NoLuck

Good to fish with ya again Pat. Don't forget to keep in mind the last weekend in October.Hopefully I'll have my rod fixed and back by then.

Saw those on fleabay also.

No problem. I like to buy as much stuff as I can locally. But tippet is rediculous. A 100 meter spool will almost last me all year. About the only other thing I buy on there is tungsten beads in 100 pkgs. Save a ton that way too.

Go on eBay and buy Frog hair flourocarbon tippet in 100 meter spools. You'll save a ton of cash. Those small spools for 18 bucks will make you go broke quick if you fish a lot.

What size tippet are you talking Bnorm?? i use 6X flourocarbon year round. Never had an issue. I'll use 5x or maybe even 4X during high murky water and with bigger bugs.

I don't think 8 out of 10 is accurate but maybe 3 out of 10 is pretty close. Plus I caught 4-5 fish closer 3 lbs this weekend. 1 rainbow I'm pretty certain was a solid 4+. Regardless, I'm sure you'll catch a few small fish here and there. But the overall size is really better this year compared to the past few years.

They litter because they're Turdballs. I see it in the woods too. Some people are just not caring people. They don't have enough integrity or morals to do what's right. Unfortunately it's gonna get worse until someone punishes their behavior.

I also was down and fished a few hours each day Sat- Monday. I managed about 25 fish each day. You had to work for them no doubt. All I fished was a # 18 TBH midge. Getting away from the scores of bank fisherman is getting ridiculous. They were in zone 1 with power bait and treble hooks by the gauge house. Tossing rubber worms and other stuff not legal. Zone 2 by the outlet pipe in the highbank hole was like an opening day under the bridge. Same illegal lures and bait being used. They toss the empty jars on the ground when they leave. Total disrespect for rules and other fisherman. I sure hope the big big crowds are slowing down now. But.. I kinda doubt it with all the nice weather.

I agree the crowds this year have been bigger than the last few years. But, the general average fish size has been bigger than in years past. With the exception of the fish brought in from SOH when people were complaining about the small fish that the previous hatchery manager was releasing. Sure you'll catch a small fish here and there. But it's been pretty mixed on fish size. Pretty much how it should be in my opinion. Plus there's been a lot more browns in the stream. That may have been a result of an accident, but it's still a plus for the fisherman that like to catch one occasionally. I personally hope the crowds dwindle a bunch from here till late season. I don't think it will though. Cheaper gas prices and the college kids along with nicer weather pretty much will keep the stream crowded. I guess we'll see.

It's been pretty quiet on here. Seems like when nothing gets posted to complain about, fishing is generally pretty good. LOL I've been down the last 3 weekends and have seen some really nic fish being caught. There's also a few smaller ones still in the stream that give you a good mix. Funny how nobody is complaining this year. The new hatchery manager gets nothing but kudos from me. Job Well Done Mr. Havens!!

I'm guessing, that it came up from the river to get in cooler water.I

Hard to say. Lots of times fish caught on bait are doomed anyway. Plus bigger fish can't take the stress of being caught and released. Nice to see some big fish caught once in a while though.

Yeah yeah........ keep rubbing it in. I'll remember that when y'all are freezing your arses off and I'm out in Vegas.

Glad to see you getting out, Jerry. How is the wife doing?? Hope all is going well. I should be back in MO sometime in the next couple weeks. Be glad to feel some moisture in the air and see something green.

They are better filleted than I thought they would be. Still rather have bluegill.

This is the agents way of fishing out the bad apples. I think their time would be better served if they would just put in the hours on the stream looking for violations that pertain to wildlife regulations. A few days at various random times undercover would yield a lot more violations than a check point. People just need to see them out there keeping people honest. I know the manpower isnt isn't what it used to be, but they should still be able to do the field work other than a roadside check.

Hopefully it stays here when I leave here next month. It's brutal. Can't wait to get home. The cold water coming out of the faucets here is as warm or warmer than bath water.

Finally made it up part of the mountain with my 2wd dually. I knew it was hotter up there than down hill. But I didn't realize it was that bad. Granted there is about 4 pieces of equipment running up there.

I think when or if I make it back I'm gonna lay in the spring till I get hypothermia.

Same here. I'm on a job from hell. Temps near 120 degrees for another 4-6 days. If i live I should be back in mid July.

I get that much. The stream is a living thing. I'm sure that it wasn't going to be the same as before the flood. But, after the water goes back down to an average level people will get a better idea of how bad things really are. I was down a couple years ago after some real bad flooding and while it was still high, I also thought that it was going to be a total mess. Turned out that it just filled in some places and washed out others. Not really as bad of a deal than I originally thought it was going to be. I thought that it made for somewhat of a challenge to find new pockets and seams that held fish. I guess some people like fishing the usual places and prefer things that way. I like the changes as long as it's not dangerous for people to fish. But, i'm sure there'll be some work that gets done to remove sand and gravel as well as erosion repairs.

Exactly what makes it a mess??

Fished Saturday afternoon from 3:30pm till around 7:15. Stream was up and running pretty good. I believe it as close to 3' by the time I got on the stream. The clarity was pretty decent for the amount of rain they got Friday. With the Ozark fly fishers in town for their deal it was pretty crowded. I still managed to find some open water to fish and catch about 2 dozen fish. Fished an egg pattern with chartreuse and orange with a tungsten bead to get it down deep quickly. Size 12 with an 1/8" bead. You had to get a good drift with a huge mend to get it down quick or the current really tried to drag it back up. I kept an eye on the Usgs site to see what the water did on Sunday and it looked to be dropping pretty quick back to its previous level. Drove through the park around 6:30 on my way out and the clarity looked pretty much the same as it was on Saturday. They're calling for more rain through this week and this coming weekend. As long as it's not a torrential rain things should stay pretty much as they are. Guess we'll have to see.

I'm headed down this weekend on weed and bug duty. Roundup and Sevin spraying time. Ill let everyone know how the water is Sunday or Monday.

Seen it more and more at the trout parks too. Actually seen a 14-16 year old kid kicking up stuff and just scooping up fish with the net because he couldn't catch them with a rod. His parents were right there just laughing about it. ??