senile1

I have fished for Largemouth bass most of my life. I have caught some smallies and some spots at Table Rock and Stockton Lakes in Missouri, but I have not made it a goal to specifically fish for these species, since the lakes in my immediate area do not contain these fish. Here's the deal. I'm really getting a desire for fishing some smallmouth streams in Missouri as the seclusion of these streams cannot be rivaled by any of our lakes. Anyone who knows anything about the Missouri Ozarks and the area around the Mark Twain National Forest knows that we have a bunch of smallmouth streams in those areas. I've been doing some research and I've settled on fishing a section of the Gasconade River that is known for good smallmouth fishing, both in numbers and in size. My plan is to do this during the week to avoid most of those who party and float the streams on the weekend. I have some questions for all of you smallmouth aficionados. (1) I plan to rent a jon boat or a canoe for these expeditions as I currently only own a bass boat which I'm thinking is too large for some areas of the Gasconade except for the last few miles before it empties into the Missouri River. I assume that I should probably bring a trolling motor with me to use for holding the boat in place when I encounter specific holes and eddies to fish? Any suggestions in this area are appreciated. (2) Due to my job responsibilities I will probably not be able to hit the stream until June at the earliest, since this is a good 4 - 5 hour drive from my home and I want to spend a few days there. I have some assumptions about where to look for the fish and what to use during that time period but I would like to know what you, the experienced smallmouth stream fishermen, would use for lures and where you would be looking for the fish. (In early June our lake water temperatures are generally in the mid to upper 70s and the largemouth spawn usually ends at some point in May, depending on how warm it has been. I assume our smallmouth would be at some point in the post-spawn as well? Also, most of these streams are fed by springs so I assume the water would be a bit cooler than our lake temperatures at that time? Hopefully, Southern Missouri will have normal water levels and will not be flooded like last year.) (3) What type of rod and reel would you use under these conditions? Anything else you guys can think of that I would need to know will be greatly appreciated. And if there is anyone out there who is familiar with these Missouri streams, I'm all ears. Thanks.

"respectful" is the key word. As long as we feel that is the case, threads are generally left open. An exception is redundancy, which sometimes results in closing, too. We also have a few topics that are simply old and stale. Does Senko vs everything come to mind? Anytime you feel like you have been shortchanged on a thread, send me a PM if you like. We are here to help, not hinder and member input is always welcome. -Kent a.k.a. roadwarrior Global Moderator p.s. Losing a lure on the first cast just frys me, too! You are correct and that's exactly why I strategically placed that word in the sentence. Unfortunately, human behavior being what it is, respectful debates devolve into verbal fights in many cases.

I really like BassResource.com and will always enjoy it just the way it is, but I totally agree with you Daniel. An intense, respectful debate can be a learning experience if we allow it to be.

Come on, Paul! Every story you tell ends the same. Don't you think we're getting tired of the big fish stories? Give us a break. Geez. Seriously, Dude, you are killing 'em! I'm making plans to come for a visit. Do you remember the movie with Bill Murray, "What About Bob?" It's going to be the same. I'll be popping up everywhere.

These are awesome! Number 4 is scary! I would hate to have been one of the passengers dropped off at the institution.

Fantastic news! Congratulations!

Back in the 70s not long after I had first started bass fishing, I was fishing one of the many ditches that were dug during the early part of the 1900s to drain the Southeast Missouri area swamplands. I tossed a floating rapala across the ditch to some grass growing next to a deep hole, and let it sit still as I usually do, but I had a cut on my finger and the band-aid had come loose. I layed my rod down and adjusted the band-aid so my rapala sat there a little bit longer than usual. When I picked the rod back up I gave the rapala a quick jerk and the water just exploded! My rod bent big-time and my heart was quickly in my throat. I had never caught a huge bass before and this was definitely not the regular-sized fish I was used to catching. The water was somewhat stained but I could see the fish diving to the middle of the ditch for a bit and to my young eyes, it looked huge. I was standing about four feet above the ditch and below me there was a ledge of mud and muck that I was able to pull the fish onto. As soon as I pulled it up the lure came out of its mouth. I leaped down to the ledge and in my haste and youthful enthusiam, I grabbed the fish with both hands on each side rather than by the lip. The fish squirted from my hands into the water and was gone. I'll never forget that fish as she was the first large bass I had ever hooked. I don't know how big she was but I had caught some 3 lb'ers by that time and she was noticeably larger than any of those. The sad part of the story is that many of these ditches are no longer good fisheries. The chemicals and silt from the surrounding farmlands have all but ruined the fishing on many of them, including this one. I'll always remember this ditch as it once was.

