Seth

I've heard of it for years, but never have tried it. It's really not much different than fish guts.

Browns love corn. Dad has caught more nice browns on it than anything else. Not going to lie. We used to chum with corn off the docks in my early Taney days (20+ years ago). It was mainly to draw in the suckers but there were plenty of nice browns that showed up to the feast.

That's a pork chop!

The only things that come to mind are the rocks by the mouth of Fall Creek, the shoal at the Narrows and the root wad below the island/Rebar hole area, and the root wad just above Trout Hollow.

We've thrown flathead in ponds a few times and I don't think we've ever been able to catch them again.

I'm sure fuel prices are playing a part too. I was pumped to come down and fish that high water myself. Hoping to make it down and fun fish before they kick the water back and our bass club tournament schedules gets underway.

I've never worked so hard to catch so many stockers than I did during the last CAM that I fished. We started out up in the trophy area and caught some decent fish but it didn't take me long to realize I'd be far better off just beating the slower pockets down lake for stockers since I could crank land several in the time it takes to wear down one good sized fish. I ended up camping out across from Trout Hollow and wore the stockers out during the last few hours and ended up with 61 fish for 720 something inches. Spot lock was essential that day. That's the ONLY reason I'd ever fish like that though. The total weight tourneys are a lot more enjoyable for me personally. Next CAM I get a chance to do will probably have me bringing newbies and playing more of a guide role.

CAM is a chill tournament. The three different levels of competition keep it fun for everybody. I was hoping to come down and fish it but I no have an eye exam appointment for Saturday. Only day for the next month and a half that they could get me in (somebody else cancelled) so I figured I better take it. I'm down to my last few pairs of contacts. It's my own fault for procrastinating.

I know several guys that show up opening day with minnows for goggle eye and don't even bother with the trout. You can usually pull a limit out in a few areas for the first few weeks before they get thinned out. You will usually get a few trout on the minnows as well.

This is why you make way more $$$ than me in the IT field. I'm the slacker always off chasing critters and fish instead of working. 😁

Bring on the smallies and the walters!

I couldn't own a boat without a good livewell. It sees fish almost every time I go out, especially this time of year when I'm chasing slabs.

You should have. Flathead are the best tasting catfish there is.

Local coops likely do it as well. Our local MFA does.

I had a guy in my bass club give me a bunch of them because he did the same thing I did and started throwing jigs. I never see them tied on anymore. By golly I am going to change that this year!

I have a gallon bag full of Chompers brand hula grubs that I haven't used in years. That was my favorite thing to use for years and then I just gravitated towards jigs. Not sure why.

A 7.58 was finally weighed in at Ivy Bend during the 1-3pm time frame. I bet the guy that was leading it thought he had it wrapped up this late in the tournament.

Current breaks and eddy pockets near areas that you know hold fish. They won't all hold fish but you can find a good one and get right in a hurry.

High and dirty is fine. Low and dirty is the worst! High water forces fish in to certain areas and really simplifies the fishing most of the time. Of course that's for smallmouth. I'm lost on largemouth when the water is high and muddy.....

Looks like the average check fish was almost 1/2 pound heavier last year. These weights look more like a fall bash.

I've always ran 10-15# green Spiderwire, Suffix or Power Pro braid (whatever Walmart had the best deal on at the time) on my spinning gear. It fades a bit after being used for a while but that's not really a big deal to me. Add an 8-10# fluoro leader with an FG knot and go fishing.

The big fish must not have got the memo on what to do. Not a single 7 pounder weighed in today.

I'd rather run and gun turkeys like what you fellers did than setup in a blind and have them come to me. Birds just aren't setting up to allow us to do it like in the past. 10+ years ago when there were more birds, you'd go after one and if that didn't work on you'd beat feet it over to another one until you got your bird. Congrats on the birds! FYI I finished up the rest of the leg/thigh meat yesterday by making street tacos. I threw the meat in a cast iron skillet with a little oil and carne asada seasoning, crisped it up, put it on tortillas with pico, shredded queso, avocado and lime juice. It's a tough call on whether I liked the tacos or the pot pie the best. I'm frying up some breast for dinner tonight.

There will still be multiple 7's weighed in. I'm saying 7.4 to win it.

This is on the Gasconade, Osage and parts of the Meramec where there is more water. This isn't something you'd see on what I'd call a "wading" stream.