Memorial week recap

[TexExp]

We really enjoyed our week on Beaver Lake. Thanks for all the tips and pointers and PMs. I have enjoyed reading the forum. Thanks to Chi, Dan, Stump Bumper and Brett for some tips, ideas and recommendations. Y'all are blessed to have this beautiful lake and resource!  

Spent Saturday evening after I got there just doing some scouting and trying to understand this long lake. lol
There are a million points and coves. Launched at Starkey’s to get between mid-lake and the dam. Ended up running up the lake to point 5 area and scouting around. Didn't really do much fishing. Sunday, did some more running around and looking. The lake was – really – chopped up from all the boat traffic. Beat the heck outta my little boat. Monday evening, we found a little point and my nephew heard some shad up in the bushes. So we hung around there. He got some black bass up in the flooded bushes. All we were throwing was a sassy shad for striper. lol

We saw some striper blowing up, but it was mainly small pods of fish chasing some isolated bait. By the time we would chase after them, they were gone.

Since there was bait, we hung around that point. Very late evening and very early morning they would be some isolated blowups. We would only catch a few each time. But it was sure fun. I ended up trailering all around the area looking for bait, and found some shad. We caught a few on bait, but mostly throwing sassy shad. Later, I started launching at that old corps ramp at Big Clifty. It is flooded and a lot of loose gravel, and very dark coming back in at night… but we managed.

One evening, I was pulling in a green fish and thought it was a black bass, but it turned out to be a keeper walleye. Then I got another one in the same spot. A little bit later I was bottom bouncing the sassy shad down the point since I marked them on the graph, and got a nice one. We baked them the next day. My family there had never had walleye and it was a big hit. Delicious!

It was very random, but one morning I caught a few good smallmouth off that point also.

We met a local Guide, Robert Johnson at the boat ramp and ended up talking with him most of the week and ended up going out with him on our last day Saturday. He worked hard and put my sister on a good Striper. She said it was the highlight of her year. lol

I brought some waders for my sister and nephew and myself and some ultra light tackle. We were planning to go below the dam, but it is so flooded there was no way. The good folks at the Dam Store said the river was 15-20’ high. But on the bright side, I was able to put in my bass boat down at the dam site and catch some trout throwing Buoyant spoons and Rooster Tails. Sure was comfy!   lol

She wanted to keep a few of the stockers for dinner. 

 

Great time in the beautiful Ozarks!

 Great time on beautiful Beaver Lake!

  

 

 

[TexExp]

 

Thanks again!

[TexExp]

On Thursday evening, I asked my nephew if he wanted to go out Friday morning. He said there's early and there's "Tim early". lol   He missed out on a good trip. My sister and I kept 5 that day and caught some white's and smallmouth too.  I felt like you had to be fishing at first light and last light. That means getting up at 3:45 to be on the lake at 5 and also coming back after dark in the evening. We worked hard all week and it paid off for some great fishing and family time.

 

 

Beautiful Lake!

  

 

 

[bferg]

Tex: 

That's a good week!!  Great job on the Walleye- what a nice fish!  Beaver is a beautiful lake and fun to fish- but it ain't easy.  For you to roll into town and get on them like that is good work!  Cool when a forum like this helps contribute to someone's experience on the lake.  Something fun about a place where you can catch bass, eyes, striper, and trout!  

You are spot on the early/late thing.  That is when Beaver is at it's best as far as I am concerned.   

[Blll]

39 minutes ago, bferg said:

Tex: 

That's a good week!!  Great job on the Walleye- what a nice fish!  Beaver is a beautiful lake and fun to fish- but it ain't easy.  For you to roll into town and get on them like that is good work!  Cool when a forum like this helps contribute to someone's experience on the lake.  Something fun about a place where you can catch bass, eyes, striper, and trout!  

You are spot on the early/late thing.  That is when Beaver is at it's best as far as I am concerned.   

AMEN to that! Sounds/looks like a great trip. Double thumbs up on the walleye. We are blessed to live here and love to share it. Ya'll come back!

[TexExp]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. And yes, it is tough!  lol    I was reading some of the guide reports before I came and one of them posts whether or not they got a limit for each trip. Sometimes 3 trips per day. That's only 3 fish per person! lol There were very few limits from folks that fish all the time, so I told my sister not to expect too much.  

Luckily we found a sweet spot and like you say, the very early, very late thing paid off. Hard work, but paid off. And a big thanks again to the forum for getting me started in the right direction. We will be back!

[bferg]

25 minutes ago, TexExp said:

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. And yes, it is tough!  lol    I was reading some of the guide reports before I came and one of them posts whether or not they got a limit for each trip. Sometimes 3 trips per day. That's only 3 fish per person! lol There were very few limits from folks that fish all the time, so I told my sister not to expect too much.  

Luckily we found a sweet spot and like you say, the very early, very late thing paid off. Hard work, but paid off. And a big thanks again to the forum for getting me started in the right direction. We will be back!

If you ever get a chance to come in late april/early may that is usually (unless of course we have epic rains- mud and crazy spring weather like this year) a little bit better time for the top water striper bite.  I don't mess with live bait or chase stripers with the dedication of some on here and in early-mid may even I can go out there with some top water lures and put a few in the boat in the morning/evening.  This year was a little odd due to the rain, lake elevation, water color...

[TexExp]

Will do! I only caught one on topwater and it was a white bass.

We also made the local paper, ES Independent. It's easy when your guide writes the column.  

 http://eureka.news/dropping-a-line-59/

 

 

[Dan the fisherman]

That's awesome to here.  Glad u got on them.