With the awesome fall we have had this year who could resist a little fishing on Thanksgiving Day. The fish were quite active. Water temps in the low 40s. Some of the ponds and backwater areas are starting to skim over with ice but the moving water is still open. Smallmouth on cranks and jerkbaits. Pike recklessly attacking spinnerbaits. I was trying to catch a rockbass on a jig and ended up with a common carp, oh well.

A little beat up looking. It appeared to have been held sideways in a pike's mouth by the look of the matching teeth marks on both sides of its body. Still a nice fish at slightly over 17.

A few more

Dang Carp. I guess they like 4" Chompers 4" straight tail green pumpkin worms too.

Looks like a lot of fun to me! You catch those out of the Missouri river??

Looks like a lot of fun to me! You catch those out of the Missouri river??

You got it.

Dang I wish they would clean the river up between here and there so we could get some other species of fish in the river down here. The river is never anything but dirt brown year round and pretty much just carp, catfish, gar, and drum. Every once in awhile you might get lucky and catch some whitebass, wipers, or a saugeye but they aren't there in any numbers that I've ever heard of. The upper Missouri/Mississippi rivers are definitaly a couple places I'm going to have to fish some day.

Dang I wish they would clean the river up between here and there so we could get some other species of fish in the river down here. The river is never anything but dirt brown year round and pretty much just carp, catfish, gar, and drum. Every once in awhile you might get lucky and catch some whitebass, wipers, or a saugeye but they aren't there in any numbers that I've ever heard of. The upper Missouri/Mississippi rivers are definitaly a couple places I'm going to have to fish some day.

I know what you mean. From Sioux City down it's channelized for barge traffic. It looks like a river of chocolate milk down there. I do like catching drum though, they put a nice bend in the rod. "Hey I think I have a huge smallmouth or walleye.........oh it's a drum."

I know what you mean. From Sioux City down it's channelized for barge traffic. It looks like a river of chocolate milk down there. I do like catching drum though, they put a nice bend in the rod. "Hey I think I have a huge smallmouth or walleye.........oh it's a drum."

It's always funny to my friends when I catch a drum. They swear I could catch on out of a mud puddle and it feels like it some days. One friend took me to a lake he swore didn't have any drum and I caught 2 I've caught them on about everything except topwater but during the summer when it's really hot they cruise the banks at a little local lake that is really clear and you can sight fish them with live crawdads. It's the closest I've ever been to sight fishing for tailing redfish. We have so many of them in the lakes around here that I can usually tell instantly from the bite if it's a bass or a drum.

Those are beautiful pictures of some great fish!

Great catch! that first one looks like he's been through hell and back.

Great catch! that first one looks like he's been through hell and back.

I have seen smaller bass with the esox bite marks on both sides of the body. I would like to catch the fish that made those . I might have to break out the big, ugly ABU.

Great Trip for sure! And NICE photos too!

Big O

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