laker67

Hey JT. I am glad to hear that you and Susie are close to that retirement. Corky and I were talking about that taney trip as well. What a coincidence. You referred to it as the purple fly. Good to hear from you.

About 8:30 this am, I called an old friend by the name of Corky Hinkle. I said "hey, I am in your neck of the woods and was wondering if you would like to meet for coffee. We chose the Whistle Bridge at bssp. A great day. Temps already 65 by nine thirty. We sat up lawn chairs, dug out the spinning rods and the coffee. This being my first major outing since surgery, I decided that the lawn chair and the spinning rod was a good option. This was a trial run so to speak. Corky and I reminisced about days gone bye, drank coffee and caught fish in spite of it all. The majority of the fish were goggle eye, but fish no less. Corky caught 2 nice smallmouth, and we managed a few stocker trout in addition. We even called our old buddy JT and rubbed it in just a little. Being a good sport like he is, he wished us well, and most likely under his breath, vowed to get even. I will have to admit that Corky caught most of the fish. Had a great day with a good friend.

After the computor tells the number of units, it will tell TR lake level and Tailrace level. Tailrace is 702 when "no" water is generating. One unit at one hundred per cent, will raise the lake level about three foot. So listen for the number of units, and the tailrace level. This will give you a good idea of what is happening at that moment. Compare that info to the spa chart for a cross reference and the extended schedule for the day.

Looks like a great time was had by all. Ths for the pictures.

Sorry to hear this DD. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Several people from the springfield area should remember him as well.

Glad to see you back in the brice area oneshot. your ole buddy JR gives fly fishing lessons..

Yep, this happens a lot to me when I fish with DD. Good report Phil, I am in hopes of getting out and about myself in the near future. I had the pleasure of fishing with Duane and MC one evening. They took me to school on how to fish a streamer fly.

Some real good advice Bimmer, you should visit that fly shop today. The great thing about this website is the wealth of practical knowledge from a variety of ozark sportsmen.

Enjoy that omelette chief, i will stay tuned for round one.

I doubt that many fish died due to low water conditions. I am reasonably sure that several fish moved into the park boundries to seek cooler water and to be caught by some worm chuckin redneck.

Store bought mcclouds were always in october. According to what justin says, they must have the arlee strain on nfow, which indeed does spawn into january.Well tim, with you being at crane alot, I would say that my fading memory is telling me march, when indeed it is jan and feb. It has been a good 20 yrs since i set a gentle foot in crane creek.

A little late for hatchery fish and way too early for wild fish.

That would mean no trout. I would have nothing to fish for.

A soft hackle should be thought of as an attractor fly, if it is not attracting, try a different retrieve. You can skip it, strip it, snip it, or dead drift with a swing. You can also skip it, strip it, or snip it against the current on an upstream retrieve. If that don't work, check to make sure that trout exist in the water you are fishing.

wow, we all should have a trip like this one on occassion. great report

Quality rods and reels are like a quality set of tools that you would use on the job, day in and day out. Take care of them, use them for what they are intended to do, and they will last and perform well for several years. Bought my first sage rod in 86 and it still performs without fail after all these yrs. I have used SA reels since the 70's and have never had one fail when fighting a big fish.

Before or after they hit the boiling water?

Thanks Duane, I hope u do equally as well in your adventures today.

For years, Kdan and I have had this traditional thing we do with crappie. Every year we attempt to catch a crappie on thanksgiving and christmas day. Following my surgery on oct 17, I was unable to safely walk out onto the dock for these annual events. In addtion, the first keeper we catch after the new year is released for good luck. For the first time, yesterday, I was able to walk onto our dock and was fortunate to catch and release, that number one keeper for the year. I had not fished since oct 15, and it felt great to be out and about again, if even for only a short period of time. I will attempt to do it again today.

I hear there is trout big enough to swallow divers. google eye as big as groupers..

I was unaware that they still used this approach. It was a very popular and effective tactic in the seventies. Most of the hardware store guides used this approach to put their clients on double digit browns. Corn was the standard bait of choice for the mostly stocker size rainbow during that period.

It was a pleasure to have you and Susie, Jeff. Mrs laker and I are in hopes that you all will return when the weather improves. We will catch crappie, catfish, and go on a hillbilly squirrel hunt.

welcome Predator, like russ says, it is an enjoyable addition. Soon you will find the need to have rods for more than one occasion, such as day vs night fishing, park rod vs stream rod , or ebay has an auction price that you could not turn down.

I would be honored to fish with you FW. I'm at owens point, third dock downstream from the point, blue house. Stop by sometime when you are up that way.

Back in the seventies and eighties, i fished the lower creek at troutdale during the winter months. Where the creek emptied into loz was a hotspot during winter time. Back then it was just about all rainbows with a few goldens thrown in. The goldens very rarely left the santuary of the upper creek. Each winter a few rainbows would migrate through the lake and be caught at various crappie docks. Our dock is located at the 5mm on the big niangua, and the neighbor caught four one winter. That would be at least 40 lake miles from troutdale.