KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - Video of dead fish in Mississippi angers anglers

KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - Video of dead fish in Mississippi angers anglers

 I stumbled upon this video and article, and decided it should be posted again, so it is now posted! I just posted an article on this very thing about "SPEAK UP! It is time to be heard, folks!

I want you readers to comment on this and tell us what you think about this! I myself am outraged that such stupid, moronic laws like this are even considered to become law! All for the sake of financial profit, without even considering the outcome of such naive (ignorant ) legislation!

I think than any outdoor activist should increase their intestinal fortitude and speak their opinion and make sure the right people hear!

Please, for the sake of the outdoors that we love and the animals that live in it, document your comments right here, make it a public record comment, lets do try to speak up in a protesting manner but with mature methods or gestures!

There is power in numbers and  yes let's make some comments, click on the link and come back and tell the blogosphere what you think!  Click on the link or on the title
of this post to see video and article, you will be surprised! What do you think about
this situation?

On The Lite Side ?

Hear is a little bass fishing humor, to brighten up our snowy and cold weather, here in Missouri and pretty much all the surrounding states  right now! Enjoy! We could all use a smile right about now I am sure!

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Near a highway bridge several boats were scattered about in the lake as there was the Annual Bass Catchers Classic fishing tournament in progress, when a funeral procession came by on the bridge.

Everybody just kept on fishing except for one fisherman, who put his fishing pole down, stood up, removed his hat and remained in that fashion until the funeral procession was passed.

A nearby fisherman happened to see this and was impressed at how respectful the man had been, so he cranked up his boat and pulled up beside the other mans boat.

"Howdy, I saw how considerate you were toward that funeral procession, pausing and standing like that. I wish I had been as thoughtful!"

The other man replied, "I reckon it's the least I could do. After all, we'd been married for nearly 30 years."

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Two boys were sitting on the rivers edge fishing. One turns to the other and says "Do fish grow fast?".

The other boy replies "I think so. Every time my Dad tells the story about the one that got away it grows another foot"

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Two guys are talking about fishing. One says to the other, "I am NEVER going to take my wife fishing with me, ever again!"

"That bad, huh?"

"She did everything wrong! She did everything wrong! She talked too much, made the boat rock constantly, tried o stand up in the boat, baited the hook wrong, used the wrong lures and worst of all she caught more fish than me!" he replied.
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I made a few phone calls and gathered all the fishing reports around the area lakes that I could and here are the results:
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Stockton Lake

Water temp 36-38 or cold to really cold

Crappie are biting excellent in 50-60 foot of water in brush piles.  Use a jig and a 2" grub and get right into the brush.  The brush close to drop offs, channel swings and on points seem to produce bigger fish.  Look for schools of shad and the fish seem to be a little more active.

Bass- All reports so far have been pretty slow.

Walleye are fair in 35-45 foot of water on jigs and minnows.  Some of these are being caught by crappie fishing.  Won't be long till the big ones are biting!!

No report on catfish
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Lake Of The Ozarks

 The ice has melted from the main channel due to all the current in the main Osage. There are also some launch areas that have ice cleared from their coves. The water is still very cold. The coves are still frozen and the main lake is 37-38 degrees for the most part. There are some warmer temps over on the North Shore area. The water was clear. But now since it has risen and with all the current there is some stain to it. Most of the fishing is main channel stuff. The coves were frozen and the fish I've been catching are deep with their bellies on the bottom. More will develope as the lake thaws out in the Gravois. This will be the good clear water.
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Lake Norfork

101 Grocery and Bait said cold weather has kept some anglers off the water, but fishing has been good for those who have managed to get out. Live bait and jigging spoons are catching fish well. The surface water temp is in the mid-30s depending on the area of the lake you are in.

Norfork Tailwater:

John Berry from Berry Brothers Guide Service said generation has been around the clock, with no wadable water. Brightly colored San Juan worms (red, cerise and hot fluorescent pink) and egg patterns (peach and orange) have been the go-to flies. Long leader tippet combinations and heavy weight have been the secret to success. Work the banks and submerged weed beds. Be on the lookout for a shad kill. Dry Run Creek has fished well. The hot fly has been a sow bug in size 14. Worm brown San Juan worms and egg patterns also have done well. The weather has improved a bit and now is the perfect time to take your youngster to Dry Run.
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Bull Shoals Lake

As the temperature goes up and down so do the fishing patterns,habits,and locations. When the temps were rising the shad started to die, Thus the stick bait bite increased. Then the temps dropped and the Bass went back to the main lake bluffs where soft plastics and twin spins did the trick.When the hard overnight  rains came the fish started feeding where the stained water entered the lake. Crank baits and spinnerbaits were best fished at the 'stain' line. This time of the year it is imperative to pay attention to the weather and adjust accordingly.
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Truman  Lake - No report


You can usually always, catch fish on Missouri's Lakes and streams - if you check with the locals you can find out where and how to catch those fish! Good luck and tight lines!

Cabin Fever? Try Striper Fishing!

Do you have cabin fever yet? Here is the remedy for that cabin fever! I think it will tide you over until warmer weather comes and its back to norm fishing again! I find striper fishing to be exciting, and quite exhilarating, to the cooped up feeling of late winter, cabin fever!

