Walcrabass

Here is my 2 cents worth on ice fishing in Missouri......DON'T DO IT...... I fell through the ice on a frozen creek once and there WAS a void beneath it. Luckily my head was still above the ice as it wasn't very deep. I broke ice a little and reached some roots on the bank and was able to get out. It made for a very cold ride home from a Rabbit Hunt. I have also Ice skated in Missouri AFTER the ice was checked for thickness by the local Fire Department. As I skated across the lake I heard "booming sounds" from below me and watched as the ice started cracking. I kept on skating and made it to the bank and then hollered for everyone to get off the ice. It all boils down to this... we just don't have the right climate or types of lakes here to make ice fishing safe. A stringer of fish isn't worth death or permanent damage to yourself or others.

Blue 79, Many moons ago, when our Nations unemployment had reached a record high, it suddenly began to drop. I was told by some people who had done some investigating that the reason it went down was because the Military personel numbers were thrown into the pool of "employed" workers. At the same time many of the people who had been drawing unemployment had their benefit time run out. So we dropped them from the number of people who were "Unemployed". Between dropping off people who were still unemployed and adding in the Military people (yes they are employed but let's get real folks) the percentage of people that figures showed were out of work GREATLY IMPROVED !!!! Providing all this is true I just have to say that we live in a country that has people doing "Math" in a very strange and decieving way. Wallyboy

Charliehorse Jigs, I would truly appreciate knowing what company you are working for as I believe we need to get the word out that someone will be hiring 150 new employees at a good wage, benefits, air conditioned, and heated. Please share this with us as I am sure it can benefit many families in the area. Helping Others, Walcrabass

Old Plug and others, You are exactly right about the "WPA" type of programs. Those programs WILL WORK and they have in the past provided the nation with very beneficial things to enjoy and that made our country prosper. I am all for people working for their money instead of getting a hand out. As far as the contractor hiring people from outside the country to work for him I can just say that foreigners have worked in the U.S for many many years. Likewise Americans have worked in other countries as well. I had a friend who spent most of his Engineering career in Saudi Arabia. So I am not against others working here in the U.S. But we have to ask ourselves if we are doing wrong by hiring outsiders for a lesser wage than our own people can exist on in our society. The people that come and go usually do not own property, pay property taxes etc. and it is easier for them to survive on less money. I also believe I am correct in that they do not pay the same income taxes as an American citizen as they are not citizens themselves. When you couple all this together it makes their "take home pay per dollar of wages" higher. This type of practice could eventually siphon off more and more jobs for our own citizens and that leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. As far as finding people that are willing to show up for work and do a good job consider this: If you were working for a wage where you were required to have some skills and knew that you absolutely could not financially make it on that wage........I don't believe we would want to go to work either. As far as not finding people willing to work......I have several friends that are in the contracting business or are construction workers themselves and they have no problem finding employees or getting a good days work out of them. I hope your contractor can find another "pool" of people to obtain workers from and that they will be full tax paying American Citizens. Just an Old Guy, With Old Time Philosophies, Walcrabass

Terrierman and others, After doing a little bit of research I have found that the "Head" for dammed waters is considered to be "High" if the fall of the water is over 10 feet. Considered "Low" if it is below 10 feet. The difference being that if it is Low then it takes a greater volume of water to turn the turbines for generation. Here in the Ozarks as in many other places in the U.S. A. dams are built in low lying areas such as creek bottoms, run off ravines, rivers, etc. These areas are substantially lower in elevation than land around them. The depth of the dam, or height of it as one might say, is usually quite a bit greater than the downstream side it dumps water into. Therefore even if the land around the dam was pretty flat then it is just a matter of building the next dam downstream at a lower elevation to the top. In this way we can artificially create the "Head" that would be needed for generation. It all boils down to the particular site and what we have to work with in the elevations, canyons, ravines, etc. and how much MONEY we are willing to spend to save (keep, retain,) the most valuable natural resource on the planet. As we know land in most dam spots is somewhat less than flat. There is also the possibility that we would have Turbines in different elevations in each dam so that as the water levels shrunk we could then use the lower units and thus be back in the "High Head" situation that we need. Probably need the advice of an Engineer on that one. Don't know how many holes you can put in a dam without wrecking it. At any rate if we just throw generation completely out of the picture we still have created more trapped water for "Drinking" etc. in these downstream dams and thus not "Lost" the water from High Flow times and at the same time not wrecked the "Main Lake" at the first dam during dry times. If worse got to worse as far as the head pressure is concerned we could always just pump the water to another location to be used for whatever. Possibly that location would have enough "Head" to generate from this water and also gain it as Drinking water. After all we are already pumping water from Stockton Lake. Always Thinking ( but maybe not correctly), Walcrabass

