wily

i don't think i'd waste my time trying...you'd be dodging boats all day, and I'm sure there's better fishing upstream...the only draw of fall creek is: that it is the highest up river you can go and still use bait, so a lot of people will go up there and either anchor, or use it as the starting spot for their drift. that said, i have seen a couple very large trout cruising the area around the dock.

This is an email from a friend of mine...he called me about 715 saturday morning asking for help, so he sent this reply to me when i asked him if he ended up finding the white bass. The island closest to where he caught the fish is Patricia island. He said the water had cleared-up quite a lot. Yeah, about 930 or so. Nothing happening at weed island in the middle, so I went around the corner where we caught them after the island stopped, u know just west around the point. Nothing for a while, then right before I was heading in to leave, they started blowing up on the bank. It was so high that the point was now an island and the bass boats were flying through between. Looks like they were chasing the shad up the bank and then around, the wind was blowing them or something. So I kept 20 and Jim got like 10. The gold spoon was what I was getting them on. Not much w/ the silver though. Most were smaller; I only had a few that were like the normal/big ones we were pulling in when we went. Only saw 1 other boat white bass fishing, I think. They were trolling around though. Had the helicopter right on top of us as they were filming the bass pro’s. Man I couldn’t figure out their game plan. We saw them all shoot from sailboat bridge by us, then after I called you from gov’s island, I turned around and many were sitting across the water from Shangri-la. So I went up to them and they took off again, most shot straight across to Shangri-la. Saw boats flying by all day in groups of 2 or more.

i put-in at martins landing saturday evening and it was muddy all the way past shangri-la...if i would have known it was so muddy i would have trl'd the boat further down the lake. i caught very few fish (zero black bass and a couple white bass), and the white bass i caught were very shallow.

Boy, I've got it. we had a good time. we stayed at spider creek for 4 nights, and fished in the main lake each morning and most afternoons. Most of the fishing was done by my wife and little boys, and they caught bluegill/kentucky's/smallmouths. they were using worms on bobbers around chunk rock...my primary function was the net man, and the hook baiter. but if we happened along a gravel point i would throw a green pumpkin centipede on a c-rig, and i caught a fish about every third cast. we were pretty shallow and i would throw out into the deeper water and bring it up the slope. i didn't get to cast very often but i caught my share of 12 inch smallmouth. i would also cast a 1/16 oz tx rig watermelon craw around the chunk rock and i caught a handful of kentuckys/smallmouth that way, but i really didn't get to fish as often as i would have liked but the wife and kids had a lot of action. I didn't go striper fishing, by the time the sun went down, and we got the kids to sleep, i was too tired to go, but i plan to go back down and try them soon. i marked a lot of shad in what i call the horse-shoe cove. i know if i would have been by myself i would have been able to catch quite a few fish in there on a spoon but i didn't really have the opportunity.

hey Sam, Thanks for the info, I'll let you know how i do. you're right about eating them. we caught one last year, a 19 lbr, I deep fried it for my youngest sons 2nd birthday party. That thing fed about 40 people and boy was it good. this is my father in-law with it. http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x212/wi...w_striper-1.jpg

i'm coming down Memorial Monday, and bringing the family for a week vacation. We are staying at spider creek. i hope to catch a few trout in the morning, and some crawdads with the boys in the afternoon, and then some stripers once the sun sets. i've tried striper fishing before but mostly around prarie creek and ventris, and i've had marginal success (a couple blow-ups but nothing in the boat). I haven't put-in at the dam before but i figure i'll run around the island toward fishtrap, and just fish the gravel points with a super-shad rap, or a red fin at night. i'd sure like to catch a striper on a crankbait but i know it's almost like musky fishing (1000 casts and all), so if any of you could give me a specific point to try, where you've had success in the past, i would appreciate it. i promise to throw any fish back.

i typically don't but a buddy of mine does. he has tried poppers, but according to him his best fishing is w/ a crawdad imitation. i bought a st croix fly rod from cabelas on sale over the winter with the hopes of trying my hand at that very thing. But i haven't used a fly rod since i was kid catching bluegills out of our pond, so i might be dangerous. to myself that is...or to those around me.

the family and i spent the day at cyclone yesterday. we caught a few crawdads and tadpoles. I even managed a brownie or two on a tx rigged 4" green pumpkin lizard. There weren't very many canoes on the river downstream from cyclone, and according to a group of couples that i spoke at cyclone. they had the river to themselves (said they didn't see anyone) on their two day float from powell. powell to cyclone doesn't have the length to necessitate two days of floating but they took their time and camped on the river. The water was pretty warm and unbelievably clear considering the recent rains.

ketchum cove is a little further down lake. closer to the dam. there is a marina there that is a pretty good home base. hammerhead.

