OzarkFishman

PS - we threw everything back except the walleye. Want to make sure people don't think I poached. The walleye was 20". Hope all of you on the water this weekend stay safe and catch a bunch.

Funny you mention spoons ... I've been obsessed with spoon fishing this summer from Bull Shoals to the Gulf of Mexico. I agree rod and reel is best, but we will always have one setline trip just for the memories and the fact that we do so many other activities at the lake. Nothing like "fishing" and riding a 4-wheeler or golfcart at the same time! If anyone had questions about how to set the lines, PM me. I have a special way I do it and it really works for me. Check out our best spoon trip this summer. Bull shoals (pothole) in June after all the rain this spring. All were caught using a 7' bionic blade bass rod with a pflueger president. The spoonbill gave my 9 year old all he could handle ... I helped in the end once it got in the current.

Took the boys to my favorite lake. Grew up going just to boat, tube and swim. Now my main objectives are keeping the boys happy (4-wheelers, tubing, fire, etc) and blue catfish. I take the boys on a blue trip every summer. We always catch fish, but this year the weather played out amazing. We showed up this past Saturday when the storm hit and made the lake turn to an ocean. It was fun to watch, but not much fishing. In the morning it was game on. We saw the water was way up and that meant the water would be dropping all day and into Sunday night. We caught some baitfish and set the hooks. The boys were excited when Monday morning rolled around. The first hook we checked was the 30 pounder (40 inches). Should have seen the look on my 9 year olds face when he was hand lining the fish in. After letting that fish go, we went out to check our other lines. We wanted to keep a few just under the slot, but the fish were either slot fish or over. Just crazy. Threw all but one fish back. Biggest 3 were 18#, 22# and 30#. The boys had a blast! This post has been promoted to an article

I am willing to drop the price of the 4-combos to $300. Let me know if you are interested. I have a tour edition MH casting rod if you would rather MH vs Medium action. Have a great day!

I am willing to split if you want just one or two of the combos. If you want all of them, make an offer! Have a great day!

I have some nice combos that I am looking to get rid of to open up some funds for different hunting and fishing equipment. Reel Cost New Abu Garcia Ambassador C4 - $139.99 Quantum Tour Edition PT - $239.00 BPS Pro Qualifier - $99.99 Pflueger President (spinning) - $49.99 Rod Cost New Abu Garcia Vendetta (6’6” MH) - $79.99 Quantum Tour Edition PT (7’ M) - $119.00 Abu Garcia Vendetta (6’ 6” MH) - $79.99 Abu Garcia Vendetta (spinning, 7’ MH) - $79.99 TOTAL COST NEW $887.94 I would like to sell this as a package deal for $400 OBO. You can PM me OR text me at (816)-591-0045. Thanks for looking!

I get what you are saying about the "thrill" of catching big fish on rod and reel. I have caught many big fish this year on rod and reel, yet checking lines at LOZ is the most exciting thing I do all year. It is the anticipation and the hand-to-hand combat that I love. To each their own.

This year I made it to LOZ twice. Once in July and once less than 2 weeks ago. We always set lines and have our best success with 7/0 circle hooks and live bluegill or green sunfish (longear sunfish don't survive as well in my opinion). In July we had a blast and caught over 100 pounds of catfish in one day (2 times running the lines). It was crazy with our best 3 over 20 pounds each and the biggest at 22. Two weeks ago my dad invites me to the lake and I suddenly get a scratchy feeling in my throat and just know I need to take the next day off to let nature cure me. So, I head to the lake that night and we wake up the next day and start setting lines. When we check them at 5 that night, we had 2 smaller ones and a 28 pounder!!! We felt so good that we set another line up river in a different spot. Next morning, we go to check the new lines. I feel A LOT of weight and start getting nervous/excited. We pull up a 3 pounder and an 8 pounder ... The weight is still there and not any lighter ... Then .... We pull up the biggest freakin log I have ever seen in LOZ. This thing was as long as my little 16 ft Lund. After my dad and I pulled and tugged enough, the leader broke and it was on to check the last of the hooks. After that excitement, we called it a trip. It was amazing and I think I will have to always have a second fall trip. I always read about fall fishing, but am usually too busy to participate. Most people look to crappie, bass and other fish in the fall ... The blues are big in this lake and are still biting!!! PS - all fish except one 14 pounder were released by us this year. I am all for keeping the smaller ones, but the 28 pound female that we released is a whole lot closer to 50 pounds than the countless 5 to 10 pounders in this wonderful fishery. PSS - I noticed I wore the same shirt both times. Didn't mean to do that, but maybe there is something to that shirt/hat combination ...

"As far as the invasive crawfish hmmmmm everything I know in the water eats crawfish." The problem is that the invasive species outcompete native crawfish. It changes the natural order of things ... From the article ... "Species like red swamp crawfish and White River crawfish are hardy and adaptable to a wide variety of conditions. Many are aggressive, territorial, and readily reproduce. These traits combined with omnivorous and intense feeding habits make them perfect invaders, suited to overpopulate, out-compete native crayfish and fish species for food and shelter, and alter the ecological balance of their new homes." This should be a concern for any outdoorsman.

Surf fishing - blues and lady fish Rivers - big Ozark bass (goggle eye) Lakes - big blue catfish

My first confidence bait was a BPS squirmin shad on a 1/8 jighead (both 2" and 3"). I had a whole tackle box just for the darn things. That was just 5 years ago and now I rarely throw them. Like Mitch said, it was a great day when I first started fishing that got me hooked to my first confidence bait. My confidence bait now is definetly a senko (baby bass color) ... The Eakins jig (black and blue with a paca craw trailer) is a close second.

