WHARFRAT

It was horrible here in STL yesterday. Hail, heavy rains, tornados. Glad thats over! Lot of flash flooding!

THATS IT! Thanks, Little Scotia Pond! Then there was Big Scotia not too far from it. Thats the one that we'd paddle a little jon boat out in the middle and catch crappie. We used to camp at Little Scotia with a bunch of people. If I remember it was primative camping. No electric at the time. This was in the 60's. I do remember catching bass in there. I forgot about Loggers Lake. It had nicer facilites. I think this was where I caught my first big bass as a kid. Did they have a concrete structure in the corner of the dam area? Because thats where I caught it. There was another lake in that general area. People lived there and would charge you a couple bucks to fish. Plus they raised minnows too.

Back a couple yrs ago when I was a kid or maybe a few decades ago is more like it. There used to be a couple of ponds on hwy 72 just west of Bunker. I remember one was pretty nice area, they had camping facilities and the other was pretty primative but larger than the other. Seemed like we always caught fish out of them. The larger lake was shallower and would moss over most of the surface area, but was really good for crappie and bass. The smaller lake was a good bass lake. I just cant remember the names or if they are still around. I looked on Google Earth but didnt see anything. Then there was another decent size lake halfway between Salem and Rolla on Hwy 72, it was real close to the highway. My uncle had permission and we went there a couple of times and caught some really nice bass. My uncle caught a couple of 7+ pounders. If I remember it was owned by union electric or some big name corporation in Missouri. The last lake I used to fish a lot was a pond out of Cherryville on hwy 19. It was owned by a older couple that had 4 or five boats that you could paddle around in. It was small, but was another really good bass lake. The last time we went there, which was around 1980, they quit lettling people fish because someone didn't close the gate and their cattle got out and they had to chase them. Pond fishing was a great way the cut your teeth on fishing. let me know if anyone remembers the names of the two ponds west of Bunker

PM sent

Stu, me thinks Jerry is playing the April fools joke on thee!

Is that where you guys fish for muskie? The few that I have personally seen caught have been in the shallow end. And these were by people fishing for bass. I even had one destroy a crappie that I was bringing in a couple of years ago. I've never seen any caught in the spring. All have been caught late Sept / early Oct.

I agree, but I saw some decent size bass boats going in. I'm sure they were going to take out. Thanks for the price update!

they were launching this weekend at der vaters edge. its a pay ramp, not sure how much. But then Larry Gale isnt that far from us.

Nothing like last weekend. Fished from 8 till noon. About 8 fish total. Decent size 10-11" white crappie. One 13" black crappie. Steady aggrevating wind. Chilly too. Fish seem deeper.

I'm going to tell you like I tell my wife, "I can't dance, I hurt my foot!"

Probably not what you were wanting to hear. But it's all good advise. Stuff happens in 50/50 partnerships. So a 4-way partnership is pretty risky, but you'll probably do it anyway. Hope for the best for all of you. And Good Fishing. Just get your studies done first!

KSF - The boat performs just like they said it would. Very solid ride, feels a lot different than the other 2 aluminums I've owned. Very stable to walk around, doesnt dip from side to side. It was breezy last weekend and it easy to handle with the trolling mtr. I was going to go with an i-pilot, but the way I fish in and out of docks and stumps and trees. The dealer said I wouldn't be happy with the electronic steer. So I went with the MK Fortrex. This is really nice, 24v 80lb thrust. It's got lift assist, so its easy to put up or down. The big switch they suggested was going with the Merc 115 4 stroke. I was pretty set on the 115 Etec, or even the 115 pro xs. But I wanted something quiet and easy to maintain. This motor fits the bill. I matched it with a solus 19p (?) stainless prop. I'm still on the initial break-in period, Even though I could give a rats-butt about speed, I have gotten it up to 50mph for a short period of time. Also it will troll down slower than my old 50 Merc 2 stroke. And its super quiet. At idle, you have to look back to make sure its running. If I would have gotten an ETEC, with the on-board charger and 24v trolling motor, there wasn't enough space in back for the oil resevoir. So they would have had to put the oil tank up in one of the frt compartments. I went to Anglers Port in Warsaw, and they were about the 4th dealer I talked with. What sold me was, they sat me down and had me explain my wants, my expectations, and how I fished. All the other dealers said they'd do what ever I wanted, never asked me these questions. So far Anglers Port was spot on! My only issue, is the Ranger Cover. It is a high quality cover, and is probably pretty good on the trailer, but it's really tough for me to cover it up on my lift. You almost have to be like one of the Flying Wallenda Family to get it secured. Maybe with more practice, I'll figure it out, But so far that's my only issue.

special

i have to totally disagree ------- i don't do cigars!

