MOBass

You couldn't call this past week winter but I found fish on main lake boat docks this past Friday. Two weeks prior we couldn't get a fish off a dock and found them on bluff banks. I haven't fished any of the creeks lately. If January continues to be mild I would probably give the boat docks and bluffs a try first and then start looking up the creeks after those two options. I did find some white bass and small LMB down by Forsythe a few weeks ago. The water temp dropped a little and they took a powder. If there were a series of warm days I would probably go looking for them again.

I couldn't stand it and had to get the boat out for one more trip before Christmas. Fished from Forsythe to Branson for not much. The fish I found by Forsythe had moved and I forgot my trout rods so the Branson area didn't produce much for me. My partner picked up a rainbow on a crawler and had a good fish follow a jerkbait. We hit the gold mine area for a small bass and a missed bite or two. The docks below Rockaway gave up a couple of missed bites for me and another bass for my partner. One more follower on the jerkbait for my partner and that was all she wrote. Weather was perfect! Asides - Lots of stuff in the water so be careful running. Leaf litter made fishing several areas difficult. There were a few duck hunters out and we heard plenty of shooting.

Near 70 in December and I can't pass up the weather. I plan to put in at Forsythe and fish my way to Branson and back. Has anyone been bass fishing lately? What about crappie? I was out the week of the ice/snow storm and did good on the bluff banks and found a lot of what looked to be whites down by Forsythe that I couldn't get to bite. If anyone has info to share please do. I'll post a report this weekend and let you all know how I did. Thanks,

Thanks guys. Bill's place was the one I saw on here. I am waiting on a tournament to settle on a date then I'll be booking a room with him. Thanks again.

I thought I saw some pictures from someone that operates a resort or B & B on Table Rock. I searched around and couldn't find the post so if someone has info please pass it on to me. Thanks!

I'll be somewhere fishing on the 1st. Taney sounds like as good a place as any.

I may run down Sunday and wanted to get a read on how the parking area is. I figure the little hill going down to the parking could be a little dicey with the snow and ice.

When I started fly fishing a few years ago I would go down early and hit the outlets hard. As I learned more I found myself fishing the outlets less and less. There is a lot of water between outlet 1 and 2 and I can usually get a few fish by walking, stalking, and casting. It is fun to walk down just below outlet 1 and fish to outlet 2, get out, and then drop back in again below the war zone and fish on down to rebar. I like the walk and the extra space.

Sorry about the late reports but here goes. I fished Monday 11/27 from Forsythe to the island above Branson. The area around Empire park was holding whites and small sized largemouth. It looks like they were on shad. I could talk a fish to eating a popper about every 50 cast but it was worth it to catch topwater fish in November. I got a fill of that and headed up the line to fish some boat docks for nothing. At the island above Branson it was whack a cast on crawlers for smallish rainbows and one decent brown along with some bluegill. Back to the gold mine area for some more bass fishing. A few nice fish on Stick o's and it was time to go. 11/28 I hit the dam area with the fly rod. It was a slow pick at first and then a good shot of fish on a glo ball.

It was a good day to be on the water. I started off fishing some boat docks below Rockaway for nothing and moved on down to the park by the Powersite dam. There were small blacks and some white bass popping now and again. I picked up one small black on a popper and couldn't get any love after that. After another quick stop at some boat docks for nothing it was up to the islands abover Branson for some trout. 4# line, small split shot, and half a crawler with garlic oil was working well. Missed a few because of flattened barbs on the hooks but brought enough to hand or long release to be interesting. I did get brown about 16" for variety along with a bunch of gills. I figured one more shot at the bass on a steeper bank and was off to the gold mine. 2 for 3 with two nice blacks brought to hand on a stick o. Off the water by 3p. I'll be down at the dam tomorrow to pick on a few more fish. See ya all.

Last year I got into some big whites around Bridgeport in October and was wondering if anyone has got into them recently. I am debating about going going down Monday but the reports looked mixed on green fish so I was thinking about some panfish to fall back on. Wherever I end up I'll post a report Monday evening.

I am up in the air about going to Taney or the rock next week. I have seen mixed reports from the rock and was hoping for better.

I like swimming a grub also. I also have some success fishing a wiggle wart through trees (mostly cedars). It can be a little intimidating to throw a crank bait into a forrest of trees poking out of the water but you'll be suprised at how well the bait comes through. I fish it with a steady retrive with most bites coming after it comes over a limb. I have also fished with some guys that have the spoon thing dialed in. I just can't figure out the areas to make it work on my own. This year I am going to fish the Eakins jig some and see what happens. I finally have some faith in fishing docks with it and want to see if the fish still hang close to some of the deeper docks in the winter.

