We found some small crappie in the brush back in the coves. The piles that produced them were in 10-14 ft. We found several 14 inch slabs on main lake bluff pockets holding around 12 ft. They were pretty scattered. A couple here and there. Had to keep on the move. Blk/chart roadrunners with a red 1/8 oz. head seemed to work best. We had enough crappie for a good fry at the lake and about six family size bags of fillets for the freezer. Hope this helps. Get out there and getum before the weather closes in.

Finally got my trip to the Niangua end of the lake. We caught wipers mostly on the long shallow points and shallow banks when the wind was blowing hard. When the wind calmed we switched to crappie in cove brush piles. Tried some main lake bluff pockets and caught several 14 inch crappie. All fish were scattered. Three fish in the same spot was the best we found. The highlight of the trip for me was catching a 4.6 stiper or white.?? It had unbroken lines like a white but it had two rows of teeth on the toungue like a stiper. Whatever it was it was a blast with an ultralight rod.

CMAC, Thanks for the lead on the book. I'll check the web site next. I sent for and received a copy of Seasonal Structure For Crappie. Found it in Crappie World Magazine for $11. I'm gonna concentrate on the early to mid fall structures of the chapters first,then the rest of the book after vacation. Trying to avoid an information overload before hitting the water. Your buddy's book on loto should tie it all together to get us started in the right direction. I'm taking the boss from Chicago with me and a full livewell could be a big help at raise time. Ha. Whopperstopper

Thanks for the report. Yeah, I'm hoping that the water cools down too. I'm booked at the Niangua end of the lake for the week of Nov.4. Hope the fish are out of summer pattern by then. I'll be checking this site regularly before I go and hope to see some good reports. I see that you talk with the Table Rock boys. Theres a lot of information shared on that site by some good fishermen. Wish we could get that started for LOZ. I don't get to go often because of work, but when I do I'll be sure to leave a posting. Thanks again and good fishin!

Thanks CMAC. I've been reading Crappie World Magazine and the writers say pretty much what you did. Back in the creeks that have good sections of flats and docks. Last year we fished in the Glaize Arm and mostly main lake features. We hit some fish, but it was slow. I bought a lake map of the niangua end a few days ago and I'm checking it out for the right spots. Thanks for your response.