Zach Beach

Nick, I might be a little late with this but I fish around the 50mm every fall with my dad for whites. We usually find them this time of year in the backs of coves with the wind blowing in them and shad. I say usually because this year we found most of the whites on main and secondary points. We were using white mepps spinners, tennessee shad colored grups, and blade baits. We did really well with the blade baits. We actually caught some strippers on a main lake point in about 10 to 15 of water around dusk. Here are some pictures.

Dr. Bucket Mouth, You don't have to give too many details, but what were you catching those hybrids with? I have fished LOZ for my entire life and have never caught so many nice hybrids like that in one day.

I fished for a little bit on Saturday and Sunday for Crappie and caught a bunch of them. They were mostly in about 4 feet of water. I only fished for about 2 hours each day and caught about 20 to 25 each day. I was throwing a black and chartreuse curly tail on a 1/16th oz. jig. They all came around docks with brush.

It could be a big snapping turtle. I don't see otters down there very often. I did almost the same thing but had my crappie on a stringer. I went back later in the day to clean them and they were all gone.

Sorry in a hurry, I ment Troutfiend1985.

Chesnut, What lake do you see the hybrids chasing the shad? I have only caught some in Bluestem. I caught some smaller ones on chicken liver under a bobber and landed about a 6 pounder on a shiner under a bobber. I have yet to catch them in any other lake and have most of my luck with the chicken liver. I would rather catch them on a lure but can't seem to find what they want. If the lakes weren't frozen over I would be out there as much as possible trying to catch some of the trout they have stocked.

Yeah Cricket I wasn't sure if it was your nickname or an actual spot on a map. I know my dad and I come up with our own names for the coves on LOZ. I won't be going down anytime soon since Deer season is starting and then Thanksgiving is coming up, but maybe sometime in December. That's if your not a fair weather fisherman. I know I've been called an idiot for going out in some nasty weather. Sometimes those end up being the best days to fish.

I have the Sedona and the Symmetry and are both good reels. If I had to pick one I would go with the Symmetry. The bail and the housing on the sedona after a few years became a little loose. Other than that it still works great. I don't know if it is the ball bearing amounts or what but the symmetry is a little smoother IMO. I also have some pflueger reels that are similar to the symmetry but don't have the fluid drive. I have noticed that if you don't keep up on lubing the pflueger every once in a while it won't reel as smooth. With the symmetry you don't have that problem since the gear are inclosed in the gear lube. I think that the symmetry is just a little better constructed than the sedona, and other brands reels. It's no stella but honestly who has that kind of money to spend on a reel. I'm not Al Lindner.

I appreciate the information on the definition of the lures. I have another question for you, where is the suzy hole? I have only been down there twice and I am just a little familiar with the place. I am also looking forward to going down there and being able to have more room along the bank than last time. I was down there three weeks ago and there wasn't a lot of room along the banks to fish. Since I'm new to fly fishing at times I need some extra room to cast my fly out there. I'm what you call a rookie. I was too worried about snagging a fellow fisherman than actually getting the fly out there. I like Bennet Springs and all it has to offer, I just don't care for the amount of people that are there.

My question is if using dry flies during the winter months work well, or do they stick the bottom too much to get them to the surface? Then my second question is about what , by definition, is exactly considered a fly. For instance would a marabou jig be considered a fly even if it is 1/16th. What about a kastmaster with a single hook or a mepps spiner with a single hook? I'm just looking for a little clarification before I go down there and get in trouble for being a dumb***. I would appreciate the insight.

We are the knights that say NI.

I was down there from last thursday to sunday. Fished mostly around the 48mm area. Found the whites in the backs of only certain coves. There were shad all over the backs of ever large cove we went to but the whites weren't active in every cove. Saturday was the slowest day out of them all. We didn't start to really catch them until later in the day. We were using black in-line spinners, throwing them wherever we saw the shad flicking. Later in the days we also started to see them busting the water. We also went up below the Truman dam area. Had a slow start but ended up catching some nice hybrids in the current along one of the shores. The biggest one was a five pounder. We were catching them on a jig dragging it behind the boat. They weren't hitting it hard. It felt more like a crappie thump, but once they took off you knew you definately didn't have a crappie. If my dad gets the picture of one of them developed I can scan it and post it on the site.

I'm planning on being up on that part of the lake thursday or friday. Was wondering if with the recent rains that they have been running the water hard? Also wondering if anyone has been fishing that area lately and what they were catching? We were wanting to go up there and see if we couldn't catch any whites or walleyes.

I haven't seen the ones using a cinder block and bamboo. It sounds very similar to the other one, so I don't see why it would be any different. I put a total of five in the lake by our dock. They don't take very long to make them. It takes longer for the concrete to set up then it takes to put them together. Doing it yourself is also cheaper than buying the one that Bill Dance makes. It would be quicker to use that one but I think they cost around 40 to 50 dollars. They weren't worth the price for me. I think that the only reason that PVC is used instead of bamboo on most is because it won't let your hook sink into it as easy and they are suppose to last for a long time.

Had a chance to fish the Flathead River in Whitefish, Montana this last weekend, it was amazing. The scenery was spectacular with the snow capped mountains right beside the river. No one else on that section of the river. The guides in town told me that it was off limits to them, so I would pretty much have the river all to myself. I caught some nice rainbows around 18" and a couple of cutthroats. I would definately recommend this place.