Nick

Some of us dodged the bad storms today, and the streams got some very warm rain. Looks like the bite will return for 2011 for a week or so! I can't imagine how good that section below the power plant could be above Elk River. Dress warmly!

Go get 'em and let me know how you do!

Out on a limb here, but I'm not convinced that the high dollar glasses do a better job than the inexpensive ones. I have a pair of green tinted 580's from Costa, but can't use them effectively unless I'm in bright sun. For me any polarized amber or gray lens beats them most days. The ones under $20 seem to work just as well at cutting down the glareas those $200 ones. Guess I've tried about 30 different brands and half of them were probably made in the same far eastern factory.

Whittler, your stream sounds far differnt from the ones I'm used to.How long do you let the jig stay suspended without recasting? We go from a few inches deep to 18 feet deep in stretches. And often our dropoffs plunge nearly vertically. What is the visibility there? Ours ranges to about 8-10 feet normally in winter. We have a warm front on the way...Goodie!

I would still like to know the water temps, but Susky is right on with the sun, slow current, and shallow cover. Of course, if larger rocks are available out of current I'd check those out too with the mentioned tubes and rattle jigs. Even in the lower 40's a spinnerbait with a light head (1/4) and a fairly big #5 Colorado gold blade can be good with a black or standard white skirt. Fish it slowly fluttering it around all the cover repeating casts to the same area. Lots of times in these conditions, it takes a fish a couple of looks to get it to hit. I'd also use heavy line to slow the sink of the bait, and make sure I capiotalized on those few bites. There is an obvious reason why all the backwaters are being fished then, but if the water temps are rising into the 50's other areas besides the backwaters could be just as productive I would wager, particularly, if they are not being fished.

I've often wondered, River Rat, about your Mississippi RIver smallies in those low temps. We actually have slower holes in the Ozarks than you have in MN. Your currents tend to be more even throughout whereas we have absolute dead waters at times. Even so, the bite just stops when it's super cold. Once I tried it at 31 degree water temps, and what a mistake that was. Nearly got imprisoned by a huge drift of ice. There's nothing a float'n fly can do that a tiny jig fished on spinning tackle can't do in our streams, Whittler. Good to hear from you by the way! Because our bottom contours change abruptly, and we have so much wood cover, the floatin fly is just a very limited tool. We do so much better with out jigs contacting bottom. Conventionally fished, we can adjust the depth immediately as called for. That arcing back motion of the float'n fly just isn't that good of a tool down here. Can you catch them at 37 or 38 degrres with your fly?

Been doing the winter stream smallie thing since '82 and a few pretty hard and fast rules have evolved for me over that span. In the Ozarks, I fish 2-3 days per week unless extreme conditions prevail. I'm no fool. Water temps are the most important factor in my success or failure. The second most important factor is water color, and the third variable that must be controlled is current which I'll save for another day. For example, this December our water temps fell from 42 to 37 degrees. Guiding one day during the 42 degree water yielded 21 good smallies with 15 form 15-20 inches. Five days later the water temps dropped to 37 degrees and the river level fell about 4 inches. On that day we only managed 4 bites all day. That five degree drop really put the brakes on the bite, and the increased water visibility didn't help as it had cleared about one more foot for a total of 8 feet vis. I have seen river temps through the years pretty well dictate the bite. I have no idea how to catch smallies below 40 unless I'm fishing an underwater spring. I can go lighter, smaller and slower, but it doesn't really matter to the fish. Their activity diminshes. Conversely, give me 42-46 degree water with the right visibility, and I can catch them pretty well on demand. It's like night and day in terms of catching. Just putting these truths out that it's taken decades to learn for reference for any smallie chasers here in the middle latitudes. Any other views certainly appreciated. (By the way our Ozark strain of smallies don't quite act or look like the strain found north from Minnesota through the Great Lakes and New England so I don't know how those fish behave within the bounds of lower temps.

If you use a trailer with twiddling action like a Paca, the longer strands of silicone can kill its action. This may or may not make a difference to you or the fish, but if I think the fish want more movement in my jig a closer trim allows the trailer to twiddle more. I also agree with lightsout in his trimming approach. A tail cut straight across looks like nothing a bass would eat. In cold water, the jig sink rate needs to slow down esp. when fishing less than 15 feet deep. Use a lighter jig, heavier mono line, or more strands in your plastic trailer, or better yet, hair jig. The extent of trimming or lack of it needs to fit the conditions and fish's moods encountered. Don't be afraid to try longer and shorter skirts with different trailer types throughout the day. Darker/warmer water aggressive bass in heavy vegetation may prefer bulkier and longer length skirts generally speaking.

Apparently BPS/Browning must have improved their tackle bags since mine fell apart at the seams and zipper in '05. Please tell me who makes one that is waterproof. Nothing worse than having all sorts of wet stuff to deal with at the end of a long and wet tournament day. Thanks.

What's the usual water temps and how far down can you see a white lure? May have some hope for you if I know the specific conditions.

Brent, I do not advocate fishing hot weather events, however when water temps are below 60, I see lots of frisky bass returned to the water apparently in very good condition. If you have personal concerns, fish the early spring and fall events.

