tapout

I am also surprised by how few I've caught that appear to have spawned. I've only been fishing main lake but just keep thinking a big wave should have already happened. I've spotted very few beds and caught maybe two with the obvious beat up fins and skinny. I don't have a jersey or a sponsor. So don't listen to me, they've probably all spawned and I just missed it.

An ounce of prevention ....... Folks always second guess the decisions, but after Dec of 2015- I'd say it's a good call.

Good to know. Thanks.

Thanks for the screen shots. Good report. You don't have to prove a thing to me Cindyjo. Keep the posts coming. I'm thinking my trip yesterday should have been up the james. Instead my kids and I caught fish all day long yesterday down around point 5, similar numbers but nothing of size (and we were out for 4 hours). Caught em vertical and using ned rig. I wasn't even looking for size just bites to keep the kiddos having fun. I was pretty amazed at the number of boats out. There was a boat on the first three spots I wanted to fish and pleasure boats were out too. Also I saw the Branson Bell out in front of Indian Point?? Not their usual route.

Just wanted to throw an attaboy out to Pete Wenners and his unknown fishing partner. They helped an older couple get their grounded pontoon boat off the rocks Sunday, even got wet doing it. They didn't do it for credit, but hey, decency deserves recognition from time to time.

176champion, I like the diamond plate mount. I used steel pipe to mount mine. Works fine. $10 instead of $110 for a RAM.

No reason to be sorry. Sometimes you just can't kiss and tell. Sounds like you had a good day.

Danner Acadia, Not extremely warm but mine are the lesser insulated ones (I think 200gram) I've never owned the 400gram but no doubt a bit warmer. Disclaimer, I don't fish when it's freezing temps or below, just never found the reward worth the hassle of frozen guides and frozen fingers. Pros: They fit super good, not bulky like other boots I've used. Last a long long time. Waterproof. Cons: Expensive. Hard to put on/take off. I want to add a question to the thread...... anybody try the battery powered ,heated boot inserts? (thermocell or some such)

Light bulb just went off! Remove all docks = Problem solved! (sarcastic tone intended)

Great job on the fishing. I've been catching dinks lately, the rock has been stingy with the keeps. I need to switch something up. And yeah, floating fish is a shame.

To be fair to other recreational lake users, and to be specific, I happened to be at the Kimberling Marina earlier this year when I overheard the dockhands complaining about all of the BASS boats that were ignoring the no wake bouys. I was doubtful. I stopped and watched for bit. To my disappointment, as a fisherman, they were 100% correct. I watched 2 fully wrapped bass boats run 2/3 or the way back to the gas pumps before slowing to a well above idle speed that was still too fast. Not sure where they were going. They went right on past the marina toward the back of the cove. Probably out of state tournament guys. It doesn't really matter, to the people watching, they saw, "bass boats" which includes all of us. No, bass boats don't put out a ridiculous sized wake (neither do pwc's, which can be supper annoying regardless of wake size), but our perspective as fisherman is biased because that is what we enjoy. Poor boat operators run through every facet and style of vessel. For every yacht or wake board boat that drives poorly, I'm confident their are other owners of similar boats that are embarrassed and irritated by their behavior.

Sgt. Shultz!!!! Glad I'm not the only one.

I guess we all have different tolerance levels. I won't go out on a Saturday during peak season, but most other days are manageable, especially early and late, so long as you stay out of the tubing hot spots. I have a buddy (and he is older, which makes my complaining seem even more trivial) that helps me cope, because the biggest rollers don't bother him in the least so I try to adopt his attitude. There are lots of places to fish that are noticeably less busy. Just gotta look for those spots and roll with the punches (non stop wakes).

There is hope. Good job. Sounds like a special morning and I'm a little jealous...... I was landscaping (not so special)!

Great fish and, good story with it. Thanks for sharing. BB needs no validation or certification.

Tuesday, because emergency workers often work on the weekends. It's open to anyone these days, but they stuck with Tuesday.

2015 has been so freaking wet all year long. I'm thinking record annual rainfall, but I haven't researched it to know. Just ridiculously wet. Since that first sentence, I just looked at Nation Weather Service website and it says Springfield is 13.92 inches above normal annual rainfall. I've lived at my house 16 years and all of my chores and my hobbies have all involved waiting on dryer ground in 2015. I would question only 13.92 extra inches. That amount only covers two of the floods, and my driveway has been under water a dozens of times this year. Praying for all those that have truly lost or will loose much more than I'm whining about. I still didn't see if it is a record annual rainfall but here is too 13.92 inches less in 2016!

