MOsmallies

I would definitely get the 80 size as well. I wasn't that impressed with the action in the youtube video. If you want a bait that you'll reel straight in, there's a lot better options with much better swimming action. This obviously isn't a topwater either, so I'd think fishing it quick like a warm water jerkbait would be the best choice. Again though, something like an x-rap would do that much better. Never the less, the Jap baits are pretty cool and are usually designed to target highly pressured fish. Our smallies are pressured now more than ever, so this may work well. Let us know what you think if you pick one up.

Great report and cool pics... That 3rd one is definitely a spotted bass and a nice one at that. Thanks for sharing!

Here's the write up I did on my Coosa mods. You might be able to do some variations of this to the Malibu...

Revenge Buzzbaits are probably my favorite. Revenge makes some great products... http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Revenge_Buzzbait/descpage-RBWBB.html#multiview

Dam.... The Elk has been on my list to hit for years now. Just haven't made it happen yet... Hog goggle eye and smallie!

Great report... Sounds like a neat experience

Hahaha Not bad... I would have believed that second pic and said what a beast

Awesome fish, especially for a river! What'd she hit?

No rush kjackson. Whenever you have time. I'm just hoping to find a few by late August. Thanks Again

Nice fish! You definitely know how to put people on em Mitch

Kjackson... Thanks for looking. Let me know if you have any of the smaller size with the deep diving bill and your willing to sell them.

Nathan... Google gar rope flies or pm Brian Wise on here. Brian did a lot of great write ups last summer on chasing gar on the fly here in the ozarks. He even put together a sweet video.

Definitely not 24" but definitely a hog right around 20".... What a beautiful, deep bodied fish. Very fat and healthy. Thanks for sharing!

I'll have to give those a shot as well. thanks for the suggestion RPS

I don't know if the Ozarks can produce the same number of 17-21" smallmouth like those East coast rivers can, but they can definitely produce more than they currently do. If nice sized fish were released to grow bigger themselves and reproduce so their genes are engrained in the population, I think the Ozarks could be even more special than it already is. I just wish it was easy to mandate catch and release on all Smallmouth Bass and prevent all illegal gigging. You pose a very good question about sheer water volume. I look forward to seeing this discussion.

Agree with Al and Siu

That's unfortunate Trophy... I never really did well on it til I threw it in the fall on a certain MO/IL body of water. Flysmallie - Thanks for checking and let me know what your old man says.

I've been searching eBay without luck, so I thought I would check here. I'm looking for a crankbait that is no longer made... Bait: Storm Lightnin Shads Model: DL (small body, deep diving bill) Colors: Shad-221 (Purple back, blueish/green side, white belly)... or any other shad type colors. I found several on eBay, but they were the AL or DAL models that have a much larger body size. This is a killer little bait for me in the fall when fishing a certain fishery that has a diverse array of species. I can catch 8-10 different species in one day on this bait. Here are pictures of the exact size and color I'm looking for. The first picture compares it to the AL model that I accidentally ordered on eBay last week. I'm looking for the unpackaged one. This is my last one and it's caught me a ton of fish over the past two years but I'm worried my luck won't last me a 3rd season. Anyone have any of these they'd be willing to sell? If so, respond to this and we can work out a price. Thanks, Paul MOsmallies

Even if he does just get ticketed, remember that.... - The agents and MDC have his name and license number to keep an eye out for him. - Several campgrounds and river accesses that he was using to do these illegal activities also have his information and I would assume will deny him access to their land in the future. - Getting caught even if it's just a simple fine... will hopefully make him think twice in the future. I'm hopeful that our efforts on this particular case won't be for nothing and we may have been able to prevent some of these instances from happening again in the future. I'm sure I'm being naive, but if we can stop one more person from doing this in the future than we've made a positive impact in some fashion.

Can I have all your gear? Just kidding... Let us know what you were told by the MDC. You can't just up and quit like that.

It's not photo shopped... He's holding the bass on a 6+ foot spear. Factor in his arm length (3.5 feet) and he's standing roughly 9.5 feet away from the camera and putting the fish right up to the lense. You can also see the prongs of the spear beginning to protrude from the other side. The table full of dead, speared bass should also help you realize this isn't photo shop.

Careful Mitch... You're gonna get her hooked on quality equipment and she won't be able to go back to those disney poles

I heard back this morning from Paul Cieslewicz (Fisheries Management Biologist of the Smallmouth Tagging Study) and he said he was very grateful for the information and pictures and he had already passed it on to several agents. If anything, we have made a lot of people aware. Let's just hope they're able to follow up on this.

You'd also think they'd be able to do something when he turns that tag in with his name and location. We've given the MDC his name, so they should be able to keep an eye out for it. This clown might be dumb enough to tell him he speared it when he mails in the tag with all of the information.

I figured as much... F@#&*())CK