Striped bass fishing is one of the many types of bass fishing that has become very popular in the last ten or fifteen years. Fishing for these predators is both challenging and fun!  As a matter of fact I am planning a trip in February to pursue these awesome predators! If I get to go, I will keep you posted! 

 There are several ways to catch these fish such as by casting, trolling and even bottom fishing. In most areas, stripers do not reproduce well requiring extensive game management and stocking. The best months for catching this game fish are late February through May. This is because striped bass begin to feed aggressively as they prepare to spawn, although you can catch them year round!

Bait - Finding and using the right type of bait for stripers is the same as any other type of fishing. The more experienced striped bass fisherman will spend a lot of time looking for schools of bait fish. They know that when they find these schools that the big stripers will be very close by. Netting your bait is quite the challenge sometimes, but well worth the effort!

 Live shad are the bait of choice when using live bait because they are the primary forage food for stripers,here in Missouri Lakes.You had better hang on when one of the stripers hit a live shad on your hook! They hit like a locomotive and the fight is on leaving the fisherman numb armed and weary at best!

When it comes to bass fishing, striped bass fishing is one of the favorites for many and you can also find yourself hooked by this incredible experience. There is just no way to describe the exhilaration you feel when you hook into one of these monsters and you discover that you are in for the fight of your life!

So if you happen to be at the lake try your luck at striper fishing, but be careful, if you hook a striper, you'll be hooked on stripers from then on! No pun intended of course! If you haven't tried striper fishing, then you just haven't lived yet! Just kidding, but it can be very addictive!

So until next time keep your hooks wet, and be sure to boat safely,and unless your fish hungry, practice catch and release! See ya out there I hope, and good luck on YOUR
next outdoor adventure!

Fall Outdoor Adventures - Very Busy?

Wow, the last week or so has been so busy, what with all the last minute activities of fall! Busy time of the year here as all outdoor activities are in full swing! Fall bass fishing is fantastic and has been easy to catch them fall bass! Went twice last week, once on Truman Lake, and once on Lake of the Ozarks! Both trips were really good! I caught a lot of large mouth bass on Bill Dance fat free shad! Caught several on rattle traps, spinners, and bass bandits were all good!

I found several mushrooms in the past week! We all call them "deer antler" mushrooms or coral mushrooms! They are excellent rolled in flower and fried in vegetable oil! They are excellent just sauteed in butter too!

Bow season is in full swing, which is what I mainly am doing right now! I have seen several deer, but haven't had a shot yet! There is a lot of squirrels, and the acorn crop is good this year so squirrel, deer, and turkeys are surely to be scattered every where! I have had squirrel and dumplings quite often as of late, yummy!

Gigging season is in full swing and I have been getting several suckers, wow, they are tasty and plentiful, as I have been eating, probably more than my share, though the river is up and muddy right now, so the gigging seems to be out for a few days till the rivers around here clear up again.

Oh well, that still leaves plenty to do around here, as I am still cutting fire wood and clearing some land around here, I cut and sell fire wood so that is a lot of work in itself, so yes, it has been extremely busy around here , doing all the work , and fishing, around here! It 's a tough job but someone has to do it! It might had well be me, don't you think?

Rabbit season and the gun deer season is still around the corner, but by then the fishing at the lake will be red hot again and well as you can see, no wonder, I haven't had time to post anything, even though I have had lots of things to post , just not nearly enough time to sit down and type! So this is just a recap of the last week or so to bring you all back up to sluff, here at "Kenny's Great Outdoors"

So until next time, keep your hooks wet, and your lines tight!
See ya all out there I hope!

Tips On Removing A Hook From A Fish - Catch And Release!

Today, we are going to talk about how to properly, and safely, remove a hook from a fish. Recently, I have received a lot of emails from readers wanting to know, how to remove a hook from a fish and release it back into the water, without hurting the fish. This is a important for those who practice catch and release, and especially important for fish that are smaller than the legal size limit for possession!

Handling fish should be kept to a minimum and it should be done with a gentle hand! Where the fish is hooked is important, and should be observed and considered, before hook removal is attempted! Below is a list of tips for handling and releasing fish! The list I am sure, is not all the tips for all species, but works well for most species of fish! The order of these tips are in random order and does not reflect order of importance, or procedure, so use a little common sense and successful release will result in the survival of a healthy fish, for future fishing adventures!

1 Always wet your hands before handling a fish, as this helps to prevent damaging the fishes mucous or slime covering that protects them from disease and sickness!

2 Use caution, and grasp the fish firmly, but gently, to avoid dropping and damaging the fish, as this can hurt the fish and cause injury, and makes for a healthy release and the fishes survival! Be careful not to squeeze the fish too hard as to cause internal damage!

3 Always carry and use hemostats, needle nose pliers, etc, to remove hooks, using a twist and pull motion. Using your fingers can result in damage to the fish, and possibly hooking yourself in the process! Then you will be emailing me and asking me how to safely remove a hook from your hand, without causing you, too much stress!

4 Never, and I repeat, NEVER, pull a hook from a fishes gills or throat as this almost always results in death of the fish. Just cut the line, or cut the hook if possible, to retrieve your lure, and leave the hook, as most hooks will rust or dissolve in a fairly short time, thus insuring the survival of the fish!

5 Never stick your fingers into the eyes or gills of fish, this too, results in damaging the fish and more times than not will cause death to the fish!

