FishinCricket

I'm not from the area (table rock), but I might siggest you find the "Table Rock Lake" sub-forum below and see what has been posted recently.. Maybe post this request there? Good luck, the Bass are starting to move around a bit on the river, they have been hitting on buzzbaits for me.. Welcome to the forum, good luck on your relaxation. Just remember: "A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work"

I was crappie fishing at a pond when I was 15. My friend and I kept seeing something hit on the top on the other side of the pond. Just out of curiosity I crept over there with my Shakespeare Ugly Stock ultralight (with 4 on test) and tossed a top water popper in the general area of the disturbance. WHAM! Something hit and immediately stripped off 3/4 of my line. I musta jukes and jibed and played that fish for an hour. When it came to hand? 18 pound channel cat! My friend still has the picture on his wall, and as far as we know that cat is still in that pond. Way back before that when I was 8 me and a buddy would set out limb lines in his pond (different buddy, different pond), and we had caught quite a few catfish that way. One morning we got up to go check our lines (we had been losing perch on them) and the sapling that we had tied our nylon line to was gone! Uprooted and gone. Two days later we came up with the ingenious idea to drag the bottom of the pond with a big treble hook ( in an attempt to hook the sapling that was, we were sure, still attached by nylon line to a 500 lb channel cat) Wouldn't ya know we finally hooked that limb! And attached to it was, to date, the biggest snapping turtle I have ever seen in my life? All of the sudden it was like we were attempting to slay a dragon! This thing was 31 inches across the shell... I still feel bad about what we did to that turtle. After it was beheaded, it roamed around the yard for over 24 hours headless.. It's, in all honesty, a memory of my ultimate cruelty. I try not to kill anything now if I can help it.

You sure that bottle ain't an 8 ounce pony? LOL Nice crappie!!!

Ungh.. Your pictures are driving me crazy!!! I wanna leave work right now!! (dead as a hammer anyway) That one on the far right looks even bigger in that pic.. You guys save some of the lunkers for me, it'll be Wednesday before I can make it down There...

That is a fantastic report and a good looking stringer! How much you figure them bigger whites weighed? Thanks for the info, glad for the report!

Awe, look.. It's a little trout junkie!! Thats awesome! Nice catch, thats a memory that will last all of you forever.. Kudos.

Don't take this the wrong way guys.. But I have been fishing "zone 4" (just below the park on the river) out of the John boat with a maribou and just SLAYING them! Two to three foot off the bottom in the deeper holes. Just got back from there a few hours ago.. I left em all there for ye.. Don't boycott Bennett, Lebanon (and the state) needs your tax dollars.. LOL

I assume this pisses you off so bad you can't even comment? Me too... How can you build a system like that WITHOUT a shut off valve? Wow.. Just wow. (nice comment on that link, fishinwrench)

Wow, that is early! Glad to see this thread, I always keep my eye out for Morrells.. I'll come back and post here if I find any... Hopefully with pics and all..

Man, sounds like you shoulda been downstream snaggin', eh? I can tell you from experience that when it's off down there.. It's sloooow. And when the whites are running or re crappie are biting, ITS ON LIKE DONKEY KONG I have made a report or two last summer when the whites were hitting every cast.. Still trying to figure out the tricks though.. There's allot of good info to be had from years past right here on this forum.

I put the boat in Zone 4 (where the spring flows into the river) and jigged about 25 of em out on Sunday. My fishing partner only hooked 2.. Black and white maribou jigs with red heads... 1/16th ounce, worked slowly across the deep hole there.. Being in a boat sure helps.

Well keep you chin down and your trousers up soldier, look alive! Seriously though, thank you for your service to this country, we'll see you when you get back.. Just lemme know, sir. Peace, keep your eye out on the reports!

