solus_vero

All I wanted to do was get out of the house and float a river. I had never met Chief before and a few other gents before this day and I have never floated that river before that day. As I said, all I wanted to do was get out of the house and float. If I'd known there was going to be land owners with guns and the law with they're guns I wouldn't have joined in the float. I brought my camera to capture the days events witch were supposed to be a stress free day of floating and good company, not gun toting, harrasmental jerks off telling us to get off the frigging river. After the first incounter with the other landowner I thought it would be smart to have my camera rolling. I'm glad I did. I DID NOT PLAN ANY OF IT. I left the camera on and setting in the boat because standing up and letting them see me filming would have just made the whole situation worse.

There was trouble on a float on shoal creek early this spring and I just happened to have my camera rolling at the time. I am posting this in hopes that the issue of fisherman/floaters rights and land owners rights can be disscussed. It is not my intention to start ANY trouble.

HA !! I think your just jealous ! Tell ya what wrench, if you can make the time, let's go fishing sometime. You can swim ,, right?!! I think Mitch f may be right. I hope so. I'd hate to think something is wrong with the line-sides in LOZ.

About a week ago a fishing Buddy and I were fishing LOZ near Larry Gail. We were throwing buzz baits and spinners around the docks catching average size bass, line-sides and spots. The spots were fat and in good health while the line-sides looked Emaciated, that is, they looked like they were starved. Their bodies were small in comparison to they're heads. Does anyone have a guess as to why the line-sides looked starved while the spots were fat and in good health? Has anyone else noticed this trend?

I can't belive I read this whole thread. I could have spent my time re-spooling my reel. Think I'll go down to my secret honey hole and enjoy the solitude and quality fishing,,lol. (Oh ya,, by the way ,,, I'M BACK !)

The neighbor just had a baby and I thought it would be nice to take her other 2 kids fishing and give her a little time with her new born. Last year I took them drum fishing at the river and they absolutely LOVED it ! We spent the morning catching crawfish and the rest of the day drum fishing. We did alright but the drum weren't that big. I was thinking it would be better at the lake. Does anyone know where the drum are most prolific On LOZ? (I'm posting the same question on the Pomme De Tar section)

The neighbor just had a baby and I thought it would be nice to take her other 2 kids fishing and give her a little time with her new born. Last year I took them drum fishing at the river and they absoulutly LOVED it ! We spent the morning catching crawfish and the rest of the day drum fishing. We did alright but the drum weren't that big. I was thinking it would be better at the lake. Does anyone know where the drum are most prolific On Pomme? (I'm posting the same question on the Lake of the Ozarks section)

WOW ! Now THAT is a complement!(I owe you a $1.00 for that one!) Maybe I should start building up a client base ,,lol?!! Strange, my fishing hat just became too small.

A hard day fishing. We put in at Larry Gale at 9:30am and targeted Bass and Crappie. We almost got skunked as far as bass go. We threw everything at them, spinners, cranks, plastics, even threw a buzz bait for a while. Only caught a couple legal bass and a bunch of dinks. Never could get a real pattern going. The crappie were hitting on any color of jig but they were few and far between. We only caught 4 or 5 legal fish and a lot of dinks. We were keeping the legal fish but at the end of the day we only had 3 in the live well so we put them back. Anyway, the water was basically clear for LOZ. Water temp was 60.5 at 9:30am and 65 at 6:00pm. Wind was steady but light. Sunny all day. The water level is still about 2 feet lower than average. A beautiful day to fish. Everyone we talked to on the docks and other boats said the fish would bite in the morning and evening, but, turn off in the middle of the day. They were right.

OOpps, sorry, my bad. Well, I'm glad it wasn't a total waist of your money to hire a guide ! Have a safe trip home ! I'm looking forward to when you come back.