6 When ever possible, grasp larger fish by the lower lip, and smaller fish around the mid section, after wetting your hands of course! Lipping a fish with teeth is not recommended for obvious reasons, so handle these fish by grasping them across the gill plates!

7 Fish too small to legally keep and fish that you don't intend to keep should always be handled with extreme caution and should be released immediately, to increase their chances of survival!

Handling fish and removing hooks from them causes a lot of stress on the fish, so be gentle, and quick and this will help reduce the amount of stress on the fish. Quickly release the fish back into the water, making sure the fish has the best possible chances of survival! You can not always remove a hook from a fish without damaging it but , if you use caution, you can greatly increase the odds of the fishes survival, without inflicting too much discomfort or damage to the fish!

I hope this answers your questions about how to remove a hook from a fish to ensure the release of healthy fish and greatly increase the chances of a healthy recovery, and increase your chances to catch a bigger fish the next time you go!

If you enjoyed this article, then be sure to check out my archives, and subscribe to this blog to make sure you get all of my latest updates, tips and articles! Please feel free to leave a comment, and browse thru the archives! There are many articles, tips and pictures of the "Great Outdoors" for your viewing pleasure!

So until next time, practice catch and release, and see ya out there I hope! Good luck on your next "Great Outdoor" adventure!

It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose yours! - Harry S. Truman

Big Piney Late Summer Fishing!

It's that time of year again, you know, schools are gearing up again, August is drawing to an end and we are getting near the end of summer! Baseball is gearing up for the final pennant races and fishing starts to pick it up once again! We are all doing all the outdoor stuff that we can possibly get into each and every remaining day of summer.

I went fishing today and floated on the river. You could just feel the weather and sense the changes about to come. I caught several goggle eyes and small mouth bass, before noon and I was just enjoying the 82 degree day, kinda over cast and a gentle breeze blowing across the water. Squirrels were jumping from tree to tree, and I saw a few deer getting a drink from the river! They are really beautiful with their velvet attire and all. I lost a couple of good smallies, so I settled in for a noon time sandwich and a soda and of course some chips!

I spent the rest of the day just relaxing and enjoying the scenery, the sounds, just taking it all in and catching some decent fish. I took out of the river and went home and cleaned all of my fish and while the wife was cooking the fish and fries and hush puppies, I was out side building a fire to enjoy after dark, when the temperatures drop down into the 50s again! We sat around eating fish and chips and drinking cold soda and watching the great fire as the sun went down.

We were enjoying the fish, listening to all the nite creatures, like frogs, crickets, hoot owls, coyotes, and whipper wills. Of course the smell of the fire and listening to the noises a fire puts out like the wood cracking and popping, and the gases hissing as It burns of as the wood is consumed by the blazing blue fire. Was a pretty neat picture and a wonderful evening in the "Great Outdoors!"

Oh, by the way, we ate all the fish but 2 pieces and the fire felt good all evening! Just taking in the outdoors and enjoying the rest of summer! It just seems natural to be in the outdoors and enjoying all it has to offer, see ya out there, I hope!

Norfork Bass - Full Moon Possibilities!

We all know how hot the weather can get, especially in August! It gets down right nasty, in fact! The heat and long days of summer are on us and we resort to the a/c and some TV! I was sitting around the house and wanting to go fishing so bad, but not wanting to endure the heat! I realized the full moon was getting close and knew if the weather stayed the same then the nights would be clear as in "no clouds!"

Now I got on the phone and called a good friend, who happens to live right on "Lake Norfork" at Henderson, Arkansas! He said the night time bite was right on and the stripers were hitting good at night also! That was music to my ears! So off to Norfork Lake we headed and soon met up with my friend Larry, who bought us breakfast and filled us in on the bite. He had to work and wouldn't be able to join us on the first night. We went to a hotel and got some sleep and hit the lake about 5 pm.

It was still pretty hot but we had a pretty good ride to our first fishing spot for the night. Jerry tied on a black jig n pig and I tied on a 10 inch texas rigged black worm. Jerry got bit several times but all came off pretty quick and one was a good one too! He made a good run and let Jerry know real quick that he had a bad place on his line and it broke him off!

We decided to try our luck at some whites when we noticed them surfacing about a hundred yards from us so we tied on some rooster tails and eased in on the school of whites with just the trolling motor on slow. We both made a few casts and both rods were bent and bouncing with a couple of nice hybrids! They were in the 8 pound range! In the next 45 minutes we would limit out on whites and it was getting pretty dark so we rigged up and proceeded to get after "Mr" large mouth.

We got on this fairly shallow flat next to deep water and it was about 3 or 4 hundred yards long, lots of logs and rocks. I tied on a black buzz bait and Jerry tied on a white buzz bait.We both quickly caught 2 bass a piece and they were all 4 bass about 4 1/2 lbs! We really thought we had found the meal ticket when they quit them altogether! I tried something that worked years ago on Norfork, I put on a large black single blade spinner bait, and basically started bouncing the bottom with it and "WHAM" I had a big old large mouth on and she was mad! But she wasn't no match for my ugly stick and ambassador 6000 reel! She finally gave it up, rolled over on her side and we weighed her at 9.50 lbs!

