Ozarkie

That is really easy. The lake has a diverse habitat. Each fish fills a niche' Smallies handle cooler water and a bit deeper in most cases,also different habitat in the lake. LMBass like warmer water such as the backs of coves for spawning and post spwan find a area with good ambush points. There are times when you will find all the fish in a narrow band of water above the thermocline. In many highland res. you will find walleye, smbass, spotted bass and LMbass along with crappie (both species) all in the same areas. Lakes change with season also. The Ozarks is in a tizzy this year, we have all the fish on beds all at once. I spent a night fishing on BUll Shoals till 4AM and found everything from smbass, Spotted Bass and LMBass all on beds, even crappie are on the beds. What I am not finding is sunfish in any numbers. This season is odd, for sure. Ozarkie

I did not jeer anyone for fishing solo, as I fish solo a lot. I timed myself Saturday at Norfork AR ramp nearest the dam. Took me five minutes to lauch from the time I started backing up to moving the truck to the parking area. Took about the same to load. On Tablerock last night it took 8 minutes as I missed the bow roller and had to back the truck in a 2nd time to center the boat on the trailer. There was noone else on the ramp last night. Saturday evening after I loaded the boat I pulled well away from the ramp to clearup the gear clutter and stow for travel. I just make it a point to have everything ready when I hit the ramp either way loading or unloading. All I have to do is back in and unload or back in and load the boat. But I did see a lot of people stowing gear and installing motor supports on the ramp. One man in a small aluminum boat was trolling back and forth in front of the boat ramp. Ozarkie

My Son and I hit the water a bit late, the water was the lowest I have seen it, bug hatches everywhere. I cannot identify the bugs, but there were several different type one ebing a black winged bug about 3/8 inch long just before dark, the fish went wild on these. Davy Wootons (man you need a real cowboy hat) boat did very well, in several places, don't know what they were using but they were fly fishing and had a good day. My Son and I used everything in the tackle box to see what they would not hit. hell rainbows and browns were hitting yellow beetle spins, green jigs slamming storm cranking craws. Seemed there was almost nothing that the bows would not hit. I lost a nice brown at the boat on a Mepps, black blade, green spots and brown tail. When we pulled up tot he ramp I could not believe the number of trucks there, 13 all with boats, I figured the day was shot!!!! While there was no parking places and the shaols were a bit crowded there are planty of nice fish and in plenty of places where there are few people fishing. Low water, high water I can catch fish, you can too, just think a bit different!!!! There is a difference of how to catch fish at all water levels. Ozarkie

I use Power Bait Eggs mostly but rig them inn four or five stings, also use a #4 Eagle Claw Crappie hook, this allows the fish to be hooked in the mouth mostly. I also use large crank baits, CD-7 Rapalas and even Rattlin Rouges. I catch bigger fish on the Raps and Rouges. Seldom do I miss a week fishing for trout and always catch 25-30 trout releasing most of them. Now that I said that next trip I am due a skunk,lol. Ozarkie

Sounds like a grounding problem. I have several trailers all have a ground wire on the connector, white wire on autos and trucks. The wire should be grounded to the trailer with a screw, remove the screw and clean it up, then make sure the ground goes to the frame of the tow vehicle. These should fix the problems. I never trust the trailer to ground thru the ball/coupler as you can get the exact problems you posted about. Plus I pull to the river or lake two/three times per week and grease the coupler and ball. Same for the three gooseneck trailers I have a dedicaited ground wire may be all you need. Ozarkie

Gotta argue with George on that one. I handle lots of fish and have dissected almost everyone of them. If I told you the numbers you would not believe me. But simply by going between the crusher teeth in the upper mouth yes, you can reach the air bladder. When going between the crusher teeth there is not much you can hit thats vital unless you are just trying to kill the fish. The heart is under the tongue as is the aorta, and in most cases the bladder will have extended into the mouth. If you cant see the bladder the fish will normally be fine. I have fished deep water highland res. all my life and have yet to see a fish not right itself unless it came out of 50 feet or deeper water. I don't think there is anymore chance of infection than the fish being hooked. For now all the fish are shallow and spawning in my area on all the lakes. Now lets look at Boyle's law, if you need to and the atmospheric pressures at depth. If you can get that fish to 6 feet deep the air bladder will compress. So maybe the simplest thing is a extra long handle on a dipnet. You will never degas a fish other than the air bladder, back to Boyle's law, it is nitrogen build up in soft tissues. These release upon ascending, this give divers the bends. Now if the samething is happening in fish, just descending the fish back to depth will not fix the problem, as the Nit. has already boiled to the surface of the organs. This could be fatal even returning to depth. This is why the brainiacs who brink animals up from the depths of the ocean do so under compression. Now look at the structure of the kidney in fish, that damage is done!!! But the best chance the fish has is for the air bladder to be degassed or the fish dropped back to the depth where it was caught!! All without pictures and measuring etc. I was bent in the Gulf of Mexico some years back, so I know that deep fish is a sick fish when pulled to the surface. Maybe the worst harm comes to fish when caught from beds and moved long distances for tournaments!! Anyway my main job for 30 years has been being a taxidermist, with special interest in fish. I did 10 years in the Army again fishing everywhere I went and mounting fish for buddies. Yea I kinda know a bit about fish anatomy. George I don't mean to steal your post but I feel degassing a fish from the deep will work, we do it to red snapper in the Gulf all the time and those fish are reeled up then tagged and caught again later in the year. Your post makes lots of sense but on the other hand so does the hypo barrel and needle. The diagram is wrong, the air bladder sets forward of the location shown. It is a drawing and is simply an artist interpretation. Which just gives a general location. The location of the heart is also wrong as it sets forward. Plus the lack of kidney material. I can go on about the general diagram but there is not any need. Just stay below the backbone and between the upper crusher teeth in the throat and fizzing or degassing will work. Ozarkie

