Sat. Fishing Report

[ozarkgunner]

Hey Seth,

How far down is MariOsa ? I've hooked some big birds below the dam when their running water but it can be kinda hairy in the boat if you anchor and the swift water makes a real big one hard to land if you know where I'm comin from..I have caught and seen some big ones come outta there though, no doubt there are some monsters in there.

We anchored in the middle of the stream this weekend. It actually wasn't that bad. I agree about landing big fishing in the current, I scale up to a big bass rod with 14 lb. test to jerk them in.

[Seth]

A couple guys ran to the MariOsa this past Saturday and both got skunked. They said the pleasure boaters were everywhere also and made it hard to fish.

I got a couple 7 pounders earlier this year up by the right side of the dam where the current is fast. Luckily I hooked them on the rod with 20 lbs power pro, but lordy I never thought I would get them in.

[Fisherfriend]

There's always a good chance of catching hybrids over 10 lbs up there. We fish for hybrids at the MariOsa access way down river from Bagnell and have caught them up to 10 lbs this year. Last year one of my buddies got one a little over 12lbs and the year before another kid I know got a 16 pounder up there. Usually the average is 3-5 lbs though.

Thanks Seth,

I was using a silver Bomber Slab Spoon mostly. I tried shallow, deep, fast, slow, vertical jigging, you name it. As I said, I finally caught one hybrid in the 4 lb range or so. I also tried a smaller silver kastmaster, no luck. And a silver rat-l-trap, no luck. I'm curious, what do most people use for hybrids there below the dam? I used the heavier Slab Spoon mostly because it looked on my graph as though most fish were holding at about 18-22 feet and I wanted something that could get to that depth quickly. I've heard about but never seen anyone use a rig with heavy weight at the terminal end and a leader tied 18-24" up the line from that with a crankbait on the end of the leader. Do you have any experience with that sort of thing?

On a general note, I live in Columbia and very few of the people I know that fish go down to the Bagnell tailwaters. It's great to be able to communicate with others about their fishing experience and try to learn from them. I am happy to share whatever information I have as well but at this point I think I'm learning more than I'm teaching. Just wanted to say thank you to the owner, moderator, contributors for all the information.

[ozarkgunner]

Thanks Seth,

I was using a silver Bomber Slab Spoon mostly. I tried shallow, deep, fast, slow, vertical jigging, you name it. As I said, I finally caught one hybrid in the 4 lb range or so. I also tried a smaller silver kastmaster, no luck. And a silver rat-l-trap, no luck. I'm curious, what do most people use for hybrids there below the dam? I used the heavier Slab Spoon mostly because it looked on my graph as though most fish were holding at about 18-22 feet and I wanted something that could get to that depth quickly. I've heard about but never seen anyone use a rig with heavy weight at the terminal end and a leader tied 18-24" up the line from that with a crankbait on the end of the leader. Do you have any experience with that sort of thing?

On a general note, I live in Columbia and very few of the people I know that fish go down to the Bagnell tailwaters. It's great to be able to communicate with others about their fishing experience and try to learn from them. I am happy to share whatever information I have as well but at this point I think I'm learning more than I'm teaching. Just wanted to say thank you to the owner, moderator, contributors for all the information.

I live in Columbia also (well for 4 more months) and I can begin to tell you how valuable this board is in the making the decision to drive the 75 miles to the dam.

[moduck38834]

I grew up on the TN river at Pickwick Dam and fished for Hybrids all the time. Our main choices were 4-6" Sassy Shads on a jig head carolina rigged with a 1-2oz sinker. The color choice was almost always white and we'd dip the tails in chartreuse. We were allowed to pull all the way up to the dam and tie off if we wanted to since it was a lock as well, they couldn't prevent you from doing so. Most of the time though, we'd pull up, drop the bait and drift back downstream letting the 2oz weight bounce bottom. Below Bagnell, I would say that a fella could do the same thing. We are talking about 10-20lb fish average back home....not sure about up there. We'd catch the 4-6 lb fish too on the same rig. If you don't do that, catch some shad, put a circle hook on it, carolina rig it, and do the same thing.....you never know if it is going to be a monster cat or a big hybrid! Now when the hybrids starting busting topwater.....it was 6" Silver/Black or White/Red Head Pencil Poppers or a popper cork with a huge saltwater fly(gray or white streamer). You'd pop the cork and keep it on a steady retrieve and they'd slam that fly like a champ! Good times!

[rangerman]

Fisherfriend

I've fished up there below bagnell for years. In the late late 90's to about 2004 or so, I used to catch alot of big hybrids, My personal best up there was 14 3/4 and the same day I had also caught a 13 1/2 pound straight bred striper. I also have a stringer mount at home with a limit all over 12 pounds.