I spoke to a friend yesterday. He said they're catching lots of whites in the lake down by sweetwater and goat island on the spoon. he said the water is too muddy in the sailboat bridge area, so the better fishing is down lake. The black bass fishing is still good, but again it's better in the cleaner water. I'll probably trailer my boat to Ketchum cove tomorrow evening.

i found it...paradise valley

what's the name of the private campground that is just behind campground#1?? i can't believe how booked the park is...do you know if you can camp in the grass in area 3 without a reservation? thanks

Bill, it's about 4 or 5 miles at least to where the river enters the lake, and there are some obstacles in the water so be careful. if you want to fish the river i think you should take a canoe trip from cowskin canoe rentals. They are right at the Hwy 43 Bridge in MO, and only a couple miles from where it enters the lake...in fact you could probably just walk downstream from the mdc access, which is also right there at the bridge...just on the other side. http://www.cowskincanoe.com/ we typically float from just below the falls in noel, down to their campground which is pretty good fishing, and you're away from the tatooed masses at noel. but the better white bass fishing would be further downstream.

We put-in at Grove City Boat Ramp Saturday morning. The water temp was 51 degrees, and the lake was murky in the mid-lake area. My partner and I fished Tera Miranda first. He caught a nice white bass, and small keeper on a jerk-bait right off the point. I picked-up one short bass on a c-rig. We kept fishing all the way to the back of the cove. I caught a keeper on a green crawdad wiggle wart, and a 3 lbr around a laydown log on a spinerbait. He picked-up a couple more shorts on his jerk-bait. We spent a lot of time in tera Miranda. I had been there the week before and I was itching to go to the dam. So finally about noon we loaded up and made our move. The wind was whipping and I was glad to be in his boat instead of mine, but we made it without any trouble. He has a 210 Pro Craft, and it rode pretty well. No wave slap, and pretty dry. The only thing it does is bounce you around a little, but overall a good ride in bad conditions. We saw a smaller champion really having a hard time of it. Well, we made it to ketchum cove, and my partner picked-up a 5 lb largemouth on a jig. i caught two non-keeper kentucky’s on a shad rap. The fish in the dam area were incredibly fat. There were tons of birds in the cove so we knew there had to be a lot of shad. We left about 3 not knowing how long it would take to get back, with the wind and all, but we made it back in time to fish around Shangri-La. Neither of us caught one but my partner had about a 4 lb fish on, but it got off right at the boat, not the best net job by the kid (me). Back at the ramp. We knew we were in trouble when one of the guys pulled a huge bass out. It weighed 8.25 pounds. He caught it on a wiggle wart in the back of Honey Creek.

Part of Bill Babler's previous msg -- If I were fishing out of the back of a boat, depending on the location, I would not hesitate to throw the rogue in clear water or drag a rig in the stained water. -- Bill, I like what you say here about the rig in stained water, but i was wondering what bait you would use this time of year? i tried this past weekend at grand lake, but didn't get a bite. I used an 8" Zoom Lizard and a 4" Lake Fork crawdad. I figured if they were gonna eat...they'd want a big bait.

I went Saturday afternoon to the shangri-la area. I considered going after some whites at twin bridges but i wanted to avoid the crowd. It was a great day for being out on the water, but the fishing was tough. The water temp on the west side of the lake was 52 and on the east it was only 48. The water was muddy. There were lots of bass boats out...just about every rock bank with the sun hitting it had a 20 footer on it. Most people were fishing the jerk bait, but the water was muddy so i think that took away from the jerk bait fishing. i caught my only bass slow rolling a 1/2 oz spinnerbait along a drop-off. I caught a handful of crappie in tera miranda by the tires. i marked some fish on the graph and threw a jerkbait at them but no takers, so i switched to a slider w/ a grub and swam it thru there and picked up a couple crappie but they were pretty slow too. All in all, i guess it was a good day for a boat ride. We've got a club tournament this weekend at grand. based on what i saw, and what you said, i think i'll probably go down lake and try to find some clearer water.

has anyone heard of any white bass being caught at rollie blunt's in flat creek, or around viola, or even the roaring river arm?? visiting the in-laws this weekend, so i'd like to take the oldest boy and FIL out and catch some fish.

this is straight from my buddy. **** Went to Grand yesterday, towards the dam. Water was stained, 42-44 degrees, LOTS LOTS LOTS LOTS of dead and dying 2" shad all over the place......made for a very tough day on the lake. Caught 2 Largemouths about as big a round as long, probably in the 2-1/2 lb range, on a Clown Suspending Rogue. Believe it or not, we caught them both in a small pocket on the SOUTH side of a cove around small rock. Depth was probably around 2', with 10-15' water somewhat close. We tried the normal North banks, points, channels, deep docks, big chunk rocks and nothing....hardly even saw any fish on the graph, so we tried something "different" and the fish was stacked in this area......however......I caught 5 BIG ol' nasty Drum within 10' of each other, within the same 5 cast. That's what I found on the graph, it was a dang big school of drum. Each time one hit, I thought, YES WE'VE FOUND THE HONEY HOLE..............................darn Drums. Oh well, something tugged on the line so it beat being at home. Those dang things wouldn't touch my buddies Rogue, but they sure liked that Clown colored Rogue. *** if it was me...i'd try the terra miranda point...and the back side of wolf point in elk river. try the rogue or a jig. be sure to post how you do.

