pdoshier

High and very muddy Sat night at Yellville. I suspect you would need 3 or 4 days with no rain and there would still be a good flow.

I've got a Shawnee, 48" wide that was built to my specs by Gay before he retired. From my house I can see his farm and shop and have known his family for 40 years, and I waited a little over a year to get mine. I didn't know if he would sell out or just close the doors, so I made sure to get one while I could. Of course as said by others, he has retired and sold out. I traded up you might say from an old regular Shawnee? / Ranger or who knows what it was. It was at least 15-20 years old when I bought it in the early 90's. I know that Gay had worked on it once before for the previous owner so I'll bet it was an old Shawnee. (Lots of people may not know that Ranger use to build river boats.) That old boat is still on the river. Anyway I was down at Gaston's the other day and they have a new Shawnee down there for a raffle. One difference I saw is they are using metal (stainless?) deck lids now. But they are painted so you don't know it until you lift the lid. The boat looked well made to me, just as good as mine. I expect that the new guy will finish it out the way you want, like Gay did. The only think I'm not wild about mine is that it has the ridges in the floor. I'd rather have a flat floor. But I don't think Gay offered that. I have the walk through live well with storage on one side and larger front storage, rear storage and floatation. It's wired for a trolling motor and lights and has a rod tray down the left side. Someone asked why the boats aren't seen outside of the Ozarks. Well there are some hear and there. Gay told me he built several and sent them to Alaska. I've talked to people from several states that have bought them. Of course most of those people fish the White River. But they use them other places as well. Another recommendation for them is that White River State Park rents them and there are plenty of people who have never been on the river renting them. You know they take their share of abuse.

If you can find them, try size 10 or 12 bait hooks. The smaller the better. If she likes to use power bait you can hide a size 12 almost completely with just one piece. When I've used them, I catch them in the lip almost every time. You will probably lose more than if you use a size 6 with 3 or more pieces of bait but you don't have to keep the small ones because they have swallowed the entire rig. I can't get my wife to use them much, she has to have multiple colors of power bait, and because they are small a little harder to tie on. But give it a try. I got this tip from an old gentleman on White River several years ago, and it really works. Another idea is to fly fish with that zebco 33 setup. You tie on a clear torpedo float that is about 2" long to your line with the tapered end to your line. Then tie on 2-4 lb trout line or a fly leader. Just make sure that it is clear or green. Length depends on the depth of the water, but I'd try 6-8 feet? On that you can tie a fly like a bead head woolly bugger. I camped next to a guy last year from texas at the White River State Park and he caught his limit every day. Never used anything else, he told me he had been coming to the White for years and that is the only way he fishes here. His rig was a spin cast but his rod was bigger than you normally see on a zebco 33 rig. He had never fly fished but tied his own buggers to save money. Of course you can use other fly patterns as well. I've tried it and caught a few that way myself.

I like the 4 inch tube jigs in watermelon or june bug I believe it is. I've fished in the Buffalo Point campground with Kids tubing by and canoes galore and we probably caught 10 smallies on the tubes one morning. We were fishing in a slight shoal area in the lower campground. I've used them in Crooked Creek with a lot of success too. Don't be afraid to fish the swift water. My son and I were fishing in Crooked Creek a few years ago with tube jigs and were in a very swift and deep cut. We had both just caught fish and I was trying to get his off and so I just tosed my jig back into the water to get it out of the way while I was getting his off and caught another just after it hit the water. I may fish above from the 14 bridge this Saturday afternoon. If I get the chance to I'll do a post.

I live in Yellville and fish in the general area. Bull Shoals, White River, Buffalo and Crooked Creek. Mostly White River from a Shawnee Jon boat. I'm not a great fisherman but Debra and I enjoy getting out and wetting a hook several times a year. We do a lot better on the river than the lake and would like learn to do a bit better there. We spin cast mostly. Debra likes power bait and can sit all day, but I'm a little more figity. I like Little Cleo, spinners and small plugs but I like to catch fish and if power bait is what it takes I'll do that too. I'm trying to learn to fly fish but not very good at it and because I'm running the boat most of the time don't give it enough attention. I'd like to catch some brownies on Crooked Creek or Buffalo on the fly rod. I look forward to learning more about fishing the Ozarks and being more successful.