Shell Osage

[Duckman]

Anyone got any water reports on the levels in the Shell Osage area? Can't wait for spoony opener on the 15th! Anyone going? Imagine I'll be there regardless of water conditions just to say I went.

[gonefishin]

I havent heard anything about the water. Would like to hear from you how things are when you go.

[Duckman]

Two days and counting! Anyone heading down on Wednesday? I'll be down there Wednesday clear towards the back of Shell where the river makes the big horse shoe. Would like to snag with some others on this site. Come on down and give it a shot. Should be decent with the big rains we've got this past weekend. Might even be a few sows mixed in with those little 45 to 50 lbs males!!

[Duckman]

Well boys if you want to get a big ole' sow you better get down there! Buddy and myself went down yesterday. Got there around 6:15 p.m. After about 15 rips my buddy hooked a 50 pounder. So we drank a "First Bill of the Season Brew", took a shot of "Lord Calvert". I picked up my rig and started ripping. I ripped about 30 to 40 times and I hit one. The ole sow ripped down river about 75 yards then turned and headed up river. After about 25 minutes of battling the sow I finally got her to the bank to see what I had. One of the local ladies came with a gaff and helped out (my buddy and me usually just practice catch and release on Bills, but the locals there last night wanted to get their freezers stocked so we were giving our fish to them). Well after we rounded up three other locals they drug the ole sow up the muddy arsed bank and layed her there on the bank and started celebrating. She prolly go round 75 to 80 pounds! So then we had to do our "Second Bill of the Season Brews", take two shots of "Lord Calvert", drink another brew just to calm the nerves, and take one more shot of "Lord Calvert" to get my leg to quit shakin' cause the big girl darn near tried to pull me in the drink. Well we ended up ripping another hour or so baggin our limit with two more fish that were both right in the 45 to 50 pound range. We were throwing 3 and 4 oz weights because the river is pretty low now. We stoped in Dane's in Taberville before we went to the river and they already had a pile of pictures of Bills from the day and most of the fish were all over the 70 pound mark. So I'll tell you all one thing the sows are already running so get your chit out and start ripping! Oh and by the way one ole boy in a boat ripped up a 93 pounder just down from Taberville bridge!! Hope to see ya there, cause you can be darn sure I'll be there! Good rippin' to ya all!!!!

[CaptainT16]

What is the possesion limit on those bills? Never had hear much about snagging until this year. Sounds pretty fun actually. What do the bills taste like? Just can't imagine eating one of those.

[Duckman]

The daily limit is 2. The length limit is 34" from center of the eye to the fork of the tail. There are a few places in MO that you can keep 24" but everywhere I snag like LOZ and its tributaries, Truman and its tributaries the lenght limit is 34". And once you catch 2 fish in a day whether or not you keep them or release them you are supposed to quit snagging. I'm not sure how hard they enforce that rule but that is what the reg's say. To give you an idea of how they taste I would compare the texture of the meat like chicken. I'm not talking flavor I'm talking the texture such as the firmness of the meat. When you clean them up they have a whole chit load of red meat on the outter fillet and the inside is loaded with fat. You want to make sure you get all that cut off. You get'em cleaned up right and you are looking at some pretty decent table fair. I would not rank them as good tasting as a nice 5 to 10 pound white cat but I would rank them pretty similar to an ole flat head with the exception of the firmness of the meat. A lot of people can't get their taste buds to get acquired for that firm feeling of fish in their mouth. Go out get yerself one, I don't think you'll be disappointed!

[Seth]

I take it you guys fish from the bank there at Schell Osage. I wouldn't mind trying that out if the snagging is that good.

It is closer to home that Tablerock for me. I looked for Taberville on google earth and it took me to the middle of a field so I am not sure where you are talking about where you was snagging that well.

[Duckman]

Yeah we fish from the bank mostly. It's a good time. Usually a ton of people on the bank with ya and you just take turns snaggin' in a hole. You can't last long casting, jerking, and reeling! It'll wear your arse slick in no time. But, you get done with a few dozen cast, take a break, suck down a cold'en and let somebody else in your hole and the cycle continues until it is your turn again. Taberville area has miles and miles of shoreline to snag or they also have a boat ramp you can launch at if you have a boat.

[Seth]

I will have to read up on this. Only time I go snagging is when my buddy or my dad goes and takes the boat.

My little ranger is not up to pulling a boat for heck. But I would love to drive somewhere and snag from the bank, then I could just go whenever I wanted.

Do you have a map of where you snag from the bank mainly? Also, are there any baitshops or w/e I can stop by if I head down that way and get some pointers.

Thanks,

Seth

[Duckman]

Looks like a mess of a web site, but copy this link it will take you to the map of Schell Osage. The river we fish on is at the top of the map. Park anywhere along the road where it is close to the river and you'll see people snaggin'.

http://www.visitnevadamo.com/maps_display....Agri_Tourism=++