Jerry quickly tied on a spinner bait identical to mine for some reason and we both proceeded to catch the fire out of those Norfork bass! We ended up with 9 bass with the biggest being 9.50 lbs and the smallest weighing in at 4.75 lbs. We had a great night and we even caught 2 keeper walleyes, what a night! Now mind you we started this night time fishing expedition on August 3rd and it was a rock n roll trip start! The 4Th and the 5Th were both good nights, but the quality of fish was down. The last 2 days we caught a lot of whites and bass but they were smaller.

So when it gets too hot for you in the dog days of summer, then try your luck on those full moon nights! It will be quite a bit cooler and sometimes you can really get into those big old bass! But, you need to know the lake that you are fishing because while the full moon is bright, the lake is different to navigate at night, so , be careful out there and boat safe! Watch out for the other guys and yield right of way to other boaters, and enjoy, the "Great Outdoors!"

Keep your hooks wet and we will see ya out there, we Hope!

Summer Time Bass- How Important Is The Thermocline?

As we near the dog days of summer,we all will experience, the lock jaw temperament of the "Large Mouth Bass!" You know those days when they just don't seem to bite anything! I have several articles in my archives on what lures to use during these times!

Today I want to share with you all something that will help you, when you brave the hot sun and tough fishing days that lay just ahead of us. Now a lot of people ask what lures do we use during the dog days of summer, and some ask what color? Now while lure and lure color choice, are important, Depth is probably more important than anything else!

Now you're probably asking, "why depth?" During the hot days of summer the surface temperature gets in the upper 80's and fish go deeper to get to cooler temperatures. Now after they go so deep, and the temperatures drop, so does the oxygen level drop! This is the level just below the "Thermocline" When the surface temps get too warm, fish seek out the thermocline. Cooler temps with lots of oxygen!

Thermocline - a zone of rapid temperature change!

These conditions are also ideal for bait fish, which by the way bass, stripers, walley, etc., love to eat! The best way to find the thermocline is use your graph and graph the fish and bait fish clumps at a certain level, and concentrate your effort with lures that are fished in that depth range, this is why, knowing what depths crankbaits, or spinners or whatever lures you use go down to and use the lures that are fished at that depth.

So, if you keep the thermocline in mind, then the next time you are experiencing hot summertime, slow biting bass, find the thermocline and fish that depth wherever you fish on the lake, this will drastically improve your chances of a successful trip in mid summer time waters!

Just remember, in the hot days of summer, find the thermocline by locating the clumps of bait fish, and bigger fish whatever level they are at and fish this thermocline all over the lake with lures that are running just above or in the thermocline and you will have more success, at catching those hot summertime bass.

I hope this fishing tip gets you better results, and contributes to more catches for you this summer, so , until next time, enjoy the "Great Outdoors!" See Ya all out there, soon, I hope!

Tough Day At Truman Lake - But Still Fun!

Well, last Sunday we had a northern cool front and about a 3 inch rain to boot! I figured it would put a damper on bass fishing, but none the less, had a trip to Truman Lake on the agenda for Tuesday, so we went ahead as planned and went fishing anyways!

We started off fishing with crank baits and spinner baits, and we tried every lure in the tackle boxes! Well, not every lure, but you know how it seems when the bite is not there. We fished hard and managed to catch 3 bass with only one being a keeper but a pretty good one at that! He weighed about 3 1/2 lbs! Not bad quality, but poor on the quantity side! One of those days, which we all experience from time to time, but we still enjoyed the "Great Outdoors" anyway!

Couldn't ask for a better day, weather wise, 78 degrees and pretty much sunny all day, even though we did endure a 5 minute shower early on in the morning. We saw a few eagles, deer, and a half dozen or so big gobbler turkeys! There weren't many other fishermen and we didn't take long to figure out why!

After lunch, we decided to try a different approach, Tom tied on a jig n pig and I tied on a 10 inch Texas rigged worm. You know, the old reliable stand bye lures! Now most of you that follow me, regularly, know that I always manage a limit by days end on Truman, but it wasn't to be the case this day! I did manage to catch 3 bass, all about the 3 or 4 lb range, and all of them big chunky fat ones!

We called it quits about 4 pm and put the old Blazer into the wind and headed home. Sometimes you just have to be grateful just to spend the day on the water, just enjoying the "Great Outdoors" and good old fishing buddy fellowship. We had a blast, and both commented about not remembering the last time we was on Truman in July, with 70 degree sunny weather, and almost no wind, to speak of. At times the lake was like a mirror, and that is truly beautiful and fun to cruise the lake when it is smooth!

If you all enjoyed this post, be sure to leave a comment and check out the archives for a whole lot more of the great adventures in the great outdoors, and loads of tips and articles to make your next trip, hopefully, more productive and fun! I hope you all like the new look of the site and Please, give me some feedback, good or bad it all helps me to make things more exciting and more enjoyable for you all, here, at "Kenny's Great Outdoors!"

See Ya out there, and good luck with your next outdoor adventure!

Wade Fishing - Enjoyable, And Rewarding!

I haven't been doing much fishing as of late, due to catching up on all the things on my "honey do" list, you know, honey do this, and honey do that! Anyway, I finally caught them up,and checked them all off as I completed them.