Appreciate the report. The variables are plentiful.

I made it down Oct 27, at around 9:30 in the morning. It was flat calm and it was bouncing back and forth between a light rain and a steady drizzle. I fished the James River arm looking for Bass or whites either one. I started on a flat near a channel where I've had success in the fall with whites in years previous. Nothing. I switched to a crankbait and started cranking a bluff and I caught four dinks. I took a boat ride down river and noticed some surface action near point 12. I pulled in and it was schooling whites. I fished for about 45 minutes catching a fish on every cast (only exception was a couple of them came off before I landed them). No idea how many I caught, maybe 35 or 40. It was a 2 acre school. I'd cast my spoon and crank it through them about as fast as I could. I left them boiling as my arms needed a break and I already had a few of them swimming in my live well to fillet for dinner. I went further down river and stopped on a long gravel point. I grabbed a spook and caught 28 spotted bass before calling it a day. None of them were big and I estimate only 3 of them would of measured, but it was a day of catching for sure. And I only saw two other boats all day. I decided to return Oct 28. I took my wife with me and we hit the water about 10:30. It was cloudy and barely sprinkling but on this day there was much more wind. Went to the white bass spot and saw some surface activity as we pulled in. I got all excited and told her to get ready. Oh boy am I a terrible guide. As I idled in I could see it was Garr. It looked like thousands of them. They were rolling and making a commotion. The Garr were thicker than the whites had been the day before. The graph was loaded with shad but the whites were no where. That or they got tired of my spoon. Fished the spot for an hour hoping the whites would show themselves but no deal. Got the ned rig and tube out and we fished about four places with nothing. By now the sun was peeking through and my wife decided to lay down for a siesta. I broke out the spook and a crank and fished several spots including the long point that was so good to me the day before. I ended with three dinks! On this day I saw maybe a dozen other boats. Fall is great as far as boat traffic is concerned. I think weather was everything and after a day of glory, I quickly felt the agony of defeat. Happy fishing.

Thanks for sharing that information Bo. That is super generous of you.

Correct and educated. Septic fields that were below the pan and drained into the ground water are no longer allowed. This is just a freaky wet year, the powersite dam had issues, and it just keeps raining, i.e. 3 inches last night in Christian County. High water, decaying plants, no flow..... COE has to balance all aspects and unfortunately "fish lives don't matter."

I have no problem with boater safety for every boat operator, but on the flip side we require driver's license testing and there are still plenty of thoughtless dangerous drivers. I've been cut in on plenty on the lake, but I fish a lot and overall it's no big deal. I've had PWC's get 20 feet (yes feet) from my stationary boat while their at WOT. I've left a spot because a tuber was being drug across barely submerged timber. I didn't leave because they bothered my fishing, but because I didn't want to be there when the unthinkable happened. I consider myself considerate and careful and I stay clear of other fisherman on a point and won't get in front of them on a bank. I yeild to other boats when on plane, I stay way away from docks when on plane, and I stear clear of stationary boats when on plane. But I had an experience once during a tournament where I was on one side of a dock and another boat was on the oppisite side of a dock two docks away. We were aware they were there but they were heading away from us. There was at least 100 yards and two docks between us. My father n law caught a good fish. I guess they heard "get the net". They trolled over and chewed our hind ends for fishng their spot. My father n law reached in the livewell, retrieved the bass, and threw the bass at them and said this must be theirs then. I loved the response (although it wasn't so helpful in the scheme of the tournament). The didn't say anything and trolled back to their original location. I guess I share this to bring to light that some folks are rude and inconsiderate for sure when they cut in 20 yards or less, but there are also people that think they own an entire cove. Thankfully a majority of the people get it. Just do your part and let the rest roll off your back, you'll be happier in the end.

Hey you did good. You tried to de-escalate with words, when that didn't work you showed you weren't going to bow down, and when the oppurtunity arose you got out of there. Cudos. Most likely they were on dope or had fried brains from previous drug abuse. But some folks just aren't right from birth.

Thanks for sharing.