smallmouthjoe

The last time I went through that stretch I couldn't get anything going either. I think I caught maybe two or three and I had to work for them. Thanks for the report. I need to get out of this jig and crank rut I'm stuck in and break out the fork tailed dingers.

Glad you had a good time. What part did you float?

I've caught some largemouth with the rough patch on their tongue as well. It looks a lot like a largemouth to me. Compare it to the largemouth in Randy's avatar. Nice fish no matter what sub-species it belongs to.

Either could I.

I've pretty much decided that is where I'm going to go. Thanks for the tip and if I see Anita I'll hollar at her for you. Thanks again.

The James can be kind of hard to wade in some places. I've waded from Hooten up, around Shelvin, at 125, up from Delaware town and behind The Dam at Springfield Lake. And Honestly the best wade spot I've found is behind The Dam. If you walk down from the Dam there's not only good fish (every time I go there I catch nice bass) but it's not that tough of a wade. The stretch above Hooten is a tough wade because you have to walk a little ways to get to good water. The fishing around Shelvin is usually pretty good but about a half mile above the access there's a giant hole that holds good fish, the problem is getting to them. The same problem applies to Delaware Town. I haven't been to 125 in years because you can't park there anymore but the water down from there is pretty good and easy to wade. A place that I've been wanting to try is around Joe Creighton. I've floated from there to The Lake a few times and there's a lot of good fishing in that stretch. If you do go to that stretch let know how it went.

Looks like even though the fishing sucked you guys still had a chance to enjoy some beautiful scenery. I think I may camp at Two Rivers in August. Thanks for the report.

I just saw that we picked up Matt Holiday. That's going to help.

Thanks guys, I went to The Jack's Fork last year for a day and caught quite a few fish. I really want to go to a place that I haven't been yet. The Two Rivers Access sounds interesting, having my pick of two rivers would be a nice luxury. There's a buddy of mine who goes to the upper part of the North Fork who tells me that there's never a lot of people you have to share the river with and that would be very nice. Thanks for your input. The great thing about this site is you can always find help when you need it.

You could also try the 1-60 bridge south of Nixa. There's good fishing both up and down stream. As far as what to throw at them keep it simple, stay true to the classics. Tube, Grub, Jig, Crank, Senko, Poppers.

I'm getting ready to start another semester of school again and dreading the thought of not being able to fish four times a week. But as I do every summer I'm planning on a four or five day fishing adventure the week before school starts. I usually go to a lake or stream and camp, fish and relax. This year I would like to go a stream that has good fishing for smallies and public camping. I've thought about Jack's Fork, The Current, maybe Eleven Point, Crooked Creek or The Kings. I'd really like some input from all the people who know these rivers for I really know nothing about them. The only thing I need is public camping and a river full of smallmouth. Thanks.

There's no way their unhealthier than cigarettes.

I would be interested in reading it.

I guess I could tie some myself. All it consists of is a jig head and some marabou? Thanks.

This last Tuesday I went to my folks cabin to check up on the place because I had not been there since the fish had pulled out deep. While I was there it was rainy and cool and thought I may have a chance to catch some little bass up shallow so I walked the bank pitching a jig to docks. It proved to be very successful, I caught a number of small to keeper sized largemouth and two four to five pounders on two consecutive casts. I was amazed that there was that number of quality fish up shallow this time of year. I know from studying fish behavior that largemouth tend to stay shallower than their smaller cousins no matter what time of year it is and that a front will make them head for shallow water and feed actively. My question is how deep do these big largemouth come from? Do they stay shallower in the summer and winter than the smallies and spots? Are they home bodies or so they roam around? Just really curious more than anything and I would really appreciate any info. Thanks.

This last Tuesday I went to my folks cabin to check up on the place because I had not been there since the fish had pulled out deep. While I was there it was rainy and cool and thought I may have a chance to catch some little bass up shallow so I walked the bank pitching a jig to docks. It proved to be very successful, I caught a number of small to keeper sized largemouth and two four to five pounders on two consecutive casts. I was amazed that there was that number of quality fish up shallow this time of year. I know from studying fish behavior that largemouth tend to stay shallower than their smaller cousins no matter what time of year it is and that a front will make them head for shallow water and feed actively. My question is how deep do these big largemouth come from? Do they stay shallower in the summer and winter than the smallies and spots? Are they home bodies or so they roam around? Just really curious more than anything and I would really appreciate any info. Thanks.

Hair jigs are something that I need to try. When I was younger I would go out on Table Rock with my Grandfather and we would kill Kentucky's with purple hair jigs. Seems like it's something that most fish don't see a lot of these days. Are there any specific type that you would recommend?

It looks like after the initial investment for the cartridge buying the nicotine would be cheaper than buying smokes.

No but I would LOVE to try them. Might be a good way to kick the habit.

Fished from Shelvin to Hooten this last Sunday. I usually try to avoid The River on the weekends but my girlfriend and I needed to get away from all the loud people in the city. We figured that it being Sunday most people would be leaving the river getting ready to start their week on Monday, we were wrong. There was about forty or fifty loud floaters sharing the river with us. We both managed to catch some decent fish even with all the commotion that was going on around us. The fish where all holding out the storm in whatever cover they could find and the only way to catch them was to go in after them. We both were using Bitsy Bugs in the spring craw pattern with a yum little papi in green pumpkin on the back. I couldn't get anything going on the crank which was disappointing. Besides the jig I also caught a few with a Texas rigged bitsy tube in green pumpkin. Every other fishermen on the water that day was throwing a grub in either Chartreuse on green pumpkin and from talking to them they caught a lot of numbers but had trouble catching big ones. It was a good day even though it wasn't the day I had imagined.

Its around five, five and a half miles. The Float from Shelvin to Hooten is pretty good if you go during the middle of the week. If you go on the weekends you'll have to deal with the drunken hoards.

Thanks for the report. Do you work that hair jig like a shakey head or do you swim it ?

That's exactly what I thought while I was holding her. I was thinking about maybe going there sometime and keeping a few of the walleyes and goggleyes, but I've never eaten fish from any river I don't know what to expect. Someone told me that river fish taste different.

I hear about people catching some pretty nice cats off of the public access on the north side of Fellows lake.

Where did you catch that cat at? I've fished the Finley for a long time and never even heard of catfish being in there.