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I was able to Come down for a couple of days to fish with one of the forum members Lundnut and fish with my wife and kids in the evening. Blessed with wonderful evening weather and the walleye were cooperating. Fished 25-28 foot depths just off the gravel rolloffs.. 2 ounce snap weight program at 2.2mph. Found some of the bigger cranks such as #11 taildancers and 800 series reef runners produced bigger fish. It was awesome spending the evenings with the kids putting them on the toothy critters as well as countless big whites, smallies and Kentuckies. Had good numbers of walleye with some little guys as well. Great weekend!

this girl is going to be my out when I need to buy more cranks. She loves fishing!

Put in at Fine Addition at sunrise and got off the water around 4. Didn't have much bass after a keeper spot on our first point with a tube. Others we caught were small and either on a jig or tube mainly up shallow around chunk Rock. No breeze so made things a little uncomfortable and maybe that coupled with the rain that came through couple days prior shut the fishing down. However I did catch my first flathead that weighed 6lbs. I was hoping it was a giant smallmouth but realized it wasn't when it tried to just lay flat on the bottom rather than fighting. Also hooked a near 3 ft spotted gar on a puke tube as well. Fought it for awhile. On 8 lb flouroclear and when attempting to net it from the tail end (so it didn't get its teeth or hook in the net) it jumped out and broke the line.

In short, I have had a helluva year on the rock. I normally fish bull shoals ALOT. I am not about numbers anymore as much as it is the hunt for the table rock walleye. I love ‘em. I have milk runs of spots on the James, white and Kings river arms that I can hit and catch summertime walleye on pretty consistently after a ton of time staring at maps and the lowrance. Its that time of year where I start switching tackle over for salmon fishing up north. So to the walleye of table rock thanks for the good times and awesome meals!

It's cool to use mother nature to fight over. Red Algae has as much right to live as anything. Its a strange and wonderful rock on which we live. Not always what a man in a boat would choose first. But tough. We get what the planet gives us. As for me, I am thankful for it.

Only real fishing related issue of the trip we had was at Phil's, I know I should just take it off line or PM him but... Daughter was QUITE upset Jackson wasn't in the shop when we visited!! We went down to the dock, went to the pool, no luck. I guess since we watch all the videos and One Cast episodes she assumes he is always right there. We almost always catch him when we visit, she really looks forward to it. She even asked before we got down there if "Mr Phil" would let us borrow Jackson for a trip out since he seems to be good luck. Told her I didn't think they rented the dog out unless times get tough. She is something else, never a dull moment

I struggled on where to post this story. Asked some friends what they thought and got the go ahead to post in General fishing. I think a few on here should see what is out there and we all get stuck reading only what interests us here. This trip we are about to take you on can be done by anyone. Nothing special is needed. Most places we have been can be accessed with the family sedan, a tent and your own two feet. Fishing equipment of your choice of course abiding by the regulations for the area. We choose fly fishing but don't let this keep you from coming along on this trip. We the BilletHead's fish with all equipment. One think that drives us is new species / subspecies in their respective native ranges. We try to access headwaters and small streams where the fish are genetically pure. The fish you will see are not big nor trophy's in the eyes of some but trophy's for us. This thread will be picture heavy at times and not all will be fish. We had laughing and some oh crap moments on this trip. This will all be broken down in the quarry we are after and places we visited. The trip started off as a sprint and ended up a marathon. Actually when we make our trips we have a plan and for some reason we end up winging it. We covered close to 4000 miles in two weeks. The original plan was to catch the three native cutthroat of Colorado. Actually this was Mrs. BilletHead's first time fishing this state and I had not seriously tried here. So what first with the OAF BilletHead's go? Part 1 the Greenback, This goes back one year and two weeks previous from now when we were driving back from our Utah trip. As we were coming back home and passing through Colorado I gave our friend Motroutbum (Randy) a text on the phone. Randy and us go back many years. I have to explain so bear with me please. I first met Randy when he worked for Backcountry anglers when he worked there in Springfield. I then had no idea how our lives would be entangled. 11 years ago Mrs. BilletHead was an alternate for Casting for Recovery and because of one of the picked ladies was unable to attend, she got to participate. So the next year Mrs. BilletHead and I volunteered. I as a River Helper and Pat on staff. Well we found out that Randy's Mom Dawn was the one that could not attend and Pat took her place. Not only that Dawn was attending the retreat we were helping with. When it was time for the ladies to fish that retreat we all lined up to be paired off. Generally the staff watch the ladies and know who should be paired to who but before pairing began there was a scream and Dawn dashed out of the line and said this one's mine as she grabbed my arm. . For the next couple of years at the retreat Randy volunteered and he and I spent time together. Back to story, so in the text I told Randy about our trip to Utah and shared pictures but I had alternative motives for the call and this brings us to us picking his brain about the Colorado natives, see Randy now works for the Front Range Anglers in Boulder Colorado. So a text and phone call before this trip to Randy and asking about where to start in seeking the fish we wanted to add to our bucket list. Randy was quick to say I want to take you for the Greenback! This elated us to the max. So we hit the road from BilletHeadVille at 6:20 PM on July 27th Heading West on 54 then to I-70. Driving hard until we had no way to keep our old eyes open and took a power nap at a rest area in Kanarado, Ks. Three hour nap we were behind the wheel until we arrived at Randy's home for a visit and plan. Met his wife and visited about everything under the sun. On Randy's computer we secured our fishing licenses. we were to meet him in Estes Park at 7 AM the next morning. Before we left his home I had a handful of hooks and fly tying material Randy insisted I needed and it will all be put to good use. We headed up out of the big city and found a place to pull off the road and get a full nights sleep. We went to sleep at 7PM and awoke the next morning at 4 AM. Up to Estes park to meet Randy, pitch our gear in his rig and up into Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) to fish the front range and hopefully a greenback cutthroat. Arriving the trailhead we grabbed our gear and up the trail we went. Randy in the lead, Pat in the Middle with me bringing up the rear. Nice and steep trail for us flatlanders. Some huffing and puffing from the middle and rear and the front man shot up the trail like a mountain goat. When we got to the point where we dropped into the canyon to fish Randy reminded me he had given us our choice for an easy place or a challenge. I had told him we did not necessary need it easy and we had worked to get to this spot for sure. Are you all ready for some fishing? I thought so . We strung up our rods. Myself with a hopper and Randy and Pat with hopper droppers. The fishing commenced with all of us fishing and leap frogging the creek. Randy was the first to set the hook!, Mrs. BilletHead was next, Yes I caught also, We worked our way up the creek working runs and plunge pools. One of Pat's greenbacks. We all took pictures but Randy can really capture the moment. This is a combination of the three of us but I can bet you can tell his from ours, Speaking of gear camera and otherwise Randy carried a huge pack and besides his rod he carried a full sized tripod and full sized DSLR camera on his side, in the pack extra shoes, pump water purification unit, big water bottle, fishing gear, snacks and who knows what else, As the clouds began to form for the afternoon monsoon it was time break down rods and pack back up for the trip back down the mountain. Randy set up the tri pod and punched up the self timer for a shot of the three of us, Back down we went to the Randy rig, then back to Estes Park to part ways but this would not be the last time we talked to Randy. The Mrs. and I then grabbed a spot in a commercial campground for the night. a good dinner and dessert was had, I may get some flack for this picture but I guarantee I had my pint too . Into bed early after dosing with arthritis strength Tylenol . Need a good nights sleep for the next day, another place and another native. My fingers are cramping and my eyes are crossed from all this post. You all will have to wait for more while I recover, BilletHead This post has been promoted to an article

