Spring has sprung and the whites are on the run

[curtisce]

13 hours ago, Ham said:

Great Report Marty! Very detailed and helpful. 

Running by someone on plane is the best way to do it IF and only IF you have room. Otherwise be polite and slow idle throwing no wake. Yes, it takes time, but be polite and treat others like you would want to be treated. 

I’m all about selective harvest. Keep what you need and release the rest. But why in the world would you need to dump the carcasses on the ramp? I put the carcasses in the cooler (or a bucket) and ease back out in deeper water and dump them. Crawfish need to eat too. 

I usually clean my fish at the house and freeze the carcasses to take and dump later, but YMMV

I ca only guess but maybe it is their way of doing their fish report. Carcasses, it been good, nocarcasses good luck

[nwaflakes]

I am planning on going out this Saturday with the family, and was wondering which was the better place to launch between 10 and twin bridges?  I have a 21ft deck boat and am closer to twin bridges, but I wasn't sure on the condition of their ramps at the moment? I am sure either place will be packed this weekend, but it is the only time I can get out.

[BilletHead]

1 hour ago, nwaflakes said:

I am planning on going out this Saturday with the family, and was wondering which was the better place to launch between 10 and twin bridges?  I have a 21ft deck boat and am closer to twin bridges, but I wasn't sure on the condition of their ramps at the moment? I am sure either place will be packed this weekend, but it is the only time I can get out.

            I think you might be safer to launch at Twin Bridges with that sized boat. The ramp at 10 is much better than it was in the past but depending on how tall your trailer is you may have to back out real far in the water. I have a 3/4 ton truck that sets pretty high and when I launched there two years ago to float off trailer my tail pipe was bubbling under water,

   BilletHead 

[nwaflakes]

Thanks. You guys have already provided a treasure trove of information on this topic, but I am going to be going out with my kids and my nieces (all 8 - 12 year olds) this weekend and wanted to do what I could to simplify the adventure and maybe catch a few fish in the process. I was planning on going up the spring and fishing that stretch from the power lines to the 10 bridge from about noon to 5 or 6PM. I was thinking trolling with crank baits at 5-8 ft may be the easiest route to take with that many in the boat, but also had some 2.5'' gogo minnows in various colors fitted on road runners on various colors, all be it most of it is a mixture of chartreuses and white. I thought those would be fairly easy to throw and slow real back to the boat. I read where spinners did well, but didn't have much experience with those and wasn't sure how kid friendly it would be. Anyway, if yall guys have any pointers for fishing with youngen's in this situation I am all ears. Thanks.

[Ranger Dave]

I heard reports from Saturday of people catching over 300 in a day.  I heard they were quite a bit above Hwy 10 bridge.  I fished below 10 bridge between the power line and the floating cabins and I only caught 10.  My brother-in-law drove over I-44 and said there were about 50 boats on both sides of I-44.  How do you get there?  I get a little scared when I drive upstream of 10 bridge.  I can go about 1/2 mile upstream from the bridge and then I hit the big gravel bar and it gets extremely shallow.  How is everyone getting past the gravel bar?  Does it get deeper once you are over the gravel bar?  I saw a lot of large boats with 150 and 200 hp outboards driving past me while I was in the lower section so they are getting past the gravel bar somehow.  

[wily]

The water is up...but it’s pools and riffles all the way to Baxter...stay to the left at the first one.

There is plenty of fish below 10c...it’s not worth tearing something up to go fish the river...

i thought Saturday the fishing was great in the same area you fished...so you just never know...I’ve been on the opposite side many times too.

 

[BilletHead]

2 hours ago, Ranger Dave said:

I heard reports from Saturday of people catching over 300 in a day.  I heard they were quite a bit above Hwy 10 bridge.  I fished below 10 bridge between the power line and the floating cabins and I only caught 10.  My brother-in-law drove over I-44 and said there were about 50 boats on both sides of I-44.  How do you get there?  I get a little scared when I drive upstream of 10 bridge.  I can go about 1/2 mile upstream from the bridge and then I hit the big gravel bar and it gets extremely shallow.  How is everyone getting past the gravel bar?  Does it get deeper once you are over the gravel bar?  I saw a lot of large boats with 150 and 200 hp outboards driving past me while I was in the lower section so they are getting past the gravel bar somehow.  

               Ranger Dave,

  Many, many guys are blowing through with jets. That's what I have but not a triple digit HP.  We did see a few props last week up there that carefully picked their way through. 

  BilletHead

[Bgctrading]

We are killing them about a half mile up from 10 bridge. 5-6 ft is the shallowest to there. 60- to 125 a day so far. We have had 4 different outings in the last 8 days.