MOsmallies

You probably did the right thing, but you ran into a school of a$$holes it sounds like. I would have been furious to say the least. Way to take the high road though, and I'm glad you were rewarded with some decent fish!!!

I live close to Carondolet Park as well and have trout fished Boathouse Lake a few times for trout. Definitely not a beautiful or peaceful place to fish, but sometimes you just need a quick fix. I would drive the extra little bit to either Tilles, Suson, or Jefferson Lake as well. The fish get cleaned out of Boathouse Lake pretty quickly and you do have a lot of uneducated people fishing there all day every day trying to catch a limit any way possible. Last year I only went for about 30 minutes and I kinda caught one 14" trout... I actually snagged someones line who had broken off, and when I reeled it in, it had the trout on the end. At least I gave that trout an extra day to live Paul MOsmallies

Thanks for the report! I'll definitely have my jig tied on this week when I'm down there for Thanksgiving.

HAHAHAHAHA.... That's already a given! Unfortunately the Coosa's gonna stay inside until April probably. My foot will be on the trolling motor next week.

Hello All, I'll be heading down to the Lake on Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving and will be fishing Wed-Sun. Just wanted to see if anyone has a recent report or suggestions based on past trips this time of year. Our house is at the 25 MM in the Mid-lake Section and I haven't been down since Labor Day. Last year during Thanksgiving week I was only able to get bit on a 3/8 oz. Omega Pro-Mega Jig (Chobee) tipped with a Chigger Craw and fished on chunk rock and ledge rock banks. This year I was planning on throwing the same jig combo as well as a white swim jig, KVD square bill, a buzzbait, and a senko. I would love to find some buzzbait fish if the conditions are right. I'm planning on fishing fast with the swim jig, buzzbait, and squarebill when the weather is overcast... And flipping docks and dragging the jig if we get sunny, bluebird skies. Let me know if I'm on the right path for this time of year or if you'd like to share any other techniques that are currently working for you I'm all ears. Hopefully I'll have a good report and some pictures when I return, but I'll be sure to report back either way. Any Crappie reports out there as well? Thanks, Paul MOSmallies

Joe I understand you want pictures as I'm as big on fish porn as anyone, but I hope you're not questioning Mitch's info. Mitch will definitely deliver, as I've seen some hogs he's sent a buddy of mine! Al - Congrats on the strange double and the 17".... I wish i lucked into more 17" smallies Paul MOsmallies

Nice Bow! What'd you get her on?... Fly or Spinning Tackle?

I use P-Line CX Premium (Moss Green) in 8lb - 15lb when fishing at LOZ for bass. Here's somewhat of a breakdown... - 8lb on spinning reel/rod for weightless Senkos, Shakeyheads, Flukes, small Jerkbaits - 10lb-12lb on baitcasting reel/rod for light Texas Rigs and Jigs, Crankbaits, Topwaters,. Jerkbaits - 15 lb on baitcasting reel/rod for heavier Texas Rigs and Jigs, Buzzbaits, Spinnerbaits Those are my general rules. I'm dying to get back down to the lake, but probably won't until Thanksgiving! -Paul

Paul's Bait and Tackle is about 5-10 minutes from house, so I've used them quite a bit in the past, but they just don't have anything anymore. Their bait selection is basically wiped out now! One of my good fishing buddies has worked for them off and on over the years and he told me that Pure Fish (Berkley, Abu Garcia, etc.) placed a new stipulation on the retail stores. Apparently they are forcing retailers to buy at least $50,000 worth of products at the beginning of the year. If you cannot afford that then you can't sell their products. I believe this is a big reason why Paul's B&T's inventory is bare bones. I think they are really only going to focus on trolling motor and reel repair from here on out. Very sad! Almost all of my fishing equipment and tackle is now purchased at Bass Pro St. Charles or online at Tackle Warehouse. I also check out eBay every time I'm in the market for a new reel as I can usually save $40-$70 on a brand new reel in box.

Great article... Well written and really makes me want to get out and hunt some walleyes! Do you jig for them in the winter or only troll in the warm water months?