Wow. I am still in awe. What a place. I’ve always dreamed of going to Alaska but just never did. I have seen Phil and Duane’s reports over the years and wanted to do that some day. Kathy had seen Alaska before and knew I would love it. So when some friends asked us to join them on an rv trip there we pulled the trigger and then added on a week at Naknek River Camp. The moter home portion was a lot of fun. We picked it up in Anchorage and then drove to and camped in Seward and Homer. Being our first time we kinda went all out. Went on a rockfish charter, a salmon/ rockfish trip and a halibut trip. These were fun cause they got us out on the ocean, we saw unbelievable scenery and some critters, and caught some good fish. On halibut on a six pack with friends we got a 100, a couple 45s, and several smaller ones. The capt was on some fish in shallow 40 to 65 ft deep kelp beds and that made it easier and for feistier fighting fish. Great fun and a box of fillets to boot. To a person our capts and deckhands were good and very personable for their jobs. Enjoyed being with all of them. One regret is we didn’t spend much time around the Kenai river. It appears to be fairly pressured fishing but we did see 4-5 trout caught right at the bridge. The river itself is just beautiful though and I know would be worth a trip just to see it. We did stop in at the Russian river ferry to say we saw it. Since we only wanted to watch a little the kid at the booth said the entry fee would be a beer. Lol. Turned rv in Friday evening in Anc. and spent the night in town. Would have actually liked to spend a little more time there as it has a pretty active downtown area. On Sat evening we flew out to King Salmon, into the REAL Alaska, and that’s when things went to a whole new level of awesome. We were bumped from the camp to the lodge which turned out to be really good for us. Private room with full bathroom, good food, and access to I think some of the more experienced guides. I do gotta tell this. On our first day there we got skunked ! In Alaska ! Lol. We know fishing, we know our guide was more frustrated than us by far, so we were ok. Plus it was us that chose to chase silvers and they were being finicky. So the next day Tanner insisted he’s with us again cause he wanted to show us he can catch fish ! We called it redemption day ! And boy was it. We switched to rainbows and had a day when they were smolting better than usual for that time of year. What a cool way to fish. Watching for “boils” of trout attacking smolts moving down river then casting into them. Thank you Duane and Phil for setting us up perfectly for this !! I caught a 31, 3-4 in the 26-28 range, and several 20 to 25 in fish. Kathy pretty much did the same. We did this a couple days and when the guide day was over we asked to be left on the island till dinner. We caught more good fish this way including Kathy losing a fish I’m certain would have been another 30 or over. First jump 10 yards from us it looked like a whale ! Got guide John after that and after a bit of a tough “test” apparently we passed and things got really good. He had Kathy fly fishing, he helped me with my fly fishing tons more than I’ll ever remember. We hooked and landed gobs of pinks and hooked and didn’t land a whole bunch of silvers. Lol. Great day. Went to Brooks falls for touristy day. Again we were lucky and there were 9 bears there. Unusually high for time of year apparently. Also did some mouse fishing for rainbows that was neat. The coolest day was flyout to contact creek. So many firsts for us. The float plane, hiking in the tundra, Dolly Vardens. LOTS of Dolly Vardens !! And bears. Up close and personal !! We saw a small bunch just as were hiking in. We had to cut off the first creek bend because of one. Then at one point we had a sow across the creek with one cub, then a big old sow with two cubs coming up the same bank. Then those two cubs crossed to our side and we’re moving in our direction. I’ve never seen Kathy so scared. I really thought she was going to make us leave. Said she thought she was going to throw up. At this point we needed to be moving and then one of the other guests with us went down and was floundering around in the water. Like a big fish ! Twice we had broken off fish just so the bears wouldn’t hear them. lol. All we needed. I remember it crossing my mind that I was feeling some fear and wondering if this was really worth it. Turns out it WAS ! Once we got on a bigger gravel bar with some visibility we all felt better. Had another “teenager” bear come along and heard another circling around in the bush to get away from us. All in all a great experience. I was really impressed at our guides John and Chris’s knowledge and experience on how to get along around these bears. And yes they both were armed. Though hidden so as not alarm us sports. Lol. I had told Chris after the trip in that everything else would be just icing after that. At the end of the day he looked at me and said “ you got a lot icing today”! Again, LOTS of dollies. Another day of fishing with John ended our trip on a high note. We finally learned enough to be able to land enough silvers to finish up a box. Caught lots of pinks. And then spent the afternoon fishing smolting rainbows again. What a trip !!! Sorry this is so long but I am still on such a high from this trip I couldn’t quit writing. If they were to see this thanks again to the guides. They were great. And thanks again to Duane and Phil for “getting” us there. We ARE going back !!!

