Good Eating!

[fwaynedavis]

Me and Daughters went out two days in a row on the Finley below The Hwy 14 bridge in Ozark and along the length nearly to Hwy 65. Caught enough good sized goggle-eyes to have a fish fry. We also caught several nice Smallies which were about 12" they looked in good shape and are back in the water for you guys to catch next.

We alternated between live worms and live caught minnows. Tried some jigs and small spinners of varying color, not one bite. That has been my experience on the finley over the last year. These fish see a lot of activity with lures and are pretty picky. There is a crawfish, darter or minnow in just about every square foot you look at, so not surprise these fish are looking for live bait.

Didn't have temp but we wadded out in water shoes and shorts, cool but not bad. Water is clear, but the mild winter left some areas covered in algae. Tip: you smallmouth guys want to check out the area cut off from the main river, just west of the OC fitness center. There is a creek that flows along the west side of the parking lot along the walking path toward the Finley but it doesn't connect to the Finley till about a half mile down. Just follow the creek, take the small path between the Finley and the creek. you will see the spots where the creek deepens. We saw literally a dozen keepers just watching from the bank, but they weren't on our menu.

Good Fishing

[RSBreth]

That part of the Finley does have a really good number of Goggle-eyes. I'm glad someone is enjoying them and letting the Smallies go.

[Daveinozark]

course, if we get the downpoar they're predicting it'll overflow the banks. Seems like these events put the freeze on the bite for a while