hoover25

Well, me and some other folks tried Saturday and Sunday night and did not catch any at Blunks. Although I did "see" one on Saturday. I did almost get a big carp (just scales) and one tiny catfish that my buddy caught (released). Maybe next year.

I am usually catching my spoonies in the lakes....but I know they will run up the James when there is water. If we get a mini-flood in the next 48 hours, does anytone think the spoonbill will run up to Galena or McCord Bend? We only have a couple days left and I have still have the itch for spoonbill. Any advice apprciated.

Went back agian tonight....pretty much same results. We caught 2 catfish, i carp, 5 shad, and one nice white bass which we released. The lightning chased us away.

On the bright side, I did see the biggest fattest happiest turtles....all of them were munching on suckers.

Saw other fish that were not dead......I have no idea why the suckers and shad are floating.

Fished flat creek by the bridge on Friday and Saturday. We thought that we would try to find some white bass, but that was a bust so we decided to snag instead. In about 7 minutes and in 8 foot of water I snagged a nice spoonie of about 50 pounds or so. I'll post a pic when I get a chance. We went back Saturday and snagged Flat Creek and the James for about 8 hours with no hits....except for an unlucky gar. Although we didn't catch any, we did see 5-6 other boats with at least one fish tied along the side. If I get a chance I want to get out at least one more time before the season is over. Saw lots of people catching crappies as well.

I was not sure why I decided to go to powersite, but I am not sure why I do alot of things. I fished for a few hours with rapalas and swimming minnows. I caught one nice white, but that was it. The two other guys that I was with didn't catch anything. There may be some fish up there, but with the crowds its was hard to find a quite piece of water to cast at......I won't be going there again on the weekend. The fish I did catch was a female as was full of eggs and was obviously not spawning yet......so where are the other bazillion whites I wonder??? Anyone else have luck with the whites yet??? Lets pray for rain.

I fished from McCord Bend downriver a few miles last night. Between three people we caught 1 tiny largemouth and 1 bluegill. We were trying to find the white bass, but I guess they were elsewhere. I am really having a hard time figuring out the whites this year. The main reason I wanted to post this is because the area of the James that I fished was full of dead suckers and shad...they were floating everywhere. It gave the whole area a nice stink!! I don't know what the kill is from.....low DO, grabber bycatch, etc.???? Anyway I was wondering if anyone else had seen the same thing in other areas? Tight lines everyone!

I have not been to the James this year yet. I am thinking about going in a few days and want to bring a small jon-boat with 18hp motor. Can I put in at McCord Bend or Blunks or is it too shallow? Can I motor up to Galena (I am willing to walk the boat up a riffle...its very light)? Any navigation/fishing reports would be great. Also, where are the spoonies at? I have only been going to Warsaw and haven't snagged the James this year. Thanks in advance!!

Have you ever wanted to make a aquarium for stream fish? I did a few years ago.....but I never finished it. What I am selling is a 90 Gallon Acrylic Aquarium. It is roughly 90 gallons and 9 feet long with a divider in the middle. It is very long and thin. The divider is partially cut to allow flow from one end of the tank to the other. I had originally planned on keeping some shiners, darters, and madtoms in the tank...I just never got around to it. All it needs is a barrell filter with inlet and outlet located at opposite ends of the tank. I paid a $100 for it 6 years ago. It is in fair condition cosmetically, and does not leak from what I can tell. I would like $50 (OBO) and I will deliver in the Springfield area....I also get down to Forsyth and Branson occasionally. If interested, I can take and send whatever pictures that you need.....or you can stop by and check it out first.

Hey there Darren, Its Christian from Aquatic Entomology class from back in the '90's. I like to hit those spots myself....but its been very very quiet. Either everyone is catching fish there and not talking about it (not me) or our severe lack of rain is affecting the usual spots on the LS and nobody is catching fish or even attempting. The water is so low pretty much everywhere right now. You might try back country outfitters, the owner usually has his ear to the wall and knows the reports. Check out http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/uv?06918740 for flow conditions. If I hear anything I will let you know.