Dan from England, one of the participants in our trip, was being interviewed by a customs agent after he landed in Seattle, and the agent asked him what his plans were while in the United States. Dan told him he was going on a 17 day raft trip on the Salmon River in Idaho. The agent replied, "Wow, that's EPIC!" And so it was. The statistics are even epic. Put-in was a fly-in to Indian Creek on the Middle Fork, elevation about 4650 feet above sea level. Take-out more than 300 miles downstream at Heller Bar on the Snake River, elevation 820 feet. 75 miles down the Middle Fork, nearly 200 miles down the Salmon River, then the final 20 miles on the Snake. Well over 100 named rapids, up to class IV. Flow about 900 cubic feet per second at the put-in, 1500 cfs near the mouth of the Middle Fork, main Salmon doubled that flow, and the Salmon reached nearly 5000 cfs in the lower river, then the Snake was over 14,000 cfs at Heller Bar. And the fly-in was epic in a way. We met at the airfield at Stanley, Idaho for the 20 minute flight to the put-in, 24 clients and our head guide, to pile into two 10 seater planes and an 8 seater with all our gear. The flight seemed to barely clear the trackless mountains, and the plane dropped sharply into the half-mile deep canyon of the Middle Fork to approach a Forest Service dirt landing strip with a dogleg on one end between tall ponderosa pines. As the pilot twisted the plane into the curving approach, the trees and rocks appeared no more than 50 feet off the wing, and the computerized voice in the cockpit was saying, "terrain, terrain, pull up, pull up." The pilot made the little dogleg and then dropped the plane the last 10 feet onto the rutted dirt to glide not so smoothly to our waiting guides. Other than our leader, Peter, the guides had taken the rafts down the river 25 miles the day before from an access that could be driven to, the river too low to take clients up that far, so we unloaded the gear from the plane and carried it down to the waiting rafts. On this first leg, we had three passenger rafts, which also carried a lot of gear, two smaller paddle rafts, and two inflatable kayaks. The kayaks were much in demand among the kids and some of the adults in the large group, so Mary and I opted for one of the passenger rafts--I've done the paddle raft thing before, and found I don't take orders from the guide very well. Most of the group would leave us at the end of the Middle Fork, six days away, with only 6 of us remaining for the rest of the trip, so I knew I'd get plenty of chances to paddle the IK later. Besides, I was more interested in fishing. The Middle Fork is known for native cutthroat trout fishing, along with a salmon and steelhead run, so I'd packed a 5 weight fly rod and my fly tackle. I quickly found that I could fish best from the back of the raft, because the guides kept the rafts moving as fast or faster than the current, which was REALLY fast. I used dry flies, mainly hopper patterns, and it was a matter of picking a good spot, making the cast, getting a few feet of drift, and then picking up to make the next cast 50 feet downstream. I soon figured out the fish didn't like the really strong current and were mostly in small eddies along the banks, especially eddies along cliffs that dropped off into deep water. The river was almost air clear, and the fish weren't picky, mostly cuts from 8 to 12 inches; the biggest I caught was about 14 inches. It was challenging, frustrating at times because I had to pass up so much water, but fun. This trip was through OARS, the only company I found that offered the whole length of the river trips, but they aren't set up to cater to serious anglers. The Middle Fork was gorgeous, flowing through a canyon that reached nearly a mile deep, the slopes very steep and studded with big pines, which also lined the lower benches along the river. It was in the heart of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, and was roadless, though there were a few ranch inholdings and airstrips. The rapids were steep, with narrow runs between huge boulders. We hiked one day up to a hot spring and soaked in the nearly unbearably hot water, then plunged into the 50 degree water of the creek it flowed into. Another day we did a hard, steep climb up to a lookout point with an unbelievable view of mountains as far as we could see, and the river winding its way through the wilderness. We explored Native American pictographs and village sites, wondering at how they made a living in these inhospitable places, but realizing that the river once had a huge salmon run each year that the Indians depended upon. Now only a few salmon make it past all the dams between the Middle Fork and the ocean, a pitiful remnant of what once kept the river corridor fertile and fed the Indians along with the whole ecology. Lunch the last day of the Middle Fork leg of the trip was a mile above the confluence with the main Salmon, and at that point the six of us who would continue on left the others. Mary, Dan from England, Rose and Russell from Texas, all piled into Peter's raft, while Jackson and I took the two kayaks. It was my first chance to paddle the IK. We ran the last rapid on the Middle Fork, which was enough to give me some feel of how the IK handled. It was amazingly stable and handled wave trains well as long as you powered through them, and I gained confidence I could handle a lot of rapids in it. I'd gotten used to the rapids on the Middle Fork, which were tight and required maneuvering, but which I was pretty sure I could have handled in my own raft. But the rapids on the main Salmon would be bigger. As we approached the first one, Peter called us over and told us it was a straightforward run, but there would be two big, steep waves after the first sharp drop that would really punch us hard, and to be ready to paddle very strongly to get over them. He was right. I dropped over the four foot ledge and hit the first wave, which seemed to tower over me. Two hard paddle strokes and I was at the top, hesitating slightly, and then over, to drop into the trough behind it and up the second one, which was at a slight angle. I hit the paddle on the opposite the slope of the wave to turn the IK into it, one more stroke, and I was over it and into the diminishing wave train below. Good run. We met the first of our new set of guides, Zach, for the rest of the trip a few miles downstream at the Cache Bar access, where we picked up more provisions and Peter transferred from his raft into a dory. It was the first sight of a dory for Mary and me. Superficially resembling a drift boat, the dory had more rocker, was a bit wider, and had a lot of enclosed, hopefully waterproof storage space, with just cockpits for the rower and passengers. The cockpits had back support, and we thought the dory would be good for Mary's bad back, so we took the Dory along with Jackson, while Rose, Russel, and Dan took Zach's raft. But we soon found out that the back rests weren't helpful for Mary, and the exaggerated rocking motion of the dory in rapids made her motion sickness act up, so that would be our only afternoon in the dory. We rowed a few miles farther to the last access for many miles, Corn Creek, where we met the other two guides who would be rowing commissary rafts, Hannah and Maura, along with a new client, Jeff, who was rowing his own dory but paying OARS to accompany him down the river and provide the other amenities. The "main" Salmon, also flowing through the wilderness area, is one of the most beautiful rivers