I have never fished a two fly rig before. Do you fish it under an idicator or are you using one of the flys as an idicator and then a dropper below it? Do you rig the dropper on a lighter tippet so you don't break of the whole rig if you snag on the bottom? I want to fish a two fly rig on my next outing and figured it might be a good idea to find out how to rig it. Of course not knowing how to do something hasn't stopped me from trying stuff before.

I open the hook gap a little but haven't given them an offset. It looks like I was half way there at least. I'll try to give them a little offset to see if that helps. I enjoy seeing the fish go on point and scarf the egg, but it is a bummer to see if pop out on the set. I have tried setting the hook different ways and the resulst are about the same. Does anyone have a prefered method for setting the hook with a glo ball?

I'll be down a day or two the week following Thanksgiving. I would keep checking back here for reports. My results from a couple of weeks ago match the report posted from this weekend. Eakins jig and spinner bait. I caught my jig fish off of docks and spinner bait fish off banks as I was moving between docks. Unless something dramatic happens I'll probably start with the jig and spinner bait again.

Depending on the weather I like March-April. I fish a crankbait alot as I am not a good jerkbait fisherman. Febuary on could be good for jerkbaits. I know guys that fish them in January if the weather starts to warm and they catch some nice fish, but not many. Hopefully we will have some snow or rain this winter to fill the lake back up. It has been a little low and a dry winter could make things interesting in the spring. Check the lake levels when you come down and look at some maps and note where the bank normally is and where it actually is. There are some points and humps that could ruin a good day. Keep checking back as you get closer to your trip to see what's going on.

I was down on Sunday from 9A to noon. I ended up with 5 fish from 12-18" to hand with a bunch more missed. I fished glow balls in white and apricot and a white wolly bugger. There were a couple of pigs that took a hard look at each of the flys but wouldn't commit. I learned a little yesterday that I am sure most guys that have been fly fishing awhile know and that is to sharpen the hooks. After missing a couple of fish I realized the hook on my glow ball was very dull. I changed out to another one as I didn't have a hook hone with me. I am off to the store before my next trip to add a hook hone to my vest.

We need a good cold snap to settle things down. The colder it is the better. That seems to thin the herd a little bit and leave mostly people that are serious about the fishing. I am just grateful for every one person I see doing things wrong I see several that are doing things right.

Phil Do you have the floats and jigs at the resort and can I tie up at your dock to pick them up if you do? Thanks and sorry about hijacking the post.

I had to replace a couple of bunk boards and repair two brackets so I headed for the lake Saturday morning since the weather report looked a little better than Sunday. I arrived at Indian Point around 7A and had the boat in the water and tied off shortly there after. About an hour of work in the rain to get trailer fixed and I was ready to fish. I motored straight across from the ramp in a light rain and fished a little pocket with some wind on it and a boat dock. I was throwing a white spinner bait and mixing up the retrieve trying to find some fish near the timber. No love from that so over to the boat dock. I am not a good dock fisherman but like to get casting practice so I started at the walk way throwing a finess jigs. Nothing off the walkway so up to the first stall. The rain changed to little ice pellets at this point. Move up to the second stall (10-12' of water) out from the bank, throw back to the walk way, and strip line to get the jig to fall straight down. The ice pellets became heavier and I was not paying full attention when my line moved out from the dock. I decided I better set the hook before the fish died of old age on the line. The fish was there and I flip a decent K into the boat to get the skunk off. I stick with the dock as the rain/ice continues and fish both sides. No more love so off to look around. I made a short move back into Indian and decided I would spend the rest of the day learning the area a little. I fished a dock or two for nothing on the jig. There was a stretch of bank between docks so I decided to throw the spinner bait as I was moving. I finally talked a LM into biting and a fast retrive (3-5' of water). Two fish in about three hours so I wasn't setting the world on fire. Get to the next dock and go back to the jig. This time I am paying attention and have the line between my fingers as I work the jig with short hops, not moving it much. I feel a tick and see a small line movement at about the same time. I wind down and set the hook. It's a better fish and after a short run near the boat I flip a good K into the boat. That was it for the day. Fished a few more docks with a shakey head and through a crank for awhile. Overall not bad for having to do some work on the trailer.

I don't see anything terrible with the site as it stands. As for the drama I just don't read those post. It might be nice to see a seperate section for reports only and general post in another area. I will say that I see more reports here than I do on the other sites I visit.

I'll probably be on the water Sunday fishing from Indian Point to the Dam. Hopefully I'll have something good to report. If I don't I'll post what didn't work so someone can save the effort.

Can someone post a link to his site or tell me where his shop is? I don't "roll my own" yet.

Protecting a lure of any type seems to be a challenge. Recently the Chatter Bait was all the buzz in the bass fishing community. In short order every major bait company had a variant of the bait. When it is that difficult to protect a product it is up to the originator to find a way to set themselves apart. This could be through superior materials, service, performance, or something that makes the customer keep coming back for more.