Seth

Thursday was awesome day of fishing for catfish below Bagnell Dam. The parents and I kept 11 blues and 3 channels after we were finished. My step mom landed a 25 pound blue cat for her second fish of the day and I got a 9.5 and a 12 pound blue. Crappie fishing was hot as well, but we had too much fun with the catfish and never got to doing any. Everybody who was crappie fishing was pulling them in as fast as they could drop there line in the water though. Friday evening after work, the girlfriend and I ran back up there and drifted shad and night crawlers for catfish again. On the first drift, I caught an Asian Carp on a shad head and that was the only fish of the night. It was dead as far as the catfish went. Crappie fisherman appeared to be doing well still from what I seen. Here's a few pictures of my moms and myself with our fish we caught on Thursday.

Looks like a great way to make some hardy egg patterns.

Well it's cool to see that a spooney made it through the dam and lived to tell the trout about it. I bet it was a wild ride! Man I can't imagine how that felt to fight a spoony on the flyrod because they darn near pull a person in the water using standard heavy duty surf tackle!

You can see 3-4 feet at Maremec Springs. I sight fished most of the time on Sunday and did pretty well. Caught 10 in a couple of hours and that was also in between helping out my girlfriend and her dad.

Here's a few bills we got down there this year. Brother in laws 85 pounder. Girlfriends first spoonbill, a 60 pounder. The that four of us landed opening night. Opening night we always snag the Walnut Springs area. Once the water warms up and they start moving, go up river as far as you can and snag there. The high water this year allowed them to run all the way up to Springfield Dam and if you snagged the upper few miles of the river, you just caught the snot out of the spoonbill. This is the only year I've ever snagged up that far. Normally we just snag around Walnut Springs later in the year on up to McCords Bend and do well.

that's the heck of it when you are limited to the bank. That's why I invested in a boat finally. There were way too many times where I wished I had one and it made the difference between a good fishing trip and a bad one. Bank fishing the Truman tailrace is ideal because they have the no boating zone just for anglers.

Thanks for the report Ozarkgunner. I know that I catch some pretty nice crappie in my throw net trying for shad about 80 yards down from the boating line where the bank cuts back. There must be some brush piles or something right on the tip of that spot. Maybe I'll be able to run up there Sunday because Saturday is kids fishing day at Maramec Springs and I've got several cousins and my girlfriends sister who are really looking forward to that so I don't want to break there little hearts. It's a great time too though so it won't pain me too much to miss out on Bagnell another day.

Thanks for the reminder. It's too bad I've never had to worry about catching that many crappie before though.

Were you guys fishing on the spillway side near the rocks or on the side where the flood gates are? Most crappie fisherman I see fish on the flood gate side. Also, were there any asian carp up there on the surface? We always take our bowfishing rigs along in case we get in to a mess of them or gar and have a blast.

Glad to hear that! I am planning a trip up there Saturday if the weather is nice. My buddy and his dad went last week catfishing below the dam and they were throwing back 6-7 pound blues like catching bluegill. The biggest they landed was a 20 pounder and they lost another just as big. We've always caught a lot of catfish up there, but never the size that they got in to. Then again, we usually don't start fishing up there until later in the summer. I'll be sure to fill up on the crappie fillets hopefully. A man can never have enough crappie in the freezer.

Are jet boats not used that much down on Taneycomo? There are many little rivers around here where I live so jet boats are a big thing and for running upper Taneycomo would be perfect. I'm not afraid to fly over 4" of water in my 1648 powered by a 50/35 Yamaha jet drive outboard. Jet rigs are louder and don't get as good of fuel mileage though I will give a prop victory in those two categories for sure.

I'm paying my boat off with my $600.

My mistake on the bait name. Double D's is another good bait down there, but the Go Get'em you mentioned is what they give out.

With gas companies getting record profits every quarter, should I invest a bunch of money in Exxon Mobil and such? I don't know much about stocks, but I figure since they are doing so well there stocks should be shooting up also right? Maybe then I won't feel as bad when I go to fill my tank up at the gas stations.

That white bait they gave you is called Double D's. The guy that makes it works for the park and that's what they have been giving out the past few years for kids day. It's good all the time down there. I'll be down there with the girlfriends family helping her sister and cousin catch some trout. We've went down the past few years and really enjoyed ourselves. I'm hoping that everybody will be off work that day and we can make a whole day out of it and not have to rush back like we always seem to do. Nothing beats fishing and then a big ol bbq.

Nice job on the crappies. I'll have to get Mr. Grubaugh to take me over there and catch some for myself. It's in the shop right now, but they said it's more than likely the thermostat or it could be a thermal sensor. Hopefully they have it done by the following weekend since this weekend is the last for turkey season. Phil and I are ready to go start chasing some catfish below the dams now.

Are you catching the crappie in the fast water or on the old channel side where it's calm? I know the whites/hybrids bite good on the current side, but wasn't sure about the crappie.

Thanks for letting me know. I hear if you go snagging, your motor becomes cursed and starts overheating.

We got into the bills big time up on the James River this year. The high water sent the fish running all the way up to the Lake Springfield dam and it was like shooting fish in a barrel. Best I have ever seen the snagging up there. I was cussing the high water earlier this year, but once I figured out where they went it was a god send.

I'm assuming you have a prop. My boat runs a 50hp Yamaha jet drive and as long as there's water, I'm good to go whether it's 4' or 4" deep. It like's to drink the fuel though compared to a prop.

What's this paddlefish that you speak of? I hear they catch them up the James right?

That's a monster. Congrats on the catch.

I am The Man at work so I can bypass all those restrictions when I want.

Well why don't you just kick a guy when he's down....lol. I'm trying to decide on whether or not to bring my boat down Saturday. It looks like it will be me and one other person, hopefully Cari's dad in my truck. Without the boat, fuel will run probably 40-50 bucks and with the boat 50-60. What do you think? Bring the boat just to be safe or do you think we would do fine from the bank? I don't know why I am asking you on here when I can just call you and get an answer in two seconds lol. Maybe troutfishn will want to join us if it's just three of us or w/e fishing Saturday.

I would imagine a few make it through the dam or w/e and live to tell the other fishies about it. Man that would be a site to see I bet in that super clear water for people that haven't seen on up close before.