Boating season (How do you avoid the crowds on your local lake?)

[Donna G]

1 minute ago, jim m said:

I  was always able to play a fast round by playing 2 fairways at the same time. think they called it a hook or a slice

I call it Army golf.  Left, right, left, right. 

[sjcorpst]

On the Mississippi River, everybody is spread out so far it doesn't bother.  The skiers and jet skis stay on the channel, and I stay in the sloughs where the fish are hitting frogs.  Here's a boring video (much to long) I shot for practice with a new GoPro.  It gives you a good idea of the layout though and this was on a Sunday mid-afternoon.

 

Running up the River

[dtrs5kprs]

19 hours ago, sjcorpst said:

On the Mississippi River, everybody is spread out so far it doesn't bother.  The skiers and jet skis stay on the channel, and I stay in the sloughs where the fish are hitting frogs.  Here's a boring video (much to long) I shot for practice with a new GoPro.  It gives you a good idea of the layout though and this was on a Sunday mid-afternoon.

 

Running up the River

As long as you can put in close to where you want to fish. Running the entire length of a pool on a Saturday afternoon to get to weigh in is like nothing I've seen on an Ozark lake. That's before throwing in barge wakes, or an upcurrent wind that stacks waves. I've literally crawled under the console of a boat to avoid looking at it, or being thrown out.

Biggest difference is you can't leave the channel without hitting wing dams, etc. At least down here you can zig a little.

River fishes a lot better than it did in the 90's though. It was tough for several years after the 93 floods.

[David Unnerstall]

On ‎7‎/‎2‎/‎2016 at 10:19 AM, dtrs5kprs said:

County and state conservation area lakes. MO is full of small lakes, 5 to 400 acres or so, that are jammed full of largemouth. Now is the time to get your frog fix. Take a finesse rod, something you can flip, and a frog. Simple fun.

I agree -- trolling-motor-only or horsepower-limit lakes.

[snagged in outlet 3]

41 minutes ago, David Unnerstall said:

I agree -- trolling-motor-only or horsepower-limit lakes.

That's where I do most of my fishing in an 8' pond prowler.  The ones near the St Louis Metro area get pounded.  Saturday I showed up to a small lake nearby and I was in line to put the prowler in. 

[David Unnerstall]

1 hour ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

That's where I do most of my fishing in an 8' pond prowler.  The ones near the St Louis Metro area get pounded.  Saturday I showed up to a small lake nearby and I was in line to put the prowler in. 

It is hard to pull a water skier with a trolling motor.  I suspect he would lose interest after a while.

[snagged in outlet 3]

My buddy laughed at me for putting a 55 pound thrust troller on it.  Then when the wire nuts caught fire I wasn't laughing.  Wrench helped me straighten it out though.  The thing flat out gets it.

[dtrs5kprs]

22 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

My buddy laughed at me for putting a 55 pound thrust troller on it.  Then when the wire nuts caught fire I wasn't laughing.  Wrench helped me straighten it out though.  The thing flat out gets it.

Ouch. Not many places to run away in a two man.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Freaked me out when smoke billowed up between my legs

[dtrs5kprs]

28 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Freaked me out when smoke billowed up between my legs

Keep expecting that to happen to Biffle...