Here is something to consider...... You and I know that we always tend to jump into things without truly looking way down the road, Right???? When we started doing "Flood Control Projects" , "City Water Supplies". etc. we surely knew how the liquid life we call water would cause us to prosper and attract tons of people and "MONEY". O.K. then it would appear to me with all the greatly intelligent people we call "ENGINEERS" that they would have thought of using, reusing, and reusing again the water they had trapped. In other words the lakes we have already dammed up are producing Water, Recreation, and Electricity. Why did we not make provisions to build multiple dams one after the other to use and reuse the water. And I don't mean 100 miles apart either. What if Table Rock, Stockton, and many other lakes nationwide had installed several dams in a succession of each other just a few miles apart? 3 dams??? 3 times the Electricity. More water trapping and more water control. The "Lakes" inbetween the dams would obviously have the ability to feed the streams below the final dam and their water levels would fluctuate more than the "Main Lake". But their main purpose would be for producing Electricity and drinking water. The "Main Lake" would then be able to be it's own entity and controlled in it's own way. To me it is just plain simple: We would have more stored water, more hydro-electric power, better control during high water and flooding, more lake fishing, and attract more jobs and MONEY !!!!! Please don't tell me it is because of NItrogen poisoning in the water either. That is controlled by the amount of water you let out and the rate at which you discharge it. I don't want to hear about the cost either because they are paid for with out tax dollars to which we all know the sky is the limit!!! These lakes and dams also create enough revenue to sustain themselves. Oh Well, I guess that is why people like most of us guys are not Engineers, Politicians, or "Planners for our Society". We just plain think too reasonably. On a second thought I guess we could just let all the extra water during high water times go through the present dams and end up in the ocean and then just keep on complaining. That would be more "Our Style" here in America...... Don't get me started !!!, Walcrabass

Don't forget about the Homeless Bass !!!! Just remember to use LOGS and not brush....they like it better. I guess you could call it a Yule Tide Log at this time of year. Keep Christ in Christmas, Walcrabass

Merry Christmas and God Bless to All, With the weekend coming up I guess I'll fish off the dock at Ruark Ramp. I figure you guys have put down enough Rock Salt that it has washed in the lake and the Blue Marlin will be in close to shore. Can't wait for those Marlin Steaks on New Years Eve!!! Fun Loving, Walcrabass

Interesting posts from everyone. Especially about thinking that someone killed the fish on a particular day. I study things deeper than I probably should. I take note of weather, wind, barometer, etc and one would think you could make some pretty good predictions about the fish biting. Don't get me wrong it does pay to fish under certain conditions and times of the year. But here is the fact. The fish do just what they want....period. You can have the same exact conditions for days in a row and one day you can kill them and another day cannot get a bite. My greatest suspicion is that between them being cold blooded and also having an air bladder that they suffer or profit from things that we don't even notice. My greatest advice to all fishermen is simply this......don't let your superior mind put you on a track to failure when fishing. Be versatile, be flexible. think outside of what your "Superior Mind" tells you the fish ought to be doing at a given time. If you don't you will find them swimming around doing what they want and yourself fishing and just thinking they aren't biting. If you have ever watched fish in an aquarium that don't feel good or are scared they usually do one thing. Find the bottom. They feel safer and can take a rest on an object. Keep that in mind when you think of Bass Fishing and remember the Jigs. I have used this philosophy for years and have been very successful by doing so. An old friend of mine that has been gone for several years used to tell me, "Kid, there ain't a fish in the world that can't be caught on a Jig". He was very close to 100% correct. So there is 2 cents worth from ancient old Walcrabass again. Good luck with the Winter fishing guys. Keep the life jackets on.

Powerdive, smbasser did give an excellent report!!!! But as far as ALL the detail you could ask for...???? I was personally hoping for a GPS point for each fish he caught!!!! Oh well, you know what they say about people in certain places wanting ice water...... Thanks again smbasser. We do truly appreciate it. Walcrabass

Hey Dutch, Speaking of Snow, Ice, and being tough........ One time I was Ice Fishing in Hawaii...... I knew where this Big Bass lived and decided to go after him. I threw my Kayak on the ice and pulled myself with the paddle to his home place. After cutting a good sized hole in the 12" thick ice with my Leatherman tool I cast my custom made 20" plastic worm/Beaver Tail/Lizard/Crappie Jig lure right down into his living room. It took him a minute to pick it up but I set the hook hard and the fight was on. I was using 150 pound Braid with a 9/0 Stainless Steel circle hook and an 8 foot Ocean trolling rod. After fighting him for about 45 minutes I was getting a little bored so I decided to get him in the boat. I pulled back real hard and all at once it kind of felt like I had broke him off. That would have been real bad as I had fought this fish 4 times previous and he kept getting me in the brush and breaking off. As it turned out I still had him hooked......or at least part of him...... I reeled him in and found out that all I had was the lower Jaw. It weighed 15 pounds. After looking at it I was pretty sure he was a Kentucky. Dang, I could have had a World Record !!!!! I gotta get to the Lake...... I am starting to halucinate from being cooped up from all the snow !!!!! See Ya, Just Walcrabass

I personally like the Rock Salt method the best. It is by far the most Conservation minded . I have found that as he salt melts and runs into the lake that it brings the Blue Marlin close to the dock so I don't have to go troll to catch them. The One and Only, Walcrabass

Bob. I assume we are talking about Crappie right? I can only tell you that I saw a lot of fish ( pretty sure they were Crappie ) up around State Park in the coves a few weeks ago. Did not fish for or catch any of them. I haven't fished for them down by Ruark lately either. Ruark is definitely closer for me. Walcrabass

