DADAKOTA

From the research I've done it seems that most folks are going with braid and tying on a fluoro leader. Anyone drop shot with their baitcasters?

I have always spooled the line onto the reel with it coming off the spool counterclockwise. I also close my bail by hand and start my retrieve on a tight line. Not sure what the nephew was doing although I had suggested he do the same. I grew up fishing a spinning rod and switched to a bait caster many years ago. Other than my ultralights a bassin sized spinning outfit feels funny now. Going to learn how to drop shot and figure I best get used to the spinning rod again.

Ain't nothin better than a yella dawg. Great pics Wrench. Brought back a rush of memories of my ol yella Dakota.

Got a couple of spinning outfits that I obviously need to change the brand of line on. Been using them primarily when I troll, but took a nephew fishing over the weekend and he used them for casting frogs, chatterbaits, etc. What a nightmare. The poor kid had numerous bouts of severe line twist. Tried running all the line out with no lure on it to get rid of the twist and added a swivel for him, but still line twist. Pretty sure I had spooled them with 10# AbrazeX fluorocarbon. Apparently that was a poor choice on my part. What line do you wire reel experts recommend. Planning on using one of the outfits for drop shotting.

Prayers from here

Is a "paddle jon" just a jon boat in the old style long and narrow that folks used to use on the rivers like the James?

I hate seeing dead LMB. Tourney anglers need to take care of their fish. With that said, I'd imagine that more bass die every day from being gut hooked on soft plastics like senkos and/or by being reeled in too fast after being caught in deep water than are killed by tourney anglers.

Looks like they were about to meet head on and the boat banked hard assumably to avoid a collision and the pwc hit it. Or the boat driver decided to cut in front of the pwc to throw a bigger wave and the timing was off. Be interested to know what went on. In my opinion there are too many people that own and/or operate boats that have no real idea what they are doing.

Bandit 300s will get you deep enough. Mad Cow is a Stockton killer.

Used to use a tiny treble as a stinger when fishing emerald shiners for brook trout in the UP. Never used a trout worm so I am unfamiliar with the action. Just a thought.

Put a stinger hook on to catch those tail nippers.

Amazing Brownies.

Nicely done Limit Out. You are on them.

Hopefully they will utilize the lie detector tests for the higher places. They went a lot of years without testing anyone and the numbers have dropped because of it. Used to be a 300 boat derby year ago.

Sure miss fishing brookies in the UP. Spent several trips up around the Republic area fishing the Fence river and some of its tributaries. Caught my biggest brookie in Just lake. Also spent time around Escanaba and Rapid River areas catching brookies and walleyes. Pan fried brook trout is phenomenal.

What a day. Still bottom bouncing?

Best thing about fishing is anyone can do it. Folks can fish as often as they can or as little as they want. They can become as good a fisherman as they choose to be whether on a lake, river, or stream. So many folks out there who have all the equipment, know the various techniques, and have the physical tools of casting, working a bait, etc. equal to or better than the next guy. What separates a true "stick" in my book is the ability to find fish and catch fish year round on any body of water. Paying attention not only to patterns but patterns inside of patterns. Putting the pieces of the puzzle together as quickly as possible. Knowing the time of year, wind, weather, water temp, clarity, time of day, and a host of other things. Anticipating changes in the wind, weather, time of day, etc. and how that will affect the fish. Trusting your gut instincts. Some are blessed with a certain sense that others are not blessed with. They also are open to gaining knowledge from whatever sources they can and are not afraid to try something new or think outside the box. Being able to recall similar situations from fishing trips past and combine them with experience and current conditions in the computer we call a brain to lead one to the fish is definitely a gift some have that others do not.

I run all Curado CU-201s and do my own reel work. Many possibilities including grit/grime, bad gear, bad bearing, or a broken/missing part that is throwing it out of alignment. I'd tear it apart and check and clean each piece. Most reel repair places do not actually clean the bearings. They open the reel up, wipe off any visible dirt, apply too much grease, and typically over oil the bearings. Most never take the pawl assembly apart and clean and lube it. Best do just do it yourself where you know things are done right. THere was a reel repair place at Lake Fork that has Shimano parts and has a video on taking apart and cleaning your reel.

WOW. What a day on the lake for you. Outstanding!

I see your children have no problem with individual expression. Not my cup of tea, but to each there own.

Actually Stockton was not designed "as a fishing lake". It was part of the COE's overall flood control plan and included Truman lake. Truman was supposed to be built before Stockton, but the Lake Association through many trips to DC got Stockton built first. When Stockton was built first the Corps. wanted to name it Truman but the Lake Association wasn't having any of that. One of the major draws for the Committee was economic development. My wife's GPA was the President of the Association and had been on the one at Table Rock. The construction of Stockton lake was popular with a lot of folks and very unpopular with others. Lots of old family farms, houses, etc. were inundated by Stockton lake and there were lots of hard feeling on both sides. MoCarp your quiet, pristine lake caused much heartache to those that lived/farmed in its footprint. At one time there were plans for Holiday Inn to build a large hotel, conference center, and golf course in the Umber area. I have seen the plans. It was envisioned that Stockton would develop similarly to Table Rock, but that has not happened. Progress and change take place and some do not get their way or get to keep things as they were. Mind you, all change/progress is not good, but we can't expect things to stay 100% the same as the population of this Country grows and technology advances. I'm glad Stockton is the lake that it is. Usually quiet, peaceful, and uncrowded. I fish all over the lake and rarely fish at night. Boogie fever going on at Mutton doesn't disturb me at all. I'd guess the band deal is a weekend thing during tourist season 3 months out of the year. If anyone would be upset by the music it should be those camping at Mutton. Apparently it has not caused a mass exodus from the campground and impacted the owners bottom line. To me a far greater concern are the giant boats and the tweakers and thieves that hit the various boat ramps around Missouri's lakes as well as steal from the docks and marinas.

Got to love kids and fishing. Nice eyes.

We typically run four rods. When one gets snagged I hit reverse and create slack in the lines. Many times the snagged one pops free. If it doesn't we reel in the other three and go back to the snagged one. The Bandits float. If the snagged one pops free just put it back in gear and let them dive.

Wow.

Sounds like an awesome trip.