Volla Bass (Alberto) E-mailed me and said he was heading back to Italy soon and wanted to get in 1 more day of fishing and asked if I would take him and his brother out again. Of course I agreed. He said he had a guide take him out on LOZ and they fished closer to the darn and caught a few small bass but didn't do all that well. The forecast for Monday didn't look all that good but it turned out to be a great day. A little windy but no rain. We put in at Larry Gale at 11:30am and started throwing spinner baits and pitching jigs around the docks. We didn't even get a bite till around 2:00. I was able to get the boat between 2 docks that had some brush behind it, setting on a rocky shore. That is where Alberto caught his 3.5lb bass. It is so great to see someone who is new to bass fishing catch a big bass. I think I was just as excited as he was. The fish did it's job too, it made some nice runs and even tail danced a little. Since that bass was caught around structure on a rocky shore, that is what we started looking for. It was the right decision. We didn't catch anything bigger than his first bass but the rest of them were very respectable. We were catching them in about 5 foot of water or shallower, around rocks and logs. We caught them all on lighter colored spinner baits, white/yellow/chartreuse fished real slow bumping rocks and logs. The water temp was around 60* at trolling motor depth. Water was not that clear but average for LOZ. I thought they might be in the clearer water in creeks, they weren't. They seemed to be in a little shallower water, but not up the creeks yet. The water was up from the last few weeks but still a couple feet low. One last thing, they seemed to be holding on rocky shores where the wind was blowing INTO the shore. I'd like to thank Alberto and his brother for a great day. And thank you for the bottle of wine. I have the perfect steak picked out that will go well with it. Have a safe trip home.

This is a public forum. A place where people discuss things. If you don't want a reply to a post,,, don't post it. So to all those that are saying let's just drop it,, sorry but, this is a public forum. If I feel I have something to say, I will say it, just like OTF felt when he started this thread. And by the way OTF, if this is how you truly feel, stick by your guns and say it. That in itself deserves respect. BUT, Don't be put off when others disagree with your point of view. I believe the American Indians had it right when they said "All life deserves a certain respect". Anyone who doesn't agree with that shows little self-respect. But, when it comes right down to it, IT"S JUST A FISH ! If I catch a fish and I am planing on releasing it, it is for the benefit of the next fisherman who may catch that fish as to how I treat it. Not because I'm afraid of how the fish "Feels". I think the main problem with your original post is that it came across as judgmental to all those that fish and don't treat them the same way you do,, IE - Hooping and hollering and throwing them on a stringer. Hey, the young gentleman from Italy who caught his first LM bass was hooping and hollering and I thought that was GREAT!! He was celebrating and it made my day as well. It is easy to see why he was celebrating and to set off to the side and judge someone for that is nothing more than judgmental arrogance. But hey to each they're own. I personally have more respect for the fish I catch than some idiots in this world who pollute our rivers and lakes with sewage and trash. It seems as though everyone agrees you. Our quarry deserve a certain amount of respect, like all living things. We just don't like the judgmental way it was presented. (Hhmm, sounds like a point I've tried to make before)

Yes it is easy to hide behind a keyboard. I agree completely. TO OTF and all his followers,, next time you are out fishing and see someone "Torturing a fish" or hooping it up, just walk up to them and explain your feeling towards that kind of behavior. I'm sure Bubba and his friends would love to hear your point of view.

HA ! ROTFL ! Man, OH MAN ! That is probably the funnest thing I've heard in a long, long time !!! I keep coming back to one thought ,,, IT'S A FRIGGING FISH !!!! And you all think - I"M A NUT ?!!!!!

I would never assume to speak for VIP, but, I'm sure he'd say the same thing,,, It was our Honor. I hope we were a good example of the average American fisherman.

I think it goes allot further than just crawfish. Like trout SM will eat what ever is hatching off the bottom at the time, crawfish, leaches, insects. It is an easy thing to stir up the gravel up current from a fine mesh net and see what turns up before you start your trip. I noticed on one of my many SM hunts, the SM's were slapping minnows out of the water so I tied on a teeny torpedo (not a tiny torpedo)and started ripping it across the top of the water, 2 to 3 feet at a time in quite shallow fast moving water and did quite well. The SM wouldn't just come up and take it, they would slap it out of the water then turn around and take after it landed back in the water like a trout rising on a dry fly. This seemed to work best early in the morning and late in the evening. One point about this method, it twists the heck out of your line, but if you try to use a swivel to stop the twisting,it will hinder the action of the lure. As far as gravel in they're stomach I'm sure they were rutting around for anything they could find at the time. Not just crawfish. Something to think about. Just like BMan, I would like to hear what Al or Nick think about this.