Recently, the weather here in Missouri has been hot and humid! I finished my list, and was hot and soaked from perspiration, which can make a guy downright offensive, if you catch my drift. I grabbed my ultra light and a few lures, and headed for my favorite spot on the Piney River to do some wade fishing!

I immediately dove in and submersed my entire body, clothes and all and washed that stench off of me and then proceeded to fish a section of about a mile of pretty fast moving water! I had tied on a beetle spin and was belly button deep in nice cool water and was feeling just fine! Now mind you I caught several nice goggle eye, and some real nice small mouth bass!

Just as the sun was setting and the temperature started cooling down, I tied on a top water lure called a Jitterbug! I would stay with this lure until well after dark. Hoot owls were hooting, and coyotes started their thing howling and all, and the tree frogs were screaming for rain, some say! Bull frogs were yelling and all the night sounds of the outdoors came to life!

About 45 minutes after dark I caught a real nice smally, and was putting him on the stringer with the other 12 nice goggle eye, and was totally concentrating on this as I didn't want to lose this 21 inch smally! When I got the smally secured on the stringer, I lit up a cigarette, I know, this is a bad vice of mine that I am trying to do away with, but for me it will take time.

I was working my way slowly back to the truck and caught a few more nice goggle eye and bass and released them as I already had enough for a nice fish fry for my wife and I. When all of a sudden I stepped off a ledge and into a deep hole of water, you know, over my head and now I was swimming for shallower water. After dark when you are wet, it tends to get a little chilly and I was starting to shiver a little bit,but, still proceeded to fish to the truck!

About 100 yds before the truck , I had to wade thru a little eddie, and it was really quiet, I stopped to light up another smoke, which, when I am wading , I keep in a water proof zip lock bag! I lit up and because of the bright light and then, practically pitch black night, I couldn't see a thing, so I remain still, until my eyes readjusted to the dark. About the same time, a loud splash about 3 foot from me made me jump out of my skin. A beaver had been swimming up the river and practically ran into me.

I scared him and he scared the @%$& out of me for a second! I swallowed my heart back down into my chest and laughed so loud, that you could of heard me for a country mile! Then he smacked his tail again on the other side of me and got me again!

What a night, I totally enjoyed myself, got a good cool bath and caught a good mess of river fish! When I got home I cleaned my fish, and the wifey cooked them up, and I believe, that was the best fish I had ever eaten! My wife says That I say that every time we cook fish! ;-) I think she's right! She also said that I smelled better too! Can't wait until next time , but I guess I will have to!

So until next time, try your luck at an enjoyable evening, wade fishing, It really is super fun, and is a great way to cool off on those hot summer evenings! Oh yeah, when I got home a hot shower was necessary to knock off the chill of the Big Piney River. You wouldn't think you would get chilled on a 85 degree evening in June, But, it is worth it! The Piney is spring fed and is cold any time of the year!

Big Piney RIver - Fish Are Biting Good!

Took a day off from fishing to do some work......not really, I just went fishing! Bet I had you going though! ;-) But I just took the day off and hit the "Big Piney" river! I have told you about her many times! I have a lot of good old memories of this old river from about 8 yrs old until now! That's a long time and many float trips ago!

This old river is full of goggle eyes, and small mouth bass and it has a good population of large mouth bass too! I just grabbed the canoe and put in the river at the mason bridge access on hwy 32 west of Licking, Missouri. I floated down to the slab town access, which is roughly 10 or 11 miles on the river. It's a beautiful float trip and the scenery is out of this world!

I took only my 2 ultra lights and a box of light or small lures! I tied on a beetle spin with a brown twister. and shoved off to a day of just me and nature. Now this story kind of takes a twist because I am going to tell you about the trip, and also explain what I believe is good conservation. Most of the fish I caught were still full of eggs and I noticed the large mouth bass where on nests in the backups!

I have watched this old river grow and change in many ways over the last 47 years and believe me when I say, there has been a time or two when I was very concerned about the old river and her fish population. Today it was catch and release, just have fun and kinda just take a census of the river, once again.

I caught goggle eyes and small mouth bass all day steady and the bite was real good all day! I caught several keeper goggle eye. Now here is a point that I want to get across, They implemented this creel size a few years back, and the fishing was ruined, it seemed to me and others. But the conservation had biologist taking surveys of the fish caught and they came up with this.

They also did this with small mouth bass and found the same thing!
they implemented a creel size on the small mouth bass and basically made it a catch and release stream. Now when I was a kid there was lots of great big goggle eyes and bass, But I had witnessed without realizing, that the river was Not the same. Gigging season you could see all of the piney and fish were small and far and few between!

Now in a relatively short time the rivers fish population is better by far and getting better each year after the spawn! I caught close to a hundred nice goggle eyes, and 50 or 60 small mouth bass with a lot of the small mouth between 1ft and 23 inches. These river smallies are a blast to battle on an ultra light, they just seem to go where they want to go!

I will support these creel size limits and because I see it at work, I watched a bountiful river, go down hill and then back up hill, only because of a careful watch eye,local fishermen and conservation and biologists working together to ensure the future of our lakes and streams! While I don't agree with all of the conservation activities, This one is right on!

I had a wonderful day once again, and learned a little bit more about myself and what makes me do and think about being a conservationist and doing my part to contribute to the future generations of fishermen! If nothing else, just returning and maintaining nature and its wildlife, which I feel is the responsibility of all fishermen, and anyone who cares! If we respect our rivers and streams then nature will in turn reward us with her beauty!

