LOZ report

[Bigmagic]

Well I went out today and got bait set up on my first spot and caught fish. Nothing big but action anyways. I saw lots of snaggers and they were doing really well. Traditionally the first day is kind of slow but almost every boat I saw had at least one Spoonbill and some nice size ones at that.

The catfish action slowed when the winds picked up and changed directions this morning. I tried to get a drift bite going but they aren't that aggressive yet. I was really pleased to find shad so easily and stacked up at that two tosses of the net and I had all I needed.

I set up on several other good spots but boat control by myself was tough. I couldn't keep the boat close enough to cast to where the fish were. I need to make me a couple of anchors that really lock down in high wind. Well thats the report from LOZ for Wednesday 3/15/06. See ya on the water.

[beeheck]

Ron, thanks for the report I always enjoy reading them and it keeps me close to what I wish I was doing. Sounds like you found shad easily and the fish are starting to bite, sounds great. How heavy an anchor are you thinking you will need? We make a lead anchor that holds in the Missouri river here. It is a flat piece of lead about 1/2" thick by 12"X12" and is about 30+ lbs but holds in the swift current here since the river is channeled to about 1/4 of it's old width. Has a bit of a different shaped rod that is bent to let you hold in current but by moving the boat up river from it, it lifts easily. The idea is that the profile is only about 1/2" high so the current can't grab it and move it and the wide heavy footprint doesn't let the river current dig out under it and undermine it letting it move. I will try to get a picture of it for you and the weight can be anything you would want or need. I know it holds in the river (mud and sand) but what I don't know is how far down on weight I could go and get the same holding power. I'm going to bring mine to LOZ this summer and try it and will let you know how it holds in the rock and gravel. No other anchor has held us in the current here but this one is like a rock on the end of your rope.

[Mr.T]

Was there any current on the river, Ron? Wondering if they're running water or not...

[Itch2Scratch]

Marty there was no noticable current on the lake today...if they are running any it must be minimal. Like Ron I only caught small ones on frozen shad and crawlers.:o

[crazy]

T, I always call the number to see how much water there letting out. 918-595-6779

[Bigmagic]

You bet Wolf just let me know when ya want to go. Bill I use two 18lbers right now, the front holds really well but the back end wants to walk back and forth too much. When I went out with Jeff he had a 20ft piece of conduit with a corksrew on the end and a handle on top. He screwed it into the bottom and the back of the boat was locked down.I'd love to see a picture of your anchors I plan on a lot more river fishing this year and a good anchor is a must.
Actually the bite may have slowed due to them stopping the generators. This time of year they will sometimes run a little water during the week. When I first went out there was just a trace of current but enough to overcome the light easterly breeze. The wind soon shifted more southerly and picked up velocity and what current there had been disappeared. Call me crazy but I think they were moving a little water early or there was still some runnoff coming from one of the creeks.

[Mr.T]

According to the COE web site (http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/water_reports/lakepool.fct) they're planning to run 13500 CFS through the generators for the next several days at Truman. The daily report says they're running 16500 CFS today.

Maybe it'll stir up the fish a bit??

[Mr.T]

I misread the 13500 -- it's actualy 13300 -- on the web page I referenced above, after the lake level it shows the outflow in 1000's of cubic ft per second -- 133 == 13,300 CFS.

The 16500 comes from the daily lake info web page:
http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/cgi-bin/daily.pl?site_name=truman

Wish they had a real-time update so I could tell when they stop running the generators - As Ron says, they're probably not running them continuously.

[elvenbane1]

This reminds me that I need to get the dust off my snagging rod.

[Crispy Critter]

I don't know if it will help,I haven't heard of that many being snagged around here other than the first few days.I haven't been but I usually see alot more on the side of boats around here than I've seen this year.

[Itch2Scratch]

Fished most of the afternoon and limited out on small blues, largest being 6.4lbs. Was only using crawlers since I had no shad. They are finally slamming the bait the way they should be. My neighbor checked the water temp at the 58MM and said it was 54 degrees. The boat traffic on the lake was crazy today!

