Taliesin

Not really. Eventually they all run into the Mississippi River, but not until then. Truman lake has the Osage River, Grand River (not the same Grand River as down there), and several large creeks that flow into it. With that much water coming in, when they shut off the generators at the dam for several weeks the water went up like crazy. After flowing through Truman and the Lake of the Ozarks the osage River runs on into the Missouri River, then into the Mississippi. Maybe the original shoreline would have worked when the water was 16 feet high. All the reports I saw put the fish up in the flooded willows though. This is a very difficult lake for bass though. Even the locals who fish here all the time can have a tough time of it. BTW: I have done quite a bit of fishing in Lake Hudson down there (graduated High School at Pryor OK). Almost all of it catfishing though. I reserved bass fishing for all of the good ponds down there.

Well... I know this is a bass fishing site, but I also use my gear for catfishing... and blue cats at that. Hooking into a 50#+ fish isn't all that uncommon here so getting spooled is a concern. Not to mention that the flathead catfish and hybrid stripers in my local lake will pick up on bass lures (and muskie is a couple of other local lakes). I may be in a unique situation here though. however, what I usually do is: Spinning reels: I usually use braid with a diameter equal to the smallest mono the rig will handle. For backing I use mono equal to the highest the rig is rated for. Example: The reel states 10 to 16# test line. I use 40# test braid (diameter of 10# test mono) and 16# test mono for backing (or 17 since that's what I already have on hand). Baitcasters: I usually don't use any backing. If I did, I would use line about 1.5 to 2 times as heavy as my main line. If I do hang into a running fish I still have a bit of line to play with and my backing isn't too weak for him. I can also leave that backing on for a while until it gets as weak as my main line.

Something you might try that has really worked for me is "walking" a prop-bait. I managed to do very well about three weeks ago doing this and was walking it pretty fast (5 twitches per second or more). It makes about as much noise as a fast buzzbait, but is moving slower. With the muddy water we have been having that bit of extra time for the fish to find it was paying off. The main difference I make in whether to use my prop-bait or walker is size. My prop bait is a Tiny Torpedoe and my walking bait is a Super-Spook (started out using them for hybrid stripers, but black bass love them too). I never really had much luck with poppers. I'll use buzz baits when the bass are really moving fast to catch food. Otherwise I get way too many short strikes. When I do use them, it will usually be close to weed beds or tree tops. Another topwater I use a lot is a weedless frog. I fish some ponds that are 90% weed cover, so this comes in really handy.

I have been using Power Pro braid for some time now (mainly for catfishing). I have had good luck with it on spinning reels, but I still keep mono on my baitcasters. A few things to remember with braids: 1. It is "slippery" compared to mono, so some knots won't work. The line will pull through and untie the knot. 2. It has NO stretch. It's a very good thing for me, but if you are used to really crossing the fish's eye with the hookset you will need to calm down a bit. Unless your line is way out there (such as my catfishing) you won't need to move the rod all that much to set the hook. It takes some getting used to. Some people hate the fact that it doens't stretch, but I like that feature. 3. Many people think that since they are using heavier line they can crank down the drag. I still leave the drag set for mono of the same diameter. This keeps me from damaging the rod or reel. I have also seen people break lures because they had the drag set too tight.

It sounds like you are dealing with exactly the same thing I have been. I finally got some info that paid off though. It seems the bass have been holding at the original shoreline during the day and heading to really shallow water in the morning and evening. Jigs, crankbaits, c-rigs, t-rigs, and spinners have been working on the deeper fish with spinners and top-waters working in the mornings and evenings. Three weeks ago we had a really cloudy day for our local tourney and I had great luck working a Tiny Torpedoe in 8 feet of water around the flooded willows. Everyone did fairly well that day if they worked their lures fast enough, but the fish didn't want to touch anything going slow. I went out last weekend to keep learning the lake better (Truman Lake in Missouri and I am new to fishing it) and found t-rigs working at the original shoreline around the cove entrances (c-rigs are used a lot around here and I find I am more comfortable with the t-rig). How high has the water been? The original shoreline was working here when the water was 7-10 foot above normal. 5 to 8 foot was working when the water was 16 feet high.