Looking forward to the next adventure on the old piney, and once again she logged a good trip in my journal and I know there will be many more, if the good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise!

So, Until next time, Keep your hooks wet and your lines tight, and remember to practice and maintain good boat safety!

Truman Lake - Bass Fishing Fun!

The weather here in Missouri is still doing its thing, some days are nice and some days are rainy and if you can catch the water color when it's right then you can have a fairly decent day! Tuesday, Jerry and I went to Truman Lake and the plan was 2 days!

We hit it hard and caught several large mouth on the deep running "fat free shad" believe it or not this lure is one of my old reliable bass getters! Pearl white colored "fat free shad" by Bill Dance is a lure I go to, and I would put it up against any crank bait on the market!

We caught bass on it all day long until about 3 pm! The bass was running small but we managed several 3 or more pounders! We caught around 40 bass. We liked 2 for our limit and moved to another good spot and I tied on a "Zara Spook!" It was a good call as soon caught a nice 7 lb bass and lost 2 more good ones! One broke my line and stole my spook! We watched him try for 15 minutes trying to get that spook out of his lip and finally threw that spook at Jerry and hit him right in the chest!

Jerry said that the bass was throwing it at me and missed! I am just glad it hit Jerry instead of me. He now has a few holes in his shirt where he had to cut the shirt to get my spook back! I think he still is pouting about that , but he will soon get over it! Jerry was tossing a glass shad rap and when it hit the water , the water and lure simply exploded and Jerry was wearing another lure in his already damaged shirt. I was of course, laughing my butt off when something blew up on my spook and off it went!

He bent my pole double, and was stripping off line with little or no resistance, and I yelled to Jerry "Grab the net!" A huge striper had snagged me and was not in the mood to stop! Now my ambassador will hold close to 300 yds of 14 lb of Berkley big game line and he was getting past the half way mark and then the line went slack! I told Jerry he came off and started reeling it in and when I got caught up to the slack, he took off again and darned near took my rod and reel with him!

And then, the line went slack and that was it! He came off! Now those of you who keep up with my posts, know that this is starting to become a habit of mine this year. These Missouri stripers are kicking my butt this year! Well enough pouting we got up this morning and started fishing again. Now if you remember earlier I said it was a 2 day trip plan, well , guess what?

Today the wind and rain provided by a northern front, was tolerable at best. It was windy, wet and the wind chill was down right COLD! Not as in freezing, but it was cool enough to make your butt pucker up to the seat and you would shiver and shake when you would rung across the lake! We fished till lunch and only caught 4 keepers and trailered the boat and pointed that old Blazer into the wind and came home!

So to sum it all up if the weather cooperates you can catch a lot of good fish, and of course you can have loads of fun either way, but it sure is a lot more fun when you catch! The bass loved the spook and the fat free shad, we didn't use much else, but then why would you change lures, if the lures you have on are working? ;-)

Oar Fish- Fish Or Chinese Dragon?

I ran across an interesting photo and video on "Oar fish" This is very interesting and down right creepy if you ask me! Just another good reason for me not to swim in the ocean!

You can google search and find interesting stuff on these creatures, or fish is probably the more technical word, I also search it on you tube, there are a lot of videos too!

Do you really have to swim that close to these things to enjoy them? Not me, this is close enough for me!

Hope you all enjoy!

I REALLY do believe they need a bigger boat?!!!

Be sure to watch this short video and you will, like myself, learn something, I am sure!

Truman Bass Fishing - Excellent!

It's been a while since my last post, it's not from the lack of material to post, just a case of "writers block" is all! Seems like I can post a story , but when I sit down to write, a big fat "nothing" so rather than fight it I just hang loose until it comes easy!

Hope you all had a good "memorial weekend" I did, but I didn't do anything but watch the cardinals play baseball. I hate to fight the big 3 day crowds at the lakes and streams. I pretty well fish during the week when most people have to work. So it's really not a necessity to fish, during these high fishing pressure week ends!

Tuesday, I went to "Truman" and had a real successful fishing trip! There was a lot of action on suspending rogue, and we caught 12, 2 - 3 lb large mouth! We probably caught 50 or 60 bass and the 12 we kept were the biggest. We caught no big fish, but we had a blast!

Wednesday we decided to catch the whites , if we could find them! We had noted Tuesday that the whites surfaced in a few locations where we were bass fishing, and decided to give them a try! We trolled most of the morning and did manage to catch 9 nice whites and one 8lb hybrid! We started hitting the flats and humps, late in the afternoon and we caught several big whites on white roadrunners.

We were fishing this long submersed point and the whites started surfacing around us! You know, like pirahnas, boiling the shad, and scared the" *&^%" out of us! We caught 2 nice stripers and 12 nice whites, and then it was over. It is truly amazing at the action during a big school of stripes and hybrids, surfacing, it is a free for all, and you can catch a lot quick, if you're in the right place when it happens!

Fishing is great all over the area lakes, between rises, and muddy conditions, with all the rainfall. We would gladly send some of this rain to other places, as we have had more than enough, and some aren't getting any rain. If you can get out and get to fishing , you will catch fish.