[Bigmagic]

Ken I was out today as well. We went down to about the Brown bend area. We slayed em. We drifted and wore ourselves out on catfish. I even caught six around 1lb each in the net when I was casting for shad.(I released the little critters). I was tying lines and baiting hooks for my youngest boy and my nephew. We were driftfishing and the water temp was around 64 to 66 depending on where we were. There were some spots that were much cooler.

The hightlight of the day was when the boys hooked something large and it got into three lines so they were both reeling and reeled in a 54lb spoonbill. The unfortunate thing was they barely had it hooked and so I whipped out my brand spanking new Frabil large extendable net. I extended it out and scooped the spoonie up and just lifted his head out of the water and the extension rod bent.

I told the boys that the owner of that spoonbill owed me for a new net(joking of course) and they proceeded to divy up the fish in various amounts including me in the ownership group saying it was partly mine since I lifted it in the boat. I tell you what thats about as good a feeling as it gets when you get to share something like that with some younguns. I'll post pictures later. See ya on the water!

SPOONBILL REPORT
A lot of people had spoonies. I saw one boat with six. Dang near anyone who stuck a hook in the water caught a spoonie today.

[explayer]

Great day fish sounds like I have never fished for spoonbils would be cool if I could

[Itch2Scratch]

Was a great day fishin all around sounds like Ron.....;)

[Mr.T]

You guys are killing me! Busy today and couldn't go fishing other than an hour or two over at Longview lake.

And now just got a call from my guide who says it's going to be too windy tomorrow for our scheduled catfish trip, so it's cancelled.

Arrrgh!

[spoonfish]

Was out from 7 to 4 today in the oar house spoonbill trny. Gotta good start on a sun burn LOL. What a Nice day today!

[Bigmagic]

Well as promised here's a picture of the days prize catch. My 12 year old nephew is on the left and my 15 year old son is on the right. I had to pry them away from the Xbox to get them to go but they ended up being glad I did. I included a doctored profile picture of someone who needs one with a catfish. See ya on the water!

[Chanellocked]

Nice Spoonie, we'll be down at Heidt's Point April 20-24th for Ozark Snagmasters Tourney, sure hope we find them:0a23:

[Crispy Critter]

Ken I was out today as well. We went down to about the Brown bend area. We slayed em. We drifted and wore ourselves out on catfish. I even caught six around 1lb each in the net when I was casting for shad.(I released the little critters). I was tying lines and baiting hooks for my youngest boy and my nephew. We were driftfishing and the water temp was around 64 to 66 depending on where we were. There were some spots that were much cooler.

The hightlight of the day was when the boys hooked something large and it got into three lines so they were both reeling and reeled in a 54lb spoonbill. The unfortunate thing was they barely had it hooked and so I whipped out my brand spanking new Frabil large extendable net. I extended it out and scooped the spoonie up and just lifted his head out of the water and the extension rod bent.

I told the boys that the owner of that spoonbill owed me for a new net(joking of course) and they proceeded to divy up the fish in various amounts including me in the ownership group saying it was partly mine since I lifted it in the boat. I tell you what thats about as good a feeling as it gets when you get to share something like that with some younguns. I'll post pictures later. See ya on the water!

SPOONBILL REPORT
A lot of people had spoonies. I saw one boat with six. Dang near anyone who stuck a hook in the water caught a spoonie today.


I'm glad to hear it's picking up,that was a nice spoonie the boys' caught.I bet it made them feel pretty good.

I didn't realize you fished down this far,Im surprised I didn't see you down here.I was out for a while today,I live right across from Brown's Bend in the cove by the islands (and mudflats right now) just before you get to the point.
I caught a few, nice, small blues(3-5#).It almost felt like summer this afternoon.