My best bait up there had been the now discontinued Bass Pro Hyper Striper. I fished the current seams and usually they were no more than 5 foot deep. They had to be running water for the technique to work. I have tried bouncing shad on a 3 way rig, but the only thing caught were big drum and a few catfish. The Hybrids really seem to just suspend most times. Never caught them on anything else. Of course the technique I used worked everytime so if its not broke don't fix it.

The problem with hybrids are they have a life span of about 7 years so once they get prime size you need to catch them because they don't have much longer to live.

Get after them,

It will also pick up around the first week of May as long as the water tempature hits 50-55 degrees.

[ozarkgunner]

Gentlemen (and any ladies),

Heading down to Warsaw from COMO right now. I'll be the guy in camo muck boots and a green Browning hat.

Stop by and say hello if you are around.

TIGHT LINES.

[emjay]

with all this rain is it still promising?

[ozarkgunner]

with all this rain is it still promising?

YES.. still stopped by Warsaw in the COLD rain and wind on Friday. I got a few small crappie, but headed down south after an hour in the cold. I saw a few guys with some big whites/ hybrids. The weather really hurt the bite. Talked to a few good ol' boys who said it's starting to get hot right now.

On the bright side, I fished a 40 acre private lake later in the afternoon down towards Stockton. The weather was nicer just 60 miles further south. I waxed the bass. Fishing with my dad, we got over 50 keepers in less than two hours. I love farm ponds. Jig and pig (a white zoom trailer), spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, and crappie jigs (we were trying for papermouths at one point) all worked well. The strongest bite was on a large yellow spinnerbait, but to be honest I don't think there was anything I threw that didn't get slammed every other cast. Dad got the big bass of the decade, a nice 8lbs.+ (I didn't have a scale, but this fish was bigger than an 8lb. 4 oz black he has mounted on the wall from the 1970's) on a blue and black jig with a white trailer. WOW what a great place to fish!!!! I got to the ranch and respooled my rod. Well.... I had to "make sure" it wasn't over spooled so I went down to another pond below the cabin and nailed 7 more bass (14ish inches) on a Rapal x Rap (The eyes finally fell out from geting slammed!).

The next day my dad and I took my brother to the lake and we each got around 20 bass before they shutdown during the bluebird day on Sat. I managed a few crappie also. The bass were smaller on Sat. We went back today and had NOTHING... not a bite. The front hit and the rain came and we went home. I'm back up in Columbia and ready to got to Bagnell now.

Overall, a great weekend. (I can tell when my thumb looks like hamburger from liping bass)

Good night,

Tight Lines.

[FishinCricket]

YES.. still stopped by Warsaw in the COLD rain and wind on Friday. I got a few small crappie, but headed down south after an hour in the cold. I saw a few guys with some big whites/ hybrids. The weather really hurt the bite. Talked to a few good ol' boys who said it's starting to get hot right now.

On the bright side, I fished a 40 acre private lake later in the afternoon down towards Stockton. The weather was nicer just 60 miles further south. I waxed the bass. Fishing with my dad, we got over 50 keepers in less than two hours. I love farm ponds. Jig and pig (a white zoom trailer), spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, and crappie jigs (we were trying for papermouths at one point) all worked well. The strongest bite was on a large yellow spinnerbait, but to be honest I don't think there was anything I threw that didn't get slammed every other cast. Dad got the big bass of the decade, a nice 8lbs.+ (I didn't have a scale, but this fish was bigger than an 8lb. 4 oz black he has mounted on the wall from the 1970's) on a blue and black jig with a white trailer. WOW what a great place to fish!!!! I got to the ranch and respooled my rod. Well.... I had to "make sure" it wasn't over spooled so I went down to another pond below the cabin and nailed 7 more bass (14ish inches) on a Rapal x Rap (The eyes finally fell out from geting slammed!).

The next day my dad and I took my brother to the lake and we each got around 20 bass before they shutdown during the bluebird day on Sat. I managed a few crappie also. The bass were smaller on Sat. We went back today and had NOTHING... not a bite. The front hit and the rain came and we went home. I'm back up in Columbia and ready to got to Bagnell now.

Overall, a great weekend. (I can tell when my thumb looks like hamburger from liping bass)

Good night,

Tight Lines.

Nice report from a place none of us are allowed to go to, ya stinker.. LOL hehe just teasin' congrats on the "hamburger thumb"... I, too, love a good private pond..

What were the GPS coordinates to that one again? LOL