Mart

63 F in the Jake’s Branch this Friday afternoon.

Just signed a contract for ulrich marine to install the 36VM50 for a new Terrova and replace my cranking battery with a 24M75. I have read a number of articles and watched too many YouTube videos on it. LiFePo4 batteries are definitely ready for prime time and have a lot of advantages. There are some really good brands out there. Millertech looks like a great package. Dakota Lithium seems good too. Ulrich reps and recommends Proguide and I know Pete Wenners likes them too. They are also local which feels like a plus. I can let you know in a couple months if it was a good move or not. :^)

Thank you! All the talk one of the previous threads had me guessing.

Caught this bruiser this morning outside (but not in) Beardsley. 19+” long. Guessing 3.5 - 4 #. Can any one make a definitive fish ID?

Years ago, in the main lake, in front of Emerald Pointe, I came across a doe swimming across the lake one morning. I didn’t know if she was fleeing from a hunter or a buck, but the lake is wide there and it would have been a long swim. I love being on the lake early in the morning!

likinmo, surprising the KYs were not very deep. 20 ft was the depth of most of my spoon bites. I saw fish deeper at 30 and even 40 but they were not interested in my flashy metal. I don't know if that was due to the time of the day ... I fish early and am home by 9 am ... and if they would be deeper later in the day. Seemed shallow to me but the active fish were definitely not deep at that time (at least for me). Ham, I broke off a treble too this morning. Guess I need to replace the rings on the precious WPs I have left. Such an easy bait to cast and fish. I use a Lew BB1 with a 6-1/2 ft ML BPS Cranking stick and I can just launch the model 90. I tried a Sammy for a little while after I broke the split ring this morning and caught two but it just wasn't as much fun. I think I just like telling people I caught a nice fish on a Whopper Plopper too. Love the name.

Finishing up a week of family fun in paradise and have some good fishing to report. I tried Swing Impact swim baits, PBJ FB Jigs, and the Ned on gravel points with limited success. One or two fish with a lot of casts in between. However, two patterns really paid off for me. White War Eagle 7/8 oz jigging spoons in front of deep boat docks and over trees worked well for nice KYs. I had one morning that I caught 14 from 5:30 until 8:30 am with about half of them keepers well over 2#. The fun bite was the Whopper Plopper in the same areas from 5:30 until about 7. I used "I Know It" color in size 90 and they just ate it up. 21 two days ago and today 15 before the rain. Mostly little guys but an occasional keeper and this morning a 4# Largemouth. Back to STL tomorrow and work on Tuesday ... guess it can't be all play. I love this lake!

Thanks holleybob for the tips but I really want to avoid the arts and crafts and get someone to make this for me. They kinda lose me when the tutorial says "... now get some sandpaper".

I removed an old stereo in my boat that quit working years ago and replaced it with a JBL round stereo head that I installed in my dash where the speedometer was (never worked either, I just use the GPS). So, now I have a hole in my dash that is the perfect place for a small glove box or shelf. I don't need anything too fancy, just something that holds wallets, car keys, and phones when we are on the water. Does not have to be watertight either. Does anyone know a fabricator that can make a plastic or fiberglass shelf or glove box? Dimensions of the hole are: Cutout 7-1/2' x 2-3/8' Outside bezel size 9-1/2" x 4-1/8" Glove box or shelf depth 8" Thanks in advance for your ideas!

Back out on Saturday am. Warmer temps made the pre dawn start more bearable. Spent the first couple hours working the wart on ledges and chunk rock points and banks. I clearly don't have the technique. Not a single hit. Picked up the jigging spoon and started to work the deep side of some trees in 30 - 40 fow. Caught a nice 17" smallmouth (pic below) in the first couple drops right on the bottom. Went back to my favorite cove and started tracking schools suspended at 30-40 ft in 50 - 70 fow and caught 6 keeper to just short K's in the next hour. Some of the drops were very exciting with multiple fish charging my spoon as it fell. Although windy the lake was beautiful. Saw only two other boats all morning.

Donna, the center of the cove is 50-60 and the fish were ranging from 20 ft and higher to 40 and deeper. When I was down a couple weeks ago I found other big pods of shad and bass over 90 - 100 ft in the Jakes branch. I really would like to get SB or WW fish some time but it does not seem to be working for me this year.

Went out from 7:30 to 10:00 this morning. Air temp started at 32 and ended at 35. It was a little rough on the hands. Water temp was 53 - 54. I worked the wiggle wart for about 1-1/2 hours in 2 to 12 feet of water, through brush, trees, and rock ledges. Nothing. Moved to the center of the cove and found some suspending fish from 20 to 40 feet deep. Caught 4 keeper K's with one 17" beauty. Lost a couple others that came off before I could get my hands on them and warm my fingers. I have really struggled this year shallow fishing but it always seems I can find one to bite the jigging spoon. Happy Thankgiving to everyone. I am thankful for this forum and the great community of Table Rock fishermen!

