Whack'emGood

Eric, Sounds like you had a good week... and fishing with your dad makes it the best. Great memories were made. Congats on the huge fish!! I haven't seen or heard too many fish 6+lbs caught this summer. That is a really rare fish. Enjoy that one! I have noticed those same type of huge schools of fish on the graph out deep quite a few times this summer. I always suspect they are Kentuckies, but don't catch any. I am not a deep fishing expert- so I am puzzled by this as well. Some of the great deep fishing guys on here may be able to clue us in on that. Whack'em

Table Rock - James River LOZ - Grand Glaize (monsters in there!!) Stockton - Big Sac I agree with you on those. I haven't fished the other lakes enough to vote on them. Whack'em P.S. GO HOGS!!!!

Oh yeah. I am primarily a bass fisherman, but definitely intense and focused 100%. It is hard to get me to go home at the end of the day/night, whether we're catching them or not. There are a bunch of us on here, that's for sure. Whack'em

He lost his wife (Robbie) for a few hours while fishing Taneycomo a couple of years back (I think it has been that long) and then found her fishing (and catchin'em) downstream... She was okay and they (and all of the folks on the forum) had a big laugh about it. I'm sure he will give you more detail on it. Nice folks! You should look the thread about it up in the "Best of" section-- great stuff! Whack'em

Thanks guys. Yeah-- its a great bunch of guys that fish the series, and some really good fishermen to boot. We have been doing pretty good in the series-- we have only fished two nights where we didn't weigh a limit-- but we hadn't really caught the big kicker, until this week. It's nice to finally get a win, because (like JRay said) you definitely can't squeak in and get a cheapie without a big sack in this series. Don- Would love to see you come out and fish. I would like to meet you in person. It is always great to shake the hand of someone I have alot of respect for. Thanks again guys. Whack'em Here's a pic of dad with the two big ones.

I lived in Colorado for 4 years and I'm here to tell you this... The Ozarks is the best place I have ever seen for a "Fishing trip of a lifetime." And you're right when you say- "...because if we don't act now, our children's children won't have the chance to go to places like that to have that fishing trip of a lifetime." Except you forgot to apply that quote to the Ozarks. Whack'em

Me and dad fished our regular Friday Night Mill Creek Tournament on Friday night and did pretty well in the end. We caught two hawgs that propelled us to the win. There were 24 boats in the tournament. I caught a LM that went 5.50lbs at about 11:15pm and then dad caught a 5.76lb toad LM just before 1:00am. We also had a chunky 2.5lb KY and a sqeaker LM to fill out our 4 fish limit of 15.20lbs. I think second place was 14.52lbs. We caught several more fish, but only managed 1 more squeaker LM that we culled-- the rest were shorts (with alot of 14 1/2 to 14 3/4 inch fish). We caught our fish in 12-20 feet on jigs and soft plastics. The bite was pretty steady all night, but slow-- just enough to keep us interested. Our fish (our 4 fish limit and our 1 cull) were healthy and lively when they were released back into the lake. Once again, all of the guys did a great job taking care of their fish also-- and Joe and the boys did a great job taking care of the fish at the weigh-in. I think there was one fish that was brought in dead... a shame, but not too bad considering the amount of fish that were weighed. Can't wait 'till next Friday, when we get after it again. Whack'em

I laugh but... it's true.

Amen Bob. You couldn't have made a better post!! We have been doing it exactly as you described all Summer down at TR, and haven't even had one dead fish. We use Catch-n-Release chemical and ice. It works great. And don't forget fellas to check on your fish periodically to make sure you don't need more ice or something. Take a quick peek in there to see how they are doing, and also see that your pumps are working and working correctly. If you don't look in there all night, something could be wrong in there and then its too late! Top notch Bob. Hope to make it up there soon! Whack'em

Thanks Sam. Yeah, I just wanted to let everyone know it can be done-- if you do all of the right things. I just don't want someone out there to think that nothing can be done to keep them alive, and let their bass die because they thought "there was nothing I could do about it." I sure wouldn't fish a tournament and put a bass in the livewell if I thought they would die. Thanks again! Whack'em