I've ever seen, flowing in a deep canyon with almost impossibly steep mountainsides, cliffs plunging straight down into the clear river, big pines still lining the mountainsides. But I may have made a tactical error in my fishing. I'd been told that smallmouth made it up this far and that trout fishing was mainly limited to areas around feeder streams, so I put the fly rod away and broke out my 4 piece casting rod and my smallmouth lures. In the next four days I only caught one smallmouth. I caught a nice trout on a spinnerbait. So maybe I should have kept concentrating on the trout. But squawfish kept it interesting. These things look like creek chubs on steroids, averaging 12-14 inches, with some getting bigger. They hit the spinnerbait like a freight train, fought hard for a few seconds, then gave up. But overall the fishing was slow enough that one day I decided to put the rod away and take the kayak for the day. I ran a few big, but easy rapids, and then had a problem on one. I was following Hannah in her raft, keeping to her line, when she hit an eddy and stopped. I couldn't slow down in the wave train, so I got too close, and her raft blocked my view of the run below and I couldn't see the line I needed to follow. When she got her raft out of the way, suddenly I was facing boulder sticking up five feet out of the water, the current piling into it, no way to avoid it. I hit the cushion of water on the upstream side of the sloping boulder at a slight angle, and saw an eddy off to the right surrounded by even bigger rocks. So I paddled hard off the cushion, did a brace to keep from flipping as the IK slid sideways off the pillow, and dropped into the eddy, out of sight of everybody. The IK spun in the eddy and I saw a gap in the rocks wide enough for the kayak, and paddled hard into and through it to emerge, as if by magic as Mary said, out of the rocks safe and sound. "Nice save!" Peter said. The guides only scouted six rapids before running them the whole trip. One of them was Ludwig, that same day. And when I saw it, I immediately saw what you had to do to get through it. The problem would be in doing it. You had to drop over the lip of the rapid near the left bank to avoid a big pour-over and massive hole on the right, then ride a wave train down to nearly where it crashed into a jumble of boulders, then veer right, but not too far right, because there was an even bigger barely submerged boulder with a huge hole there. If you made it that far, the rest of the run was a maelstrom of whitewater everywhere, but nothing that looked like it would stop you, you just had to handle the chaos. Yep, I knew what to do, but would I be able to do it in the confusion of the rapid? I almost chickened out, but God hates a coward, so I tightened the straps on my pfd and climbed back into the IK. It turned out to be a perfect run. I'm not sure it was because I did everything right, because the river just seemed to push me where I needed to go, but I came out the other end without even a close call with swimming. After four days in the main Salmon canyons, we reached the next access point, Vinegar Creek, where we picked up more supplies and then continued on in much more civilized water, with roads along the river as we approached the town of Riggins. But the weird thing was that Vinegar Creek marked the sudden beginning of smallmouth fishing. I caught my second smallmouth of the trip just above it, then my third, and then I was catching them regularly. Most were from 10 to 14 inches, but some reached 16 or 17. Ultimately the fishing was even more frustrating in some ways that the trout fishing on the Middle Fork had been. The guides kept the rafts moving way too fast. Indeed, we had more than 60 miles of civilized water ahead and the guides wanted to push through it in two days, so they kept to the main current and rowed like crazy. Sitting in the back of Zach's raft, I had to make very long casts much of the time, get a few feet of retrieve, and then get the lure to the surface to skip it in as fast as I could reel, meanwhile trying to decide where the next optimum spot to cast would be. The smallmouth were almost invariably right up against the banks in slower water eddies, and I had to hit within a foot of the bank to have a chance. Some of the best places were indentations in sheer rock walls that required pinpoint casts. But if I got the lure where I needed to get it, more often than not there would be a fish, or a group of fish, there. Fishing like that greatly limited the kind of lures I could use, too, and I settled upon a double willow leaf spinnerbait and my homemade twin spin as being the most practical lures to use. They worked very well the rest of the trip. We got through the civilized water and into the rugged, desert-like, black rock canyons of the lower river. Gone were the trees, other than scrub willows and bushes. The igneous rock walls, some of them columnar basalt, dropped sheer into the water in long stretches. The rapids were narrow and sharp-dropping. And it was hot. No, hot doesn't describe it. Our last camp on the Salmon, on the night of the 15th day of the trip, was the hottest place I'd ever been. We got there early in the afternoon of a day where the temperature in Lewiston on the Snake River below our take-out registered 114 degrees. And in that canyon, with no shade during a long stretch of the day, with that black rock soaking up the heat, the temperature had to be considerably higher than that. When a wind came up that afternoon, it felt like standing under a hair dryer on high speed and highest temperature. It was so dry that if you jumped in the river, your clothes and hair dried in minutes. We didn't even bother to set up a tent, we just spent most of the afternoon in the 75 degree river water, coming out briefly to eat the supper the guides suffered to produce, then going back in the water. At full darkness, it was still so hot, the heat radiating from the huge rocks that surrounded out sleeping site on sand, that we would wet our towels in the river, and then lie atop our pads nearly naked with the towels lying on our chest and stomach. We longed for the days on the Middle Fork when the nighttime temps had gotten down to 50 degrees. We came out onto the much bigger Snake River, dam-controlled, clear, with long, slow pools separated by sharp rapids. The smallmouth were bigger, but the wind was blowing upstream and I got fewer chances at them. I broke off one that hit in a big riffle corner eddy as we shot past it in the powerful current. I caught some nice ones when I could reach the banks. At our last campsite, ten miles above the take-out, I used a HiDef Craw to catch several good fish along the bank next to camp. The last day, the wind was really blowing, and I doubt if I was able to make more than 25 quality casts all morning...but I caught 12 smallies. This on a Saturday on a river where the huge, high speed western style jetboats and even several monstrous excursion boats full of 50 or more people were everywhere. What a fishery that river must be! Within sight of the take-out at Heller Bar, I was using the twin spin as we shot down a huge wave train. I was barely holding on, straddling the back of the raft, when I made a cast to the current seam between the wave train and the slower water. A big smallmouth hit just as the lure reached the big waves. I had no chance. The line broke. I took the rod apart and put it away. I sure would like to go back and fish that river right! (Photos to follow tomorrow night, hopefully!)