I replace all my spoon hooks with gamakatsu EWG trebles. Don't really set the hook. Just keep the pressure on. I rarely lose fish once they bite. Rod is a 7' medium BPS extreme, JM Gold bait cast reel, 16# flouroclear line. I really like the war eagle 7/8 oz spoons but I has used the cabelas real image too with success. I love the mystery of fishing a spoon. 25 to 40 feet down you never know what you will get. I've caught a lot of nice LM, some KY, big whites, a 22" walleye, and an 8# flathead on the spoon.

Jerry, thanks for the clarification. It was still big and smelly. Wayne, maybe so. My friend has no cattle. I know of a lot of weedy ponds with clear water and healthy bass populations. My friend's pond was mucky and the bass were skinny. Q for all. How could my friend tail snag this monster on a rattletrap? Right place at the wrong time? Or did the disturbance of the lure attract the fish? Do we know for sure they don't eat other stuff than plankton and weeds? Aren't they known to graze on gamefish beds? Seems like a very big fish for a small pond.

I was fishing in a friend's 1 acre pond outside Edwardsville, IL, this summer and my friend snag hooked a monster. We brought it in after a long fight (on 12 lb test line). It was a 47 lb Asian Carp that my friend's dad introduced a couple years earlier to "control the weeds". I think it weighed a couple of pounds when he stocked it. 47 lb monster in a 1 acre pond! Think that was messing up the ecosystem? It is fertilizer now. Can you imagine how quick they grow in a large habitat like a MO lake? RPS, someone else told me they were good eating. Big, ugly, smelly fish (no walleye). Not sure I would have much of an appetite for it.

Glad everyone agrees on Blake's Econo Lift. Tom Blake provides excellent service and I am very happy with my lift. He left a turkey fryer one time to change my lift motor that burned out.

How old is your transducer? The ones I had on my Minkota usually lasted about 6 months. You also must remember you cannot run both units at once. The bottom graph photo is somewhat blured as there was a guy within about 100 yrds. and I was reading his unit. I will have to look at it and see where I currently have it. If you have to turn up that sensitivity higher than about 80%, it usually means the unit is getting weak. I believe that one is set at 72-78 percent. Bill, I have had the same transducers on my front and back for 5 years now. Sounds like from your post above if I replaced the transducer I would see a big difference. Or should I just buck up for all new electronics? I have Lowrance LMS332 and 334 (older units). Thanks!

Thanks for the tips. I will clean it up when I pull the boat out for year end maintenance on the motor, and rinse it off completely before dropping it back in the lake. Dutch, no problem with Limeaway and the paint finish on the motor?

I keep my boat on a lift on Table Rock year round (I know Mr. Babler thinks that's crazy). Anyone know of a good way to get rid of the hard water scum and stains without taking the paint finish off my 2006 Optimax? Has anyone used Lime away or CLR or anything else? Thanks in advance for your help.

I am with RPS, topwater! Super Spook Jr., ML Cranking Stick. Before the sunrise. Calm water on main lake points.

I agree with Gitnby. I have a 150hp Optimax that is on the lift year-round when not in the lake and I do not winterize. Change the lower unit lube in the fall. Full gas tank with stabilizer (I use the Quicksilver brand on recommendation from my mechanic). Charger on the trolling motor batteries and ProMariner® ProSport Battery Maintainer on the cranking battery. Keep the motor vertical so all the water will drain. Even with our cold winter last year I put the boat in almost every month. Never a problem starting. The lake is beautiful in the winter.

RPS, they look beautiful. Are you taking orders? How about your on-line store?

Thanks Bill. This has been a very fun posting to read. I'm not sure I am ready to throw the "Chipmunk" rig on my next trip down, but it is really good to see there are still a lot of ways to catch bass. Bet those guys would bury you on deep point if you showed up with a drop shot rig on their boat. As always, you really know how to weave a good story.

Bill, You are an inspiration to me! You put those guys on some nice KY's. I have been down at our place on the week for the last week and have tried to get a couple of hours of intense fishing in almost every morning before the family woke up. On the water by 5:15 and off at 8:00 AM. It seems that the white bass schools have been getting harder to find. We went from every line in the water getting bit right off my dock (you know where it was cause I saw several guides there including Don House and Eric Prey) to an occasional white while working the points. Are we done with the massive feeding for the season or is this just a lull in the action? I have been able to call up some nice LM, SJ, and KYs working main lake points and secondary points with the Super Spook Jr and Sammy 85 every morning. No nonstop action, but a slow and steady bite if I kept my head down and kept working it. Usually between 2 and 4 black bass with 1 to 5 whites mixed in. This morning past the 86 bridge I actually had my first double. A barely keeper KY smashed the Sammy and while bringing him in another, about the same size, tried to take the bait from his friend's mouth and hooked himself. So I had two keeper bass on, one on each treble. I was slow with the net and the newcomer shook the hook alongside the boat. Landed the first bass only. It was a wild experience.

Ciao Alberto, From an Italian American who speaks with a Missouri accent, welcome to the Ozarks!