hoover25

I also think that the Brown Trout Color works very well. That said, I left my tackle box at home one night and all my "buddy" had for me was a bright pink/white sunofagun. I caught like 20-30 trout that night on the ugly thing. Sometimes, they are just biting at the movement and presentation. I figure that if I was a trout, I would rather eat a nice big baitfish than a 1/100000th ounce piece of hair. Good luck...they were biting pretty good last weekend at night, but it was freaking cold! I am a big fan of going about 1:00 - 5:00a.m. to avoid the crowds, but if the weather is bad, there shouldn't be too many folks out.

I don't know about the bite alarms, but I have used the Okuma baitrunners a lot in saltwater. IMHO they are great reels and the baitrunner feature is a MUST when bait fishing. If I can ever learn enough to go catfishing productively, I will invest in a few Okumas for the kitties as well.

There are some in Forrest Lake in Thousand Hills State Park near Kirksville, Mo. No a huge population, but no a small one either. Great eating little buggers!!

My "sorta heavy" trout rig is an old All Star medium heavy spinning rod with a shimano symmetre (sp?) reel. I use 30 power pro with 5 feet of 10-20 lb seguar florocarbon leader connected using the "uni-to-uni" knot. This also works well when fishing from the shore and they are running all 4 turbines near the dam. Sometimes a 18 inch trout feels gi-normous when its in the heavy current.

Bill will know much more than me, but I have luck with redfins and jointed rogues......reeling them in SLOW so they never get deeper than about 1". I know others prefer sammys and boingers as well. Everytime I walk-the-dog it seems to scare off the bass so I just stick with the redfin. Just my two pesos.

I know that some guys use chicken livers to go after the pigs. I think it would be pretty funny if a kid with a Zebco 33 and a chicken liver caught the world record brown trout. It would irk the "river runs through it" people I would guess. I can tell you that in 2001 there were some VERY large browns sampled in the trophy area....but not near the dam.....they looked bigger than freaking king salmon. IMHO one would have to emply larger gear than normal to target these fish.

Pickeral are really cool fish. The 11 point is the best place that I know. My buddy caught what mightacouldhavebeen a record, but it was dinner instead....rotflmao. I need to check my notes, but I think we have some pickeral (grass) in the Springfield area.

The Kings River Arm stockings have been successful as far as I know. I forgot the numbers (# of fish/shocking hour), but I thought that it has always been "decent." I think they tried stocking the James Arm, but it was never successful....maybe until now. I have done some "walleye" shocking on the James back in 2000 and we found zero. Maybe they tried a different strain and these are working better for the James since folks are catching them now?? I haven't talked to Bill for awhile. I have actually done some stocking in Lake Stockton....its pretty cool to see all those zillions of baby 'eyes.

Good question. And until see the results I don't know how I feel about it. Although I think they are only stocking walleye in the James and Kings River arms of the lake unless I have missed some recent news. I think I have an answer for the "why." : Bull Shoals has some monster walleye.....espcially compared to Stockton. Stockton has the 15" inch limit for a reason. I'm guessing that the thinking is that TR could produce similar size classes of walleye as those in BS and, in Missouri, TR is an extremely popular lake....much more so than BS. Having a trophy walleye fishery would be another "feather in TR's cap." Just my 2 cents.

Good luck with your studies...Beckman is a good guy to work for. Just watch out for the comprehensive exams before your these defense....although I can think of others who are worse. Dodd may come back sooner to try for some walleyes or go down to taney for coldwater carp. Tight Lines!