I agree with you Chris. I wish someone would invent a Bluegill Repellant!! Aggravating to say the least! Thanks for the reports fellas. Whack'em

Sam, We fish the Friday night series out of Mill Creek every week. We haven't had a problem at all keeping our bass alive-- even last week (when it was on Saturday--sometimes it is on Saturday). We also haven't seen anybody else have any trouble keeping their bass alive. They are as lively when we release them as when we caught them. We use Catch-n-Release formula (everybody uses something-- there are a few more chemicals that work well too), keep our aereators running all night, and periodically put chunks of ice in the livewell. At the weigh in, we have three stock tanks that we use to help with the health of the fish also-- two tanks are filled with ice blocks and are used to hold our bags in while in line (it's always a short line too), and the other one is filled with treated water and hooked up with a good aereator (they use this one to revive the bass before release back into the lake). We also have only a 4 fish limit during July and August. It works great. We rarely ever see dead or struggling fish-- even as the lake has heated up alot lately. Alot of guys believe that when the lake heats up it stresses the fish-- from what I've seen (especially lately) I don't think it affects them very much at all (if any) IF you do all of the right things to take care of them. Guys definitely have the right to their own opinion/theories about this subject, but what I have witnessed this summer is proof for me. I am largely against killing even a single bass (for any reason), and I wouldn't be fishing these tourneys if I thought there was much chance that it would hurt the fish/fishery. Whack'em

Thanks for the info. CDC. It is much appreciated. I think we will try the whole (long) float in a week or two in that case-- I have a really good trolling motor that we can zip through most of it with. I will report how we do. Whack'em

Mill Creek on Friday night from 7:30-1:30 is the series I fish. It is a buddy tournament, so bring your partner. It is a good bunch of guys (about 20-25 boats), it is ran really well, and Joe and the boys really take good care of the fish at the weigh in. I think (can't remember) it is $15 per guy to join for the season, and then it is (I know this for sure) $40 entry fee to fish each tourney-- this is for your buddy team and includes big bass. It is 100% payback, and they pay 1 place for every 4 boats. There is also an optional side pot if you're interested. Just show up at the ramp before the tourney and you'll find Joe at the northwest side of the ramp (water's edge) signing people up. You can get ahold of Joe with any questions at 864-4980. Whack'em

I can identify with that exact thing Bassman. I have witnessed guys move right over to a spot just after we left it-- just to try to see what we liked about it-- then in the next tournament... when we go to fish that spot, those same guys were sitting on it. Made me want to, at least go over there and run circles around their boat and all through the spot to ruin it for them... but I didn't. I guess, although it would feel pretty good to do that, it isn't the right thing to do. Just move on and catch'em somewhere else, I guess. Whack'em

Don, That's rediculous that guys are stealing (or at least trying) your spots. It doesn't surprise me though. I guess most guys don't have ethics these days. I would never fish a spot that I normally don't fish, just because I saw you, Bill, Eric, Phil, or any of the other guides fishing it (or anyone else for that matter). I would actually make it a point to stay away from that spot (unless, of course, it was already one of my regular spots as well). It's good that you don't let it bother you too much though-- I don't think I would be able to take it that well, that's for sure. Of course, you guys have alot more spots than most of us do. I guess you guys can afford to just shrug it off and move on. The bottom line is-- It still isn't right though, guys need to have some respect for other guys and their space. Whack'em

CDC, It seems like last year we caught alot more smallmouth during the second half of that long Ritchie to Wagonwheel float, including some really nice ones-- 2 to 2 1/2 lbs. They are definitely in there, as Chief and Mrbuzib found out. Last year, we usually caught (i would estimate) 40% Smallies, 40% LM, and the rest Kentuckies and Goggleyes over the whole stretch-- but we picked up alot of our Smallies during the second half of the float. We fish slow stuff (jigs and plastics) and they would usually hammer it pretty good. It is a good float-- you'll catch'em next time. It will take you a few more floats to figure out (again-- because it has changed since you've been gone) which stretches to fish hard and which ones to motor thru. We're gonna go soon-- I will report back what we find. Good luck guys! Whack'em P.S. Way to go Chief and MrBuzib... sounds like you guys had some fun!