Excellent! Thanks, Glenn.

From Merriam-Wester's dictionary: 1bream Pronunciation: \[ch712]brim, [ch712]br[ch275]m\ Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural bream or breams Etymology: Middle English breme, from Anglo-French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German brahsima bream, Middle High German brehen to shine Date: 14th century 1: a bronze-colored European freshwater cyprinid fish (Abramis brama) ; broadly : any of various related fishes 2 a: any of various marine fish (family Sparidae) related to the porgy called also sea bream b: any of various freshwater sunfishes (Lepomis and related genera) ; especially : bluegill I have a feeling that bream did not originally refer to the bluegill, but due to common usage in this country, it is now an accepted definition. I could be wrong though.

Welcome! BTW, where are you from in Southeast Missouri? I hail from just above the bootheel in the Sikeston, Charleston, East Prairie area. I haven't lived there in years but it's where I learned to fish.

Welcome! You sound like a man after my own heart . . . . plastics, jigs, and spinnerbaits with a dash of everything else on the side.

Speaking of amber I would choose a lighter amber if possible. I wear prescription polarized sunglasses and they are sweet but I believe my amber lenses are a bit too dark. In the evenings just before sunset when the shadows fall over the lake they aren't very useful. During the rest of the day they are phenomenal.

I have fished Booyah and Strike King spinnerbaits for so long that I hardly try anything else. I have a few Terminator and War Eagle spinnerbaits in my box and they appear to be built better but I still catch more on the Booyahs and the Strike Kings. I have a feeling that is due to my comfort and confidence level with these more than anything. Also, I fish areas where I lose a few spinnerbaits a year so a good bait that is fairly inexpensive is also an advantage when counting dollars and cents. I chose Booyah.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the community!

The thread on bass growth rate is a good one and I do remember it. My impression of the original post in this thread was that he already understands there is no clear-cut way to exactly match age and size in bass. I thought he was seeking some kind of ball park figure for an average bass in an average lake in his state, Michigan, with normal forage opportunities.

Limpinglogan, below is a link for an age to length comparison for bass in Northern Illinois which should be fairly similar to Southern Michigan. http://www.windycityfishing.com/bass_age_chart.htm To determine the weight that goes with the length you can use the BassResource.com weight calculator to get some estimates. http://www.bassresource.com/bassfishing/fishcalculator.html Or you can use this link which would give you a ballpark figure for the weight associated with a certain length. http://www.windycityfishing.com/bass_conversion_chart.htm

Roostertails are possibly one of the most underrated lures by bass fishermen and they catch other species as well. There are numerous ways to use them. You can fish them anywhere you would fish a crankbait. There are many ways to fish them: steady retrieve, stop and go, etc.

I've only tried the Shad but I'm with you. I'm starting to prefer it over my buzzbaits in a lot of situations. I'm buying some frogs and craws this week so I can't wait to see the results with them.

That fish has beautiful color! Nice Hawg!

Welcome!

Welcome to the community!

I had seen a couple of these before. Cool stuff!!

Great interview. So now we have Ike's pattern for the Classic. Cool! He communicates very well which, as some have already stated, makes him a good teacher in his seminars.

Welcome to our community, Basscat1102. If you need information on anything boating or fishing related, this is the place to go in the future, before you have any work performed. Sorry to hear about your misfortune.