MOBass

It's always hard to see someone not handle a fish to be released in a proper manner. Sometimes they just don't know how. You can sometimes offer a little advice on how to better release fish but be prepared for mixed results. On one end you may get a sincere thanks for teaching someone a better way to do it and on the other you may get a very irate person growling at you. If it looks like someone is a novice and just needs a little education I'll usually say something and try to offer some help. On the other hand if it appers to be someone that should know better or just doesn't care I'll keep my thoughts to myself. I am not out for a confrantation while fishing....at least with a human. I'll fight the fish all day long.

If someone has a little technical skill I am sure that an alarm could be wired to the rod lockers. While car thieves are prepared for this it might catch a would be tackle thief by surprise. It would be nice if they could catch a few of the no good so and sos to find out how much skill they have. Are they career thieves or just tweakers looking for some quick cash.

I'll be down Monday fishing with my daughters in the bait area and as always everyone will be wearing life vest from the second we get in the boat. It is good to hear the MWP followed up on the dangerous boater. Is there a tip line or number to call for water patrol? I'll go looking but if anyone has it handy please post it.

It would be safe to say that theft has become a problem on all of the area lakes. About all you can do is sleep in your boat if you want to make sure all of your stuff will be there in the morning. I doubt we will see things improve anytime soon. I went fishing Friday nigth and while I didn't run into any theft probelms I was a little nervous when I got back to the ramp. There were a few rigs parked and a car which appeared empty. I put the trailer in the water and was going back to the boat when the car that was in the lot pulled down with no lights on and parked on the ramp next to me. Not sure if it was just curiosity or not but it didn't give me a warm fuzzy. No one got out and the car eventually pulled away. Call me a wimp but I'll stick to night fishing with a group from now on.

I am headed down tomorrow to give night fishing a try. I'll be buddy boating and after fishing some bass while the sun is up we plan to anchor up and try for some crappie under lights. Any advice would be appreciated.

I am feelin' a lot better. I thought I was the only one that picked up a candy bar and soda at the gas station when I had to make a "pit stop". If I end up in a tackle shop I always seem to walk out with something. I have a great respect for people that make their living by fishing and selling tackle. You have to love it because you probably won't get terribly rich doing it.

I'll have the boat out with my daughters Sunday. Hopefully the crowds won't be too bad on the water. I know it will be better than the Rock.

Need some help here. I plan on fishing Taney Monday in the hopes that some of the crowd will have headed home. I am trying to figure out where exactly Lilley's place is in relation to Branson. I plan to put in at Rock Away and motor up but just didn't know how far that was and which side it would be on. If someone has a map they could post I could sure use it. Any reports on fishing around Branson? Any carp around? What are the bass up to?

Thankfully all of the fish I have caught this year have been clean and healthy. I haven't been down in a couple of weeks though. I'll be fishing from Indian to the 86 bridge Thursday and might go back on Saturday. I'll try to rember the camera in case I find any sick ones.

I skulked the aisle at BPS and they had both jointed and non jointed. I was pretty sure the jointed was the preffered model. I appreciate the info on the mods to the bait. I know a couple of folks that fish this bait a lot but have been very tight lipped about the mods. I had figured out the wait to the back of the bait but had not figured out the foam up front. As was mentioned deeper water on points or over timber seems to be where this bait performs best. I may need a mental health day next week to go try some new stuff.

If you don't mind sharing could you say what type of red fin you were using? I believe there are two body styles.

Your results pretty well match mine from Saturday. There was a fair amount of fishing pressure with tournament and other anglers out. I took four keepers in one area and slid out so someone else could have a turn. I made it a short day with eight good fish. All but one of my fish were on a split shot rig with a watermelon red fry. Can't wait to go again.

I am putting in at Indian in the morning also. If you see a white Nitro 882DC and a tired looking guy in a red, beat up Bass Pro cap that will probably be me. I hurt my back so I won't be running far. Yell if you see me and I'll be glad to share what little I know.

Try Big Cedar Hollow for the little boat or take it up to Indian Point and put in. Both areas should offer some fish without having to travel far. For rentals try State Park or Long Creek Marina. I hope this get's you a start.

