Predator1

That's awesome....seems like every time a fish fellows, the fish no i am there.

Were they biting on live minnows?

Hey guys, my partner put in the james near Nixa just to see if any fish have made it up river since the water level was on the rise from the rain......NO LUCK. They went back down to Walnut Springs and got back into the big ones. Just thought I would ease your minds.

yeah, that red meat almost looks like blood bait smeared over the meat. wonder if we could make something out of that.

Yea Coyote.....that was atleast what Seth said....60-65. We have caught most female from 60 to 75 since the opening and males from 35-45. My new pinion gear for my motor should be in from Evinrude Thursday and I just replace my transit board on my flat bottom. Looks like we are going to be down there again Friday night. My son gets off work at 10:00pm so its off to get some bills. My Dad is coming up from Shreveport, La next week. All he has seen is the pitcures for the last two years. He said he cant wait. "ITS ON" Hey Seth, my friend went to check out the old Honey Hole way up river yesterday, just to see if the bills decided to head further up river. I will let you know what happended when he calls me today. Got to get to work now.

Good Job Seth. That was my friend and I that you saw leaving when ya'll were drifting through. Congrats. I sure was tired when we got home this morning after cleaning those big bills. By the looks of it. There was alot of Big Whites cleaned at the boat ramp as well. The nights are better too I think, because there is not alot of boat traffic like the day time. Too much traffic and those bills get skidish and will hide near the rocks and trees. But man, last night they were rolling all over. Can't wait till a full moon. See ya next time.

Sorry bout that "smallmouthjoe". James RIver arm, The flats on the East shore of where the Flat Creek and James River meet. Then up the Creek near the end. I will be hit'n it againg this Saturday for Whites and Sunday for the Big Mamma Bills. Just hope the weather cooperates. Might get pretty cold. You planning on being out this weekend. Save me a few

Just got done with my filets from the WHITES today. Sarted pretty windy for my son and I. Caught 4 over 2 pounds and the rest we kept were a pound or better. Threw back atleast 70 smaller whites. They quit biting on us at dark. Sure got cold on our 10 mile ride back in the dark. Did see quite a bit activity on the top of the water after dark. Wanted to fish top water but had to get back and fill two big freezer bags. Saturday, we caught some nice small mouths on white spinner baits. Threwthem back. They sure were pretty and hungry when they hit. Did anybody notice any paddle fish swimming? Good Night

RSBRETH, Dont feel too bad, I have not been since my last posting either. However, now that I finished painting my new house and finish moving in this weekend....well, next weekend its oonnn. Hope ya get to feeling better.

Too bad we dont have a 100' rule, excuse me thats still too close at times. Even a 100yrd rule would work for me. Even though God blessed us with a great lake as the rock. We still have to share the waters. I can remember when my grandmother used to take me fishing at the SHRINERS CLUB in Shreveport on Cross Lake when I was about knee high to a duck. She would stake out about 10 poles at a time on that bank and so would everyone else. However, everyone had enough area to fish ther own spots. Basically, it all comes down to common courtousy. Either ya got it or ya don't. Those of us who got it, use it. Those who don't are just wasting time. I dont't see too many of those guys catching fish anyway. My fishing partner enjoys it, he just picks up a different rod and tells them about all the fish he caught on this new little bait. He want let nobody see what he's using when another boat pulls up that close either. He likes watching them scramble for a lure they dont have. He really gets a big laugh out of it. Maybe we ought to start placing them funny bumper stickers on our boats too.

Last night I caught more large bass than I have ever caught in my whole life in one trip. All the LM's were over 8lbs. I caught atleast 20 of them on the Table Rock. My partner was fishing the back of the boat and could not catch nothing. It seem like every cast I caught something. It didn't even matter what I was using, I kept catching more and more fish. Finally about 5:30am this morning I heard the alarm clock go off. To my surprise, I realized I had been dreaming. Yea, sorry guys I was just as disappointed as you all are reading this right now. Since I have been working at the office all day and working on my new house all night, I haven't been getting much sleep....... Anybody offering therapy for this. I do plan to hit the lake in a couple of more weeks. But untill then, I hope I keep having the same nightmares. Fish on

You got that right Lance. I still have an old Rebel Crandbait"medium runner" Red w/tiger stripe. Had it since I was 14 years old. Bought it at the old TG&Y in Shreveport, La. I have even gone under water to retrieve in lakes in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Texas. Even had to get off a submerged log on the James River here. Just cant let some things go. Every now and then I pull it out and to my surprise she still catches fish. That bait is now older than my kids. Even pulled out some old plugs from the 50's that my Grandfather gave me. You just never know.

See ya got into some fish this week. Awesome, just sitting at work wishing I was on the Lake. Sounds like a loose wire. Later

Welcome to the forum Aaron, you will be amazed at the info you learn from here. Phill had a great idea when he developed the forum. I too have learned a great deal about these lakes, rivers and streams of Missouri since I moved here from the South. You will definately meet alot of nice people here. Keep up the good work at your job. Sounds like you love your work. Great deal. Nice trout too. Fish on.

Hey Chris, I got some crabboil......lets eat .....Hunter one aint kiddn round.....I'm from Shreveport, Louisiana .....Next time, soakem in some salt water to purge them, you know get the #*%^ out of them. Then boil them in a big pot with some ears of corn and potatoes....Use some crab boil from the store or send me a message, I got some good stuff from Louisiana. Hey Hunter91, where bouts from Louisiana you from?

Good job guys. Nice catch. Yes it is good being close....just closed on my new house Friday. The James will be a 15 minute drive, still close enough. I'm waiting on my partner to get back from a family reunion. We will probably be putting in at Delaware town this evening. I will let you know what we do if we go. Fish on.