Here is the easy way. Go to a animal supply store, i.e. Tractor Supplu local CO-OP feed store, get a syringe with a 18 to 22 gauge needle. The smaller the better, then higher the number on the needle the smaller the diameter. Remove the plunger. The air bladder is easy to find top of the throat right between the crusher teeth. you dont need to go to deep, ttthe air baldder is located under the backbone just under the kidney, the black stuff against the backbone. Just insert and you should have a small puff and its done. total cost is under $1.00 Ozarkie

IT DON'T TAKE A BIG BOAT TO CATCH FISH. I have a 14ft jon, had a 4hp Mariner on it. No fish finder or any of the big electronics. I went to Lake Fork and everybody LOL, no make that ROTFL. Anywho in less that 2 hours I had caught four 10lb bass and one over the slot limit at 15lb 9oz. I also chase the trout in this same boat, I have caught 11 Brown trout over 5lbs with the largest at 21 lbs. Same boat same motor. Recently I have upgraded the 14ft Jon. to a 9.8 Merc with Elct. start, my shoulders sure don't hurt no after a day of fishing. Plus for lake fishing a 17' Lowe with a 90 HP Johnson, yea I have caught more fish from the bigger boat, but its is because I can get on the lakes more in windy weather and at night. Many years ago a friend and I fished with a 9.8 Merc and a 14ft Richline aluminum boat and won a tournement, man were all the big boys poed. So bad in fact they disqualified us because tournement rules called for a min of 25hp motor. Yep this still burns my butt!! First you must learn to fish, then its a matter of spending time on the water. I am stuck at work this week so will not get on the water but darn sure need to be. as everything is on beds in my area. Or at lest hit the river for your swimming pool fish, its not all that easy either!! I have guides darn near run over me, because I catch fish and they don't thier clients don't and heck they spend more on corn to chum with than I do on boat gas. Ozarkie

Chris what are the measuremnts of that fish? I do some prelicas and have some molds of big smallies. I also have some friends taxidermist that dont sell their blanks to just any old taxidermist. I may be able to find one from one them. The problem with what most replicas that the regular taxidermist has access to is that the maker will sell to anyone and you end up with production. Anywhay whats the measure,ments and I will check for you.

I have a pond full of the fricken cross breeds. I was told 97% were male so there would be little chance of spwaning. The pond was sterile when I stocked it, I also stocked fathead minnows. Well I have a pond full of green sunfish with big mouths and bluegill colors. After 3 years I have yet to catch a F-1 over 4 inches. and hell no that ain't sterile, these breed three times a year. I recently stocked 10 flathead catfish and 20 largemouth bass to remmedy the bream problem. Next time its pure gills!!!

Stay away from Lowerance and Eagle, their repair dept sucks and in two years they will not fix it!! I have owned several of each over the years, get a GPS with mapping abilities, these will show you where to go instead of having to find the waypoints. I just bought a Humminbird 565 for the front of my boat and I like it!! I did some research and even though its black and white it has details!!! Thats what you want and for under $200.00

1. Before you pull onto the ramp have your gear stowed in the boat, have the tiedown straps removed. Plug installed. Winch unhooked. 2. Don't block the ramp other people want to put in/pull out of the water too. Their time is just as important as you think yours is. The world don't revolve around you. 3. Park clear of the ramp. there is a whole parking lot in most cases. Someone may be handicapped and want to fish too. 4. Loading your boat. Once on the trailer move to the far side of the parking area to stow your gear. 5. Dirt or gravel bar launching. You may be there first but that is not ANY EXCUSE for leaving your trailer in the water. Once again others are entitled to use the same area on public waters. 6. Slow down You dont need to power launch or load. NO WAKE means just that NO WAKE. It does not mean go slow and still throw a wake, that is NO WAKE!! Someone loading onto the courtesy boat may not be as athletic as you. Older people need a bit more time to get in and out of a boat, knees and hips dont work like they use to. 7. Dont clean your fish at the ramp!! This is bad PR for us who fish!! Like the bad hunter, bad fishermen leave trash and fish remains for everyone to see or smell. Not good for the bunny huggers whining!! 8. Treat everyone at the ramp like you think you should be treated. You never know when you will need a two off the lake!! 9. Dont block ramp access. that means get to heck out of the way, not everyone can back a trailer in those tight spaces. 10. See all the above and dont think for one minute people are not watching you. They see the bad things lure packages on the ground worm cans blown around. 11. Pickup your trash!! If the dumpster is overloaded dont add your crap to it, take it home. Once again people seem to think the world revolves around them, its time to start policing ourselves if we want to continue fishing. The Bunny Huggers are out to stop us and now is the time to be proactive in making our sport look better. Ozarkie