Trav

My Cam sinks like a brick!

Taxi! Cant believe you fished my lake without telling me you were going to be here! I will remember that bud! Just kidding...hope you had a good time.

Sweet, but you know me.... Underwatershots can be done with any water proof disposible. Can you mount it on a cable and view fish 75 meters below the surface? Take it to an area where a sea plane is landing at 100 miles per hour with perfect clarity? Sorry Jeremy, Im poking fun. I have a SeaLife ECOshot. Its a modest camera for scuba divers. Is great for everything else.

Crappie At least I am not the only one with a run of ills with a boat. I am already thinking about what a hammer and some JB Weld might do. Haha Store has alot of beer. Just got to swim across and get it. Be better to pitch a tent in my yard than to sleep in my garage though. Maybe not, if you dont have any Deet. Haha

My Gramps used to randomly fish in his pontoon. He was mainly a park and bait kind of guy. But he did surprisingly well. On Taney, you park with bait long enough , you will catch some fish. Let me know if there is anything you need to know. I will try to help.

Thanks for what ever is causing the extremely low water(thought this was a flood year?) a log wedged up under the lower unit of my old 61 Evinrude and put her permanently out of commision. Now Im left with a water cooled salad mixer. It broke the planing fin and bent the prop shaft. Sorry to say, it really isnt worth the money to fix it. Too bad. I have the motor finally running like a top, and just recent had a new hub put in my prop so I wasnt busting pins anymore. Anyway, Short story long, I think I have to finally give in and buy a new motor. Although, life has its priorities and a new motor just isnt the cards right now. Maybe in a month or so I can figure something out. Until then, I guess I have to break out the eggs, powerbait, and nightcrawlers and fish in the slow lane off the old dock. I can at least get a new lawn chair to break in. Ho Hum. Beer anyone? Thanks for letting me vent. I will report from home base for a little while. So fellas, if you know where my dock is then you will know where I am catching all my fish for awhile. Haha

Most can be found on the main channel right at the end of a quick bend into shallow (wider)water. Those will resemble points but on graph the water receeds only one direction. Hence a berm. Others will be set on top of old flats where sediment built up enough to divert the water one one way or another. The ascending side is where the berm lies. The most obvious ones are at the tips of prominent points where the sediment was pushed over and built up on the down current side until the water seen fit to smooth it into a berm. The backside of those berms will be either a cove, an inlet or a creek. Now, if I was a Geoligists, I could probably use better terminology that might make more sense. There is a guy named Al Agnew who is very knowledgable about stream erosion that might be able to explain what I am trying to convey better. Al....You listening? Anyway, I hope I have help ya some BigRed.

It would seem that it might get a bit routine. Not much challenge in it. I guess that is why he is making blooper videos now huh? Haha

I have been retooling my brain a bit the past couple weeks to figure out where the Brownies might be lurking. As a system of thought I have always found them (before the flooding) slightly downstream from congregations of Rainbows. Especially in depth transformations and substantial pockets along the main channel. After the flood gates filled in most my "honey holes" and shifted those transformations, I have found myself looking for new ones. So I go back to square one. Finding where the Rainbows stack when not feeding. As anyone familiar with the lake knows, you can pretty much catch Bows at any depth, at anytime, but there are always certain areas that attract dozens of Rainbows to stage during low water generation until the Corps turns on the juice. Those areas have changed on the Lower just as drastically as it has the Tailwaters. So, to find the Brownies I have to refamiliarize myself on the cycle of life. Brownies eat Rainbows. so you have to find where the Rainbows gang up in low generation situations. And I will again be on the Brownies. Lesson number one was to forget the old and find something new. Well, the newest part of the Lower Lake is definately the berms. There are several of them. Mostly between 10 and 20 feet of water. If you are unfamiliar with berms on Lower Taney that is because they never existed (at least in my lifetime) until now. And in 10 years ther will be better known as hump-ridges or current-knolls. And ten years from that they will be called flats. Berms are formed when high water pushes sediment and debri in piles against and/or on the lower end of current breaks. Anyway, I have one peice of the puzzle. The rainbows have been stacking on the lower end or in the hook of these berms. Probably attracted by the new build up. When the water starts to generate after being low you can catch a couple dozen in less than an hour in these spots. Once the water has peaked they will spread out like normal and the bite will slow. Now that I have this part of the equation I will try to focus a little and try to find my Brownies again. That part of the equation will eventually be computed. Give me some time. Then comes the fun part. Figuring out if the presentation for those brutes have changed any. Factor number Three is always the hardest. BUT, at least I have the first part down. Hope this helps some of you guys looking for that Farm Fresh Rainbow Dinner. And as always, I will keep you posted on the progress of my persuit as it unfolds.

