Dutch

I know what you mean Steve. I was at Pom with a friend going into a large cove. I cautioned him about stickups. He told me he had been going in and out of it for 30 years and knew where it was safe. We hit 2 stumps on the way in and were out toward the middle.

I don't know where you got the 3' margin of error. If you remember where, I'd like to read about it. My units normally say +-20'. I do have a Magellan hand held that is supposed to be accurate to 9'.

Navigate at idle speed with a gps to mark the way. A few years ago I had a guy with me who "knew the channel" from Hi Point to Aldrich. That trip cost me $800 in prop and prop shaft repairs. Now with the water down should be a good time to get in one and be able to see many of the stumps.

We saw a lot of suspended fish along bluff banks. We tried fishing at their level and could not get a bite. There were large schools of bait fish on most every bank that we fished but we could not see any fish in them or under them. The 4 fish that we got were smack dab on the bottom. That sure makes jerking and A rigging seem like a waste of time to me. I believe I'll dig out my jigging spoons and go play in another pond for a while.

We put in at Cape Fair at 0800 with temps in the low 20s so only motored a short way. Stopped on a bluff and saw fish under us so we dropped some grubs and tubes. Caught 4 bass in about 45 minutes. We fished the rest of the day with out a bite (grubs, tubes, jerks, Arigs...).

The weather sounds like pretty nice but a bit windy. I'm putting in at Cape and heading down. Planning on A rigs, jerks, and grubs.

I really wanted to go but had to have some work done on my truck and this morning was the only appointment I could get this week. Wind or no wind I plan to go tomorrow. I plan to fish from Cape to ???.

State Park won't be closed or Rice's camp. The last shut down they did not block the complete roads at Stockton ramps but made us vacate the campgrounds.

I've sold my truck and don't need my soft Tonneau cover that fits Chevy short beds. I also don't need my Reese hitch. The cover is $350 and the hitch is $375. I can provide pics if anyone is interested.

I talked with State Park and the COE this morning. They said maybe down by the dam a ramp would be open but everything South of the Hwy 215 bridge is frozen in on both arms.

Is the river open at Bridgeport? I figured it would be iced up.

Been there several times. They carry a lot more colors of a couple of my favorite of baits than BPS. They also give members of high school fishing teams a discount.

Maybe that explains the success with the A rig in the winter.

How much snow did you guys get down there in Barry County bo?

that the launch and ramp and parking lot will be clean by the weekend. I know it is only Wednesday but we haven't had much of our 4" of snow go away. I've heard that it was heavier down toward the Rock but don't know for sure. All I know is I'm bustin' a gut to get on the water and unlimber some new stuff that I have made.

No I am not positive. I got my information from an MDC research biologist who was doing a 10 year study on white bass. We were discussing how fast the growth rate was on Table Rock and Bull Shoals compared to Stockton. He said it all had to do with groceries. He said threadfin can not survive in the waters north of Springfield because they get too cold in the winter.

Table Rock is about as far north as threadfin can survive. We don't even have them in Stockton, Pomme de Terre, or Truman Lakes.

I wouldn't want one for a few years. It just might be like the first Optis that they put out;

I am not a fly fisherman but I do a lot of white bass fishing. Over the years fishing Table Rock, Stockton, Pomme de Terre and Bull Shoals for whites I have used a lot of color combinations. I am using jigs but I imagine that the color schemes should be close. I carry at least 20 different color combinations when I am strictly fishing for whites. Any color can work on a given day. For example, I put together a lime and lavender jig one day and nearly puked looking at that ugly beast. I fished it at Pom for 2 hours with narry a smell. I put it down and didn't use it the rest of the day. The second day I started out with it and after an hour the guy in the front of the boat was asking if I had any extra as I was giving him a severe beat down that it. My theory is show them something that they haven't seen before and you may get a pleasant surprise.

I crossed Turkey and Maize creeks Friday. As far north as I could see there was no open water but like dan stated no ice anywhere else though I heard that Mutton has ice in the back.

That is about how we found it on Friday. We fished from 35-50' using spoons and plastics. I caught 2 crappie and 1 smallie. My partner had 1 crappie and 1 spot. It wasn't windy on Friday but it was plenty chilly. When we put in it was 27° and 33° when we left. All of our fish came in about 40 fow right on the bottom.

I run Lowrance and my friend runs Birds. After lots of time in both boats my opinion is Lowrance 2d sonar is better than Birds but their down and side scans are better than Lowrance's.

Thanks guys. I've got a date with a spot that Powerdrive told me about. It was too windy to really fish it last time out. After 3 fish I got tired of the wind and moved on. I'll probably launch at Hartley as I used to get some good winter eyes inside it.

Anyone been to any of these places lately? I'm wanting to drown some spoons on Friday if there is open water and ramp access. Appreciate any info.

The best way I have come across for finding cover and or fish it to drive by an area using 2d, down, and side scans and recording as I go. Then I pull off into open water and play the recording showing 2d, down, side, and chart. When I see something that I want to fish I mark it with a wpt.