[Itch2Scratch]

Glad to hear that you finally got out there fishin Critter Bud..:)

[Bigmagic]

Dee we were actually just past that point you mean(Donnets point?) I think its called. I fish all the way to Coffman bend or up to Warsaw depending on how tough it is to catch fish. Those bluffs on the north side near Pine cove have produced a nice cat or two as well. What got me down your way Saturday was the fact that we went out after 12.00pm. The usual places I get shad shallow(less then 25ft) there were none. The deep channels where I might find some during the day were crammed with snaggers. So I went down river running my sonar until I came across some large schools of shad where there wasn't any boats or at least not so close. Two throws of the net and I got shad from about ten feet of water. I then thought since they were bunched there I'd give a drift a try and we got into the cats. We caught the spoonie back up this way on a deep channel edge where I often catch large cats. If you do see me out, stop and say hi. See ya on the water!


Marty, I can't really blame Steve the winds supposed to blow 35mph most guides won't cancel unless its unsafe and today may be one of those days.

[beeheck]

Ron, I want to thank you on Wolfman's behalf for taking care of him on that catfish you added to that picture. In a couple months after we all forget how it got there will come a fishing story like no other on how a fish that small fought as hard as a 20 pounder. Oh, yeah, remind me if necessary not to get on your bad side, Lord knows what else you could of put in that picture, like a... dare I say it... a bass! :eek: lol
That is one nice spoonie, never eaten one but I've heard they are the best eating fish out there. That's a good looking boy you got there, with that smile on his face it looks like he and his friend had a good time. Has the same grip on the fish as your avatar only in the reverse, is he a lefty?

[Bigmagic]

Thanks Bill, No he's not a lefty although we think he's at least somewhat amberdex@#$@ oh well I can't spell it. I was just trying to help Jess out. He won't go fishing with anyone who can catch a fish(sorry Larry). I was feeling charitable towards him and tried to help him out and he flames me like that. Can you believe it(LMAO).

The boys were great Saturday once we got into fish man they couldn't get enough. When they saw that big one come to the surface I think the whole world heard them yelling. I had a great time and it was made even better by getting to share it with someone. Thats the main reason I'm thinking about going into the guide business. I really enjoy seeing people catch fish like that, epecially if they haven't done it. I know you've went thru the same thing with your son. It don't get no better than that(I sound like a redneck). See ya on the water!

[Burwell40]

I know what you mean about watching someone catch a big fish. It's almost as good as catching it yourself. I should qualify that...taking out a greenhorn, baiting their hook and watching them reel in a big fish is good. Watching one of my fishing buddies hook and drag in a big fish makes me want to push them out of the boat...:).

Ron, how soon before anyone tries drifting on Truman? It's less than 3 weeks till I come down and I'm wondering whether I should try the river, drift in the lake, anchor in the lake or try to cram in all 3.

[Bigmagic]

Anytime the water temp is above 60 I begin to drift fish. Truman is loaded with great spots to set up on though. I just happen to believe that I can catch biguns drifting(I've done it) and far more fish. Diodeman knows Truman better than I if he would chime in here. One of the local guides(Steve Brown the one Marty was going to use) drifts Truman a lot. He uses the same method I do. If there is any current give the area below the Dam a shot though. Hybrids are active whenever there is current and the last week has been pretty good for Hybrids and White Bass. I don't usually mess with them till June but I'm thinking of sneaking up to White Branch or near there and giving them a go one morning or evening. You should have a great time. Good luck!


Jess if you ever catch another fish let me know I'll take the dang picture! By the way have you been listening to any gobblers? I'd love to get some on film struttin and drummin.

