slabseeker

Great place to paddle, view all kinds of wildlife and catch some fish also. Chunky Boyz BBQ in Puxico was recommended to us and it was really good. Not the prettiest place but the best BBQ places sometimes aren't. Not sure if they have beer, but the sweet tea and fresh lemonade were excellent. We got ours to go and ate at the Mingo Visitor Center picnic area. The boardwalk trail is pretty cool also.

I will be expanding my fishing territory this Saturday. Due to my home lake (Lake Wappapello) being 20 ft high due to all the rain, here in prime crappie fishing time, I am going to take a trip over to Reelfoot to try to catch some crappie. I have been reading up on the lake some and took a recon trip over last weekend to look around. Kind of exciting branching out to new waters. I have really never crappie fished on any other lake in the past 15 years cause we usually do pretty well on our Wappapello. Was wondering if anyone has any experience or advice they might want to share.

He might be like "Wild Thing" Mitch Williams, the old Phillies reliever. Batters did not want to stand in and face him cause he threw so hard and was so wild. One coach used to tell batters to stand on the plate, he won't throw it there.

Ya'll are makin' me HONGRY!! Thanks for all the good info. I could read about this stuff all day. When I want to make my own sauce I use Kraft as a base and add stuff to suite my taste for whatever I am grilling or smoking. I haven't tried most of these, but I will agree with mosouthpaw on the Ott's...we bought some Ott's Silver Dollar City Ozark Recipe while on vacation in Branson this summer it is very good. Here in SEMO, my favorite is Strawberry's Sweet & Smoky from Strawberry's BBQ. They make a BBQ dry rub that is basically it's own food group around here it is so good and used so much.

Congratulations! Savor every moment and don't blink, they grow up fast. Sounds like a lucky child. I think teaching kids to experience and appreciate nature is one of the best things we can do. You are right on when it comes to Lilley's. A great to place to bring your family for vacation to fish, shop, play, or just relax and enjoy. My "babies" are 17 & 14 now. We have been bringing our girls over there since they were almost that young, and they still enjoy it, though now it is a more about shopping than fishing. For me it is my "Vacation fishing" time, especially early in the morning, when you would like to catch fish, but it is not necessary. I "serious fish" the rest of the year,but this week is to relax and take time to count blessings and realize things probably aren't as bad as they sometimes seem the other 51 weeks. So...if you see a big, relaxed looking dude in a straw hat with a cup of coffee fishing off the dock this week, say hello. If I don't answer, I am probably taking a nap.

Rocky Falls near

JinnaXXX ?? Somehow I imagined different than Terry's picture.....Oh well (no offense Terry)

Neat idea Phil. Terry, you forgot to carry a naught. April 7, 2007

I can vouch for Linc's Dad being the master of the marshmallow. While staying at Lilley's back in June, I was able to fish each morning with him down off the dock. Here I am with every color powerbait ever made and he procedes to show me how it is done using these little marshmallows. I caught fish also, but nothing I had worked like those. It was great. I enjoyed visiting with him (and Linc) each morning, and you can bet next year I will have a bag of 'mallows with me.

I was lucky enough to go on my first canoe/kayak trip last Wed/Thurs. Something I have always wanted to do. I have been on the river at Van Buren many times in my younger days in tubes, but this was my first time in a kayak. Went with some friends who have been paddling for years, so their experience was invaluable, I had a great time and learned alot. They said this was the lowest they had seen the river in a long time. We started at Round Springs and went to Two Rivers. A very scenic trip. Made camp on gravel bar about half way down, across from on of the biggest cliffs I have ever seen. We encountered only 3 other people the whole way, they were camped on gravel bar. I have never fished the Current before, and was looking forward to testing some of those Smallies I hear so much about. The bite was pretty tough, post-front bluebird skies, but we still managed to land a few small ones. I was basically using soft plastics, and I think I may have missed some bites not being used to fishing in current. My friend and guide Terry W. who has fished these waters alot said fishing was pretty tough. But even as devoted as I am to fishing, it quickly became secondary for me to the overall experience and scenery. Something I surely look forward to doing again.

Lake Wappapello is in Wayne County, we consider it the eastern most edge of the ozarks, just a few miles east of Van Buren/Current River.

Lake Wappapello in beautiful SE Missouri