CaptainJoe

Last Friday night, Dick Herringer and his wife Sue were pre-fishing for a Branson Bass Club night tournament to take place the next night. Dick hit the tree on One-Tree Island and was killed instantly. His body was found the next day by MO State Water Patrol. Both Dick and Sue worked at the Branson Landing Bass Pro Shops. They moved here from NE and loved fishing. They were tournament directors in NE. They joined the Branson Bass Club last Summer and Dick and Sue were outstanding additions to our Club. Dick was recently nominated for an officer position in the Club. The memorial service and funeral will be in NE and Sue maybe moving back to NE to be close to family. They will both be missed. In my opinion, I believe that the tree at One-Tree Island needs to be removed and a lighted bouy placed there to indicate an underwater obstruction. I have heard that the Army Corps does not want to place a lighted bouy on the island because it may confuse boaters because the other islands do not have lighted bouys. First of all, the island is not and island at normal pool. It is underwater, making it an underwater obstruction. It is the only underwater, mid-lake obstruction and placing a lighted bouy there would not confuse anyone. I have recommended to the Branson Bass Club to pursue this and fund the lighted bouy so we can also put a memorial to Dick on the bouy. Dick and Sue, if she leaves the area, will be sorely missed. They were a great team and superb people and I mean superb people. Our thoughts and prayers are with Dick, Sue, and her family.

Great info from Don and Eric. I would just like to add to the rigging. I use and widespool, open-faced reel on a 7' medium rod. 1/4 of the spool rigged with 10lb. cheap monofiliment line which is called a backing. I then put on 14# Fireline Crystal braid and tie it to the mono with a uni-to-uni knot (knot instructions are in the Fireline package). Next, I tie a 6# or 8# or 10# (depending on depth that I am fishing - the deeper the heavier the line) P-Line Floroclear or Yo-Zuri clear 4-5 foot leader to the braid using the same uni-to-uni knot. Then, tie a palomar knot to a dropshot hook (#2 Gamagutzu dropshot hook) and take the tag end and put it through the eye of the hook. I try to keep the tag end about 18 inches from the hook. Next, attach a dropshot weight (1/4 oz.) to the tag end. This setup allows great feel due to the no stretch in the braid. The crystal line allows you to see the line with ease. The hybrid line is tough and since it is coated with florocarbon, it is nearly invisible in the water. You do not need to set the hook with the rig. Keep your rod at 9 o'clock at all times (needs to be at a 90 degree angle to the water and watch the line on the way down and the rod tip once you reach your desired depth). When you feel the various bites as described by Don and Eric, all I do is raise the rod from 9 o'clock to 12 o'clock and reel as I am raising the rod. Keep the line tight at all times and ensure that you keep reeling as you lower the rod to fight the fish. This setup and technique works the best for me and my clients. We miss very few fish. I am on year two with the braided line....it last a long time. Hope this helps!

The State Park is advertising a BBQ place on a dock. Sign is at the entrance to the Marina. Have not been there, so you are on your own.

Don, Sounds good....I will be getting it as soon as it becomes available on the market. We can provide a great comparison. I may have to only do work on Sunny days. My unit has still not been out in the rain. As soon as my houseguests leave, I plan to turn on the hose and see if mine leaks. I talked to BassPro (Springfield) and if I have a problem, they will exchange my unit for another one on the spot, which is great. Yea, it is alot of stuff added to the boat, but I am glad to see that right out of the box that it will interface with the Sirius weather antenna and one transducer will work with both units. I will need to get the other network router so I can get Sirius weather on both units. I did not know that Hummingbird had a downscan feature. I have not seen any of their screen shots. As soon we stopped "fly fishing" and you left yesterday, the interference stopped on my HDS-10 up front. It did not interfer with the HDS-8 dash unit, so the Ping on the rear unit must have been perfect. But, I will not mess with it now, because I have both units insync and they do not interfer with each other. Tight lines,

Lowrance announced their SructureScan technology. Everyone expected the SideScan similar to Hummingbird, but nobody expected the DownScan feature. Check this out:::::: Lowrance Link to SructureScan Enjoy,

Eric, In response to your quotes, the following link should help us focus and coordinate our efforts. By the way, congrats on stopping smoking......did it 16 years ago. Every holiday, I light up the stinkiest cigar to remind me not to smoke. Joe

Have a great vacation. Joe

If you want to stay in the Dam area, I would recommend: Happy Hollow Resort (Click Here) If you want to stay in the Kimberling City area, I would recommend: Fish Hook Resort (Click Here) Good luck, Joe

I agree with Don. They have a launch ramp, too. Happy Hollow Resort. Great place and great owners. Good luck, Joe

Eric, Chris is correct. It is dropshot time. I went out yesterday and found them in 25' of water suspended over 45' on secondary gravel points. It is that time to go video fishing. Take care, Joe