[beeheck]

Jess, cold weather slowing down the turkeys, come on, we went out fishing Saturday in about 45 degrees and 30 mph winds on a farm pond and caught around 20 crappies all the same size about 12-13 long and fat, chunky little dudes. Getting back to the turkey part of this, we pulled onto the dirt road to the pond and there in the fields must of been at least 30 birds between two fields and a few strutting big time. Good thing I brought my turkey call and told the brother in law that I was going to call when we got on the water. We got on the pond and are being blown around but I decide to call just a bit just to see what's going on and I put out a call and got a tom to answer way up on a hill. I called again, and again, and again, nothing. I waited a bit and called again and he answers and he is closer. Aw, poop, here comes a four wheeler and look at the smoke. It's the DNR doing it's spring burning and did they burn the hills down big time. With that wind it just flat fanned that fire into a roar. So, if they are strutting around here and we are a lot colder than you guys are shouldn't you be going full swing or have you had a cold spring? Sorry about the long story but it was such a great day I had to share it with someone. It was one of those days that you wish the sun would stay at about that late, late afternoon height and just go one forever.

[safetybass]

I believe I have been dissed. I'll have you know my boat used to catch fish. Some kind of stench has really made catching fish a problem. No, wait. The weekend Wolfman didn't show. We put a dozen or so cats in the boat. And the next time my boat was on the water, Wolfman was in it. No cats, just 3 measely crappie. Hmmmmm . . . . . . . . . . .

Listen up you mangy cur. I will not allow you to continue a curse on my boat. Or a no-fish spell, or whatever you seem to bring north with you. You will stop hiking your leg on our baits, or any other offensive acts you do to keep us from catching fish. Next trip up, you catch fish or I'll make you walk the plank! ;)

I've told you over and over, if you want to turkey hunt Truman, I will deliver your mangy hide to a spot where you will have to fight them off with a stick. But we'll see. I bet you got some kind of curse on you with turkeys, too!:p

All you guys that's been catching fish, congratulations. Wolfie, I didn't call because I was hoping to go fishing but I ended up working all weekend. Plus, I came down with some cold that irritated my throat and made me lose my voice. I wouldn't have been able to even tell you you had to swim to shore. :0a20: But I'm so close to being caught up at work, I will be taking a few days off this month. If you want to try again, and you're willing to catch some fish, let's get together. I've never had trouble getting others to catch fish from my boat. I'm sure with enough coaching, I can get you to catch some cats. I know that would make you feel better! :0a26:

[beeheck]

Whoa, I think that pretty much sums it up. I think I even detected some unsafe acts and words in there from a safety guy, he must really be upset. lol
Balls in your court Jess.

[Bigmagic]

Larry make sure you bring a camera and snap a picture of his ugly hide holding something besides his other hand. If needed I could loan him my lucky red satin shorts to wear fishing.
Bill great story, thats what makes this site great the information the members share. Funny link in the email you sent me as well. I thought they worked something like that. I'm going out in the morning if the wind doesn't blow me off the lake. See ya on the water!

[safetybass]

You stupid mutt. I told you I wasn't wearing my pink thong! It was in the wash 'cause it had a stain. :eek: I was living "free and easy" as you called it!:shy-big:

[Bigmagic]

Well I fished pretty hard this week(everyday). I had trouble early in the week finding large enough shad but I located them by Wednesday. My results were less than spectacular but not too bad considering the fronts and constant wind direction changes and snaggers that scattered the fish. Lots of spoonies have been caught this past week. I pulled up on one floating that had been hit by two hooks I thought he was dead and went to dip him and he began to revive. I moved him back and forth a little and he swam off. I hope he makes it.
Blues mostly slow I have caught em but I haven't been able to catch them consistantly drifting. It seems to be better to set up on a ledge close to deep and shallow water and spread your baits around. I fished shallow and couldn't get any kind of consistant bite going. The best bite is downriver near Brown Bend. I may have to try some night fishing. I think the number of boats plus the low water has the fish holding tight to cover. Every Blue I caught this week was on an edge of some kind not free roaming chasing shad like I usually find them now.
Crappie bite has been good not great may have been affected by the weather somewhat. I fished for them for a couple of hours and had no trouble catching them but they were smallish. I did much better with the cast net last week(I released em).
Overall we need some water bad, if I go out this weekend it will be on Truman since it's at full pool. There is another front moving in tonight and I'm not sure I'll go out I may just wait for Monday.