Gosh....there are tons of stories.....and they are told better sitting around a picnic table enjoying a beverage or three. I really wish i had some pictures to show you as well, but we often too busy for a camera. One of my favorites was shocking the James River arm of TR. I was studying river redhorse at the time and it was often a challenge to find them in winter and early spring. Most of the adults retreat to the impounded water when it gets cold.....but almost all at once they head upstream on their spawing runs. This particular day happend to be a few days before spoonbill season started. We never want to shock a spoonbill, they react very poorly to the "juice" and can be injured or killed. I was above Galena on the James looking for these redhorse, but they had not run that far up yet. We proceded downstream further and further until somewhere downstream of McCord Bend. Anyhow, I was netting at the front of the boat and my associate was driving. Out of the corner of my eye I started to see a wake rapidly approaching the boat.....getting excited I turned to face whatever it was. All of a sudden WABBO!!!! (This part is better when I can tell it in person) I got smacked head on with spoonbill flying out of the water, hitting me in the chest, doing a summersault, and continuing out the other side of the boat. It just shocked, no pun intended, the heck out of me. It didn't hurt really, just freaking scary. The best part is my buddy didn't see it at all. It is really loud in the boat and we wear ear protection. He was looking down when it happened and didn't see anything A number of times we would shock mirror carp with lampreys on them. Mirror carp are a genetic strain of a common carp....very crazy looking. One day on the finley we shocked up a giant orange koi that was swimming around in a school of carp. I am guessing that it was a pet that we "let go" and it found its closest cousins to hang our with. Another favorite has nothing to do with fish. We were on our way back to the access.......coming around a bend on the St. Francis River, we saw two young ladies in tubes flagging us down. I stopped and they asked for a ride 'cause their boyfriends left them hours before. It was getting ready to rain and they did not want to get caught on the river. Something I should point out about these two ladies...they both had cheerleader bodies and were wearing the smallest bikinis that I have ever seen....dental floss comes to mind. Anyway, we are jetting back to the access when it starts to rain hard, but it was August and it was warm. So now I have two near naked hotties on the bow of our government boat. They looked like obscene hood ornaments. Arriving at the access, there was a park ranger type standing by the ramp watching us pull up and we were grinning ear to ear like schoolkids with a new toy. The look we got from him was PRICELESS. A camera would have gotten us fired. You can't always see musk rats or beavers. A beaver introduced to electric current can move as fast as a cheetah on caffeine. The pothole is called the pothole for a reason...everything lives there. Thats all for now, I think of some more and post again.

There are also some monsters in the James River and is the Elk River near Noel. I seem to think there was one that went like 18 pounds...but it was "grabbed" not "caught." River Redhorse (I know WAY too much about this fish) have giant molar-like pharyngeal teeth which they use to eat mussels and crayfish. They only make up a small percentage of the redhorse popualtion but are the largest redhorse species in this state. I have seen them get up to 28 years old in Canada, but in Missouri I think 14 is the oldest that I recall. Cool fish!

Yeah....the Biology thing is way too long of a conversation to discuss online. And I did not say that I have nothing "to show" for my education in biology, but rather I have nothing "to do" biology now. There are MANY electrofishing stories....I'll have to think of a few and post them in this forum I guess.

Lilley, I will email or IM you later tonight with particulars, but I have EXTENSIVE maps of the James.....and every other body of water in swmo. Perhaps I can lend a hand. -CH

Hey Bill!! Its Christian.....say hi to my uncle for me! By the sound of your report, I am going to have to de-winterise my boat and get out there. -Tight Lines

