Born to Fish

The large influence of relatively cold water from springs, especially on the upper Current, reduces the numbers of native, sport species. The relatively constant 58 degree water temperature, makes it hard for our native, sport species to successfully spawn and survive in these spring reaches.

Rain in Missouri has been very spotty this year. http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?MO

And the "curse" of the outdoor writer!! I miss his stories in the Kansas City Star!

Fished last Saturday morning from about 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and it was real slow. Didn't get any bites till they cut the generation at about 9:00. Caught five stocker rainbows and had to work for those. Saw one other fish caught.

Nice fish!! Here's a link with a length to weight conversion chart for walleye from In-Fisherman http://www.in-fisherman.com/biology/walleye-length-to-weight-conversion-chart/

SWEET!!!! That doesn't happen every day!

Thanks for the update and posting the pictures! Interesting that Tan Vat is a deep hole again.

Would like to see recent studies and research, not 20 year old information. Also, would be nice to see more educational stories in MDC's Conservationist magazine, and DNR's Missouri Resources magazine, about the rivers in the Ozarks including their history/geology as well as present conditions/trends. Started my career, some 37 years ago, doing research on the ONSR and have played on them for over 50 years. You need to know where you came from, to know where you're headed.

Would be interesting to see a study of the land use within the watershed and see how that has changed over time. Would also be interesting to know if flood frequency, and discharge, has changed any. I wish MDC, MDNR, USGS, and/or NPS would do some monitoring/research of these rivers and their watersheds.

I got a Powerdrive V2 last year with I Pilot and love it, especially the spotlock! I bought a "reconditioned one off the Cabela's website. Saved about $300 and it was just like new! I did have to adjust the latch collar and file down the Deploy-Assist Lever some so I could lower and raise the motor. Every Powerdrive I've look at, last year and this, at my local Bass Pro have had the same problem with the Deploy-Assist Lever and latch collar. The Deploy-Assist Lever is a tad too long and won't release from the latch collar. Took me less then 5 minutes with a file to fix the problem. My spotlock will hold within about five feet, even in a pretty good wind. Lot's of good i Pilot videos on YouTube .

Missouri fishing regulations have gone through various periods of increased restrictions and liberalization dating back to about 1900. Commercial fishing for game fish, with fish traps and nets, was common during the late 1800s and early 1900s and lead to the passage of the Federal Black Bass Act in 1926. Most of our fish, and wildlife, resources were nearly wiped out during this time which lead to the formation of the U.S. Fish Commission in the 1870s and MDC in 1936. Some of Missouri's first fish regulations were during the early 1900s including a goggle eye length limit and creel limit. Regulations started to be liberalized in the early 1940s up through the early 1960s. Elimination of market fishing for sport species allowed fish populations to recover plus the country was celebrating life after WWII. Fishing pressure increased significantly with the "Baby Boom" and fishery biologist had many new tools for studying fish populations. Bass numbers started declining, as well as size, by the 1960s. This lead to a 6 fish daily black bass creel limit (1961), a statewide seasonal bass harvest closure (1965), and a 12-inch minimum length limit (1974). By the 1970s, streams and rivers in many states didn't hardly have any bass larger then 10 inches or so. The 12-inch minimum length limit probably was one of the biggest accomplishments of MDC to help the quality of smallmouth fishing throughout Missouri. Having the 15-inch minimum length limit has enhanced it even more and I wish they would have left the 18-inch limit alone. Fishing regulations, like many "regulations", aren't popular with large groups of our population now days. The human population of Missouri is doubling about every 90 years and, the last time I checked, nobody has made any new rivers or streams! However, I still have family members that will keep any smallmouth 11 inches or larger no matter if it's hook-and-line or gigging!!! They don't do it around me but I'm not around them very much! P.S. MDC has lots of river and stream studies dating back to the 1950s thanks to the Dingell-Johnson Act. However, in my opinion, since they eliminated their research office in Columbia, Missouri, some 15 or 20 years ago, they don't do as much "research" as I think they should but that probably goes back to the anti-regulation sentiment now days.

Yep, more Federal land will be sold to private owners and more river accesses, boat ramps, campgrounds, etc. closed to the public. This will all result in fewer places for the public to hunt and fish, unless you're rich and can buy an area for yourself or pay a lease or join a club. Plus a lot of this habitat will be destroyed and converted to other land uses that "make more money". The Missouri legislature has been wanting to do away with MDC's sales tax for years and I'm sure they will try again with the new governor. And, all this as our state population grows putting more pressure on the remaining public areas and habitat. The "good old days" are a thing of the past!

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Sounds like some great memories and some well, not so great! Thanks for sharing!

Hopefully there's no big rain events in the next 90 days! There's a lot of fine material in that construction debris that could easily wash into the river. There's already too many degraded areas on this stretch of river with too much silt/fine material from human disturbance in the watershed. They could do this work in a month, or less, if they really wanted to.