Heres a quote for ya Whackem "Even the best of fisherman have thier bad days."- Bill Dance

I havent fished Beaver since the late 80s. Looks like I have to get back down there. Good report SK

quote Don "This year early season was from Bridgeport to Past Flat Creek" I think bridgeport is only about a quarter mile from flat. If that. Am I right?

No offense taken CB. Your right, when is doing the right thing, too much of a good thing? As far as my dog chasing fox......I dont tell her to do it. She is just doing her job by keeping critters away from my property. And she does it very well. I just wish the skunk were as fast and smart as the fox!

Welcome!

The lake always fishes better with 2 to 4 generators running. But that is the perspective of a Lower Lake fisherman. I wish I could take pics of the changes here on the Lower but the most significant ones are between 15 and 30 feet of water. Like Bill says, "A different world" now. It has turned the intimidating animal that the Lower is known for and turned it into a monster. And I say this with a lifetime of experiance. Brownie fishing wont be the same down here for a long while. Its gonna be a back to school experiance this summer for me. At least there still is the predictability of the warm water species.

Its all about the human Anthill and thier property. Money talks. Some Senator/millionare is pulling the chains.

Ever catch much limb lining the channels?

Dont forget Empire Park in Forsyth. When summer hits thats the area of the lake you want to be.

I have seen that before. Those guys are either stupid or insane. You wouldnt catch me in a muddy river sticking my hands where there might be anything. I prefer to use a gaff while trot/limb lining. Plus a turtle will drown you. Not to mention what a few moccasins will send you. By the way..here is that link.

Well whackem, I appreciate your vote of confidence. Its just too bad the government dont listen to the likes of me. BUT, if they did we would all drink the special koolaid on monday and there would be no need for laws and regs. He He

wow! 8 deer in one season. You must have venison everyday!

I think the same way about hunters. BUT then I remember the deer eating all my plants, the squirrels chewing up lawn furniture, the coons and possums digging in my trash, the otters ripping the foam out from under my dock and the rabbits digging in my garden. Cant say as I had any problems with turkey, pheasant, or quail, but they sure do taste good! Although them Fox are too pretty to shoot and give my dog one heck of a run, she isnt smart/fast enough to get one anyway so no harm. I feel that all fish should be allowed when harvesting. I do believe that slot limits should be set. Maybe one big one per day over a certain limit, maybe a tag system so that only so many a year get taken,(might be a bummer for those tourney guys) and 4 under another limit per day. Keeps the brood stock populations healthy. Of course each species will have a different slot margin. I also feel there should be a season for keeping fish. To protect Spawns and migrations. And population checks should be made to determine if any body of water needs to have its harvest season shut down for a few years to allow the populations reestablish. This all should apply to every species. But even if they did inact all that, It wouldnt effect me any for I dont harvest. Well, I take that back. I DO LOVE THOSE FARM FRESH FISH TANK TROUT! MMMMMMMM

Haha It took me 6 months to do the first 900. Save it for maybe December?

Nothing else but flatheads in Taney. Heard there were blues but have yet to catch any. I wish they would stock some channels.

He lives outside of Urbana. I may get up there a couple times a year, if that. I think I need 900 more to make 2000.