Seth

I think I'm going to love that Head Turner based on what I've heard about it. I'm a die hard spinner bait guy so it will see a lot of time in my hands. Another guy I know who is a Falcon guy also recommended that Deep Cranker rod for the 130 plopper. I'm fairly knew to ploppin so I'm not quite ready to pick up a dedicated setup for it just yet. Plus I don't really fish anywhere that allows me to do any deep cranking so I can't really justify picking one up just yet. I've been throwing them on a Skeet Reese 7'2" jig/worm rod with 65# braid and doing alright, but something with a more moderate action would be ideal.

Everybody wanting to give you their hard earned money so they can go fishing and you're depriving them of this. BACK TO WORK!

That make sense. I figured there was something I wasn't picking up. All I know is that if it's dirty, I fish shallow and if it's clear, I usually move out deeper. Never really thought about the muddy water keeping the deeper water from warming up as well.

I'm going to be purchasing a couple Falcon Cara or Expert series rods this spring before our bass tournaments get up and rolling. I'm for sure getting a finesse jig (6'10" MH/MF) and a head turner (6'10" H/MF) as those two rods will probably see the most usage based on how I typically fish. The next rod that I need to decide on will be for pitching jigs/trigs and occasionally tossing a 130 whopper plopper, which weights 1.5oz. I'm torn on whether to get a froggin rod (6'11" H/F) or the Amistad (7'3" H/F). Most of my fishing in close quarter since I typically fish the Gasconade, Osage and Maramec rivers or near docks when I get on a lake. Which one would you prefer? Also, is there much difference between the Cara and Expert line ups? I've held both and they are both really awesome feeling rods.

@Old plug are you trying to say that dirty water doesn't heat up as fast as clean water or am I misunderstanding you? That's the opposite of what happens.

Here's a few pictures from the day.

Took the hunting and fishing club kids from the school district I'm employed at down to Maramec Springs for our annual field trip. The water was slightly up and dingy, but the fish bit very well. Lots of really nice fish in the stream. I measured a couple that the kids caught that broke the 15" mark. One kid had one that I'm certain was 16-17", but he released it so he didn't have to stop fishing as he already had three on the stringer. An orange trout worm was by far the best bait. Several kids who had never trout fished before used that worm all day long and caught 10 or more trout. Every single kid that went caught trout and most caught at least a limit, but many only kept three so they could fish all day. I caught most of mine on the worm as well, but also had a couple on a black/yellow marabou jig and a white trout magnet. This was by far the best fish catching trip that we've had since I took over the club five or six years ago.

A buddy was fishing back in Indian Creek this past weekend and said it was muddy.

We didn't make it that far up the Gravois, but the main channel near Coffmann was pretty dirty Monday when I was up there chasing crappie. Main channel temps were in the mid 40's and the cleaner creek water was in the lower 40's.

Most of the time I catch my fish off of the same half dozen docks. Being forced to use my electronics and find fish is almost as fun as catching them. I always tell people that crappie are one of the easiest fish to catch once you find them. The finding them part can be easier said than done this time of year. After we had our limits, I graphed around several other secondary points with features similar to where we caught our fish and they were dead. I have no idea why that one spot was so good and everything else was totally void of fish. That's crappie for you though.

The cleaner creek and cove water showed 41-42 and the dirtier main lake was 45-46.

Got started about 3pm and hit a few of my normal go to docks. Nothing happening. Decided to run towards the back of a creek arm and scan secondary points. Got lucky and found a good one with a bunch of shad and crappie in short order. Took me and my buddy about an hour to get our two limits. Lots of nice black crappie. Several were 12-13". A few white crappie mixed in as well that weren't nearly as meaty as the blacks. The fish were anywhere from 2' off the bank to directly under the boat. My buddy used Monkey Milk and I used black/chart and orange/chart and we went fish for fish nearly the entire time so color didn't really matter. This post has been promoted to an article

Tharp and Christie, the two guys I thought would be my best, killed me!

You can pay a daily fee and snag from the Roadhouse dock just below 65 bridge. Only place I really know of that has decent snagging from the bank on LoZ.

I think they have made a few cosmetic changes and rebranded it as a Bass Pro rod. Otherwise it's basically the same thing as you already said.

I wouldn't mind seeing that rain hit down around Beaver/Tablerock. Get those flood gates opened back up on Taneycomo!

It may be warming up, but the stinking rain is keeping the rivers all jacked up. 😖

Dad and I were bored so we ran down to the Springs for the last part of the day. Water was up probably a foot from opening day and flowing pretty good. Fishing wasn't the greatest. Dad caught four using bait and orange worms. I caught six (two on orange worm, two on trout magnet, two on white thread jig) and missed a bunch. Fish were biting very light and if I didn't see the bite and anticipate the hook set, I'd miss them every time. We fished between the first slow hole and the bathroom hole. Talked to a guy as we were leaving who said he caught almost 30 down below the bridge at the mud line.

I also recommend the Air Stream but prefer the 6-6.5’ model myself.

I just replaced a set of 29dc Everstarts in my boat after 5 years of hard use. They were still working well, but I figured I'd just be proactive and replace them since I fish almost every weekend and I'd more than got my moneys worth.

I know my yard is sure rutted up from getting the boat in and out of the shed. Makes me wish I had a real driveway back to the shed. I''ll have to get that fixed before I start my mowing.

That's how that area was for us all winter. We had to weed through a lot of small fish to pick up the nicer ones.

Yep. Looks like I won't be burning any wood for a while with the forecast. We have a forced air outdoor wood furnace that comes in through the side of the house. It's great when it gets below freezing as it keeps the house around 71-73 degreees, which is perfect. If it gets above freezing though, it gets way too warm for our tastes. The propane keeps the house at 65.

I always use a Christie Craw or some sort of a small swimbait trailer of similar color to the chatter bait when I throw them.