Dan Most likely the kill is due to DO issues. The issues in Florida IisI beleive are mostly due to heavy fertilizer run off from the water coming from the farm lands below Lake Okeechobee. Most of the water that would flush out the everglades has been diverted from going into the Everglades and may be creating the issues in Fort Meyers and Port St Lucie.Those nutrients feed the algae creating those green and red tides. That algae blocks the light going to the sea grass causing the grass to die off leading to low DO values. Then the tides themselves die off contunuing to drive down the oxygen. If the dead zone is karge enough the fish have nowhere to go.

Monday 7-30 part 2 the Colorado River Cutt with bonus Brookies, Up early and headed to the Western divide and another fish. We have caught the Colorado Cutt in our Cuttslam in Wyoming and Utah but wanted one from this state so here we go. Up the Eastern slope we went towards the top. Here we are looking back to the sunrise and where we had came from, We continued our way up and started seeing elk, the bulls up high and cows and calves down lower, When we hit alpine altitude the big mule deer started showing up, That second mule deer pair I really liked as they were gazing at the same sunrise we had. I may need to print and frame that one. Still on the Eastern Divide close to the summit and continental divide we came upon the headwaters of another stream Randy said we should check out. The frost was heavy on the grass and the truck thermometer registered in the low thirties. We also had a thermometer that registers and records highs and lows and this was the coldest morning we had and it said twenty-eight. So we donned waders and wader boots. This would be the only time in waders on the whole trip as we like to wet wade. This is why the waders went on, Icy, frosty feet! We loved it as we love each other toe to toe. The grass was heavy with the frost and it covered the little stream as it bent over. We found very little fishable just finding a spot of water here and there. We knew there were fish under that grass hiding. We will go back for a long walk again someday exploring this stretch of water God willing, The way to fish this place, We each caught a bookie up here. Poor pictures I know so blame it on the one behind the camera, We walked back to the truck and peeled off the frosty waders. Loaded up and slipped over the top to the Western slope. Another drainage that ends up going towards the pacific. More headwaters. We arrived to the point to fish another suggestion from our friend Randy. We found a wider stream but thin water, We worked up the stream some and found two brookies for our efforts. No other fisherman we could see but we could of been following others working over the fish. Who knows but no excuses we just did not catch. After that we looked for a place to camp and fish more. Found that place and set up and went back to fishing. Better luck this time after getting away from campground. Children were enjoying the cool water wading, splashing and throwing rocks. Doing what kids do having fun. This part of the stream was the flat thin water plus deeper holes with wood giving fish places to hide from predators and fishermen and fisherwomen like ourselves. Many places you had to do your best to sneak and not spook the fish in the clear water. Other places you could see the fish but no way to get a fly to them, at least we couldn't. We caught, oh how we caught. Beautiful fish but one in particular was not landed. One of two fish on this trip I wanted to land. It was in a deep back eddy. Deep enough you could not see the bottom Came up and slurped the hopper. I set the hook and it instantly went back to the wood. I got him cleared and then it was into the moss with a roll and then it unbuttoned itself. We both seen it. For this sized stream maybe a 14 to 16 inch fish. So here is the typical sized we caught Colorado and brookie from this stream, Back to the truck camper, a good meal and nights rest and another early morning rise for what's next, BilletHead