Guys...this has a very simple answer that I am surprised many people have not thought of yet.....and I think that it may be a slightly valid one. Many "Joe Fisherman" that come to TR a couple times per year like to keep and eat their fish, including keeper largemouth. Most "Joe Fisherman" can't tell a 12 inch Kentucky spotted bass from a largemouth bass. IMHO, the tournament guys feel that large numbers of sub-legal largemouth will be killed by the filet knife of ignorant "Joe Fisherman." The tournament guys are generally extremely dedicated C/R anglers and care deeply about the largemouth fishery at TR. I don't really have an anology for this so I am not going to try. I am just guessing that, like a lot of people, they don't want change. Just my to cents.

IMHO MDC does not want to acknowledge Felis concolor in Missouri because they are afraid of lawsuits. Basically, if MDC admits that there is a population of "dangerous or lethal" animals, then would the public hold them responsible for not "doing something to protect Missouri's citizens."? I am also guessing that they receive a BUNCH of calls of people reporting pumas or puma tracks. While many of us know our critters, a lot of folks do not. I have personally talked to landowners that swore they had puma tracks on their land....I saw the tracks and they were most definately from a canine, not a cat. I am guessing that they are sick of going on those type of calls unless there was some agricultural damage or some human-cat episode. That said, I saw a great big cat last year on my way West Plains. It had a long tail and was dragging a road kill deer off the road. It could have only been a puma. Oh yeah, I have also heard of the escaped pet theory. Bascially, that most of the puma reports were of domestically raised pumas. Maybe so....I dunno, there are too many people out there with exotic pets. Just my two cents.

Some of the best caviar that you will ever have!! Its a bit tedious to get the eggs ready, but its worth it if you like caviar. The eggs must be stripped from the membranes. This is the hardest part. Each ovary is like a giant curtain with endless folds. I take a rubber mesh screen and GENTLY "rub" off the eggs. You will break a lot of eggs unless you're a master...I am certainly not. After you have the eggs stripped, they must be brined. This is where personal taste and different recipes come in. I soak the eggs for 1 (one) minute in a kosher salt brine. After removal, store them in a non-reactive container (no metal). Your caviar should be refrigerated and will stay good for about a month to 6 weeks.

Put in at Warsaw about 10:00 am. Started pulling right at the bridge...only caught about 3 little blue cats. About 2 hours later my buddy got the first spoonbill of the day...an nice fish about 55 pounds. I followed with a small 25 pounder and then 30 minutes later I got another that went 56 pounds. I missed a very large buffalo from the scales that I saw on my hooks. We were using ozark snagglers with 100 pound power-pro and 12 oz of lead. It was cold and windy...really not many boats out. I did not see many fish tied up to boats. I think we were the only boat with 3, but most had at least one. Here's the pics:

Caviar time!!

Yep.....I am going to Warsaw this Saturday. Hopefully, there will be some reports before then.

I was out Thrurday, Friday, and Saturday night. It was beautiful with almost nobody fishing at the dam. Although all the fish were small (less than 14 inches), the action was excellent. I was using a rapala #7 in shad color (not that the color matters) on 6 lb Suffix Siege line. With no water running I retieved my lure VERY slowly and it paid off. I fished an average of three hours per night and caught anywhere from 15-35 trout per night. By far, Saturday night was the best....they seemed to be more active. I caught about 35 that night, but I probably missed twice that amount. They seemed to be everywhere that was over ankle deep. I will let everyone in on a little secret that I have developed to catch lots'o'trout. It is extrememly difficult (wink) , but its well worth it. 1) Wade out into water. 2) Get ready to cast rapala. 3) Close your eyes and spin in circles. 4) Cast in whatever direction you stop at. 5) Reel in trout or curse when you miss the strike. 6) Repeat steps 2-5. I do love fishing Taney, except for the leaky waders..

