ozarkgunner

I'll second creek waders comment. Try below the dam if water is running. There is an amazing bass fishery below the dam. Large numbers of spots can be had about any time of the year. However, right now you can't keep back bass below the dam (if you would even want to). Tight lines!

Nice bass! I got a bunch of them that size this weekend. It's too bad about the front....... I hope it picks up because I am heading down on Sat. Tight lines!

I went on Sunday after the cold front. I did ok a white, 7 bass, and some crappie. It should be much better since then. I was fishing from the bank. I am thinking about heading down on Friday.

Heck I'm a black crappie also..... why do I keep moving between fish types.... and mostly why are some "trash fish" status "ranked higher" than I am?

A man can't afford to eat as much when he spends $24 on a single jerk bait. LOL

Four stroke motors take a little bit of the pain out of the long run up to Shell, but Bill is right. Shell is where it is at on TRL. By contrast, I think the area around the Dam/ IP is the hardest to fish 365 days a year.

Thanks. The hotline has the water temp and flow forecast for the whole week in addition to the river level.

"FLY" is a big part to me. A properly weighted bait cuts the air like butter................. a must in my book!

Do you have a boat?

1. If you are truely not getting ANYTHING then most likely you are fishing too fast. This is the number one problem for many novice anglers. 2. The second fatal thing is using the wrong line. Use clear (not red, green, blue, smoke, etc,) quality line between 8-10 lbs. The number of fish you catch is worth much more than the baits you use. 3. When selecting baits think about what color of bait the fish are actually eating. This said, use a DARK (i.e. black or blue) at night. It seems funny, but you can see dark objects very well at night. I use purple baits at night also. 4. Hire a guide to show you what to do. You didn't learn to drive alone, so why learn to fish alone. It is the best money you will ever spend. 5. Buy good (they don't have to be great) gear. I out fished my friend with minnows (15 fish to zero) last weekend because I had a long St. Croix rod with a soft tip spooled with Florocarbon. You don't have to spend $300 on a rod and reel but a $100 rod makes a BIG difference. 6. Stay on the Ozark Anglers Forum. I love to help anyone fish.....someone had to show me at one point in time. 7. Relax... it's fishing not catching. Buy large minnows if everything else fails! Good night!

Just a .38? He might get more offers if he wanted .357 (shoot .38 also) too.

The dam line said they are going to run water all week long. (unlike TanneyCOMO they mean it!). Go get the fish boys! They are there for the pickings!

YES! All they need is a few stockton dam walleye and a big tom turkey fried up with them.

You aren't kidding about the price......... Even Wal-Mart's top of the line Rapalas are now $7.78!!!!!!!!! (Luckily Wal-Mart takes them back when a 100 bass break them within a week!) If thoses are what I think they are they do catch fish!!!

IMO Mid-May = the start of plastic worm fishing. I still work a shad rap or wart if the conditions are right. Additionally, May can bring some block buster top water bites. However, for the most part the stick bait action is over by the time I start chasing the turkey (if not much sooner).

Bill is right about not having to get the stick bait all the way down to the fish. I really really really worked the bass over the last two weekends on a Rapala X-Rap "Extreme Action Slashbait." The water was so clear where I was fishing you could see the bass coming off the bottom to smash the bait. I think I found a new bait to replaced my Smithwicks. The only bad think is cost................. $7 bucks a pop.

I went to Bagnell today on my way to Columbia. I caught 7 bass (all 14-16 inches) 8 small crappie, 2 drums and 1 white. The fishing has slowed big time after the cold front. However, the fish are there and it's only a matter of time until it breaks loose. I watched one guy leave with 10 whites. For some reason there are a lot of Russians who fish down there. They can't read english so I had to educated them about not keeping the black bass from the river this time of the year.

Blunk. I need not say more. F.Y.I. Parking spots are hard to come by down there.

We were above the bridge (in fact we were right under the dam on the powersite side) so no keeping walleye after dark but it is still fun to catch them.

Phil, I think all of the walleye would have been over the limit.... (i.e. 18 plus one was more like 20') However, we got them all after dark so you can't keep them.

I fished last night until 9 p. I got 3 walleyes. One on a minnow and two on a shad rap. They were right in the middle of the heavy current. Fished for whites from the bank in the mouth of swan... nothing!

The water is still cold (42 on Sat.) so try a winter pattern. I got all of my fish down stream in the brush piles after the ramp. Hardly nobody was catching catfish, however lots of crappie on minnows. The key with jigs is SLOW. Tightlines.

MIZ!

I fished Sat. March 14 from 2-6:45 pm. The water is still 41 degrees in the river. Ended up with 5 huge crappie, 2 black bass and 1 white bass. I had lots of really soft bites. The water needs to warm a little bit before it get real good. The guys up aginst the face of the dam did really well. However, they all got tickets from MDC. Don't forget about the yellow line.

I am heading down on Sat. I'll give you a report when I get back. From what I hear, it has been hit or miss lately. I hope they turn on the water, but I doubt they will. Water temp is still below 50