Shore Fish Woes

[Bimmer]

well right now, its slow due to the past heat. It should pick up though. As for fellows, you have to get there very very early (before sunup) to have decent success from the bank. you'll catch white bass and largemouth on small spinners and crankbaits, and catfish on cut bait (or using a 1inch chunk of hotdog.) Fellows lake is a tough lake most of the time. (and there are no trout)

It's tough around here if you don't have a boat. ?I don't either, and I've had to scrap to find good fishing locations, but they are there. Look through the james river and little sac river forums for ideas on spring walleye and white bass fishing. If you look through some topics (and find maps), there are good bank fishing accesses. And a lot of folks aren't keen sharing their 'spots'.

Taneycomo is good for catching trout, but certain conditions are better than others. Early am and later evening are best with powebait (use Berkely Gulp brand). Fishing ahead or in a rainstorm is also helpful. Ideally, there will be 1-3 units generating to keep the fish active, but not make bank fishing difficult. It's been rough this summer in the heat, but wait till fall and winter - it'll pick up in a big way.

Keep looking around the forum, and ask questions - people are glad to help.

Taney is a big lake and while I don't expect people to share their favorite spots, let me ask this. What are the areas to stay away from due to poor productivity? Thanks friend!

[Trout Commander]

Actually JD, that's an very good idea. I've always wanted to learn to fly fish and although I know there is a finesse to it, I'm sure I could learn over time.

It really isn't that hard to pick up. I put in several hours of research online, both write ups and how-to videos, then practiced in the yard quite a bit before I hit the water. I would still like to take advantage of the free class at Bass Pro to improve myself though.

[Fly_Guy]

Taney is a big lake and while I don't expect people to share their favorite spots, let me ask this. What are the areas to stay away from due to poor productivity? Thanks friend!

Now there's a question. There are pretty much trout all over Taneycomo, so fishing when the fish are biting is more important than finding the fish. If you fish above Fall Creek (see maps), you can fish with artificial lures only (flies, spinners, crankbaits ect...) One method I've found to work well is to cast the small sized rebel crankbaits (crickhoppers, minnows) (use weight if needed). Below fall creek, Gulp powerbait is probably the best option, right up there with air-injected earthworms. And of course, fly fishing (or spin fishing with spinners/crankbaits/jigs) up by the dam, particularly when the water is low)

Best times are (no surprise) early morning, evening (5ish on), and night. Or when it is a cloudy/rainy day.

A little tip, to get started, head down to Lilley's Landing. If the crowd is low, Phil lets non-guest fish from his docks. Make sure to check and sign in first.

[Fly_Guy]

It really isn't that hard to pick up. I put in several hours of research online, both write ups and how-to videos, then practiced in the yard quite a bit before I hit the water. I would still like to take advantage of the free class at Bass Pro to improve myself though.

Also, the trout parks are a great, great place to practice, and have some success as well. I'm partial to Roaring River, in Cassville.

[Bimmer]

All really great information fellas and thank you all very much! As an update, the VA has decided to award me a non-service related pension for my disablity and they've given me some retro-pay so the wife and I are going to use it to buy a small boat this weekend. I'd prefer a 16-18 foot all-purpose boat but we found a small 14-ft Glastron with a 50hp Evinrude motor, a new trolling motor, and a trailer for around $1100 that the owner has assured me is in tip-top shape after just having had a mechanic go over it. The owner is 80yrs old and just doesn't use it much anymore so we're going to SE Missouri Saturday to look and it and probably bring it home. Next comes the learning curve. I've NEVER owned a boat. My dad still has his ski boat but that's a bigger 18' with a 351 Cleveland in it and I never much payed attention to him tending to it as I wasn't even a teenager then. So there'll be a lot to get informed about maintenance-wise as well as getting it insured and licensed.

Anyways, I'll keep you posted on that and if it falls through, there are others here locally I know. I guess I'm leaning towards a smaller boat due to the fact that I don't want to over-tax my truck by pulling a boat that is too big for it. I've already had to replace the rear-end bearings because the previous owner had used it to pull a boat and the differential was full of water which ruined the bearings. I'm guessing he got the truck too deep in the water when he lauched the boat at some point.

Will get back to you all after the weekend!

[Amish Bill]

Hey Bimmer....just a quick FYI, theres a 40hp limit on Fellows if your planning on fishing there.

[RSBreth]

Yeah, there's the 40 hp limit at Fellows, but no limit at Stockton, Table Rock, or Taney! (Or the park here in Ozark, which is silly.)

[Bimmer]

That's good to know! Maybe some black electrical tape to change the 5 to a 3.....lol..ok...all kidding aside. That really sucks unless of course I raise the Evinrude out of the water and just propel with the trolling motor but that's not going to get me much access to the lake.

We DID go look at the boat yesterday. The hose wasn't delivering fuel so he had gone to get a new hose that goes from the tank to the motor but any place that would have one was closed. He said he'd make sure that issue got resolved and bring the boat to Springfield from Birch Tree early next week.

Overall, it looked in good shape from what little I know about boats. The underside had no scrapes. The transome didn't look stressed or cracked. The motor didn't look like the cover had been removed thousands of times since he 70's, meaning the paint all looked good and not chipped or cracked. Prop had some minor, what I would call dings. but not bad either. The battery was brand new as is the trolling motor. Don't know if the depth finder works. He's never used it.

I need to find 3 life-jackets. It has an extinguisher. I've been searching the web to find a snap-on canopy to cover the cabin area so we have some protection from the sun, but no luck yet.

I think before I go much further, I should move this to another and more appropriate thred section...