redbud

for sure,next time out I will mark my boat with some bright markers on the trolling motor and seat post.If i am getting skunked maybe someone will come and give me a clue.Likewise, if I am having success I'd be glad to help out.These markers may also benefit someone in need of help.

I was thinking of wrapping my front seat post with flourescent orange marking tape. I dont really think I want to wear a matching cap.A ribbon would get shredded unless it was wrapped tightly.I think any bright color would work,maybe something removeable so if you are on different water you would not be mistaken for a different club ,etc.

Fished way up the Kings past Sweetwater.Lost track of how many fish I caught on wiggle wart .Wind blown flats were loaded with small active fish .The wart was working in less than 15 feet .Temps were 47-50,clarity was limited maybe 2 feet. Looks like the lake is starting to turn up there. Had a great day with a couple of nice ones mixed in . All the caught fish were largemouth but one smallie really smacked it good .Stayed on three spots all day. Fish seemed bunched up. If you find one there are more close by.made 8 passes over one area and hooked up each time. Submerged wood seemed to be the best. Almost forgot, saw an elderly gentleman fishing from a dock with crappie minnows pull a huge bass out from under the dock looked like 7-8 lbs to me. He tossed it back with out even a thought.Said he caught em like that all the time. Next trip that dock will be my starting point.Good luck out there.

top secret hiking trails,how cool is that?i can see why the location is kept confidential.

Good report ,I also Fished The White from Beaver Town to Big M on Sunday managed 10 fish with 4 keeps and one nice smallmouth Shakey head and jig& pig were the ticket for us.I dont think I have ever worked that hard for so few bites. Im not familiar with a staysee,can you elaborate please?

Fish getting ready to bed? Are there early spawning fish here that I dont know about?Has anyone seen fish this early in the year ready to bed.We went out Sat. and caught 4 keeps on stick bait and small cranks way up the White.We went back into a couple of creeks and didnt see a fish anywhere not even a minnow.All our fish were in timber in main channel cuts.

whatever happened to fishing for fun and relaxation. I dont have any more respect for a wrapped boat than a guy in a canoe. I launched at shell knob [as usual following the traffic flow that has been in place there as long as I can remember]and after I pulled my truck up and parked some little punk walks up and demands that I move my truck and trailer to the upper level. I politely told him to kiss my @$# and he freaked out.In my younger days he would have been in trouble.The only people who can talk to me like that are my wife and mother. Wisdom comes with age, I wanted to go fishing, not jail.I have been using that launch for more years than that punk has been alive.Excuse my rant but but I really believe that these guys are ruining our sport.Too much pressure and no fun makes for a tedious job.I have seen film of a pro breaking a rod over his knee and throwing it in the water because he had a fish come off near the boat. How is this entertainment?Why does it make the show?I fish to relax,get out in Gods natural world and hopefully catch a few while I am out.I have paid my taxes, served my country and helped preserve the freedom that some of these guys take for granted.I will not let them ruin my day,I will release a lunker and go home happy. Good luck out there and HAVE FUN. I feel better now ,thanks.

Martin thanks for scanning those pics.I really like the one with the two guys cruising by in the boat.

just a heads up guys, BPS reel trade in will be up to $100 this year thru March 3. for a good cause.

I think that you will enjoy your stay here. If you are in Springfield go to Table Rock, hire one of the excellent guides and be prepared to catch some bass,maybe some big bass .Big fish are caught this time of year with 5 to 7 lbs not uncommon.You should go over to the Table Rock forum and check the posts ,there you will meet the guides .You might want to book now to make sure you have a spot. Welcome to America and good luck.

Sam old photos are always interesting especially anything related to fishing or the creeks and rivers in this area. Maybe post some on the photo forum .Have fun remembering the "good ole days"

Sam, I for one would love to see some pics ,dig em out if you can.

kc went to sueandersenrealty.com there are several pics of the 2008 flood. Sam I often wondered the same thing ,now with the DI i do think the computer makes a composite of both sides to make the down image . I have only seen my spoon on the down image once.Seems like they put the down image program in because people were driving thier boats with thier heads cocked to the side.When I first installed the 997 I would turn it 90 degrees and shoot to just one side,[towards the shore]. In this pic you can see the new bridge abutment on the left side. you can see it in the down image , how could I have gone over top of the new bridge?

Here are some 997 pics of the old bridge .pic 143 shows what I believe to be the part of the bridge that collapsed and is now laying on the bottom. Capt. Don I tried to get some shots with the 800hz but it seemed to lose the bottom when I was out over deeper water.Was the pic of the old bridge in the earlier post made with your 800hz and are there different transducers that may get me a sharper image?

Eric ,I am curious as to how many spots you would fish between K-city and Big creek and how much time you would spend on a spot before you deem it unproductive?Thanks for any advice.

