Bird Watcher

Nice fish. Never fished Bull Shoals. Would like to Someday. Too long a drive past too much other water for me. Shameless post pad.

Huck, Actually I prefer jigs when they are biting. Sticking my hand in the bucket to catch minnows every couple minutes makes them cold. You can see the eyes when they get closer to the boat under a flashlight, but the submersibles don't usually make them glow...or at least if my memory serves me

Huck, no pun intended, but it's "lights out" on the crappie in the spring and depending on timing you can sack the walleye and white bass too. I have never seen the walleyes eyes that deep. usually I catch them off the bottom in 35'+ under the lights. You will see a lot of White bass, catfish, Largemouth and occasionally the crappie cruising around on the edge of your lights. It's a little embarassing to say, but most of the time it's not really even fishing. It's just straight up catching If you want to fish, go cast jigs or jigs and bobbers to the bank during daylight. That's a little more like fishing. If I just want to put fish in the cooler, I get out the lights The darker the moon the better, or at least if you have to fish when the moon is half or full, try to find the moon rise later in the night or cloud cover. Many nights I have had a hot bite die when the moon comes up. It tends to scatter the bait.

Well, it depends. I use the submersible white lights and they don't really attract bugs. Back in the day, we used Coleman lanterns and can lights off the docks on Grand Lake and they would attract bugs like crazy. Seems to me that as long as your light is submerged, you don't really have a problem with the bugs.

Huck, The white light doesn't scare the walleye or the crappie, or the black bass, catfish or white bass for that matter They just hang down underneath it. It's different because as opposed to night fishing for largemouth where the angler is moving along usually fishing relatively shallow, you are fishing stationary usually over some good depth. Here's what I do. I set the lights about 6-8 feet deep under my boat over about 40' ideally. you will see a circle of light surrounding your boat, usually extends about 15-20' from my boat. I try to toss a jig or minnow to the edge of the light circle and let it swing back to the boat. My theory is that the predator fish are hanging just under the sphere of light created around my boat, looking up for the forage fish attracted to the light(the lights attract plankton, which attract baitfish, which attract game fish.) Once the lights are established and the bait fish are drawn in, the game fish will be anyhwere all the way down to the bottom. I will keep the sonar running and you will see the fish move up and down, in and out of the lights. Seriously though, it's a great way to catch a bunch of crappie, white bass and walleye and I have made it sound more complicated than it really is. Anchor, turn on lights, drop minnow, catch fish. That's about it.

I run about 5 or 6 green lights and 2 or 3 white lights when I do it. The green lights work well, I don't know if they work any better than white, but they are definitely less battery drain. I've never had much success this early in the year, although I have tried it a couple times for walleye. I like pre spawn, spawn and post spawn for the crappie. Usually from about April 1 to Memorial Day. Personally, I like main lake points at the mouth of big flat spawning coves. It seems to me that you catch the crappie moving in and out from spawning in those locations. I look around a little for the shad and set up as close to the channel drop off as I can. Sometimes that's hard to do on Stockon because of the wind and bottom composition. It can be hard to get anchors to hold.

I've seen it before, but it's definitely funny. How about this one? His and Her's diaries, Her Diary: Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn't say much. I asked him what was wrong; He said, 'Nothing.' I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn't upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving. I can't explain his behavior I don't know why he didn't say, 'I love you, too.' When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. To my surprise, he responded to my caress, and we made love. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster. His Diary: Boat wouldn't start today. Can't figure it out, but at least I got laid.

I would think a cat, even a big one, would try to hide it in sand. The tracks? I think I can see toe nail imprints eroded by rain. Just my opinion. Nothing I said here should be mistaken for fact.

Beautiful fish. Thanks for sharing the photos and story.

The bottom line is, the backlash is a result of greed and jealousy. Greed and Jealousy want the streams, lakes, and fish all to themselves. Paranoia sets in and then you have a mess. Post away. It's on a map. Everyone needs to realize that by the year 2011, your secret honey hole is someone else's forgotten spot. Anglers come and go, but the streams are the same. They were here before you and they will be here after you and more than likely 100 years from now, a certain segment of the anglers will be giving grief to the other segment of the anglers about naming spots. Greed and Jealousy are inherent human personality traits.

I grew up in Batesville and that's the only place I've ever caught them.

you can use more than three, but every rod over your third must be tagged with all your personal information the same way a jug or trot line is. Page 6 of general fishing regulations If you use more than 3 poles (or two poles on the Mississippi River) at any one time, the additional poles must be labeled with your full name and address. Regardless of the method or number of poles, you may not use more than a total of 33 hooks at any one time; except on the Mississippi River the maximum is 50 hooks at one time.

Don't take any of it too seriously...It's just the internet. It might have led the people of Egypt to Democracy, but more than likely it won't help the people of the Ozarks decide whether or not to catch and release trout.

Agree 100%. I usually have to throw my bait away when I catch one over 5 pounds. They are hard on tackle.

That is a dandy. What did that thing go? 9? 10? beautiful fish. Makes me want to go right now.

Haters gonna hate...no matter what the venue. Fishing, Hunting, you name it. Take it as a compliment. Remember...Some talk about it, Some wish they could, and Some can. You obviously fall into the latter. Don't let the keyboard warriors get you down.

In a word?...ME. Seriously though, best by what measure? Tournaments? Meat in the freezer? Funniest in the boat? Best hair?

nice fish. somewhere, the head of a fly fisherman from East MO. just exploded. I bet they ate good.

I'm already eyeing the lab. She's definitely the meatier of the two dogs. If this thing plays out the way they are saying it's going to, I might have to go for the Pomeranian too. Top 5 things sold out at Wal Marts. #5 Maccaroni and Cheese #4 Canned meat to include Tuna and Spam #3 Camping Supplies to include batteries and Propane bottles #2 Water #1 The returning champ, bread and water I'm going to gather my loved ones and start praying before the evil frozen water from above starts falling. Stay strong people

Epic Grey duck beat down. Way to go. Nice Can too.

I've been hearing the exact same report from Truman. go get em.

That's a bunch of bull. I have heard of a Striper caught out of Table Rock many moons ago, but it was like 15-20 years ago and it was just one fish. Was the biologist an MDC employee by any chance? I bet an AGFC employee would have a different opinion. I don't understand why MO seems to be so cloak and dagger about Stripers in that lake.

An old aquaintance has some land just a mile past the Green mill bridge there. I spent a fair amount of time up there turkey and deer hunting with him. We would take a little jon boat with a TM down there from time to time and catch plenty of crappie. We never tried fishing for anyhing else. That sure is a pretty valley where it stretches up to the NW. My friend always called it the "pittman bottom". he had a ton of stories about it..he had grown up on the place and part of his land was a century farm.

way to go. I've always wondered where those Hybrids come from at Chetopa. They would have to get above the dam at Miami to come up from Grand or come down river from where? John Redmond? That would be a long way, but ol' Bill Butts told me those fish are negative flow fish to a fault. Right Bill? Anyway, nice fish Kelly. A buddy of mine used to catch a lot of them over there just below the park on cut shad while he was catfishing.

No kiddin..whatta MILF...Mom I'd Like to Fishwith.