Kudos to you Wackem and you other night tourneys and race brothers. Glad to see you all implementing even better tactics. Every little bit increases better standards and influences more fisherman to practice good ethics. Just closed on my new house Friday, will be painting and installing hardwood floors and carpet for the next month. Sure have missed fishn the Rock. Guess I will head down to the James this evening. Hope the crawfish info helped you. Anyway, glad to see you guys keepn up the good work. Fish on.

MAN! You guys are killing me with this weekday fishing. That's it, I'm telling my boss tomorrow I quit and I am taking up fishing full time ..well maybe not but I am pulling my boat to work tomorrow, maybe he'll get the picture and cut me loose early. Nice catch today Techo. I went down to the James after work yesterday and counted 7 LM in shallow water. Two of those were in the 5lb range. Looks like the James dropped another 2ft. Lots of bass concentrated in shallows near deep holes feeding on small bait fish. I'll make sure to post pics this time. Good luck this weekend all.

Sorry bout that bill, my emotions got away with me. I thank everybody feels the same way. I'm not making excuses for my emotions, but there sure seems to be alot of mischief on TR LATELY. We got volunteer Fire Departments.....What about volunteer Lake Patrol? I still think MDC Should be involved in the Tournaments. You wouldn't have that problem anymore and I also thank all tournaments should be registered. Even club Tournaments. It doesn't mean you have to pay a fee. Just means Big Daddy (MDC) watching. When the eyes upon you, you will go to whatever extent to make sure things are done right. I'm sure everyone remembers this. "To do what is right even when nobody is watching" It just goes without saying.

That's "BULL" I have fished alot of tournaments since I was 15years old in the South up until I moved here to Springfield in 2000. It was hotter than a frying pan down there in the South and if you did not have a live well that operated correctly or a way to keep your live well stable you WERE NOT ALLOWED to fish the tournament (Day or Night). In Louisiana and Georgia, the Wildlife Game and Fisheries generally were involved in Day/Night Tournaments and every tournament had to have a Fish tank generally furnished by the WildLife Game and Fisheries to keep the bass alive throughout weighins. The Wildlife Game and Fisheries also made sure the fished were released properly from the tanks in order to sustain the life of the Fish. I personally think that all Bass Tournaments in this region should be the same. Two reasons I moved here to begin with. Better Education for my to Stepsons and to fish and hunt these beautiful lakes, rivers and land. I am very, very appauled to learn of this. This is about as bad if not worse than finding a methlab on public hunting land. They deserve the same treatment like the guys who was caught harvesting Paddlefish Eggs and Sinking the Corpse. Good thing I wasn't there, I'm not afraid to comfront anyone when comes that kind of sportsmanship. Hell, thats not even sportsmanship. Some might not like what I just posted. Oh well.

Hey Bobber, I floated the Finley 28 times last year and on St Patricks day in 2007 my partner and I spent 8 hrs with the chain saw in the sleet and snow clearing the way from Linden Lure to Ozark Park. That was alot of work. Anyhow, We floated the Finley one month later in April from Linden Lure to Hooten Town on the James. Fished through the whole trip had breakfast on the river and lunch, we did have to drag over some falling trees a coupel of times. And dragged around the falls at Ozark park and River Mill. We put in at Linden Lure at 7am and paddle the last 5 miles hard and made it to Hooten Town around 5pm. Total of 10hrs. Over all this float should be estimated at 12-13hrs. Without hard paddeling. I would recommend this float in the Summer when you have more daylight hours. Hope this helps

Good morning, sounds like you two had a good time from delaware town to shelving rock. Hate to hear those Smallies jump off or broke the line. Just wanted to let you know, don't be afraid to use line size from 8lb test to 14lb test. I even use 20 lb test with a 8ft rod when I am jigging in thick log jams for Large Mouths and Small Mouths. I am going to take that 13'rod that I used for Spoonbill/Paddlefish this past spring and use it for jigging the log jams. I saw some bass back deep in the cover thise week, just couldn't get to them with the 8ft. rod. Maybe I will see ya on the River soon. With the gas prices up so much. My partner and I have not been hitting Stockton, Table Rock, Taney Coma or PomDeterre lately. So we will definately hit the James More Often. Especially since Delaware and Shelvin Rock are only 5 minutes away. Good luck guys. Charles

He dam well deserves what he gets for that. I fished for the Prehistoric fish for the first time this year. That was the largest freshwaterfish I ever caught, weighing in at 96lbs. I fought him for 30 minutes on the James River. I also caught one that was probably around 120lbs. My fishing pardner was too afraid to get in the water with him. He said the fish was bigger than him. I fought that fish for a good 45minutes till it broke my line on the rock shelfs. That was the best fight I ever had next to a 35lb Striper on Lake Lanier in Georgia. I sure am glad they caught that guy. It's a sad thing knowing those fish lived for nothing. My Grandmother taught me how to fish when I was 2years old. She always said dont keep more than you can eat, but put back in the lake what you can enjoy to fight another day, for the good Lord will always provide. Bless her heart. Anyway, they'll probably put him in a cage with BUBBA.

What times dinner tomorrow night, were all coming down. lol Glad you guys are having fun. I told my boss he could pay me less money to fish all day. Still hasn't worked. Glad to see you guides having fun at your job. Dont get me wrong, I like mine, Just wish I still worked for myself again. Keep a catchin em.

Yea, last weekend with Tiny Torpedos...Silver with the black back......The Sun was out all day...casted in the shadows, let it sit for about 10 seconds, then started my jerk pattern...3 short jerks followed by 2 short jerks let it sit for few seconds and repeat.