Part 3 the Rio Grande, Leaving the North part of the state it was now time to head South and finding the Rio Grande cut. We had told Randy the plans to find these fish and to our surprise he had been doing research for us behind the scenes . A text came in from him. Hey I found a place you might want to try. I have never been there but what I found said it has a great survey result. He passed on the name of the creek and the area. So as the Mrs. was driving I got the map and found it. The creek was in the Sangre De Cristo Mountain Range. Access through the great sand dunes National Park and Reserve. I had no idea what we were in for and how dicey it was going to be. On the way down we stopped in Salida in three places for info. Place one a welcome center chamber of commerce type of place. We needed some water in our supply tank and here we got it. In the building we went to see a couple in charge. They asked what we had been doing and where we were going. We gave them the scoop and what we had done and our next quest. The gentleman responded. "You cant be fishing for those fish it is illegal" " There is nothing like those around here" I pointed to a picture of the three native cutthroat of Colorado on a wall poster and enlightened him. Really he said I had no idea. I asked if there was a fish and game and or a forest service office for more info. They gave us addresses and we headed for those places. Place two the forest service office. So in for more maps and info. The lady asked just like the others our business and what we needed. I explained and her response. " We don't have any fish like that around here" " There was a big fire years back and they went in and took them out before the ash run off killed them out" "You know those fish are rare and endangered" I explained on deaf ears and we ducked out. Not their specialty I thought maybe the Department of fish and game can help. Stop three and the circus continues. So we waltz in the front door to three sitting behind the counter. A lady, and two men one pretty young. So again I give them the plan. The young man proceeds to tell me there is no such thing as a genetically pure Rio Grande Cutthroat. They are all crossed up with rainbow trout. I told him we had seen the paper on the creek we were going to that Randy had sent us via text. Showed it to him. See right here the fisheries biologist says Rio Grande 100% pure 30 fin clips. Again he wanted to tell me I was wrong and the fisheries biologist too. We slipped out of there also. I get it not everyone can be specialists in one category but in this world of technology don't you think they should do some self enlightening? I mean even I took pictures of plants and trees I have never seen before, made notes and will be looking them up for my self enlightening. So to google up one more phone number and make a call. The Great Sand dunes. I get a number and call. Lady answers and I ask about the process of driving through the dune road into the national forest. There was a pause on the other end then she asked what I was driving. Told her a 3/4 ton 4WD pickup with a small fold down camper in the back. Another pause, Sir do you know you will be travelling through a primitive deep sand road? Well yes I had seen that. Another pause Are you sure you know what you are doing? This time I paused good truck, new tires, small camper I think so. No pause she asks what were we going to do up there? I explained and she lightened up saying she was a fly fisherman and conversation got better from there on. I thanked her and on South we traveled to the Great Sand Dunes. As we traveled in what I would call high desert in the distance we could see large buildings. Seemed out of place in the area. As we got closer we could see tall fences and razor wire on top of the fence? Then it hit me growing operations for the new cash crop in Colorado! These buildings were all over in all sizes and shapes. There were also many that had not succeeded and abandoned. No doubt they had smoked the product to be sold and gone broke. So we finally hit the gate of the Great Sand Dunes . Late in the afternoon. Man and Woman in the booth one facing each side. We got the lady. First thing she said after looking at the truck and camper. Do you know our campground is full and it is booked yearly in advance? I said yes mam We seen the sign. What are your plans she said? I explained we are going to drive through the primitive road into the national forest. The response was borderline epic, "IN THAT?" Yes then the interrogation started. Is it 4WD ad not AWD? Yes. "Do you know what you are doing?" I think so . "How heavy is that camper on the back of the truck?" Not too bad. She cocked her head and said just a minute. She grabbed the other guy in the booth. I could hear her. Do you think that and they could do the road up into the forest. He stuck his head out and looked over out rig and said I think so . Whoo Hoo that is all we needed and off we went into the national park. Soon the blacktop ended at the base of the park campground. At that place there was a RV dump and right next to that was a big industrial air compressor and a sign air here. I thought that was odd, never seen one of those in places like this. That answer would soon come to light. The road became less and less until we arrived at a turn around. Flashing signs, hard signs, warning signs. Soft sand, point of no return, lower tire pressure for traction etc. Now we passed those signs and kept on a trucking. The pucker factor went out the roof as the Mrs. and I gave each other a look of fright. The road became a two wheel slot for your tires. The hump in the middle where undercarriage and differentials had been dragging. There were high bank turn outs on slopes along the way where passing may be done. You could see where tire digging had been done on these banks.... The pucker became even tighter. Yes in 4WD high it had the feeling of driving in deep snow spinning and drifting feeling. Not a feeling we actually were. Met three vehicles coming towards us in places. Fancy jeeps and other tricked out giant tired rigs. Oh Heck I thought. Have we bit off too much this time? There was eight miles of this road in the National park signs along the way no parking, no camping etc. We finally could see trees in the distance and soon we were upon them road not much better we made it to the national forest. Besides the sand we now had to thread the trees on both sided of the road. I am puckering just typing this. We soon started seeing pull outs and picnic tables, bear boxes too. We pulled into one still spinning we backed into one. leveled the camper. Then took a break. Up from the camper was a ridge and over that ridge and down the slope the creek was supposed to be. We walked up and looked down to see a small creek. Slid down the sand bank to see Rio Grande trout darting off from seeing us! My goodness we found it! Back to set up the camper fully and quickly build and string up our rods. Rig and view from site, Now to the fun part. Within 30 minutes we had both landed our first Rio Grande Cutthroat 100 % pure Natives I might add , Again small creek, tight fishing and passed up many places you could not fish at all. We ran into a couple hikers, a man and his son. We asked if they would take a picture for us? They did as we stood in the little creek, This is where we turned around and took the trail back to the truck but there was one more cast I wanted to try to make. Right above where we stood was a pool. in front of the pool there were two logs above the water above the water the willows enclosed the top. one small hole to send a fly through. I set up and made the cast. The hopper shot through like I knew what I was doing. Pat said you lucky turd, The spot but the cast was back from where I stood. The hopper floated maybe two foot and up came the cutty and it was one last fish on. I fought him and landed him under the double logs. Pat just shook her head, We got back to the camper, broke down the rods. Got inside and at the same time. We did it, all three Colorado natives. Dinner and a nights sleep. A bit restless though as we were both pondered about getting out of here. So later it will be the ride out and the Dunes. The fishing is not done and more surprises lay ahead, BilletHead

