straw hat

You were right, tough fishing. Fished a steep rocky bank today. Caught 7 keeper crappie and 1 walleye (17"). The crappie were all 27 to 32' and the walleye was about 25'. We had several more bites but they just weren't taking it well. I guess I couldn't blame them. I probably wouldn't have much of an appetite if I was in 43 degree water either!! lol Merry Christmas to all my freinds on Ozark Anglers

Adam is a fishery bioligist. Your right about the waterfowl habitat. I don't know if it is still this way or not but there use to be very little pressure in this area from the waterfowl hunters. Therefore the state use to put more efforts into other parts of the state. Also, when I taked to the MDC last year they said they do the best they can to put the signs in line with the brush BUT they are NOT putting up signs on many of the new brushpiles as most fisherman have gps.

I catch most of my walleye secondary to crappie fishing during the winter but having said that I catch most of my crappie 25 to 35 feet but yet my walleye usually around 20 feet. My records don't show any eyes over 25 foot deep but I also never fish north of Hartley either. I don't know if this matters or not.

Sounds good! What part of the lake were you on?

Yea, I really need to move my fishing closer to the dam right now because the water is warmer there. The wife and I went Saturday. Ice on some of the coves at CC when we drove by. 39 at Ruark bluff and it was 43 at Hartley. The crappie bite was almost non=existant for us. Two keeper crappie and one nice white at 25 to 30 feet. You made the right decision in heading near the dam. Good stringer of fish. Congrats.

Yea, the ise was so thin it melted real quick. I have only seen the lake freeze all the way to the dam once. I have seen the lower half the lake freeze only a few times. It takes a lot of real cold weather to do that. Lets hope we don;t see that this year.

I saw where the MDC has a new website for brush piles. I guess that they have been real busy. It now shows 135 brush piles. You guys are more computer savvy thatn me so you probably already new this was out there but just in case you don't here is the address. http://newmdcgis.mdc.mo.gov/statewidefishattractors/

I'll get right back to you on that walleyedmike. (not) lol

Well it is that time of year to try and get out a few brush piles. Put out 6 yesterday near Springfield landing. For you duck hunters, saw some ducks. There was also at least one duck hunter out in the area and heard a few shoots out of him. Saw one frog as well. Stupid frog! He was hiding under a rock. Doesn't he know it is winter and he should be sleeping it off underground? There was a narrow band of ice around the edge of the lake which was gone by 10 AM. Water temp 36! When I went over the CC bridge there were no boats in sight and no bank fisherman, that made it a good day to put out brush and enjoy the lake to myself. If you want to put out some brush you can go to the brush drop off point for Springfield and pick up good oak or other hardwoods. The will already be in 8 or 9" sections, Load up your truck/trailer, tie a couple off the limbs to a cement block, load the old boat up and you are in business.

Now that is tooooo funny. lol

Not a bad idea but those markers won't work on a wet minnow though. The ink in them is not water soluble and just beads up on the side of a wet minnow and comes off. We tried it on marking fish as a way of tagging them but it just didn't work out. I noticed that Trantham's bait in Springfield is now carrying "roseys". These are a crappie minnow specially bred to be red in color. I have used them a few times in Louisiana and with real good success. I don't know the price they are asking for them but they used to be about 50% more than regular minnows.

That is why I love this site. You can pick up so many tips. For instance .... next time out I will add some garlic flavoring to my minnow tank and maybe the crappie will take those better!! lol Just kidding but who knows? Glad you were able to work it out walcrabass. Job well done.

Sorry, no sign of ducks today nor did we hear any hunters shooting.

I must of seen you today binman. The wife and I fished 3 places around CC today including the bank by the boat launch. The bite was terrible until just before the rain started. Once the rain set in the wind stopped and the fish turned on. I hung in there for about an hour and a half until I was completely soaked and frozen. My wife was still catching crappie like crazy but I had to go get warmed up. bbrrrr She is a tougher fisherman than me. I wound up with 5 keeper crappie and one 16" largemouth before I wimped out. My wife stayed with it until 4:30 PM and had 10 keeper crappie and a 14" white bass. Both the largemouth and crappie were mostly 8 to 10 feet deep. Like you said, we couldn't catch anything in the morning, not until early afternoon and the wind settled down. The water temp along that bluff was 39 to 40 and with the snow/sleet and cold rain and cold weather coming it will not be long until there will be ice on the water down there in that area. This should be my last trip for a while as the doctors are scheduling my second surgery this next week. Keep after those fish for me everyone and let me know how you are doing. Good luck and be safe.

Thanks Jason. I was ging to go today but wasn't feeling the best so I decided to take it easy. Sure is hard to look out the window at the beautiful weather. lol

Thanks for the report. I had thought about going today but thought this change in weather might have turned them off. Was the water in that area still pretty stained? May go on Thursday, it looks a little warmer.

FYI - Young immature bald eagles are all brown. They get their "bald" head and white tail when they molt at the end of their first year. There is no difference in the male and female by outward appearance.

Thanks binman. Appreciate the report.

You guys are right on. You talk about your family members who were tourney guys...well, I fish my first tourney in the late 60's out of one of the old bathtub shaped Rangers. lol By the mid-70's the tourneys were so crowded that cutting people off and crowding them was common. They had rules against fishing within 100' of another boat but the rules weren't enforced. I gave up fishing them at that time. The wife and I have become pros at hiding our fish when we catch them. Like HYDE said, if people see you catching fish you will not be alone long. I think I just saw a few flakes of snow. Depressing.

Inshore is right on. We have been fishing steep banks to catch our crappie but have been having trouble keeping the bass of our hooks! The bass bite has been so light, they just slowly take our slip bobbers under and hold it. They don't even run with it. Good luck. PS - We went again today and caught 23 more crappie. I think that tomorrow will be a rest day after fishing two in a row. lol

Thanks inshore. Thats a pretty good bass day. That temp is a lot warmer than were i have been at.

Put in at CC. Water was much dingier and milky. Went a couple miles north until the water cleared up. Worked it hard and only came out with 10 keepers and a 4 lb channel. Fish were hanging around 18 to 20'. Never caught more than 2 at any one stop. Tough fishing. When we went back to take the boat out we counted 13 boats under and around the bridge. What a zoo. Most of the people we talked to said the fishing had been slow. Water temp varied from 42 to 45. Where is everyone elses fishing reports? Are you all chasing antlered goats? I know that surely some of you have been catching fish. Does anyone know what the water temp is up around hawker point? I would appreciate any info. HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE

Thanks guys. I love that comment powerdive. I think I will steal that line and claim it as mine!! lol

Well said Redbird. You are probably right on. My wife is always afraid that if I open my mouth then someone else may stick their fist in it. lol These days there are even a few crazies out there that might pull a gun. Thanks for your input, I will try to remember what you said the next time I reaaallly want to strangle someone.

Thanks dennis. I am a little calmer this morning. lol That is why I try not to fish at CC. Just too many people and boats, bound to run intp a bad apple or two from time to time.