Well, I figured that it was time for me to post here. My name is Christian Hutson and I live in Springfield. I have spent my entire life in Mo...STL to Kirksville to SGF. Beside my kids, my biggest passion has always been fishing. I don't care if its a white bass, river redhorse, rainbow trout, goggle-eye, spotted bass, or spoonbill...either way I'll be excited to fish for them. Over the past few years, I have discovered the joys of saltwater fishing and realized how freaking strong those fish are compared to their freshwater cousins. I now find the time to travel to the Gulf of Mexico to fish for snook, tarpon, shark, goliath grouper, redfish, speckled trout, etc. Its all a blast...and the weather is much nicer. Like I said, I have been a "fish-head" for as long as I can remember. I even received a Master of Science in Biology from SMSU (MSU) with an emphasis on fisheries biology and aquatic ecology. I did my thesis on the population structure of river redhorse in the James River. I have worked on rivers and streams from here to Pennsylvania to Wisconsin to Florida. I have also been employed as a Fisheries Biologist with Missouri Department of Conservation. I tell you, electrofishing Taney, Tablerock, BullShoals, Stockton, James River, Mermec River, etc.....is way to much fun. I have also spent years at the bottom of our rivers studying freshwater mussels. I have been lucky enough to be a part of endangered species breeding programs. My job was to find the pregnant females of federally endangered species...this often took over 400 man-hours in the water to locate a single specimen. I would average between 200-250 "dives" per year. For those of you that are not familiar with Missouri's freshwater mussels, I would suggest you check out some of the literature. We have about 65 species in this state...many of which are in severe decline. Its a sad story to anyone who is interested in Missouri's aquatic resources. Overall, I have pretty much been on most every body of water in Southern Missouri (having now said that...there are lots I have not seen yet). Unfortunately, my biology career did not work out as planned so I became an entrepreneur and own a dog toy manufacturing company. Yep, thats right, a zillion years in school in biology and now I have nothing to do with it...sigh. My advice for anyone thinking of a biology career in Missouri...don't do it...its all a government "old boy" mentality anyway. Wow, this post got long! Anyway, I have two sons, ages 4 and 1. Because of my parental duties, I don't get to fish as much as Lilley, but I try. My primary haunts are Tablerock where I keep my boat (1997 Lund Fish and Ski), James River, Little Sac River, Pothole--Barker Hole--Beaver--Swan on Bull Shoals, Taney (night only), and Boca Grande Florida. I use everything from a spinning rod to fly rod to baitcaster, to snaggin' pole to a surfcaster....I don't care as long as I am catching fish. Tight lines to everyone! -CH

Nope....they are from two years ago actually...but they do represent what you can run into when the whites are "on." We caught about 80-90 that night (only kept our limits)....almost every cast and never even moved the boat if it wasn't for the funnel clouds and quarter sized hail we would have never left. We started using ultra light gear with 6 lb test....but these slobs were kicking our butts so we switched to a little heavier rod and 8lb. The smallest fish was 17 inches. It was especially pleasing because we were having some fun trash talk with some buddies who will only use a fly rod even if spinning gear is more productive. And this is the kicker....we caught these when most of the locals said that the run was over. I am part owner of Jet Set Pets. No...Ben did move back to Iowa....I'm the ugly one with hair on my head. He is making the journey to the James for the whites though! Its an addiction you know. I know Fobian as well. Haven't heard anything about Sac/LS yet. The water is still cold.

There are no...I repeat NO white bass anywhere near blunk hole!!!

Boca Grande lies at the Southern tip of Gasparilla Island. The island is about 7 miles long and not even a half mile wide....more like 400 yards. There is a swing bridge at the northern end ($4.00 toll) and you can drive your car. On the island most people get around via golf cart. Its fun, but expensive on the Island....I tend to shop off the Island.

OH YES!!! Just like up here, there are those folks down there who live and die by the fly rod. In fact I have some killer flies for snook. Bought them off a 16 year old kid after I saw his trophy snook pictures. I have personally seen folks using a fly rod to catch snook, tarpon, redfish (probably the easiest...they are freakin' gluttons), speckled trout (a drum really), ladyfish, and jack crevalles. Except for the passes, the waters near Boca Grande are all shallow making it good for the fly rod. For more info, I would visit the Florida SPortsman Fishing Forums, they have a Fly Fishing group. http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zeroforum?id=4 Some of them even go after sharks on the fly rods....crazy stuff.

My family (not me) owns a place on the south tip of the island...you can see BG pass from the deck. I let my four year old try for snook, but not the sharks.....they almost pulled me in a couple times. The hurricanes are a pain, but the snook fishing after June 1 can be awesome. I have seen guys pull in 40" plus snook regularly.