If you want to know if there are bass in there, then throw a baby bass colored senko style bait. Nothing outproduces the senko in a pond (at least for me).

A little off-topic ... Motoman, I am going to LOZ in July for my annual blue catfish trip. I am taking my 5 year old and would love to get him on some whites at night (and he would love to stay up past dark thirty). Do you just listen for feeding on top? Sorry for the highjack, but whites plus a 5 year old equals great smiles!

No matter what your opinion ... That is funny. Thanks for that Ness.

I had originally planned to go to the Kimberling City area, but we decided to hit Moonshine instead. Took the "new" boat out for her "maiden" voyage. Started off trolling the banks right away and caught the first fish for the new boat on cast 3. Then, I went to start the engine. Turned the key, the engine turned over but did not take off ... I tried 3 or 4 times and then gave up for the time being. I had pumped the ball, choked the engine, done just about everything (or so I thought). We decided to forget the big engine and keep trolling ... it paid off. We saw lots of surface activity (I assumed they were whites). Once we got closer, they turned out to be spotted bass. At the time I was throwing a paddle tail fluke. I picked up 2 more fish, then my buddy noticed how small the shad were that they were busting. I switch to a little black squirmin shad and it was on (the other guy put on a blue shad). The smallmout decided they wanted to play as well. We ended the day with 12 fish in 2 hours (10 of the fish came in a 45 minute span). The biggest smallmout was 17.5" and 2.75 pounds. The biggest spot was just over 2 pounds and right around 16 inches. There was even a bonus white mixed it. This was only my second time on the Rock and the other guy rarely fishes ... this was a great day for us!!! Oh ... back to the stupidity part ... Once the bite slowed down, we decided to try the motor again. Same ... THEN ... I checked the fuel line and it WASN'T plugged into the motor ... I AM AN IDIOT!!! By this time, the starting battery was dead. Overall, it was a great way to start the day.

Awesome, I will launch at Mill Creek and buy the annual pass ASAP. Two more questions ... 1) Guessing it is a drop box for the $5 fee (I plan on getting there around 5:30 am). Where do I go to buy the annual pass? 2) Are there plenty of signs for me to follow once I get close? I know to take 76 west to 13 south. Go 12 miles then take Highway RB west. After that, I am hoping to just follow the signs. Thanks again guys.

Thanks guys.

Do I need a tag/permit to launch at a corp ramp? I read a lot of old posts on here and someone said something about the COE permit being $30 and someone else said there is a ramp close to 13 highway that costs $5 to launch (near kimberling city). Any more info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys for the quick replies.

I plan on breaking in my "new" boat early Sunday morning. Hopefully be off the water by 10 or 11, before I get seasick in my little 16 Lund. I have been trying to read up on what is working and the bite seems to be on lately. I will be throwing top water, tubes and maybe a Carolina rig. I need some help locating a boat ramp. I know some are private and others are COE ramps. Can you guys let me know where a good boat ramp is around Kimberling City? Thanks in advance, OzarkFishman

I have been on a hitchhiking rampage lately on this forum, so ... One of those lovely guys dropped into my buddies canoe while we were setting limb lines on the Buffalo. When it dropped I luckily saw it and where it went. Once we made it to shore, we carefully took everything out of the canoe and the snake bolted to a place we could not get to. It was an aluminum canoe, both the front and back have a compartment blocked off (but there was clearance for the snake to slither into it). We had to lift the canoe up on one end and bang on it (yes we looked like cavemen). When the snake stuck its head out, we let it come all the way out and then turned the canoe bottom up. It turned out to be a water snake, but when a snake drops out of a tree and into your boat it is only smart to assume it is a cottonmouth. Mitch, I am not the best at identifying snakes. The only way I know for sure is to watch if they are swimming completely on top of the water.

Good point Gavin. I bought the Journey so that I can take my boys canoeing (one at a time, they are 5 and 2). The only problem with the Journey is the weight. It is fine for 2 adults to carry; without the cart I bought it would be brutal for one guy to carry. Mitch, you really should look at a solo. In my opinion, a kayak is no where near as good of a choice on the streams around here. The comfort and space of a solo are awesome.

Thanks for the info guys. Seems like the royalex model fits my needs. The extra tracking and room is worth the extra 12 pounds compared to the Pack. Being that I just bought a Mad River 156 Journey canoe and an older 16 foot Lund with a 35 horse, my wife would not be happy if I bought yet another canoe. It will probably be a year before I buy, but it is nice knowing that I have the model picked out so that I can look for sales. Thanks again guys, your advice is greatly appreciated.

Crazy, turn on the weather channel. My families thoughts are with them as well. St Charles also got hit about the same time. Hope all is well in St Louis.

Al, thanks for the reply. I am assuming that you have the Vagabond ..Which model do you have (Royalex, Tuf-weave flex-core, kevlar flex-core, kevlar ultra-light)? The Pack that I paddled is royalex. While the weight was amazing, it seemed to be 2 paper thin pieces of royalex with foam between them. Is royalex durable. I loved how it slides over stuff, but how does royalex stand up to long time use and the occasional accidental bump into stuff. Sorry for completing the hijack of the paddling thread ...