If you saw the conditions of the eggs in the black crappie I cleaned this weekend, you'd say they were not too far off. Last year on the Big Niangua, the big White females started coming in around the end of the 3rd week of April. The first of May they seemed like they were done and scattered all over the place. Since the ice has been gone, I haven't caught but a handful of white crappie. Seems like 90% have been all black crappie. That's been unusual too. I can't explain the resurgence of so many black crappie. Years past, it always seemed like a novalty when you would catch one. For me, post spawn crappie are the toughest to find consistanly. Then, it gets better when they get in their summer pattern, then its "balls to the walls" from fall through pre-spawn for the big ens!!!!! This has been one of the best yrs for consistant size for me during the pre-spawn.

funny you should ask. I don't normally bass fish, but last fall during the BBB, I caught some bass that would have been really close to the money. I never did weigh them, but one bass was in the 19" range. I caught them verticle jigging a 16oz or 32oz jig next to docks. So who knows, maybe I'll give it a try. Seems like when I do bass fish, all I catch is 10-13" bass.

They normally have a limited amout of boats out now, and you usually have to be in by 5. (if I remember correctly).. I think this coming weekend they'll be open normal hours 7 days a week. Don't forget about Prairle Lake by the hwy 40/94 commuter lot, its also got a lot of crappie in it. Small, but plentiful. No boats though. I wish they would allow something. I'm too lazy to walk all the way around that sucker to the other side. And like always, the other side looks better than the side you are fishing on!

That's all I use. Sometimes if the bite gets l little tuff on lake 35, I'll pull the jig behind the boat and pick up a few. . The productive spots are going past the two jetties where the boats are stored about 25 yards out from them, then head right and go up to the island on the right hand side and circle left. You'll pick up a few that way.

You should be able to boat a mess of 9 inchers out of lake 35, but you'll have to go thru a bunch of small ones too. Boats are cheap if you have a trolling mtr & battery. But if you have to rent those, it's a little high$. If the water is up close to the walkway at Howell Island, fishing can be pretty interesting. I've caught Crappie, Drum, hooked Gar, and have gotten into some white bass. If its real low and you have to walk down on the rocks, then I wouldn't waste your time.

They say its up to 655 as of this morning. Not sure about where you can launch, but I should be able to launch at our ramp at 656.

With the advise from a friend, I bought a 6' GX2 light action rod. It was on sale for 34.95. For the price, this is an excellent rod. Now, I'm looking for a light action 6' or 6'6" casting rod for my wife. I can find spinning rods, but all the casting rods are medium action at the very least.

For number, you can't beat Busch Wildlife. Lakes 33 and 35 are full of crappie. Small fish, 6-8" is common. I think 35 is a little better for size. Other places I used to have crappie success is Simpson lake in valley park. Dresser island in west Alton, in fact I just got a report from a friend that had decent luck about a week ago. Piasa Creek off the. Mississippi. Another friend in wentzville said there is a lake that is ok just about 20 minutes north of him, called Whiteside Lake (?) I have also caught crappie in the lake in Forest Park. It's the one close to kingshighway. Also try Howell Island. Or George winter park in Fenton.

After all the fish we caught yesterday, we kept 3 really nice one for dinner. I got this recipe off the CDC website. They were delicious! Baked Parmesan Crappie Ingredients 1 or 2 eggs ¾ cup Panko Italian or any bread crumbs ¼ cup Parmesan cheese ¼ teaspoon ground dried thyme Fish filets ¼ cup melted butter Directions 1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees 2. In a small bowl prepare an egg wash. In a separate bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and thyme. Dip the filets in the egg wash and then press into the crumb mixture to coat. Place filets in a glass baking dish, and drizzle with melted butter. 3. Bake on the top rack of the preheated oven until the fish flakes easily, about 15 minutes.

Today was a pretty amazing day for quality sized crappie. Numbers were so-so, but the majority were 12-14". The wife even got in on the action after lunch. We probably caught 60-70 fish. Only a handful were 9 and under. Caught more casting around docks than shooting under the docks.

I see by the websites that the lake has risen about a foot over the last week.