TroutRinger

So are all bass off the beds? I would have thought they were for sure, but I read a report that said they still were...and are there any spawning activities for other species.

I just read this post again, and you're right about the Zebco's with the heavy weight. When I used the Abu Garcia, it was often with heavy weight like you mentioned, and it did fine. The one I had was definitely a heavier duty spincast. I don't know if they still make that model though, and it was kind of expensive. ....I've been looking online and the model was Abu Garcia Abumatic 475. If you can find one like it, I think you'll be happy.

I haven't used one in years, but back in the day, I used to use an Abu Garcia Abumatic. I don't recall having any issues with it until my friend stepped on it and bent the handle. It never worked the same after that, and I never bought another spincast. I recently have been taking (or strongling encouraging) my girlfriend to fish. She has been using a Zebco 2020 Prostaff and has been doing fine.

I'm going to be down near Horseshoe Bend this weekend. Anybody have any reports?

I've fished Fabick a couple of times with very little success. Have you fished Unger or Simpson.

Anyone fish the Meramec in Fenton near 44/Soccer Park/Fenton City Park? If so, what can you expect there. I am going to be working right around there this summer and am looking for a place to fish near by so if you know any other good spots I'd love to hear them.

I am going to be down at the lake near Horshoe Bend during the last weekend of May. Is there any chance the bluegill or catfish will be spawing then. I was down there a couple of years ago at the same time and made a killing on spawning bluegill, but I haven't been down there this early in the year in quite a while. Also, are the crappie and bass already in summer mode by then?

I have floated and floated the Jack's Fork several times but have only fished in the Current. The people I float on the Jack's with have floated the current, and they say the Jack's can be much tougher. There are a few stretches between Eminence and Two Rivers where it gets really tricky. There is one spot that is a short and sharp 'S' curve in the river that I have never seen anyone float through cleanly on a canoe. You either have to get out and walk or pray for a good bounce of the rocks. As far as the fishing, I have had a lot of success on both rivers using nothing but Strike King Bitsy Tubes in any crawdad-like color. I shove a 1/8 ounce maribou crappie jig up the tubes for the hook.

Does anyone fish the lakes in Forest Park (especially the ones on the golf course). I've seen people fish there in the evening. Last time I was there golfing the water was clear enough to see the bottom 20 feet out and looked really nice. However, I didn't see a single fish which makes me wonder if there is much in there.

The parts I see most often (in South County and in the city by McClausland and Arsenol) rarely hold much water except when it rains. Even so, I can't imagine anything surviving there nor would I want to be close to that water. It doesn't smell too good. That would be pretty cool if there were fish there though.

Wow, that's some muddy water...I was at Maramec Springs during the tail end of the flood last year. The stream was up all the way to the parking lot but it still wasn't that muddy. It took a month for that to get back to normal. This is a real bummer. I was hoping to come down to Bennett for a couple days late May. Oh well........Thanks for the pics!

I haven't used them for smallies on rivers, but I have caught many largemouth at Lake of the Ozarks and Mark Twain on them.

How is the sight fishing?...and what have the crowds been like on Fridays and Saturdays?

Can you wade fish anywhere above Fall Creek? I am thinking about heading down for the day either Friday or Saturday. This is going to be the first time I fish below the dam and the first time I have fished there since I was about 10. I'm probably going to stop by Lilley's before I start fishing and get some tips on what to use if I go.

I was down yesterday as well and fished from 8 to noon. I caught about 15 on trout worms (all different colors throughout the day). Two of the fish were around 2#'s but not much else worth writing home about. It was still a great day.

Well I was planning on giving a more detailed report, but I figured why bother. The fishing was just flat out bad. Fished 9 A.M. to 11 P.M. Sunday and 6 A.M. to 11:45 A.M. today for both crappie and bass on the Niangua Arm between the Little Niangua and the 54 bridge. We used minows for crappie and could never get a consistent bite except briefly under the bridge but they were all small fish. For bass, I tried a variety of lures from plastic worms, spinner baits, crank baits, and poppers but only managed to land a few small ones. Bottom line, if you were planning a trip to LOZ for fishing, go somewhere else. At least it wasn't too hot.

I hate those things!

I just use five gallon buckets with sealable lids. Cheap and effective.

I will be moving to Springfield in two weeks for college, and I'm looking for some good places to fish within about 30 minutes of downtown. I won't have access to a boat and probably won't be able to bring waders or anything because of the lack of space. I would really like to find a nice smallmouth stream with some public access points I can wade in, but I'll take anything suggestions you guys have.

I was down there on Tuesday (sorry I forgot to write a report), and I had pretty much the same experience (and it was the same experience I had two weeks ago). They would barely look at jigs or anything else until I tied on a trout worm and then I started catching them like crazy. They sure do get realllllllll lazzzzyyyy in the summer.

Great pics...thanks for sharing

Does anyone know a good technique to land and hold trout with one hand? Too many times when I hook trout that I don't intend to keep I am forced to use the net to land them, and once they are in the net, they start flopping around, getting the line tangled, and rubbing off their slime onto the net. After all this happens, I end up just keeping it because I know it is probably going to die anyway. I have one of those Rapala Lockin Grip fish grabbers that I use for bass and catfish but have never tried it while wading for trout.

If you are night fishing for bass, you can't beat 10 or 11 inch plastic worms. I prefer Culprits and Powerworms in the green and black and blue and black. I seem to catch a lot of bass at night in between the docks and shore. For crappie, I have always had success with minnows near docks with bright lights.

I know a couple of guys that do that but have never tried it. I thought about it a couple of times but always foget to do it.

First off, I could not have asked for a more beautiful day and the stream was clear and cool. My friend and I decided to sleep in a little so we did not get on the water until about 7:30. The first things I noticed were the small number of people and the enormous number of trout. I have never seen so many outside the hatchery. There were so many trout that it actually made catching them harder. Countless times, just as one trout was following my lure ready to bite another trout would run into my line and both would get spooked. I guess that is a good problem though? Anyway, the fish were finicky as usual. I caught 3 early on using white rubber-leg jigs but only 1 was worth keeping. I kept throwing Rubber-Legs in various colors for about an hour without much success so I swicthed to a weightless light-blue and white trout worm and on the first cast landed a nice 18 incher. Just casted it out and let it drift. That pattern worked for the rest of the day. I did add a small weight if it there was some swift current. Bottom line is that when those trout get lazy, like they usually do in the summer, it is hard to be a trout worm.