I heard about a six pound hybrid that was caught last week in the neosho river above twin bridges. the weather and my sinuses kept me away this weekend, but i should have went yesterday afternoon. i plan to go next weekend. they should be going good in both rivers. the water in the spring will have cleared by then. i think it will take a while for the neosho to clear due to all the snow in western kansas. saddle up and go this week if you're able. it should be prime time.

I talked to a buddy. $350 is too high...i'll take $250 negotiable. it's worth that...but if i don't sell it no worries. white bass run will be starting soon.

I'm in joplin...i've got a couple old photos...but they'll give you an idea. please send me a email. i don't know how to post the pictures.

I've got an older (1996) 15 foot gheenoe that i would like to sell. This is a boat that was made by Spider Boats in Arkansas before they branched out onto their own. Gheenoes are basically fiberglass square stern canoes that are extremely stable. the mid section of the boat is flared out. it creates a very stable, high floating platform to fish from. The boats originated in Florida. Spider boats is a manufacturer that at one time had a contract with Gheenoe to build the boats, apparently in an effort to broaden the distribution network. I use the boat mostly for white bass fishing in Spring River, but it works just as well in a lake/pond setting. I have a 2001 Johnson (Tohatsu) 5 HP motor that i use on it and it runs along at a pretty good clip. I also use a 38lb minn kota trolling motor that i mount to the front (i just turned the head around on a stern mount) by slipping it over the gunwale. I'd consider selling the motor and trolling motor but would prefer to only sell the boat. The boat has two padded bench seats (front and rear) and a walk-around padded center live well. I do not have a trailer for the boat, but i just slide it into the back of my pick-up and use ratchet straps to secure it to the tailgate latch. i also place carpeted bunk boards underneath the underside when it is in the truck. The boat has a center keel, so the boards help keep it from oscillating around. Gheenoes have quite a following in the southeast. Many people think it is the best flats boat you can buy. As i said, it is extremely stable, you can stand up and cast in it and it's basically untippable. The boat is similar to the canoes that Phil has for sale...albeit not as nice, and probably not as light. I'm a little guy but I can load it (unloaded) into the back of my full-size chevy truck. it probably weighs 125 pounds. i'd sell it for $350. A grand for the boat and both motors. for info on gheenoes go to: www.spiderboats.com www.customgheenoe.com www.gheenoe.net

I'm not an expert or anything but we've went to lake of the woods a couple times...we've stayed a couple different places and the place i'd recommend is the Red Deer Lodge. It's in nestor falls. you can drive-in and they can arrange a fly-out trip for those who want to do it...the fishing is good close-by, so there aren't any real long boat rides. We've also stayed up by souix narrows and you had to drive your boat much farther to the better fishing areas. Red deer lodge isn't the taj mahal but it's clean and convenient.

Bobber, I have a two small boys, and one would really like to see an elk. I would like to take them camping next spring on the buffalo river. Where would you suggest we camp? I'd like it to have a good gravel bar because they like to look for crawdads. I'd probably wade fish. Wife kind a likes hiking, so we'd just hang around the campground. thanks, ken

I was out both days from 1 to 4. The weather was great..sunny and 70 on the 24th...60 and cloudy the 25th. wind blew about 10-15 both days. 3 keepers friday and only one saturday, but it was a 4 pounder. I fished the monkey island area, using martin landing to launch my boat. Friday, i hadn't been on the water in a while and it was cool...54 degrees. I tried the usual suspects, white 1/4 oz spinnerbait, a shad rap crankbait, a black and blue eakins jig, with a blue zoom jr chunk. I didn't have any hits on the spinnerbait. I caught one keeper on the shad rap, it was a suspending model in natural shad. I caught the fish casting parallel to a drop-off. My other two keepers came on the eakins jig, fishing a bluff end point drop off, where the water went from 3 feet to 20 feet very quickly. I threw it up on the bank and dropped it off the ledge. fishing it very slowly. I caught all three in a little pocket close to shangri-la. On saturday it was cloudy and the wind was blowing harder. I only fished the jig. the first stop was Terra Miranda, the very first cast i caught the four pounder on the jig. it was off the main point in probably 20 feet of water. I then skipped to the other side by the sign and had another bite, but I missed the fish. I next moved down the lake and tried a chunk rock pocket but the wind was blowing too hard so i moved to the protected pocket on a bluff end, but i didn't have a hit.