Needemp

I have a tx there too. Post spawn big time. There should be some late prespawners staging, but probably not enough to bother targeting. Last week, they said there were bass beds behind nearly every dock.

It all depends. I went into BPS and Cabelas and messed with both. The larger screen is easier to see. Smaller things show up a little better. I think you need to honestly evaluate yourself. How good of a fisherman you are. I know guys that have a Si, but they still don't know how to fish. If you are really good, then I would upgrade because it could help you a lot. But if not, go with the cheaper.

What parts of the Meremac do you fish?

We headed to the lake Thursday evening. I already knew what the fish were doing and about what stage they were in from those that had been down there the weekend before till Tuesday. We started fishing Friday morning at about 730. Immediately went to the areas that I figured they would be and I had a 13 pound limit in the first 2 hours. I would catch a few fish to check the quality and quantity and then leave the area alone. It was an all day bite. I ended with somewhere on the plus side of 18 pounds. Others reported the same success. Saturday was a different story. It started out well. I had a 3 and a 2 pounder in the first 15 casts. I then caught a 2.5 about 45 minutes later. Then everything changed. The bite turned into a thump. They would hit it and when I would swing they were gone. I even had a few heavy bites that when I swung, they would be on for a second or two, then they would come unbuttoned. It became very difficult finding the bigger females. I worked hard the last several hours, but the high pressure after the front turned my fish off or moved them. I only prefished for 2 days, 2 weeks ago and the day before the Tx. All the areas I had were shallow areas. I also discovered that most of my docks were either not fishable, or in a terrible location. I did end up with my final 2.5 and others that were chunky, but short, relating to the docks. But I didn't have the proper back up plan for deeper areas. I fished some, but they didn't produce. The final 2 hours were the bass just bumping my bait and not coming close to getting hooked. I talked to others that said the same thing about the bass just bumping their lures. I also talked to one of the guys in the club that usually finishes high, and we both had the same pattern on Friday and the same struggles on Saturday. Bottom line, I didn't make the right choices and I didn't win. But I did finish 6th or 7th (I think) out of 54 individuals. My son was not use to waking up that early and he was cold, so he didn't fish well. He also was trying to learn the jig and so he was at a disadvantage there. But he learned that you can have a bad day anytime. It is up to him to rebound from it and try next time. He really wants to give it a try again. I was proud of him.

I did ok. I had 4 keepers for 9 pounds 15 ounces. I had a short, fat fish that I could barely get to bump, but I didn't want to take the chance. Otherwise I would have had a limit. It took 28 pounds/10 fish to win. My son did not catch anything, but is eager to fish again. He had a rough day. That is the sum of it. I will post again in detail for those that are interested.

That makes sense. I figured if there was even a chance of a possible WR, it would be known amongst everyone. Oh well

A 7/24 staff member has claimed that the AP reported a 25 pound 12 ounce bass has been caught from El Salto. I checked online and couldn't find anything about it. I have no reason to distrust 7/24, but I figured I would have heard something about it by now. Does anyone know about this? Here is the link: http://www.724outdoors.com/Forums/ShowMessage.asp?ID=4292&catid=48

Thanks guys. He is excited. He sent me a text counting down the hours and minutes to the take-off. I was worried that he wasn'tgoing to be intersested in fishing too much, but he is. He is a good kid, even when he is a goof-ball

I will be fishing my first Tx in over 2 years this weekend with my 12 year old son. Very excited to get back in it. I got very addicted to it. 8.5 hours of competing. There is nothing like it in all of fishing IMO. That first keeper. Then the second. Man, I think the reason I am addicted is because you get to measure yourself against others. And a pattern and a keeper become 100 fold more significant in a Tx than just fishing for fun. Prefished LOZ and found several areas holding quality females. They were still staging. I am almost positive the routes they took and the flats they will use for this Tx. My 12 year old is very excited and knowledgeable at such an early age. He makes me proud. This could be a good weekend

Haven't heard reports from this weekend yet, but the guys I know haven't done squat w bass.

Was down there last weekend on Horseshoe Bend and the Gravois mouth. The big females were still main lake oriented. The males had moved back to the migration routes and even some to the spawning flats. The females should be currently on the migration routes and spawning flats. I have a tourney down there Saturday, so I will let you know.

What is it?

PM sent Lincoln is a beautiful lake. Haven't been in a few years, but the bass were small back then, too. Saw an 8 pounder caught out of there and kept by some elderly guy. Also there was a lot of fishing pressure in that clear, clear water. If I was going to head in that direction, I would go up to Whiteside. Good bass in that water. Used to be Lilly pads there too. I'm sure they are still there.

