Biggest spot

[Al Agnew]

I never spent a lot of time around Clearwater, but had friends in Piedmont.  Gaylon Watson and Gene Jackson were friends of mine...Gaylon started a guiding business on Current River and Gene was his head guide.  Gene was the son of Pop Jackson, one of the best known Ozark characters in the area, and I spent a lot of time listening to both Gene and Pop tell stories.  I know this is hijacking the thread, but I gotta tell this one...

One summer I helped them run a couple of overnight trips on Current River from Powdermill to Van Buren.  On one trip, we were guiding two couples and two teenage girls.  I took the girls in one canoe (they used Grumman 19 ft. square stern canoes).  The older woman that Gene had in his canoe was a real piece of work.  They were paying well, but she insisted that she couldn't stay on a gravel bar, so Gaylon and Gene had spent a good half day beforehand getting a truck with a camper on it down the horrific road to Paint Rock Bluff.  The other couple and the girls wanted to camp on a gravel bar, so the plan was to set up camp and fix supper on a bar just downstream from where the camper was parked, then ferry the one couple back up to the camper.

By the end of the day, Gene was a little fed up with the couple with the prissy lady.  Then, after we set up camp, Gene was going to brew some coffee.  As he was putting the pot on to boil, the lady said, "you didn't get that water out of the river, did you?"

Gene had just dipped it out of the river, but he knew if he said so, the lady would go nuts.  So he said, "no ma'am, I brought that water from town."

"It's a good thing," she said.  "I wouldn't drink coffee made from river water."

Gene then said, "Well, ma'am, it's a good thing I don't live in Neelyville, then."  (Neelyville is a small town in the flat lands of the Missouri Bootheel, and Gene had nothing but disdain for the flat lands, anyway, so when he wanted to say something bad about anything or anybody, he would say they must have lived in Neelyville.)

The lady bit.  "Why on earth is that?"

Gene looked at her.  "Well, Neelyville gets all of its water from a well in the middle of town, and they keep an old (female) dog tied up to that well."

"Why would they do that?"

"So that when you take a drink of that water, you can kiss that dog's --- to get the taste out of your mouth."

[Al Agnew]

As far as I'm concerned, anglers should think about keeping spotted bass up to the legal limit regularly in places where the limit on them is different from what it is on the other bass species, because there are reasons for that.  In the streams of the Meramec Basin, spots compete with smallmouth so much that it seems like every spot you kill means room for another smallmouth.  And in some of the reservoirs, the slower growing spots outcompete the other species as well.  A blanket 15 inch length limit on bass means that the spots, which are far less likely to make it to 15 inches, survive at much higher rates.  On the other hand, in streams where they are native, spotted bass are just as worthy of respect as smallmouth or largemouth.

As I think about it, I remember catching a number of spots between 17 and 18 inches, but I don't think I've ever caught one over 18.  Nearly every one of those bigger ones I've caught was fat and healthy, so I've probably caught a bunch of 3 to 3.5 pound spots.  But nothing like those two I caught below Clearwater that time.

[Old plug]

WARFRAT

I was not from down there. Mel Janos was however. Thats how I got to know them. We fished clearwater every Sunday night. We went to the same church and after the service would go home eat lunch then about  5pm we would jump in the car and head down to Piedmont Park fish all night and into mid morning before going home.  When I got home I would need to baby take care of the baby  since my wife bowled on Monday afternoons. So I was up from Sunday morning till sometime in the evening Monday every week. The reason we could do that is Mels barber shop was closed on Monday and I had a job that let me do 10 hrs a day 4 days a week insteat of 40 in 5. It is a wonder we survived the drive back. I think here were times I drove back but do not remember doing it. Very dangerous and silly stuff some of us used to do to fish. 

 John Earnie and Mel were very close they hunted Turkey together. I would not even be surprised if you were familiar with Mel he constantly practicing on a mouth welper. He was state turkey caller champ at one time. 

 John and his wife are both dead. His son took over Webb Creeak for awhile. No idea of what happened to Frankie. I will have to ask Mel Janis about him. Last I heard he was in the St louis area. That sounds strange. Cannot visualize him in a urban setting. He must be closing in on his 70's now. Frankie got in trouble a few times selling frozen crappie and other game and fish. Another name you might know is Red Sandhuff. He fished on some pro cercuit for a little while.He is gone also. Mel is still kicking and cutting hair 3 days a week. near 90 or better now. 

Last time I fished clearwater was with Mel and my young son. We fished for carp up close to the river and donated them to a local church. I am sure you have heard the expresion " filled the boat". It happened for real when we fished those big carp.  The church would grind them and mix them  with spices. Stored the patties frozen for many poor familes. Really good eating. My son learned at a early age how to fght a large fish and not panic on light line thanks to those trips. Has served him well since he spends a week every fall down in Florida fshing for sharks from the beach. 

I Have been solely a LOZ fosherman now for better than 25 yrs. lived here on the lake at the mouth on Mill Creek on the Gravois  since 94. 

 

[Old plug]

I know people here on LOZ that will keep a small spotted bass those about 10 inches long are realy gd eating. Here on the Gravois in my area they do not seem as numerous these past couple of years.  