My neighborhood pond is just 3 acres, but it has seen populations of shad come and go through the years. Either some were brought in by birds or a fisherman with live bait dumped some in. I was amazed two summers ago to see shad swirling the surface off shore in June being pounded by bass. All during that summer the pond bass acted like roaming reservoir bass and fed in the middle of the pond, a very unusal sight! Anyway, a hard winter with lots of ice must have killed off the last of them, and now the bass are back to roaming the banks. Lots of fun while it lasted, so yes, shad can populate small bodies of water.

My neighborhood pond is just 3 acres, but it has seen populations of shad come and go through the years. Either some were brought in by birds or a fisherman with live bait dumped some in. I was amazed two summers ago to see shad swirling the surface off shore in June being pounded by bass. All during that summer the pond bass acted like roaming reservoir bass and fed in the middle of the pond, a very unusal sight! Anyway, a hard winter with lots of ice must have killed off the last of them, and now the bass are back to roaming the banks. Lots of fun while it lasted, so yes, shad can populate small bodies of water.

My neighborhood pond is just 3 acres, but it has seen populations of shad come and go through the years. Either some were brought in by birds or a fisherman with live bait dumped some in. I was amazed two summers ago to see shad swirling the surface off shore in June being pounded by bass. All during that summer the pond bass acted like roaming reservoir bass and fed in the middle of the pond, a very unusal sight! Anyway, a hard winter with lots of ice must have killed off the last of them, and now the bass are back to roaming the banks. Lots of fun while it lasted, so yes, shad can populate small bodies of water.

Boi9loing water, but take it slowly with a few dips of about 5-10 seconds at a time. Then repeat if necessary. I've messed up a bunch of bills. Turned some DD22's into Spiraling 6's. ;D ;D

I would put them within 75-100 feet of each other making a bit of a migration route to some tasty shallow feeding area if possible. If you have a "naked" flat close to deep water the trees planted along the break and a couple up on the flat would be my choice. No guarantees, but I've put out some trees tht turned out to be A-1 bass motels around some great feeding flats next to deep water and even on the breaks 5-15 feet leading to the deeper basin. You'll be surprised how quickly they get into these if they aren't coniferous trees.

I would put them within 75-100 feet of each other making a bit of a migration route to some tasty shallow feeding area if possible. If you have a "naked" flat close to deep water the trees planted along the break and a couple up on the flat would be my choice. No guarantees, but I've put out some trees tht turned out to be A-1 bass motels around some great feeding flats next to deep water and even on the breaks 5-15 feet leading to the deeper basin. You'll be surprised how quickly they get into these if they aren't coniferous trees.

I would put them within 75-100 feet of each other making a bit of a migration route to some tasty shallow feeding area if possible. If you have a "naked" flat close to deep water the trees planted along the break and a couple up on the flat would be my choice. No guarantees, but I've put out some trees tht turned out to be A-1 bass motels around some great feeding flats next to deep water and even on the breaks 5-15 feet leading to the deeper basin. You'll be surprised how quickly they get into these if they aren't coniferous trees.

Hope this post is o.k. with moderator. Anyone from St. Louis area interested in fishing Lake Ozarks Sunday(tomorrow) and Monday send me a p.m. Boat is already down there, and I have an extra bedroom for you. Targeting bass woith jerkbaits for starters. Returning Monday night.

20.294 inches and 4.437 pounds...just an approximation

Well, I got suckered into the latest and greatest tube style bait, but I think this one has potential. Little globes at the end of each tentacle do seem to make it appear and move differently than any other tubed I've seen. Really stands up nicely with a shakey head rig or the nail weights that Damiki sells. Unfortunately, the only place I've fished them is in my sink and the results were predictable. Youtube has a couple of vids check out if interested. I wondered how they are working for anyone who has actually used them.

Randy, Once in a BFL (Red Man) I drew out with a fellow that put so much golf tape on shoulders of his Rogue that it sank like a rock. He worked his Rogue very slowly along the bottom in 15-25 feet at Lake Ozarks at a Feb. event. He didn't win the tournament with me, but did win the previous day in another tournament with 25 pounds. He did lose at least 3 baits with me that day, and caught just 3 legal bass.

As a fellow Missourian, our tourneys can range from a few boats to well over 200. Depending on the circuit, most larger organizations have a fifteen or so official weigh in bags to handout to prevent long lines of fish swimming without much oxygen. If this is the case, after the tourney ends, park your boat but keep the aerator/recirculator running on max with your fish still inside the well, find and get in the "bag Line" which will be just off the weigh in podium to wait for an official weigh in bag. Once you put your fish in the bag hustle it back up to the weigh in line and look for aerated tanks to place the fish in. You'll see other anglers putting their fish in the tanks so follow their lead in adding oxygen tubes or just sticking the perforated bag into the oxygenated water. Once you weigh your fish in, you may be required to take them back into the lake for release, or they could be placed in a release boat.

They are both good choices. Al hit on something very important. The spray coating done correctly is highly advised by the Gore Company itself. If you are not treating your outer shell after extended use, you will probably get wet! Revivex is the recommended product and it is readily available (BPS). I would highly recommend its use following directions closely to get that old leaky suit functioning like new again before running out to buy a new one. Good simple project for winter.

Randy, You might be surprised by how many more bass you'll catch with a very slow sinking model. That bait may get down to 10-15 feet on a long cast, and that depth attained is also special. P.S. Don't forget your lure retriever!