CDC, Welcome back! Thanks for the info. Yeah, love that float-- but it is a long one-- we fish slow too. Would definitely be a better length to cut it in half that way. We still haven't been yet this year-- been fishing night bass tourneys at TR and doing well, so it's hard to pull ourselves away from the Rock right now. We're gonna try it soon though and we may do the shorter float thing-- it sounds good. I will post a report when we do it. Thanks again! Whack'em

Congrats guys! Sounds like we missed out on the fun. Great job with the tourney, Bob-- and nice job taking care of the fish. We hope to make it to one soon. Whack'em

We saw some of those the other day while fishing at Table Rock. I will be curious to know what they are as well. I think they may be egg sacs from snails, but that's just a guess. Does anyone know? Whack'em

That has been (most trips) our best time of the eve/night for the past month and a half or so. At about 8:00 we switch all of our gear to our nighttime stuff (jigs and texas rigged soft plastics--in dark colors) and fish them super slow. We either catch'em really well (numbers and size) or we don't catch any from this time until dark-- I would say about 80% of our trips we hammer them during this time, and 20% we are left scratching our heads with nothing. They have been anywhere from 12-25 feet. We put the boat in 30 feet and fish it all the way back to the boat-- bluff ends, flat ledges, and points. Hope this helps. Good luck! Whack'em

Bob- We have a tourney at TR this Saturday night but... we might be able to make it up there in the next few weeks. Until then... good luck! Whack'em

KC, Fish jigs and texas rigged soft plastics (black or other dark colors) after dark. Depth varies according to conditions (moonlight, water temp, etc.). Most of the time you should try depths that are relatively more shallow than you are finding fish during daytime fishing. Fish will move up from their deeper summer daytime spots to feed. Fish relatively shallow water that is close to deep water. They feed mostly on crawdads at night, so fish lures that imitate crawdads. Fish these baits slow on the bottom. Some guys use spinnerbaits at night (black/dark colors) and catch'em, but I like the slow moving stuff. Keep all of your lights off while fishing and never shine a light into the water to avoid spooking the fish. Always be ready, however, to flip on your lights in case another boat runs toward/near you (especially a drunk joyrider). We have been catching them lately in depths of 12-25 feet, however, I have caught them anywhere from 2 to 40 feet on TR at night in the past. Also, right before/at dark can be one of your best times of the night. Good luck! Whack'em

BRBF - yeah, that would be sweet. Make lemonade out of the lemons! cjones - yeah, that's it. Interesting. Hopefully most will fare better than expected. Hate to lose that beautiful shoreline view -- not to mention the other obvious environmental benefits that those trees provide.

Kevinkirk-- you are right about one thing... The fishing is not what it used to be... It is caused by fishing pressure. The following statement does not apply to all waters-- every water has its own variables that you have to take into account... but generally... The more people that fish, the more fish are kept and eaten. The more fish that are kept and eaten, the less fish there are left to catch. It also causes decline in the average size of the fish in general-- because they are caught and kept before they can reach a "lunker" size. It is simple logic, really. As the Ozarks have become more populated, the fisheries have declined accordingly. If you don't think so, ask an old timer about how it used to be. I remember even back in the late eighties and early nineties, even though I wasn't near as good a fisherman as I am now, I caught more bass than I do now on TR. The laws are the laws-- they are put in place by the MDC for a reason, I guess. But-- I sure wish I could have a chance to catch'em like my grandpa used to be able to back in his day. That said, TR is still a great fishery-- I greatly appreciate every hour I get to spend on it. Whether you're a C&R guy, or a catch and keep guy-- let's go fishing boys!! Whack'em