[Old plug]

WARFRAT

I was not from down there. Mel Janos was however. Thats how I got to know them. We fished clearwater every Sunday night. We went to the same church and after the service would go home eat lunch then about  5pm we would jump in the car and head down to Piedmont Park fish all night and into mid morning before going home.  When I got home I would need to baby take care of the baby  since my wife bowled on Monday afternoons. So I was up from Sunday morning till sometime in the evening Monday every week. The reason we could do that is Mels barber shop was closed on Monday and I had a job that let me do 10 hrs a day 4 days a week insteat of 40 in 5. It is a wonder we survived the drive back. I think here were times I drove back but do not remember doing it. Very dangerous and silly stuff some of us used to do to fish. 

 John Earnie and Mel were very close they hunted Turkey together. I would not even be surprised if you were familiar with Mel he constantly practicing on a mouth welper. He was state turkey caller champ at one time. 

 John and his wife are both dead. His son took over Webb Creeak for awhile. No idea of what happened to Frankie. I will have to ask Mel Janis about him. Last I heard he was in the St louis area. That sounds strange. Cannot visualize him in a urban setting. He must be closing in on his 70's now. Frankie got in trouble a few times selling frozen crappie and other game and fish. Another name you might know is Red Sandhuff. He fished on some pro cercuit for a little while.He is gone also. Mel is still kicking and cutting hair 3 days a week. near 90 or better now. 

Last time I fished clearwater was with Mel and my young son. We fished for carp up close to the river and donated them to a local church. I am sure you have heard the expresion " filled the boat". It happened for real when we fished those big carp.  The church would grind them and mix them  with spices. Stored the patties frozen for many poor familes. Really good eating. My son learned at a early age how to fght a large fish and not panic on light line thanks to those trips. Has served him well since he spends a week every fall down in Florida fshing for sharks from the beach. 

I Have been solely a LOZ fosherman now for better than 25 yrs. lived here on the lake at the mouth on Mill Creek on the Gravois  since 94. 

 

[Old plug]

WARFRAT

I was not from down there. Mel Janos was however. Thats how I got to know them. We fished clearwater every Sunday night. We went to the same church and after the service would go home eat lunch then about  5pm we would jump in the car and head down to Piedmont Park fish all night and into mid morning before going home.  When I got home I would need to baby take care of the baby  since my wife bowled on Monday afternoons. So I was up from Sunday morning till sometime in the evening Monday every week. The reason we could do that is Mels barber shop was closed on Monday and I had a job that let me do 10 hrs a day 4 days a week insteat of 40 in 5. It is a wonder we survived the drive back. I think here were times I drove back but do not remember doing it. Very dangerous and silly stuff some of us used to do to fish. 

 John Earnie and Mel were very close they hunted Turkey together. I would not even be surprised if you were familiar with Mel he constantly practicing on a mouth welper. He was state turkey caller champ at one time. 

 John and his wife are both dead. His son took over Webb Creeak for awhile. No idea of what happened to Frankie. I will have to ask Mel Janis about him. Last I heard he was in the St louis area. That sounds strange. Cannot visualize him in a urban setting. He must be closing in on his 70's now. Frankie got in trouble a few times selling frozen crappie and other game and fish. Another name you might know is Red Sandhuff. He fished on some pro cercuit for a little while.He is gone also. Mel is still kicking and cutting hair 3 days a week. near 90 or better now. 

Last time I fished clearwater was with Mel and my young son. We fished for carp up close to the river and donated them to a local church. I am sure you have heard the expresion " filled the boat". It happened for real when we fished those big carp.  The church would grind them and mix them  with spices. Stored the patties frozen for many poor familes. Really good eating. My son learned at a early age how to fght a large fish and not panic on light line thanks to those trips. Has served him well since he spends a week every fall down in Florida fshing for sharks from the beach. 

I Have been solely a LOZ fosherman now for better than 25 yrs. lived here on the lake at the mouth on Mill Creek on the Gravois  since 94. 

 

[MOsmallies]

I know I've caught some 17+" spots out of LOZ but I don't have pictures. Here are some 16+" that I was able to get pics of. I really enjoy catching spots over 15"... Unfortunately most of the ones I catch are much smaller than that... A-Rig, Buzzbait, and Fluke... Fall into early winter seems to be the best time to catch nice spots on LOZ... My biggest river spots were probably around 15-16"

 

[Lvn2Fish]

This one was like 4.47 . Jerk bait in the Niangua arm Lake of the Ozarks . 2015 I believe . We actually caught two over 4 lbs this day ! Have one bigger that came within site of this fish in like 2005. I Have a pic but its terrible, and I didn't have a scale. 

[moguy1973]

This one was about 15" and 2lbs out of the Gravois arm on LOZ  4 years ago.

 

[MOsmallies]

31 minutes ago, Lvn2Fish said:

This one was like 4.47 . Jerk bait in the Niangua arm Lake of the Ozarks . 2015 I believe . We actually caught two over 4 lbs this day ! Have one bigger that came within site of this fish in like 2005. I Have a pic but its terrible, and I didn't have a scale. 

Daaaammmmnn!!! That is an awesome spot!!!! I wish more of them got to this size! What a tank!