Welcome! I replied in your welcome thread, but my specific advice regarding your OP here: I own a 16 foot by 4 foot river john. I have a 5HP Briggs and Stratton (short shaft) Motor and a 40 lb/ft thrust Minnekota troller. I like the room in the John, I like the stability. I think I could live with the space and stability in a flat back, wide bottom canoe.. But it would be less of both for sure. My particular motor is a little heavier than some jet motors I have seen (not enough power from the motor to plane out, so my boat runs in about 12 inches of water instead of 4-6inches like a jet motor might), but I only have about $2,000 wrapped up in everything.. All in all I would say the type of set up I have is almost perfect, but if I had the money I would find a jet motor, personally. I will extend again the invitiation to float the Niangua or gasconade with me to see how my boat handles on our Ozarks rivers.. (I swear I am not a weirdo, just a friendly salesman) Peace, and welcome again!

Welcome to the OAF! (you know this means you are officially an OAF, right? LOL) My name is Cricket, I am one of the Laclede area smallie hunters, I use the type of setup you want (16ft river john, 5HP motor, 40lb thrust troller, etc.. Perfect for our Ozarks rivers) and I know just what type of fishing you like to do... There a TONS of places right around us here, save my number (below) if you have ANY quick questions about ANY river around here.. You are really close to the upper Current.. It's a beautiful river with some deep holes and good sized fish. Jack fork isn't far, the Niangua (my homewaters) is fantastic for a vast variety of fish. Smallies, largemouth, crappie, goggle eye, trout.. Even cats downstream from here... If you are interested in picking up a free seat in my boat, lemme know. I am open on Sundays and Wednesdays and am always happy to have someone in the front of the Boat. Again, welcome!

Good questions, though I will admit that, assuming it has a clean title and is inspectable, it's sounds like a good deal. FYI Statistically you are 5 times more likely to get the truck sold if you can post a picture. Good luck..

Yeah, I stopped by the dam and walked down to see how everything was going today and saw the MDC handing out tickets to about 5 guys, and releasing their stringers! What's the official rules down there? (I just stay well clear of the yellow and orange line, bit which is which? What's the official rules?

Largemouth at the lake? Not sure.. Now... Smallmouth in prespawn? I rely on Silver topwater minnow poppers, the smaller the better. Overall suggestion from me for Bass fishing in the spring? Deep and slow until it warms up, then a swift transition towards the top for relentless action. Good thread topic

No need to thank me, I referred him to the best place in Alton! That's thanks enough.. Lemme know when you are ready..

Hey, I referred my boss down there, but he's more into kyaking than fishing.. Sounds like he's gonna do Greer to Rivertin in two days, with a friend.. I assume you guys can set him up with that? Whn youcoming up Brian? Better do it while the season is still off, eh?

Not really, but the contrast still shows at the point where the river and spring meet.. But no, low flow and minimal draining off the hills had made the river pretty clear. Sorry if my posts confused that point.. It was mainly to highlight the area where most of the fish were hooked.

Ditto... Ever make it to the Gasconade, new guy? Good sized smallies there..

Took a buddy down Wednesday and put the boat in... We were fishing for food and it was cold... So not much opportunity for photos and such... But he ended up with his limit plas a few Dinks that he released and one 17" fatty; he was using white power bait and we had the boat anchored about 15 feet front the bank (and 30 feet from the boat ramp) just upstream from where the spring flows in. I opted for a 1/16th ounce Black maribou jig with a pink head and white tail. I kept it slowly jigging about two foot off the bottom, and most of the hits came on the drop. All of the hook ups came from the line between the blue of the spring and the brown of the river. I hooked around 20 or so, the biggest of which was a really pretty, long and slender 18" rainbow. Hope you enjoyed the report, sorry for the lack of photos.

See, I keep telling people that Hippies are good luck! I keep one or two around at all times nowadays.. LOL

I am a member of seven different forums, one for each of my special interests... This is the only fishing forum I am on though..

Boy I hope the bass don't read this report! Your giving away all our secrets! LOL I really enjoy your descriptive writing style, you make anything you say interesting and entertaining.. Have fun..