Keep your hooks wet and boat safely, please practice catch and release, only keep what you can clean and eat!

Missouri Lake - Fishing Report

Here are just a few area lake fishing reports as of May 1, 2009
Fishing has been great, considering our wet weather, and several fronts moving through the Missouri lake regions!

Lake Of The Ozarks

Water Level: 658.83 with light generation. Lake level should be around 659 over the weekend. Rain fall over an inch should raise that some. Truman lake 713.5 and rising fast.

Water temps: 60-67 degrees

Dam area: This part of the lake is clearing up fast now that they stopped generating heavy. Fish are spawning in the pockets. The bigger fish are holding on the little pea gravel secondary points leading into those pockets. They can be caught on carolina rigged and texas rigged plastics. Any of your favorite plastic baits will do. Bass are not that picky. The trick is getting it right in front of their nose. The smaller males are shallower and the bigger females are in the 6'-8' range.

Glaize. Clear to Stained. The fish are relating to pea gravel points leading into pockets is these area also. These areas are the favorite carolina rigging places. Other good spots are pea gravel flats that have scattered brush on them. Fish are 3'-8' deep on these secondary points and flats. On the steeper banks pre spawn fish can be caught on spinnerbaits and crankbaits such as the wiggle wart. Channel bank swings have been good places to use those lures.

Nianguas: Clear to Stained and in some spots very muddy. The Niangua’s have been warm for a while. And the fish have been spawning here for a while also. Carolina rigged and texas rigged plastics have been best. Fish them down to the 6'-8' range on the pea gravel at the ends of channel banks and mouths of small pockets. In cloudy or rainy conditions mix a spinnerbait in with that and you may draw some bigger strikes.

Osage River. Stained to Muddy. They slowed the flow of water in the Osage and this should settle that main river down and the water will clear a little. The fish have been spawning for some time in the Osage. They have moved to pea gravel banks and are doing their thing. Carolina rigged plastic baits on the sloping points and pea gravel flats. Texas rigged plastics are best around docks and steeper banks. Now not all fish spawn at the same time. There are too many fish for that. The go in shifts. And the shifts start on the new moon cycles. There are still plenty of pre spawn females that can be taken on spinnerbaits, jigs and crankbaits still. Look for them on the deeper banks.

Norfork Lake, Arkansas

The lake level is 554.2 which is a little over two foot above nromal pool of 552. The water temperature is in the upper 50's to the mid 60's.

The main lake is clear and back in the creeks the water has some color to it. The stripers are still hitting swimbaits,soft jerkbaits and stickbaits. Throw a stickbait after it gets dark.

The bass have been hitting jigs,crankbaits and spinnerbaits if there is some wind. A few walleye have been hitting stickbaits at night.

Bull Shoals Lake

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 656.56 feet MSL.

Water temperatures in the 60- to 65-degree range in the backs of creeks and 58 to 60 degrees on the main lake. Walleye are being caught in the evenings and early mornings on stick baits fished around main-lake points and pockets.

During the day, try live bait a little deeper around productive points and pockets. Largemouth bass have moved to spawning areas.

When it’s windy, try stick baits, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. If it’s calm, a Carolina-rigged or mojo-rigged 6-inch lizard or 8-inch finesse worm will work well.

Smallmouth and Kentucky bass are spawning. Try jigs, tubes and Carolina rigs around slightly deeper gravel areas for these fish. Crappie are slow.

Table Rock Lake

Kimberling City Area: The spawn is in full swing in the mid-lake area, several fish are locked on to beds and be caught with typical sight fishing methods; white tubes, lizards and craws will draw strikes from fish guarding nests. For those not wishing to sight fish look for post spawn fish to be holding on secondary points near spawning pockets from 3’ – 20’ deep. Split shot rigged lizards and fish doctors, Jewel spider jigs and shaky head worms are all effective in these areas. While it hasn't taken off yet, the famed post spawn topwater bite will kicking in soon; spooks, sammys and red fins will all be effective during low light hours.



James River: The spawn is further along in the James River; several fish can still be found on beds but post spawn conditions have started to take over from the mid river up to Cape Fair. A variety of patterns have been effective with the water being a little high and stained; there are several fish holding in the newly flooded bushes flipping Eakins jig and craw combos in to the bushes, casting weightless Chompers salty sinkers and flukes around the bushes and casting Chompers McCutchen spinnerbaits around shallow bushes on windy banks have all been productive. Early and late spooks, sammys and red fins have been producing schooling fish on secondary points.



White River: Fish are in all stages of the spawn through out the White River. In the Kings the spawn is the farthest along with several fish guarding fry in coves around standing timber and laydowns, others are still on the nests guarding eggs and still more have moved out onto points and are suspending recovering from the spawn. The fish on points can be targeted with spooks, sammys and red fins early and late and Jewel spider or football jigs as the sun comes up. Don’t ignore the cover in the water, several good fish have come off of laydowns and flooded bushes in the shallows of the Kings this past week. From Baxter to Campbell point more fish are locked on the beds and can be taken with traditional sight fishing techniques. Shaky heads and split shot rigs are producing on points near spawning coves from 5’ – 20’ deep, target any cover that is on these points. Fish can be caught in the flooded bushes as well, Eakins jigs and Ultra tubes have been working well in these areas.