What Lilley said....... and also Bill Beck at Tablerock Guide Service. I know him personally and I would not hesitate to send my kids out with him.

We are redecorating so these no longer have a home. I have two Joseph Tomelleri prints. Joseph Tomelleri has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Biology. He has varied field experience in aquatic biology.His detailed quality illustrations of fishes are rare, because few wildlife scientists have the artistic talent to produce drawings that are accurate technically and aesthetically beautiful as well. Fishes differ in subtle ways and demand unusual observational activity to capture the details that distinguish various species. Tomelleri has mastered this skill with his superb drawings, done in prismacolor pencil and detailed with graphite The first is of a rainbow trout. It is signed by Tomelleri and he also wrote "coldwater carp" on the bottom. It is framed in barnwood. The frame is is very good condition with only a small blemish, but since its barnwood, it is not very noticeable. There is glass over the print. I believe that this is a limited edition of some sort, but I cannot be sure. The total size is 13.5" x 23.5" I would like $65.00. The second print is of three variation of the Warmouth. There is NO glass on this print, but it does have a decent frame. The print does have a couple imperfections, but they only small wrinkles. It is 10" x 14". I would like $25.00 for this item. Shipping is your cost, just let me know what you want. I live in Springfield and I am sure that we can hook up if you live around here. I also fish down at Taney a bunch and can deliver it to the Dam area when I am going down. (I should be there most of the weekend). If someone want both of them, they can have both for $75.00. I prefer cash or money order.

I have been wrong many times before (just ask my wife)....but I can find no eviedence that there is (legally) any streambed in Taney....its just a lake with exotic coldwater carp that we all love. The impoundment/steam boundries are set (using map coordinates, landmarks, etc.) If TR lake level falls even more than it has already, the boundries for the James River-Tablerock Lake do not change....it must be a constant. Amen, I would agree. I think the threat of tickets is a good idea even if the have NO chance of them sticking in court.

First...I DO NOT like shufflers any more than you do. That said: Taneycomo is NOT a streambed...its an impoundment, a unique impoundment, but still an impoundment. Nobody gives a hoot if people shuffle along the bank at TR or BS, why would (a judge) care is someone "shuffles" at Taney. I think that education is the key in this case because I'd bet a shiney new nickle that not one "shuffler" would actually get procecuted. Personally I always catch more flies with honey than vinegar. If you see some angler not obeying the rules....instead of getting your panties in a bunch, maybe try to talk to them and "educate them." I have done this one MANY occasions and it almost always ends up with the angler in question thanking me. Just my two pesos.

You wouldn't be the first. During the tourist season, I have personally witnessed cars parked on that road opposite of the hatchery with their stereos CRANKED....I could hear the base in my bones and this was at like midnight. Only one time it was cool cause I wasn't catching anything and the car had on Lynard Skynard's "Tuesdays Gone".....most of the other times I wished I had my paddlefish rod handy

I don't like "noodling" either. If someone knows what they're doing (and lots of 'em do) then they can really butcher an area of river. I guess that I wouldn't be "as" against it in impoundments, but I wish they would leave the rivers alone. There is a very dedicated pro-noodling contigent in Mo and I don't think that it is going away any time soon.

(Warning: Opinionated statement to follow) Whats the deal with with the "getting the fishy taste out of the fish?" Its fish.....in my book, fish should taste like fish. Okay, I am calming down, this post is more directed at my wife who prefers all her fish to taste like chicken. I NEVER cut out the red meat on white bass. My (humble) advice is to gill, gut, and then ice you fish for 24 hours...then filet them. Its something I learned from the salties in the Gulf of Mexico. An nice eating sized white (14-18 inches) will have a very high ratio of white meat versus dark meat. I have eaten white bass every possible way...and IMHO it a very good eating fish. Oven fried may be my favorite...but white bass burgers on the grill with a slice of tomato, lettuce, on a kaiser role is hard to beat. -Tight Lines