Wasn't able to post pics initially and forgot about it. Pretty neat looking fish whatever it was, and a nice cmallmouth or hybrid one.

It sounds like the affect is pretty far north. This thread started as informative, then quickly digressed into something else, I don't understand some of these guys?? I will be very interested to find out what is killing fish. Anyway it doesn't look like it has hurt your walleye fishing, you are doing great ! I need lessons.

Outstanding! And in too many ways to count. Livin' the dream comes to mind.........

Strong trip reporting BilletHead. Thanks for taking me along for the ride via the General Angling Discussion forum. Glad y'all had a good time and made it home safely. Peace.

Whipped up some pork chili verde for tomorrow night. Charred some Hatch chilies and tomatillos. Braised pork with water, onions, bay leaves and peppercorns for a couple hours. Blended peeled chilies and tomatillos then added to sauteed onions and garlic with chicken stock, shredded pork and braising liquid. Made a couple tacos with some of the pork tonight, because I just couldn’t put it away without having some. And it was good.

Nice avatar.

I’m just waiting on Phil to activate her account. Stay tuned. 😄

All the way would be good.

Ok, fine. At least go back and like all my posts.

So, that’s how it’s gonna be!

What are you doing on here?

Came home after two weeks to all of my apples stripped off of the trees. They were small because of the dry weather. The coons and squirrels are to blame. I will deal with the coons in time but got to take out one of the other culprits this morning. I got her undressed and cleaned. A tough old gal but lots of meat. Pitched her in the fridge to ponder. To freeze or eat right away? After thinking a bit more I grabbed one of my vintage Wagner Ware skillets. A little 1055C which measures 7.5 inches at the rim and 6.5 inside at the bottom. So I put in a dollop of goose fat and while that was heating mixed some flour, S&P and a shot of dust from hell, not enough to burn you but get that smoky bite. in a zip lock i shook that and the meat up. From there the meat went into the hot little skillet to brown. When browned I pulled the meat and as the skillet cooled a bit I crushed six juniper berries. Grabbed the rosemary too. So I added some cheap White zinfandel to the skillet and heated up again, threw in the crushed juniper berries and a pinch of our garden dehydrated rosemary then took a little spatula and deglazed the pan. when I got this to start to bubble I put the meat back in, nestled it down and reduced to a simmer, The smell was great. I then covered and walked away letting it braise. Couldn't stand it and took a peek 30minutes later, it was making a beautiful gravy with the drippings. Gave it another 30 minutes until forked tender. Time to plate up, The gravy drippings had thickened up and reduced. I poured it over the meat pieces and went to eating, all of it, I felt somewhat guilty about not saving Pat a leg for when she got home from work. BUT I have a few in the freezer and will cook her and i a big skillet full this weekend. May even have some vegetables with it . Since no one else will I am going to give myself some stars for execution, not so many for plating but a bunch for taste. Then take them all away for eating it all . Story from a foodie hack over, BilletHead

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts. You had some very good points and information. I am not sure when I will get to put my plan into action. But would like to try it at least on a part time basis. Feel free to pm me if you would like to go sometime.

You can drop shot those big gills BTW

I have experienced strainers, both ones I could see and ones in the Mississippi that I couldn't. A log underwater (that you can't see) creates a hydraulic effect that will try to suck you under. Was always told to relax and go with it and not waste too much energy trying to fight it, but I've always been able to fight my way out. I always worry about fishing line (especially braid) when swimming in our lakes and rivers. There's tons of that stuff out there.

Ha! 😆 Back in the day one of my buddies used to holler "Oh I'm sorry, do you wanna fish here?" to the guys at Bennett that started crowding in on him. They would always apologize and move.

all i did was post an article about dead fish and the same negative guys turn it into an argument over loz i never mentioned that lake also babler asked if i was in a boat and i was but he walked the bank for his observations i seldom post but i don't pay attention to the usual negative guys i read what the normal usual positive contributors have to say

It is a gift for sure. Come fish it some time, you might have fun, and you need to have some fun, being a sour old man is not the way you want to spend your remaining years.