I picked up a flyer about the landing a couple of weeks ago and only saw the Bass Pro marina mentioned. The new outfit must have came in after the flyers went out. I tried to find some information on the internet and couldn't come up with anything on them. If someone finds a link it would be interesting to see what type of boats they have and wheter they are a dealership or tour operations.

Quick! Someone hide this before word gets out! I started fishing bass at Taneycomo last year. There were just too many guys at the ramp with bass tackle strapped to the deck to ignore it. I was amazed out how good it was and plan to be back at it here shortly. If you host another tournament make sure to post it because I want in.

Last spring I hit some epic crappie fishing with fish up to 15". My partner kept a few for a fish fry and we released the rest. We pulled 20 or so off one bank and all were solid keepers or better. You may want to up size your baits. Consider throwing bigger grubs or some of the new beaver style baits. Big bait = big fish.

With the water low are there any ramps that are not useable right now? I am fishing the CMN tournament on the 18th and want to find someplace close to put in. I thought about Mill Creek and just motor over but it is a pain to find someplace to tie up at the weigh in.

WARNING! PURE SPECULATION AHEAD! Would it not make sense for the Ducks to offer rides on Taney after touring the downtown / landing area? The downtown / landing area will attract big crowds and will have easier access than their current location on 76. If I were a business man I would love to have that many people coming by my place and potentially stopping in to ride. They could put in and take out at the ramp in the campground, run up or down the lake, and then drive back out. That being said I hope it was just a 'test drive' and will reamin a fluke site.

I usually park near the hatchery. There are two lots and an area with tables and an outhouse. There is another parking area down by the boat ramp but I have not used it before. If you like to walk park near the first outlet and fish your way down or park at the second outlet and follow the path to the stairs. This will take you down near the rebar hole. Start there and go either direction. I have not been much below rebar because I get to caught up in catching fish. I guess that isn't a terrible problem.

Two of my coworkers fished below the dam this past weekend and reported seeing a few fish in rends that appered to be dropping eggs. They caught a couple of fish that were milking as they were releasing them but no reports of fish dropping eggs when caught. I fish a glo ball year round. I firmly believe it is a reaction bite and you only have one or two shots at a fish or group of fish and then they wise up and you will have to move on or change patterns. Rainbows like the glo balls and the browns will simply kill them. The only bad thing is I miss a lot of fish because I watch the strike and set up on them to soon.

I gave up combat fishing awhile ago. If someone gets too close I stop fishing and watch for a bit and if they don't move along I step out and move to a fresh spot. I would rather fish alone on a poor stretch of water than fish on top of each other in a prime location. It's just fishing and no fish is worth fighting over.

I am not sure of the legality of snagging the fish with a crank. I wouldn't want to give it a try with an agent watching unless I had a copy of the regs in my pocket that stated it was an approved method of take. Where is the start of the fly zone? I have only fished by the hatchery and lodge. Thankfully it seems like shuffling is slowing a little at Taney. At one time I would see a half dozen people that were clearly shuffling between the dam and rebar on every trip. Now I only see one or two and sometimes none.

At the start of spring I strip everything down to the bare spool and put line on those rods I'll be using during that first trip. Anything that won't be used until later in the year doesn't get line on it until a day or two before the trip. I'll fish with line until it has memory, discolors, becomes rough, or I have a tournament and will be using that rod. When I change line I strip of half the spool and refill. I use line and reel magic after I spool up, the night before a trip, and during the day as needed. One thing that will help is to pull the rods out of the boat when not in use. High summer temps can kill line in a rod box.

If I recall right the marina is going to have 68 slips. How many of those will be for demo/rental boats I am not sure. I am torn and see both pros and cons to the landing. Pros would be an eatery on the water and an attraction the family can enjoy while I am on the water. Cons are the increase to boat traffic and fishing pressure. The biggest impact will probably be confined to the area from in front of the landing to just above the bridges. Hopefully they will stay out of the other end of the lake so we have someplace to go without being ran over. Until there is a serious 'incident' I believe it will be unlikely that we will see an increase in water patrol or conservation enforcement.