Dear Guide, Thanks so much for your concern about me fishing.....and yes I am planning to go.....as a matter of fact just as soon as you post which ramp you are cleaning off then I will know exactly WHERE I am going. The Funny Boy, Walcrabass

My buddies that have been using the A-Rig have been striking out. I am thinking that the chasing is about over. Jigs, Jigs, Jigs, Jigs, and after that.....Jigs, Jigs, Jigs, just remember to trim them down if they won't really take them in their mouth. Walcrabass

I know it looks pretty bad outside today.......and it is going to be pretty cold for the next few days. When this weather has settled in by about Tuesday or so it will be prime time to Winter fish. I cannot go for several days because of family obligations but I would highly recommend some Jig fishing for the Crappie and Bass. Just keep the life jackets on the ENTIRE TIME !!!!! If you happen to catch a fish or two please send in a post. Ready to fish, Walcrabass

Redshad, My Crankbait fishing has been terrible. Just wondering if you would give any information on what type/ color you were using. I agree wholeheartedly with the shallow Jig stuff. Walcrabass

Joe Crawford, What tournament did "Brandon" catch the 18 pounds on Friday night???? What was the bite???? Congratulations to him!!!!

Had another incoming weather situation hit me at Stockton Saturday night. Not a bad one.....just enough to switch the wind and shut the fish off. Talked to some people that had caught one... and I mean one. Talked to some that caught Zero. We fished Black N Red Neon Jigs with Trailers and Craw scent. Had some hits. Caught some fish. No big ones.....no little ones either. Did not catch a fish on any other colors. Did not catch fish on swimming baits or worms. The bite was EXTREME;Y LIGHT!!!!!! You really had to be paying attention. A litle guess work was involved as well. Tons of shad on the screen. Lots of fish suspended. Some fish in the brush or on top of big rock. I just need some stable weather when I have the opportunity to go and I should be able to cash in. After all, I know where they are living after their Branson vacation!!!! Walcrabass

Blacknoseddace, I know the Bass are on Vacation but I was given a tip that they will be back in town this weekend. So, with that in mind I am thinking that if they are used to all those bright lights and glitter from Branson then I will give them some Black Neon Jigs with trailers and Craw Oil and fish at night. They will be so relaxed from their time off that they will probably slurp them up!!!!! If I go I'll post. In the meantime if someone had some of those travel brochures like they hand out in Branson we could just mark the spots on the map where we wanted them to show up, hand out the brochures to the vacationing Bass, and then be there waiting on them when they return home. Sounds better than any Down or Side imaging I ever heard of..... The Funny Boy, Walcrabass

Did not fish coves with creeks but instead flooded points and cuts. Fished at night and found fish from 1 foot to about 20 foot. Worms and Jig /Craws worked well. Used Craw Scent on everything. Bite was good but not fantastic. Caught them steadily for "some" hours. Key was to drag more and hop less.

I haven't exactly been filling the boat lately but I did go a few days ago and we caught several on a variety of baits. Jigs with Craws, sub surface lures, topwater stuff. They seem to be scattered still on the creek arms. We did notice fish surfacing towards evening. My best guess for this weekend with all the water sportsters would be to go at night. Fish with Jigs and Craws or Worms, use scent.

Kwall, If you are correct (and you probably are) it sounds like History is repeating itself. In another light we have other problems that could be heading our way...... Snake Head fish.....Asian Carp.....let's not wait until we have 6 or 8 problems to deal with all at the same time. Fellow Fisherpeople...Please do your homework on these Kentucky (Spotted Bass) Bass. They spell trouble with a capital T in a lake system.

ADAM??????????

LVN2Fish, Powerdive, Mopanfisher and others, I did not realize the Kentuckies had their own length limit on Lake of the Ozarks. That is great news. They also have different regulations on some of our streams......because they are taking over the Smallmouth and crossbreeding with them. I am just wanting to see this differentiation State Wide.....that's all. As far as the benefit of different regulations is concerned.....these Bass grow slower, attain 15" length slower, breed at a smaller size, compete for food and nesting, and the big one is......cross with Largemouth and Smallmouth. The offspring are said to grow slower than either parent...compounding the 15" length problem. You have ask where would the hybrids fall in the new regulations??? That is EXACTLY THE PROBLEM WE ARE HEADED FOR.......a fish that we cannot tell to which species it really belongs. These regulations would improve Bass Fishing by lessening the Bass that eats a lot of food in the lake, takes up a lot of spawning areas, has a hard time making the 15" length limit, and crossbreeds with the Largemouth and Smallmouth and screws up the gene pool. Table rock has a big problem in this area. I know of 6 ( maybe7) of these hybrids being caught in one weekend by just one party of fishermen recently. Straw Hat took part in a discussion of these fish a while back and I think you can find it in the history of this site. He is a VERY KNOWLEDGABLE person in this area and sent in various studies and scientific proof to support the things we are talking about..... I really hope Adam Boman sees this and replies with some info for all of us. Yours Truly, Good Ole Walcrabass