Dam Area: The dam area has been the toughest end of the lake over the past week; water temperatures have been slow to rise and while there are fish on beds they have been harder to catch than in the upper portions of the lake. Split shot rigs and shaky heads have been producing around spawning areas from 3’ – 12’ deep, look for small “bumps” or pockets in spawning areas to hold more fish than other areas, also any wood or rock cover within a spawning cove deserves attention. As the water warms the fish will spawn and sight fishing will become a more predictable pattern.

Spear Fisherman Shoots Self In Head!

A Brazilian man who came to a hospital with a spear stuck in his head after a diving accident says he is done with underwater fishing.

Three days after doctors surgically removed a 6-inch spear from his brain, Emerson de Oliveira Abreu said he would never do any more spear fishing, again!

Abreu said that he felt "a sharp pain" after his shot apparently ricocheted off a rock and entered his head above his left eye.

He said the pain was unbearable every time he touched the spear or when the ambulance hit bumps in the road on the way to the hospital.

The spear fisherman is in stable condition and expected to go home in 1 to 2 weeks.

Boy, we think hooking a thumb is a bad day! I can't even imagine how that felt. I find it hard to believe he shot himself in the head! I am glad he will be alright though! Adds a new twist to fishing safety!

So until next time boat safely! Keep your hooks wet, and your line tight! See ya out there!

Rainbow Trout At Montauck !

With all the rain and cold weather, the lakes are high and dirty! No lake fishing until it warms up and clears up, which should be soon!
That is if it doesn't rain for awhile!

Went to Montauk, to try my luck at catching some rainbow, this morning and low and behold it was raining and cold! It wasn't raining hard , just a steady drizzle. One thing about them rainbows the rain and cold doesn't seem to bother them too much.

The branch was at a good flow and fairly clear, kind of surprising with all the rain as of late! The horn went off and the bite was on and it took a whole hour for me to catch my 4 rainbows!
I caught 13 fish and kept 4 real nice bows, between 15 and 17 inches long! My friend Jerry went along and he caught 4 bows of which 2 of them made the lunker board! He caught a 5lb bow and a 4.75 bow! Wow he put it on me this time!

That's one thing about trout, they don't seem to mind cold, and wet weather, near as much as I do. It was just a little uncomfortable for about 45 minutes or so and then it warmed up and quit raining, that is when we got in the truck and rolled up the window, and turned on the heat! Boy, that sure felt good!

I was using "Velveeta" cheese and Jerry was using some kind of homemade bait that he makes, seemed to be the trick today! I am going to have to sneak around and find out his recipe. He caught some really nice ones! Some fishing buddy, wouldn't even share his bait with me! I won't forget that for a long time. He knows I will get even, that's part of the game we have!

I love to catch them rainbows on my ultra lite! It is quite a challenge trying to catch a big rainbow on 2lb test! It is even a greater challenge trying to tie on those miniature treble hooks! I can't even see the holes, let alone see to tie the 2 lb test line.

So until next time, keep your lines tight and your hooks wet! See ya out there! Good luck and lots of success on your next trip!

Hot Day Bass Fishing - Lake of the Ozarks!

Hello, and I hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend! The weather as of late has been colder and lots of rain! But, I did manage to get in a day of fishing last Friday at the Lake of the Ozarks. Travis and I started off looking to get bit by tying on a shad rap and trolling for some whites! This seemed to be the ticket as we quickly ( 45 minutes) caught 16 whites! They were nice sized whites too! Then as if you had flipped a switch they quit biting at all!

So we got out the topo and found a good spot or two and headed out for a long boat ride! It was close to noon and we found our spot and I tied on a Rat L Trap! First cast , boom, a big one was on and running fast! My reel was squealing and I knew I had tied into a big striper! Wow, what a fight, he would let me get him to the boat and then he would strip off line again!

Now about 15 minutes into the battle, my arms are aching and numb, and about exhausted, the big fish came up to the boat, and us with a net ready, he decided this was enough and he dove and took off! I am exhausted and ready to win this battle or else, and he decided enough was enough! I have no clue except maybe he tore the hook out of his mouth, because I noticed that only one treble was in his lip, apparently not good enough! My line went slack! BUMMER! Travis estimated the striper to be about 30 lbs! We got a good look 3 or 4 times!


Well after a few choice words, a cold soda and a sandwich, I decided that I would get" sweet revenge" by assaulting the large mouth bass! I tied on a black backed, chrome, wiggle wart! This is a very popular bait on Lake of the Ozarks! They always produce lots of bass for me!

I made about a dozen casts when I got bit hard! I got the victory on the big large mouth , guessed him to be about 6 lbs, he actually weighed 5.75 lbs! I caught bass pretty regularly and kept five more bass that averaged 2 -3 lbs!

Travis was using a black backed, chrome, rogue and caught 4 fish in the 3 - 4 lb range. Not really a bad day on the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks! Will definitely have to go back to Lake of the Ozarks soon , when the weather breaks and gets warmer! Now in regards to the "big one that got away, there will be another day, today he is the victor! I lost this one but he won't forget Travis and I and he WILL recognize my boat if he sees it again!

So hey everyone , keep your lines tight and your hooks wet! See ya out there!

If you enjoyed this article feel free to leave a comment! Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't, and thanks everyone for reading this and my other articles. Look around in my archives and enjoy!