Species in the pics: Snook (looks kinda like a walleye) -- Very fun to catch, they bolt for cover which is generally covered by barnicles. Sharks -- Blacktip and Bull -- Self explanitory. Its kinda like cat fishing except of steriods. They will "charge" you as well as go airborne. Sheepshead -- Great fighters, great eating, hard to hook with thier teeth. Count to three and set the hook on one. Southern Sting Ray -- Very common. Very good fighters, they turn sideways in the water. Watch out for the stinger or you'll be in the hospital. Small one can make great bait. Goliath Grouper -- Used to be called the Jewfish. they changed its name for obvious reasons. Totally protected as thier population in not great. They get to like 800lbs...I have only caught them to 250 lbs (estimate). They fight like a swimming volkswagon....very tough. I have seen a pic of one trying to EAT a 100lb blacktip shark. I'd be happy to answer other questions, but I'll stop for now before I get too long winded. Most of these pictures represent at least a 2-3 beer (or soda) long story.

Well, we just got back from Boca Grande and had a wonderful time. This was not really a fishing vacation.....I have a 4 and 1 year old to deal with, but I did manage to get out a couple nights. Boca Grande is on Gasparilla Island in southwest Florida. It is the tarpon fishing capital of the world (they say). Overall, the fishing was spectacular. I actually got BORED of catching snook.....out of season and can't use them for shark bait. It seemed that the entire backside of Gasparilla was holding snook and sheepshead with the occasional jack, flounder, and ladyfish. Day 1: Ok...so I got some nice sheepshead for dinner one day and decided to use the carcasses for sharkbait. I was using a 6'6" shakespeare tidewater 80lb rated rod with rollers, 80lb PP, and some 4' leaders made by a guy who surf fishes in Texas. I believe it was 500lb weedeater line attached to 240lb black coated cable and a 9/0 circle hook. I was fishing off the end of a dock of the backside of the island near the phosphate docks. The first cast had an entire sheepshead carcass. About 10 minutes later...BANG! A really nice run and sold hookup. Unfortunately, it got busted off on the barnacles just as I touched a leader. I know, no pics = no fish. But to me it looked like a solid 5 footer...blacktip I think. I was pretty dismayed at the lack of pics...but no less than 5 minutes after I cast out another carcass I got another hookup....and landed this beast. It forgot to measure it, but it looked about 6'. The guy I was fishing with had to leave....so the smart thing to do would be to stop fishing for sharks, but I am not real smart. And I had to land the next beast by myself. I used my hat for reference...it measured 6'1" total length. I was way too tired at this point and decided to call it a night. Day 2: I could not find any freaking bait this day...only snook. Luckily I saw a small kid catch a small ladyfish so at least I had one bait for the night. My sister-in-law came out with me for good luck. I must have hit the shark on the head because I got a run immediately after I cast out the ladyfish...before I could even turn on the clacker. Got another 6 foot beauty. If I did not mention it....I released all of the sharks. Since I was out of bait, that was it for the night. Day 3: I was now determined to get bait.....luckily I caught a jack, ladyfish, sheepshead, and some large mullet. This night was even better because I went out earlier than usual and brought my son. The first shark of the night was a small 4.5 footer, but still very nice. The pic with my boy. The next two were quite a bit larger. Measured 6'7" and 6'9" total length. One of them i barely caught....oh I got my sister-in-law into the fighting belt for a few minutes. Some of the fights were lasting 30 minutes. Oh and I almost forgot...caught a couple of these goliath grouper. By the way...they will "tail" when the water is warm...which means (in theory) that you could flyfish for them. You would probably need a 14 weight....the fish I measured was 6'6" and about 200lbs. All I can say is that I left Boca Grande a very tired and very happy camper. I'll be back in June for tarpon hopefully. Oh how I love that place.

Can't wait to get back to trout fishing...but I have kept busy.

I have caught some nice ones near the dam with large rapalas and rogues. It was after a period of high water....after they had the floodgates open for a few days. Caught some nice white bass during that same period.