Haven't been for several years. My dad grew up playing over there. But it's not real good catching.

Yes you can. I fished from shore all the time. That was for about 20 years. Fishing from shore is an art in itself. Being quiet, sometimes casting angles can be interesting. Personally, I use to like to fish where there was some tree clutter on land. Open shores get hit by everybody. So if you can maneuver through brush and other obstacles, you improve your chances. Also, be sure to be creative. The walkable, local shorelines can get hit pretty hard. Bass get very conditioned. I have personally experienced the fish getting conditioned to specific lures and not biting them. I had a public pond with a bunch of nice bass. They wouldn't hit SB or CB, or any commonly used lures. I would catch one here or there, but nothing consistent. So I started throwing a Yum Crawbug one evening and I caught quite a few off of these 2 little points that are right next to each other. I had more than a dozen keepers. Went back the next night and they wouldn't touch the Crawbug. So I threw a GY Senko. It was my first time ever fishing a stickbait. I immediately started catching them off the same spot I was fishing the Crawbug at. Two nights later, I went back with both the Senko and Crawbug but I didn't get bit. So I started throwing a Storm Wildeye swimbait and, again, I whacked 'em that night. A week later, I couldn't hardly get a bite on any of those 3 baits and I started throwing a Chatterbait and caught some better quality bass. None of those 4 baits were ever as productive on those spots for the rest of the year. My point is that shore bass get used to the same lures. If you change it up, and try to fish in harder-to-walk areas, you can find productive shore fishing in and near St Louis.

Nothing new from me. But it's one of the very few places you can fish from your boat this close to home. If you have time, hit it up. You will have a good day here and there.

Going down with the boy this coming weekend and wondering if anyone fished down there? We will be between mile marker 6 to 14 and maybe the Gravois arm as well. Looking for water clarity, transitional movements and presentations if possible.

I use home made ones with Mustad hooks, Strike King KVD's, but my favorite is the quick change BPS Tungsten SB. Changing those blades real quick like that is awesome. You get the extra quick change pieces, put all possible blades on an viola, there ya go.

Hey, I want to put this out there. On weeknights I fish locally here in St. Louis from a boat. I have a couple of guys I plan on fishing with, but I would like to meet a lot of different fisherman. It's weeknights starting anywhere from 430 to 530. That gives us a couple of hours of fishing. Let me know if you are interested.

Hey, I fish the Meremac on weeknights as well. Best local fishing there is IMO. Baldwin is plenty big. In fact, it is so big, that if the winds are too strong, they say it can be dangerous to put a boat in. I haven't experienced that yet, but I believe them.

Simpson has been a very very tough lake. I fished it a lot a couple years back. There are not a lot of bass in there.

Check the forecast. Anything over 15mph, forget about it. It is a schooling bass lake. When you find a school of them, you can whack 3 to 4 pounders on nearly every cast, with the occasional 5 pounder. Of course, you don't always find those schools. But I do usually find one of those schools every other trip. That's more than I can say for LOZ, MT or any other place I fish. I went this Saturday and had 4 prespawn fatties over 19". My smallest one was the smallest LM I have ever caught out of there. It was 16" and I weighed it just out of curiosity. 2.2 pounds. Unfortunately, the best areas of the lake are off shore. That's when you find the schools. Some areas are directly in the middle. Wind that high eliminates those spots. I obviously don't have that lake figured out yet, but what I have found has kept me going through the winter. Let me know how you do if you decide to go.

Honestly, since I have discovered Baldwin Lake, I haven't been to Coffeen. I haven't caught a LM smaller than 17 inches out of Baldwin and I have only caught one SM under 17 there. It has much bigger bass and it fits my fishing style better than Coffeen. But the few times I went to Coffeen in the Fall, I did fairly well. The grass was back. It was thick like it use to be. I have a theory why the fishing was bad. A few years back, when the water levels dropped 6 to 8 feet below normal pool, it obviously killed all the exposed grass. When the water levels returned to normal back in '08 (I think), it took a long time for the grass to grow back in that 1 to 7 foot range. I saw very little grass in '08 and '09. I think because of that. it pulled most of the bass out of the shallows and on to deeper structure. I believe it also forced the bass to follow the shad in open water. Therefore, it appeared that the bass were gone. But in reality they were roaming in open water. Now that the grass is back, I think the bass are too. But this is only my theory. I don't know for sure.

Hey, nothing wrong with farm ponds. Sometimes the action can be better in ponds than on the big lakes. I fish Twain and LOZ mostly. In the winter I fish Coffeen and Baldwin. On weeknights after work I fish the river.

I'm 10 minutes from you. Where do you fish?