That 18" hybrid is an awesome looking fish! The spots though are an unfortunate deal. If all the hybrids looked like that 2nd pic then I'm sure people wouldn't be as upset. Thanks for the pics and I see nothing wrong with your shoes Paul MOsmallies

Awesome video! You gotta love that last trout that just hovered in front of the lense after you released him... made for a perfect clip. Hope to see more videos like that in the future. Paul MOsmallies

Hey Bill, I don't have a ton of information or even a good report for ya, but I was down the past two weekends (25 MM) so I thought I'd share my info. Labor Day weekend I only got bit on main lake and secondary points as well as bluff/chunk rock type banks. We were throwing a jig and baby brush hog. Best fish was 3 1/2 and came on a main lake bluff. Last weekend I was down for my bachelor party so I only fished for a couple hours Saturday morning before the fun commenced ... Saw very few boats around the 25 MM. The one thing I noticed this weekend was baitfish starting to school about half way back in the coves. Fish were busting them every once in a while. Had a few hits on a Sammy fishing those schools, but no hook ups. Only caught a few shorts on the bluff/chunk rock banks on the brush hog. I did have a nice fish break me off on the brush hog. Like I said this isn't a great report, but maybe it can help you in some way. Good luck and please report back on how you did. Your reports are always extremely helpful! - Paul

Looks like a Redear or Shellcracker. I don't think there are any species called red or pink gills. Probably just a different coloration of an actual species. Nice fish though!

As always Al... Great Report!!! I'm still holding out hope that one of these days I can find a remote creek like this loaded with big smallies and all to myself... Some day

I've never tried it myself, but I have heard of several people who nose hook flukes and senkos. Just a thought.

Nice Trout! How was the smallie fishing on the Black?

I can usually tell by just their appearance and markings, but an easy way to tell is to look at their jaw. The pictures you posted were perfect examples. A spotted bass' jaw when closed will not extend past it's eye. The largemouth's jaw when closed will extend a little bit past it's eye. Also, the tongue on a spotted bass has rough patch, but so do some largemouths, so that's not really the best test. Once you catch enough of both, they're actually pretty easy to tell apart. Paul MOsmallies

I spend a week every summer on the Black River down in Lesterville where the water is crystal clear. When I'm not fishing for smallies, I usually try to spend some time snorkeling. You'd be amazed at the catfish populations on the Black. There are plenty of them and good size as well. As you probably already know, the MDC is conducting a tagging study on 4 Ozark streams with the Black being one of them. Don't quote me, but I believe they tagged 1800 fish in the Black with 40% being smallies and the other 60% catfish. If you're looking for clear water, river cats the Black might be a good option.Plenty of them, good size, and the chance to make some money and help out the MDC. The majority are channels, so I would try cutbait (larger minnow sides) on circle hooks or chicken livers. You could also try live sunfish in the deeper laydown filled holes for flatheads. Paul MOsmallies

Nice River Largemouth!!! I caught one on the Mineral Fork a couple years ago that went 19 1/2" and looked like it had swallowed a softball. I guessed that one went about 4 1/2 lbs so I would say yours was definitely at or just over 5 lbs. Congrats!!

No worries!!! I was there to witness it so I'm ok knowing what happened... Although Rum has been known to make me see double

I haven't been down since Memorial Day, but from what I've read, the bass bite has tapered off a little bit in the past couple weeks and the lake is still fishing pretty good. That tells you how good it was this Spring/Early Summer. It sounds like the bigger fish (4-6 lbs) are getting fewer and farther between, but limits of 2-3 lbers are still relatively easy to catch. 10" Worms, Brush Hogs, Football Jigs and Medium to Deep Diving Crankbaits are what I've heard as the top producing baits. Brush piles and off shore structure is where you want to be fishing in the summer, so pay attention to your sonar. Look for points, ledges, and humps. If they have docks and brush near by, they are even better. As of last week I had still heard that the fish weren't in the brush piles yet like they normally are this time of year. They are scattered near by. Again, this is what I've read and heard from some very respectable LOZ fisherman. My father-in-law is heading down to our place this weekend so I should have an update by early next week. P.S. - 724Outdoors is a great reference for information on LOZ and other Midwest lakes. Be sure to check it out! Paul MOsmallies

Thank you for all the kind comments! I am a pretty lucky guy! And they actually were two separate fish. We were pretty close to our take out when she caught them. She caught the 18" first and since we were close to the truck and the camera was in the truck I put it on a stringer. I wouldn't normally put a smallie on a stringer, but this was her biggest one to date and she really wanted a picture to show off to all the guys back at the lodge. In the last few yards before the truck she caught the other one that went a little over 15". So we snapped two quick photos at our take out and then released them to fight another day. She had one hell of a night, because her first fish near our put in had a $25 tag on it.

Great Reminder!!! We have top notch populations of bass in our Ozark waters and we definitely want to do everything we can to help preserve them.

Tfsh4bass those are some sweet looking skirt patterns... Thanks for sharing!