Any one else seen this guy? Is he a regular character around the lake or is it just the little Niangua arm?

I've never fished the lakes your talking about but if I had the chance I would. It is a GREAT way to fish. I would like to know the state regulation on float tubes and local regulations as well. If a guy has on waders there is no way he could "Relieve" himself in the water. That is the only kind of pollution I can think a float tube could possibly cause. The new PFDs are small and comfortable so there's no reason NOT to wear one. If you ever hear of a float tube turny, please post it. I would love to try it. I took the survey and I encourage everyone to do the same. Good thread. Keep up the good fight and keep us informed.

Keep the reble flags, drop the dixieland music, play some floyd and get a big helium filled pig and drag that around the lake.

Ya, I kinda fell a tree cross the river on this thread. I'll try and not let that happen again. Back on track here, I remember reading a conservation report years back that said 90% of all the smallmouth they studied had gravel in they're stomach. When I was young, and we still ate all the fish we caught, I noticed the same thing. I have my own theories on why this is but,,, What do you make of this Bman and should it be considered when choosing lures for smallmouth?

Nope,, your wrong,,I don't wear panties.

Seems as though every time I fish the little Niangua arm of the LOZ there is a guy in a pontoon flying rebel flags and playing dixieland music REAL LOUD. Hey, I'm not judging, I think it's fine, It don't bother me or the fish (as far as I can tell) I just think it's kinda funny. Is he a regular character around the lake or is it just the little Niangua arm? (I don't mind the Dixieland music, but, personally I'd like to hear a little Pink Floyd,,, LOL.)

Well bro, You are always welcome in my boat, it's just that 3 gets tight. I actually feel bad about not inviting you but, it was VIPs' gig and we wanted Alberto and his brother to have as much room as posible. It wasn't about the fish or fun we had, it was all for the Brothers Italiano. I feel as though I do owe you a few lake trips and I plan on making it up to you this summer, every Wednesday. See, the thing is, if you would just quit your job, we could fish full time,,lol.

A close friend of mine, you all know him as "VIP" on this forum, called me and asked if I would take a young gentleman out in my boat. You see, VIP contacted a forum member who was from Italy and ask if someone would take him fishing on LOZ. He said he had never caught a Large Mouth Bass. VIP is a great guy and contacted him and said he was willing to take him and put him on the bass. He did just that. Alberto, has a brother and although he didn't want to fish he wanted to go along and take photos. Haveing 3 people in a boat gets a little tight so VIP asked me to escort his brother in my boat. Of course I said yes and we met the 2 young gentlemen in Camdenton and proceded to Larry Gale boat launch. It was very windy Sunday and the water was dingy and low but VIP was able to put Alerto on the bass and as you can tell by the photos he was very excited! To see that young man catch his first Largemouth was a great thrill for us too. We were throwing spinner baits all day and the bass were quite finicky. They seemed to like the larger blades with lighter colored skirts. There were alot of fishermen snagging spoonbil and doing quite well. We didn't try to catch any spoonbil but there were a few guys at the boat launch that let us take pictures of they're catch. I believe one was 30lb+ and the other 50lb+. Alberto and his brother had never seen a spoonbil and was astonished at the way they looked. They are a strange looking thing. All and all it was a great day and they were 2 fine young gentlemen. It was a honor to be able to take them and watch Alberto catch his first bass. I do hope if they ever decide to go fishing in americam again they will call VIP and myself. Maybe next time we can scare up a few smallies. Oh, one last thing, I'd like to personally thank VIP for including me in this adventure. YOU ARE A GREAT PERSON WITH A GREAT HEART.