Hit up the Red Ribbon section on the 17th

[Haris122]

Didn't get there until 1pm and didn't do much good. I started at Suicide Access and caught 2 ~11" Spotted Bass (I think), and lost another maybe 13-14" one too, close to where I got down to the water. Then I headed downstream past the next big bend until I couldn't wade anymore, which was near some bluff visible on the opposite side of the river. That way I didn't catch a single thing, even at a deep spot with some laydowns near the bend. Then headed all the way up to Cardiac and then back down to suicide fishing the usual spots you'd expect to find some trout in, also without catching a single thing. Waited until it got pretty dark to climb back up to the car, which was an adventure as always up there. Water in the main river was for the most part pretty low, and just in general it was crystal clear. This was the first time I actually didn't so much as even see a single trout in the red ribbon section. Just in general, there didn't seem to be much in terms of bigger fish moving about in the river at all, and what I found most weird of all, I kept seeing dead suckers of various sorts lying dead on the bottom of the river, with hardly a single one showing any type of wound. It's as if 95% of them just keeled over and died, perfectly healthy looking, sinking to the bottom at the same time. Anyone know what that could be about?

[Gavin]

That section sees a ton of jet boat traffic in the fall, lots of hunters, lots of gig boats. 

 

[Haris122]

I initially thought all those suckers were probably gigged and left there, but after inspecting them more closely, there was no signs of them having been gigged. That's what's so weird to me. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I heard something about gigging not being allowed within the red ribbon section, so they don't mistake trout for suckers or something like that?

[fishinwrench]

On 10/18/2017 at 1:11 PM, Haris122 said:

I thought I heard something about gigging not being allowed within the red ribbon section, so they don't mistake trout for suckers or something like that?

Wait. What? That happens? 

I wish our smallmouth could get the same degree of protection. 

[Gavin]

Gigging is allowed in the Red & White Ribbon trout water, but not in the Blue Ribbon. 

 

[fishinwrench]

All Mo. Smallmouth water is "blue ribbon".     

[Gavin]

Nope, gigging is allowed in all Smallmouth Bass Special Management areas. No ribbon designations or gigging restrictions on smally water. Would be nice but the MDC biologists claim that gigging is harmless. If they can lie like that with a straight face, they need to go sell whole life insurance.

[fishinwrench]

They might not be lying......It's possible that they are just ignorant, lazy, and don't care enough about it.

Or maybe they think that giggers pay a greater percentage of their wages than smallmouth anglers do.

[bkbying89]

On 10/18/2017 at 8:51 AM, Haris122 said:

Didn't get there until 1pm and didn't do much good. I started at Suicide Access and caught 2 ~11" Spotted Bass (I think), and lost another maybe 13-14" one too, close to where I got down to the water. Then I headed downstream past the next big bend until I couldn't wade anymore, which was near some bluff visible on the opposite side of the river. That way I didn't catch a single thing, even at a deep spot with some laydowns near the bend. Then headed all the way up to Cardiac and then back down to suicide fishing the usual spots you'd expect to find some trout in, also without catching a single thing. Waited until it got pretty dark to climb back up to the car, which was an adventure as always up there. Water in the main river was for the most part pretty low, and just in general it was crystal clear. This was the first time I actually didn't so much as even see a single trout in the red ribbon section. Just in general, there didn't seem to be much in terms of bigger fish moving about in the river at all, and what I found most weird of all, I kept seeing dead suckers of various sorts lying dead on the bottom of the river, with hardly a single one showing any type of wound. It's as if 95% of them just keeled over and died, perfectly healthy looking, sinking to the bottom at the same time. Anyone know what that could be about?

Did you check the water temperature? After the flood in the spring, I haven't seen or heard much about the Browns they stocked earlier this year. 

 

Bill

[Haris122]

No, I didn't check water temperature. I thought maybe I was too far downstream at first with water still potentially being too hot for them down that far but I thought for sure once I got to cardiac and a bit further upstream I'd run into a few of them at least, rainbow or brown. Honestly even weirder was that there wasn't even any signs of bass outside of that one little area I got them in at first. Certainly once I got around the bend going several hundred yards downstream from suicide, I thought there had to be a few smallmouth in the deeper water there.