Great report Chris......thanks! See ya on the water, Joe

Annually, the Branson Bass Club stays at Hickory Inn. Click Here for Hickory Inn's Website We put in at Honey Creek State Park. Good midlake location. Good luck, Joe

Geoff, Well, as you can see from this site, we share much info and pictures. I primarily hangout on the Table Rock and Bull Shoals threads, but I saw your intro and thought I would introduce myself and welcome ya'all. I remember when I posted my intro and others responded back. Enjoy the site! Joe

Welcome Geoff and Jon, You will find the best info on this site. Thanks for posting, good luck, and welcome to OA (Ozarks Anglers). Joe

Six Feet of RAIN Wow, now I know why your fish catches are so big. Just kidding, my friend!

I am not laughing. I always have one tied on. No big bites, just little ones thinking that they are big ones. Been throwing the Shadalucious in the Sexy Shad color.

Thanks, Phil. Well, to get the discussion going and maybe reach a consensus, a proposal is needed. I would like to see an inside window decal for our trucks. Zander has designed a very nice decal. To tie on our trolling motors, I would like to see a flourescent green ribbon (24 inches long) inscribed with "OzarkAnglers.com" black lettering every few inches. Opinions, Other Proposals, Comments? Joe

zander, Totally agree and your effort is greatly appreciated. I have been trying to get Phil and Bill involved. Sent Phil a PM trying to get him on this topic. I am in the process on contacting Bill. Again thanks....... Joe

zander, I like the decal. Is the decal for our trucks? Are you also designing an inscribed ribbon for our boats? Not sure in what direction we were going. I was also waiting for Bill and Phil to chime in on this one. Nice job!!!!

To reply to your questions, here are my responses that have worked for me: 1. You got a great deal, more than half the regular price. 2. I use them anywhere there is relatively clear water, e.g., flats, gravel banks, chunk rock, 45 degree banks etc. I will create an out-of-tune bait (make it run right or left). I will use it on a bluff bank and bounce it off of the bluff on the retrieve. I really like the 30-45 degree chunk rock bank where I can put the boat in about 15' deep and parallel the bank. I throw the bait in about 1-2' of water and begin the retrieves (stop and go slow - cold water; stop and go fast - warming water; slow slow slow roll - very cold water). I use them primarily from December through April. The best time is Winter....the colder the better. I fished a tournament on Bull Shoals on Feb 28 and it was cold. We had snow, sleet, and freezing rain. We had almost one inch of snow on the boat. We caught fish on the wart. During Xmas is a GREAT time to fish a Wart. 3. I do not replace the hooks. The new hooks on the MadFlash and Big Bass Wiggle Wart series are even better. The colors on both are fantastic. I really like the new Big Bass series. The bait gets down to 6' and suspends, which is showing the fish a wart that acts a little different. Storm has changed over the years and your question was answered nicely by RPS. Hope this helps!!!!

For all other things besides fishing, I would go to this site: Click Here for the Branson Area Forum Have a great trip!!

Eric, Great report and thorough, as always. Thanks!!! mrcold, May 13th should be great. The spawn is just beginning in the dam area and will go on for at least a month. Some fish will be in post-spawn, but others will be moving up.

Date: 4/28/9 Location: Dam Area Water Temperature Range: 59-63 Air Temperature Range: 59-72 Wind: Calm Skies: Cloudy with some sun in late afternoon Beds were visible in the back of all the creeks I visited. There were many beds very shallow due to the release of water at the dam. All fish observed were in the beginning stages of the spawn. Males were making their beds and the females were roaming the area. I observed NO fish locked on a bed and protecting eggs. Every fish on the beds were Spots. I am sure others have viewed things differently, but this is what I saw during my day. Fish could be caught on the beds, but took a little longer since the bucks were not protecting eggs, only their territory. Other fish were caught in the 8-15 foot range with split shots, caroling keepers, shakey heads, and texas rigged worms, centepeeds, and senkos. Topwater is not here, yet. Crankbaits and jerkbaits seem to be done, unless you throw a deep diving crankbait on secondary points. The crappie and whites are still scattered. With all the rain and clouds, this week should be interesting. Be safe and have fun!!!

As a 20-year Marine Corps Veteran, I don't know if I can go PINK. I was thinking more like fluorescent green. That way we can say we went green. Just kidding.....I don't care what color we choose.

During the weekend of May 8th, TR pre-spawn will be over and the fish will be spawning. Water temps are now 59 in the a.m. and 63 in the p.m. at various locations. When you come, it will be alot warmer. I plan to continue to target N and NE banks (get the most sun). I plan to continue to target the backs of creeks as these will warm faster than the rest of the lake. Good luck and have a great trip!