jim laing

Yes, big mouth buffalo. Probably 36"

Hi Gavin - Doing well! Snagged always gets excited this time of year; anticipating an early thaw and a run south to help keep the Asian carp population in check. We hope that one day our native species will return and fishing will be what it once was 10+ years ago.

We need to sell this thing out so that it comes back to St. Louis every year. Tics discounted at Feathercraft.

Ted, We haven't talked in a while... Jim

I also have some unfinished business, so maybe we will see you on the water. We didn't see any other fish landed Thursday and everyone we talked with blanked. One of the guides did have a good day yesterday, so now wish we had stayed overnight (boat in the shop). If 12 boats are throwing big red rattle traps, I'm using small and any other color. I seriously think number of casts and location is more important than color and your bait needs to be a shad pattern. Good luck guys - let's see some muskie reports!

Saluki, we mixed it up. One on a crankbait and the other a custom painted rattletrap with an all American theme. Its a bait we dubbed the "35er". Water a bit off color, so I would think the big red rattle traps would be a good choice.

It became obvious before we left the Church parking lot that these guys needed to be separated. So I ended up fishing from the middle of the boat, and kept them both on their toes all day. Both these guys wanted me to cast their new Bass Pro rigs and I felt like I was getting hit with the HARD SELL for the first hour of the trip. BAD muskie carma. In the end, bringing 2 fish to the boat amounted to a fantastic day. After getting end of day reports at the ramp, we were truely blessed, and fortunatly nobody got hurt.

Had an good day on Kinkaid yesterday after a rough start. Left O'Fallon around 7:30 and didn't get on the water till 9:30. Fished with the paster from my church, and one of his buddies - a retired delta force who also likes donuts. When you have a delta that wants donuts, you get him donuts asap. So we picked up a couple of bags (chocolate glazed and the white powdered). After pushing the fog out of the motor,we made it over to the area I like to fish during pre-spawn only to find a dozen other boats with the same idea. Not much going on, but after a few hours of casting I brought a 35" fish to the boat for a disqusting grip and grin. Now having convinced these guys there are actually muskie in this lake, the tone changed with a positive vibe. Shortly after, the fish gods blessed paster Joel with his first muskie. A good 36" fish. Surface temps from 45 - 47, first fish taken around 12:30 and the second at 1:20. Unfortunately our Delta went home empty handed, yet satisfied, as he bucked up for dinner at 17th Street in Murphysburo.

I fished down there for the first time last October. You will find a trail headed down stream from the parking lot at the dam. That area is worth a short hike with a few nice riffles and deep holes. The next access down is Betty Island which is another good spot. Good luck and let us know how you do.

You really don't have many choices for hiring guides on the NFOW. When you have guys like Brian Wise, ready and willing, you have to hire him. If you haven't fished out of a drift boat, now is your chance! Back to the pink robe.. This is why I limit my camping to no more than a night or two. I thought I was just seeing things? With a close shave and a cheap wig, it's possible we could have the makings for a "housewives of the North Fork" pilot.

Justin, please - next time you wear that robe around customers, don't forget to batten down the hatches... you may have noticed Justin (FC)and I were sleeping in separate tents

Zack, I look forward to the day I can move somewhere between a lake with huge hybrids and a world class trout stream... low taxes would be good too. The most excitement I've ever had outside of the salt is seeing those big lake stripers push shad out of the water in a shallow cove, then looking down at the graph at 4 - 5' fish moving one or more huge shad balls into the shallows. If I lived closer, I would spend my April mornings on the water by 4 am scouting my spots for surface activity. Take your coffee and just sit and wait for the top water action. It helps to have a good set of field glasses and get a couple of #10's for a smoother ride. Once you locate the fish, you probably will have action for a good hour after sunrise. Over here in Illinois we have pre-spawn muskie up to 51" on the move now. Then late March, April & early May on to hybrids. That usually finishes off a good winter of trout fishing for me. I would really like to see some pics of huge lake stripers taken on a fly!

I'm with you on the warm/ cold water Zack. Just spoke with a guide today that fishes Cedar Lake in S. Il for striper and they primarily troll much of the day... but I'll bet he starts around 8am and works til 4? BlueWave - take it for what its worth, which ain't much... Get out before dawn and look for nervous water, birds, sounds like boat paddles popping the water. With a flyrod, you will need to locate the fish - blind casting is a waste of time. Once you locate these critters busting shad on the surface, you will find more moving shad balls into the shallows where you have surface activity. They work in packs, so once you find them on the surface, you will have options with sinking line also. If you get frustrated with the fly rod, make sure you have your baitcaster ready.

Regardless of what he drinks, we are fortunate that T.S.I. Mt. Home has special agents like Don Paradise.

Don Paradise is the agent that shared the story of how Diddi was introduced to every trout stream in Missouri over the course of one weekend. He told us he easily found the perpetrator(s)but like the famed Mt. Lion shootings - the case was dropped.