I’m an efficient fisherman. Didn’t need as much time as you guys took 😄

While the Meramec is full of snags and hidden under-water dangers, just like any other rivers of similar size flow . . . . I'm guessing that out of the 14 drownings that occurred there at Castlewood . . . . . at least 12 were people who didn't know how to swim. They see people wading ankle and waist deep and think they are safe. They get a little bit overconfident and wade further downstream and then hit some loose gravel at a drop-off ledge . . . . their footing gives and slides out from under them, and panic ensues. Someone who also cannot swim attempts to rescue and they drown as well. Probably not entangled in a strainer at that spot, but I'm just guessing.

Oh I can see it now. Why Don't you get her whole kindergarten class signed up and logged in. A class project. That ought to keep Ness and the Nesslings busy . Wait! A better idea would be get them to sand and refinish the deck first , BilletHead

My family and I fished near K dock for 4 days last week. This was my first trip to BS and I came away impressed with the quality of the fish and the beauty of the lake. I spend most of my time fishing Beaver and Table Rock chasing walleye on both and stripers on the former. We targeted walleye last week on BS, but we did catch a few nice incidental K's and LM too. Ended up with 7 walleyes between 22-25" with another 10 between 18-21". We caught >80% of our fish from 6-8 am and 7-9 pm. We did pick up some in the middle of the day early in the week, but only when there was cloud cover. All fish came on bluff walls in 28-35 FOW on trolled cranks at 2 - 2.5 mph. We used Flicker Minnow #11's, Bomber Deep Fat Free Shad's and SK 6XD's with 1 or 2 oz snap weights. Shad colors worked best for us and the only time we got bit was after the cranks made contact with structure. A big thanks to Rangerman for the information supplied in his posts over the past several months. A few sample photos included.

Done. How far back should I go?

OK..I asked Marty what he had for lunch today. He said I had to look on here to find out. You all heard him; he said that he would fix it for me this weekend. I promise you will hear if he does not!! And you can all spread the wrath on him!! Mrs BilletHead

Fished last week Wed afternoon through Saturday mid day: Took the boat from Cooper Creek up slightly above Fall Creek in the afternoons when they were running water. Throwing stick baits of all sorts looking for Browns. Caught some small ones but nothing big. Was a little disappointed, usually when they are running that much water there are some good ones to be had (see Duane's thread from Sat, they are there I must have been doing it wrong!!) In the mornings i was getting up around 430 or 500 and fishing until 800 below outlet two a ways. Was catching them before daylight on Pine Sculpins, but once it got light out it slowed way down and I couldn't quite get it figured out after that. Size 16/18 red midge was the best I guess. Lot of just under the surface activity between starting to get light and when the sun hit the water. Thought the soft hackle would be the ticket but no so much. Even tried a few dry's after my indicator got violated the third time in a few minutes but no luck. Sat mid-day the little one wanted to go try it so we stopped at Phil's and picked up some 1/125oz jigs to throw under floats. She had a few hits but wasn't quick enough to hook up. Still had fun and I had the cutest partner in the Trophy area

Got mine at Wal-Mart. They’re from MO.

Yeah, just a wee bit....

This was easy to do. Don’t really need the clay crock. Have done kraut a couple times. It was just ok. Probably be better with a better starting product.

Yes. Here’s the recipe I used: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/dill-pickles-recipe-1950656

I’m quite pleased with the fermented pickles. Nice and sour with a touch of heat. Kept a good crunchy texture. Transfered to a smaller container and have them in the fridge.

Has anyone experience an "undertow"? Can an adequate swimmer walk out into a river and be exposed to a phenomena that will cause him to drown even if he is making the proper decisions.

I used to fish with my hard hat on. I'm good enough now that I just wear a sombrero.

Only if they are farm raised. Assuming you mean actual Missouri fish, not something commercially supplied from other states, countries etc.

you need to call the mdc immediately monday if you have not already. thanks for the pics and hope the mdc is busy figuring out why the fish are dying. and, just because you do not see bass floating, does not mean they have not died. what is on the surface can be just a small percentage of what has actually died and just sank to the bottom bo

On one of his "for sale" posts on FB a person asked him what size they were... he said mostly 1-3 pounders with a few 20-24 inches. Ugh...

For me it would be for the knowledge,but dealing with the public there will be those that will be unhappy if don't put them on fish.I had a guide service in Alaska fishing for Salmon and Trout on a couple of rivers and I always felt the pressure to perform,also I was responsible for their safety and that added a little pressure.Of course,fishing down here is a diff. situation,you won't have to worry about a bear eating your clients before you get paid. I started fishing for Walleyes on lake Erie and did what I thought was pretty good ,although I never had a 40 or 50 fish day. They were a lot easier to catch there. Fishing these corps lakes is a whole diff game from what I've done.As I'm getting older I would go just for the knowledge and would be picking your brain to take a shortcut learning how to fish these lakes.Also I'm not very bright and need all the help I can get. Thanks again for sharing with us here. Mike also what mocarp said

Guiding is HARD work and like most jobs dealing with people, there are clients that are a pleasure and others well you know... Anglers with little time to learn a water are best served hiring a guide

Got to agree with Quill on this Plug that was pretty much uncalled for. None of us want to hear bad news about any of our regional lakes. There had been reports the last two weeks of dead trout below Beaver Dam. One of the local trout guides up there had been hollering his head off about the dead fish, saying there were hundreds of dead trout. TV Tom, were you on the water to see the dead fish? Was wondering if any were trout or you were absolutely sure they were walleye and bass. Not questioning you at all, if you were in a boat eye ball to eye ball but looking off the bridge I could see where the walleye could have been trout that they been yelling about. I'll go up tomorrow and check it out and post some pic's of what I find, if I have the time.