60 Years Old and I'm Still Amazed!!

[Rickf]

This was this girls second fishing trip ever and her dad fishes maybe two times a year, next time I'll hand them a Ned rig and say have fun.

[Mike T]

Rick you did good. More kids need to fish.

[Codywskeeter1521]

Rick you did good. More kids need to fish.

I agree that more kids need to fish. But they also need to be taught C&R.

[Rickf]

She has already ask me if I would take her and her dad fishing again next week. If I remember I started fishing some fifty years ago with a can of worms a cane pole and a bobber.

[96 CHAMP]

Well I guess I will chime in on this one as well,,, first off I want to thanks champ & bill and all the other regulars for all the tips and advice they put on here, even though I have never met any of them,, I appreciate what you guys do, and even from others who don't get to the lake as much as myself, Second I hate to see this tension as this is and should be a professional discussion between grown men on what I see as a clash of perhaps ( cultures!! ) Those who want to protect the resources they live near & hold dearly to them and others who may not hold such high standards, if limiting the amount of info you put on here reflects your dissatisfaction with what others post that is very acceptable, if what I call ( stirring the pot is reflected to someone else's persona, well I don't happen to agree with that if that is the case, sorry to see it come to this!!! As allways good Fishin to you all and have a great 4th and be safe on and off the water!!!!

[brother dave]

Very entertaining, thanks for sharing I needed a grin.

[jolicious]

Mr. Bill: to your original post around the folks trying to load the boat, their feeble attempts, and subsequent attitudes....

My daddy had a saying when I would do something, well, stupid....

"Son, the Lord protects fools and drunks - and I know you haven't been drinking"

[wdberkley]

The Boat Ramp can be more entertaining than fishing some days. I've watched a fella in a brand new BMW X5 spin his tires right down the ramp trying to pull out a big ole' Sea Ray and finally get 'er to stop sliding when the back seat was under water. Watched a fella standing at the bow of a 30 footer tell the driver not to put her in reverse that he would step off and push the boat off the dock, only to have the driver go full reverse thrust just as the guy stepped off the bow - right into thin air only to end up under water. But the best was the couple fellas trying to launch their brand new Tracker in front of 50 guys waiting a pre-tournament meeting. First they forgot the unstrap one side on the back, dunked 'er in, threw the Merc in reverse, only to have the nose and one side come loose, but still be buttoned up on one side. Took em a while to get that tin can back on the trailer, and when they did, they winched 'er on. Got it out, unstrapped the back, backed it back in, and tried to back off again - only to realize the front was still hooked up. Finally got it off the trailer, only to load it back up shortly there after - to put the PLUG IN. But like has been said already - its funny to watch, until you realize these folks are going to be at the helm of a watercraft while you're out trying to fish.

[Champ188]

The Boat Ramp can be more entertaining than fishing some days. I've watched a fella in a brand new BMW X5 spin his tires right down the ramp trying to pull out a big ole' Sea Ray and finally get 'er to stop sliding when the back seat was under water. Watched a fella standing at the bow of a 30 footer tell the driver not to put her in reverse that he would step off and push the boat off the dock, only to have the driver go full reverse thrust just as the guy stepped off the bow - right into thin air only to end up under water. But the best was the couple fellas trying to launch their brand new Tracker in front of 50 guys waiting a pre-tournament meeting. First they forgot the unstrap one side on the back, dunked 'er in, threw the Merc in reverse, only to have the nose and one side come loose, but still be buttoned up on one side. Took em a while to get that tin can back on the trailer, and when they did, they winched 'er on. Got it out, unstrapped the back, backed it back in, and tried to back off again - only to realize the front was still hooked up. Finally got it off the trailer, only to load it back up shortly there after - to put the PLUG IN. But like has been said already - its funny to watch, until you realize these folks are going to be at the helm of a watercraft while you're out trying to fish.

That's funny I don't care who you are.

[Bill Babler]

Last post on the topic as it has gotten out of hand. At this time of the year, after the spawn you will see if you are lucky enough to find them large concentrations of fish that have schooled to feed after the rigors of spawning. Entire lake sections of fish can be on one location. From the mouth of the James to point 12, From the dam to Kimberling City and up the White from Baxter to Cedar Creek They are at their most vulnerable at this time as they have congregated in huge numbers.

One of our biologist told me that this is the time that the population can be overharvest the worst. The second worst time is in the Winter when they follow the shad schools into the creeks, and also congregate in huge lake section numbers, before they disperse to spawn in the Spring.

If you are so lucky to find a location holding a huge school of mostly spotted bass, it is a lake section full. Try other similar location that are near and most often they will be completely devoid of fish. ( THIS IS NOT A PATTERN, THIS IS A LOCATION.) I hope you understand what I am saying here. It can seeM that the lake is absolute full of fish but try and catch them like this within a mile of two of your hot spot, and most times you will come up either completely empty or just a fish here or there.

A big concentration of fish on a single location does not tell you the health of the lake.

Case in point, my last week guide trip. We fished for over 2 hrs. without a bite on deep trees and long river channel ridges with but a pittance to show. I landed on a runnout at the mouth of the James and my screen completely lite up. We had fished at least 10 similar locations. We caught and released over 20 nice bass in the next couple of hours off the single location. They are not everywhere folks and when you find them they at this time of the year can be there in quanity.

I really have no problem with folks catching fish by any legal means, including crawlers, shiners, or crayfish. Great way to get the young ones started and the older folks that have trouble casting a fun day on the pond, and really does not hurt the fish any worse than sticking a spook in them. Really not quite as bad. I have had clients catch latterly thousands of fish on live bait in my years as a guide and I will tell you, I have seen far less damage to the fish with a single size 1 hook in the upper lip of a crawler hooked fish than I have on a jerkbait or a crank. The one problem is fish care. Most of these deep fish must be immediately returned to the water as their swim bladders will expand if they are kept out of the H2O for over a 1/2 minute. Never put them in a live well or they will expand. Tournament fishermen can fizz them but most of us need a quick pic and let them live to bite again, with a quick release.

One more quick point is weighing in bedding fish in tournaments. Again our lake biologist point out this is not a significant problem for spawning fish. Fish do not have a home other than the water. If you remove either a male or female from a bed and relocate that fish, it means simply nothing to that fish. Fish are not monogamous, they simply go to a different spawning location and continue the process. They don't pine away for their lost mate or try and swim back to the original bed location, they just do it again where they are. Also my friend pointed out on Table Rock only a very small percentage of bedding fish can be clearly seen or targeted due to the spawning depth that fish have in this lake, clear out to 20' in certain situations. Major problem here is water fluctuation during the spawn and unstable weather conditions.

A few years ago, I guess its been 20 now, a friend of mine and a couple of buddies up on Lake O targeted quit a few bedding fish in the dam area. I believe they took about 20 with a combination of males and females as they were on the beds. Took them to one of the clear spring fed farm ponds one of them owned that had recently been cleaned out and needed repopulated. With in several days, in the clear water there were bass on beds, so the transportation, did not meant squat to those fish.

Not condoning or promoting, but bass tournaments don't have that huge of effect on the spawn. Most times there are but only a small number of participants that actually bed fish like this.

Good luck out there