Anything new going on up there?

[fishinwrench]

It always had it's quirks.  Back in the early '80's when it was what I consider its prime there were only 3 baits we needed.  A jig-n-pig or a shad colored Culprit worm, a Rattle Trap, and a Spinnerbait..... but if the Spinnerbait didn't have copper blades you'd cut your number of bites in half.  We were very consistent Spring thru Fall doing nothing else.

I had to move out of state for work for a couple years and when I came back it was as if all the fish in the lake had vanished.  We worked hard at it but we just weren't catching them and neither was anyone else.  I left that miserable mudhole for LO and never looked back.

[shrapnel]

The lake has steadily declined since filling, the reason i was told is that when they filed it, it literally flooded hundreds of old farm ponds full of large fish.  Once those were caught or died the lake hasn't really fished as well since.  You can still catch em, just not in the size or numbers as elsewhere.  I have never seen a lake with so many small crappie.  My dad fishes it 100 days a year and is lucky to catch one 15" crappie a year.  We weighed some good weights back in the 80's, and was actually winning the Bud Light Tournament after day one in the mid 1990's...with 9lbs!  11lbs total got us 9th IIRC.

[MoCarp]

Many waters have that happen the biomass in the predator fish niche gets ate up with tiny crappie and that never get more than 6" and die of old age never getting a sniff of size...they eat most all of the YOY baby fish keeping the population dynamics off...uber preds would be the way to get it back in population but they need to stay in to do their job. northern pike would turn a ton of baby crappie into big pike...after a few years the pike stocking would fade out with almost no recruitment from naturally spawned pike..blue catfish the same deal...as far as why I suspect the outbreak of LMB virus may have let the crappie get out of control in the 1st place...prob need to see the raw sampling over the last 20 years....most lakes boom when 1st impounded...and fade....they just can't sustain the harvest levels..even the avg angler has the ability to harvest way more than they did in the past....IMHO we need to take a hard look and fish size and limits

[fishinwrench]

I know one thing.....I sure miss the rivers that MT flooded.   The stretch of the Salt from Florida down 6-8 miles (old Joanna bridge) was awesome.  Many good memories from before I was old enough to fish it alone.   

The old boys that ran that river were bad to the bone!  Chuck Norris is a pansy compared to what I remember of those guys.

[snagged in outlet 3]

You better Chuck doesn't read this  

When chuck does a push-up the earth moved away. 

[fishinwrench]

Jesus walked on water, but Chuck can swim through land.  😀

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Brick by brick, Chuck built the house he was born in.

 

Didn't know MT flooded rivers connected to Florida.  Or did I misread?

[fishinwrench]

7 minutes ago, Daryk Campbell Sr said:

Brick by brick, Chuck built the house he was born in.

 

Didn't know MT flooded rivers connected to Florida.  Or did I misread?

South fork, Middle Fork, and Elk fork all came together near a little crossroads known as Florida, Mo. and form(ed) Salt River.    

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) squirted out of his mothers koochy there.

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Ok.  Makes sense now.  Guess I could have looks at a map.  I have passed through Hannibal a handful of  times, but usually on a path to a destination.   Haven't heard of Florida,MO 

[snagged in outlet 3]

When Chuck Norris was born he drove his mom home from the hospital.