I can assure you there is no class envy on my part. I own a thriving business and have kept 24 people employed through this whole economic disaster.My problem is limited to people who are inconsiderate and rude. Maybe I should hang around the launches with my new HD camera and film some of these guys at thier best behavior.Do you think any of the footage would make the FLW show?

NICE. That fish could easily eat anything I caught yesterday. Great job on light tackle.What a rush you must have had when you first saw her.

I like the braid for throwing spinnerbaits.The feel is excellent.You can really feel the blades turn. Many times you can feel the fish right before the strike because the blades will stop. I use the 20lb test,I think it has 8lb diam.[p-line]I can really horse a fish out of the brush when the water is high.It has been easier for me to pick out a back lash, and I have not noticed any undue wear on my guides or reels.Braided line is not new. I remember my grandpa using it, he hated mono because of the line memory and the old line becoming brittle and breaking easily.Remember this was back in the 60's and mono was inveted in the late 30's and did not become popular until the late 60's. I used to use my dads tackle and he used stren.The first time I ever heard a cuss word was when I showed up with my dads rig,gramps said what the @#$% are you gonna do with that @#$&. Were here to fish ,not untie knots all day. He bought me a new reel, an Abu Ambassadeur ,spooled with dacron,I still have it.As the years went on and fishing line got better gramps would have reels set up with both types of line,but he always used the braid.I made him mad because I respooled my new reel with mono.The old braid was thick like string and was hard to cast.I didnt like the old stuff but I really like the new,it has its uses but I dont use it all the time and never on a spinning reel.I always have a couple of rigs with braid on the boat.

I agree with Bill. These guys are pretty rude, Ive been cut off at the launch and on the lake.Now because of jerks like some of these rude pros if you have a nice rig people think you are like them.Id rather go noodling than fish with any of them .They are ruining our sport.$70k boats and $30 swimbaits. Not impressed. Maybe some of these goons will read some of these posts.,you know they are online looking for info.I hope we have a blizzard.

I was in Joplin the other day on business and I stopped at Academy on the way out of town. Nice store, good prices...hopefully they will break ground at the Rogers location soon.Here are some pics of the H2o X lures I picked up. should provide a little better detail than their website.

are you right or left handed?if you cast your spinning rig with your right hand and reel with your left,you might want to check into a lefty baitcaster. If you cast with your right and you have a right hand reel [baitcaster]you will have to switch hands everytime you cast. I was sceptical about the lefty so i bought a rebuild from the outlet store at bass pro.I got used to it in about an hour.Now all of my casters are lefty even though im right handed.Bass Pro has a reel trade in during the fishing classic, trade in any old reel and they will give you up to $50 bucks off a new one that was also on sale. I walked out of there with a new Johnny Morris high speed for around $120.Whatever you decide on, buy yourself a nice reel ,you should have it for a while.

Beginning or end of March? Last spring I spent a lot of time in the Kings,caught a bunch of good ones .Dont let the weather scare you,seems like the nasty,cold,windy and overcast rainy days produce the best for me. March sure can change from beginning to end but you are in the right place here on Ozark Anglers,best fishing forum on the web by far.Keep your eye on the fishing reports , I assure you they are accurate.If my memory serves me correctly we got into the walleye pretty good one day in March.Good luck and let us know how you do.

Wow Platinum Equity is huge,looks like they are munching up everything in thier path. I guess its a good thing becuase a lot of the people will remain working.Now I am wondering what this will do to boat prices,hopefully the market will stablize and the prices will come down to reasonable levels.Seems like the manufacturers were pricing themselves right out of the market,$70 grand for a bass boat is a dream the working man just cannot afford or justify.A reasonable person probably wont sign a 20 year note when the future is so unclear.I dont think they sell a lot of bass boats to the filthy rich,or the Saudi Arabians......that would be a sight, a couple of Arabs flying down the lake ,turbans unfurling in the wind.

I try to take some pics between casts

The yahoo forum was one of the main factors in my decision to go Humminbird .I have had lowrance since the old black flasher units were standard . Techo, easier to ask forgivness than permission, go for it you wont be sorry. [i had to pay cash ,my wife does the books] Most people are fascinated by the sidescan even if they dont fish. Now you can really see whats down there and return to a spot with space age precision.You can record and go back later and see what you missed, marking structure to check next time out. It is satisfying to me to catch fish on these newly discovered spots. Sam ,the web site was www.lakediver.com they didnt have much listed , I think the divers are a little secretive not wanting to give up thier "treasure" I believe there is a book out about the history of the White before the dam was built. Capt Don feel free to use any screen shots you wish.I hope to get out next week maybe wed or thurs I'll be in a gunmetal and gold single console Champ196 with a v-max on it cruising around the bridge .Whatever happened to some sort of identifying sticker?