smallmouth man

Last Saturday morning I was going North on Hwy 65. Springfield lake was frozen over at the Hwy 65 bridge. As I drove over the Hwy 65/ Lake Springfield bridge I saw some body, out in the middle, that had gone thru the ice. There was a fire crew there. They were helping the kid out. This is all I saw and I heard nothing on the news. Does anyone know anything else? What was he doing? Is he ok? I could not belive it.

We put in at BL and just fished around there. We went up river a little, we fished stinking creek, possum creek, and a little up passed possum. About 40% of the keepers had eggs. Water was 69-73 degrees.

First off, I said they were in the livewell. Just like they would be in any catch and release tournament. With that said if I am eating fish then I agree, walleye are best. Although bass are fine to eat. You either like to eat fish or you dont. I am not that picky. Anyway, to answer you; If we were going just for food, we would fish for walleye. We were fishing for practice. But if someone wants to eat bass, let it be. Your are not the food police.

My dad and I went to Pomme on Saturday. We put in @ 6am and I had 4 bass in the boat (all on jig), including one keeper before we took cover for from the lighting around 7:30. We caught back on the water @ 8 and I kept on with the jig. My dad started landing fish on the crank. I caught a few more shorts and a keeper on jig. I switched to a shaky head and landed a 3lb on my 3rd cast. By 10 we had 9 keepers in the livewell. After the rain and clouds cleared we both started pitching jigs and my dad had a 3lb and 2.5lb in the same pocket to end the day around 3pm. we landed 18 keepers on the day. The 5 biggest went 10.12lbs. My dad also had 2 muskie on the crank and we had a 3' snake swimming right at our boat from the bank. We pulled away before it had a chance to visit with us. All fish came on jigs, crank, and shaky head. Am bite was strongest, but there was an all day bite. We are going back on Monday to see if we can do it again.

I fished the James twice last week. Earlier this week the James was high and muddy from last weeks rain. It has cleared up and gone down some, but if it rains again like they are saying, than it with dirty back up. I'd go w/ the boat and 2hp. but either would be ok. With the motor you can run up current and the river is deep enough for it. Smallies love crawdads. Use plastic craws and try small grubs. Natural colors work best.

Pomme is cooler than The Rock. Fish can be caught but it is tough as of 10 day ago. Probably warmed up some. water is high and some fish are in the brush and on pea gravel points. Fished a tourney there on May 3. 10 boats. 5 fish, 9 lbs won it. we got 3rd with 4 fish, 6.1 lbs. jig, spinner bait, a little crank. maybe this helps?

Went wading on the James south of Battlefield MO this week. My buddy and I caught a dozen smallmouth or so, a few largemouth and lots of goggle-eye. All came on soft plastic grubs and craws. Biggest were a couple 14 in smallies. one bigger smallmouth came off. We saw several gar and suckers.

My friend, the state record smallie is 7-2 at Stockton. Very unlikely that she caught a 7lb smallie. maybe a carp. I'm not saying you are wrong, but I'm not saying you are right.

Good point. I did not think about that. He does kind of look like Charlie. Anyway, this is not just any pro. Scott has been on the BASS elite sereis for 2 years, won over $100,000, and caught the big bass @ lake falcon. A 13 pounder.

So what you guys are saying is Scott Campbell is from Springfield but nobody knows him? You would think someone would have known the guy. He is just the mystery pro from Springfield.

OK, I know that Scott Campbell is a BASS elite series pro. I also know know that he is young and from Springfield MO. Most people that I talk to had not herd of this guy until now. He caught a 13+ lb fish for Big Bass at lake falcon last week. anyway, where did he go to high school? where did he get his start as a pro and what is his story?

ok, so 4/30/08. thanks.

The limit was 5hp. If it is 6hp, then it has been recently updated. Now, years ago you could put a big bass rig in the lake but you had to idle the entire time you were on the lake. Some people were too impatient, and put the throttle down to run down the lake. As a result you can no longer do that. Your hp must be at or below the limit. One pretty big reason for the hp limit is that the lake has very little depth. The deepest spot is only 18 ft deep. That lake is made up of the river channel and big flats on both sides. I would say because of those flats 80% of that lake is less than 10 feet deep. There are countless places with underwater stumps, brush, and rocks wear you can easily hit your motor on the bottom. If you are going 60 mph and hit that stump, it will do a lot more damage than is you are going 5 mph. Also the lake just is not very big and big boats would crowd it up quickly. does that answer your question?

yeah, it would be the pomme de terre river. there are some MDC access there.

River Dale, off of hwy 160 south of Nixa, use to be a happening place. it has been closed for a while, but now you can not even park and walk down to fish. Last fall my friend got a parking ticket there and in the last 6 months a bunch of 'no trespassing' signs have gone up. the fish there is very good. there is a spill way that dams up a good pool. Why can we not fish there?

you do have to take a test for a boating license if you were born after 1/1/1984. Also you must pass a hunters safety course to hunt deer and other large game.

like it was already said, fellows runs in to Stockton. Springfield in the james, it runs in to TR. anyway, there is no way muskie could establish a population. they do not reproduce anywhere in southern MO. they stock muskie in fellows and pomme. At power pool, Springfield gets 18 feet deep. fellows gets 80+ feet deep! also, MDC said a few years ago that Springfield lake has state record largemouth in it. they shocked the lake 7 or 8 years ago. Springfield has tons of catfish, but most a small. a few bigs but 2+ lbs is not an everyday catch.

didn't snagging season end on 3/31/08? you guys might need to check the rules and regs.

Hey guys, Thanks so much for all this advise so quickly. I am in to local bass clubs and I study fishing as often as I can. I am finishing up a business and marketing degree. I hope that these things will all help me become a pro! If anyone out there needs to hire any help as a guide or needs help running a tackle shop, or what ever, let me know.

Hey guys, I am 22 and I really enjoy Bass fishing. It does not matter if I am Fishing a tournament or just wading for fun. All I want to do is fish. So, what can I do to have a real shot at making a living as a bass fisherman? How do pros starting off get sponsers and how do you invest in a career like this w/o blowing your money? I am for real. I know I can catch fish. I just dont know how to make a living at it.

Hey guys, I am 22 and I really enjoy Bass fishing. It does not matter if I am Fishing a tournament or just wading for fun. All I want to do is fish. So, what can I do to have a real shot at making a living as a bass fisherman? How do pros starting off get sponsers and how do you invest in a career like this w/o blowing your money? I am for real. I know I can catch fish. I just dont know how to make a living at it.