Kayser

Like I said- the bulk and weight are steering me away from that route, not just the price. I've got a great walk-in spot on public land where the brush gets beat to hell early on, so I'm trying to avoid the pit and just hunt from the bank (or just use the blanket to help brush the pit). But it's a mile in with 3-4 dozen G&H water keels on my back, plus my backpack with a robo duck and food, plus gun and full clothing. And it's public ground, so making more than one trip risks giving up your spot. Another spot is going to be picked corn on the outside bend of a large oxbow lake, and I'm hoping the geese use it this year, possibly even try to field-hunt ducks. I really want to try the blanket, as there are a few natural depressions I can squeeze into right now (6'2", 165lbs).

I'm in need of some good, portable ground concealment. But the bulk, weight, and price of layout blinds have me shying away. I was considering making a blanket (4' x 6') to just roll up and throw in my decoy bag and drag around with me. My gun case is thick foam that fully unzips (shadowgrass/cornfield camo), meant to be used as a seat/ground pad, so that would keep me from getting too cold, wet, or muddy. Now for the brass tacks- I've seen the blankets with raffia zip-stripped to leaf-cut camo, but I sometimes hunt in areas without a lot of vegetation to work in, and that might not be enough.. I was thinking about making a thicker "ghillie-suit" style blanket instead. This thicker camo would also come in handy if I have to brush a blind on public ground (they get beat down by the end of the season). I was planning on getting some lighter synthetic ghille thread in brown, gray, tan, and maybe black (no green), then tying that onto some 1" netting on top of some camo fabric. Hoping to keep it synthetic so it won't rot or hold too much water. Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions on this little project? Probably going to be for ducks, possibly a goose or two.

Wrench- MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a type of staph infection that is resistant to most antibiotics. It can lead to necrotic wounds and possibly blood poisoning, eventually causing sepsis. Nasty stuff.

Thanks for the updates. I was going to head that way either the end of August or early October. Hoping for 10ft or better visibility. I'll dig through some old reports and see what to expect.

Wow. It looks like I may need to head that way to do some diving. Do you think the water will hold more than 20ft vis until September?

Read on another site that the rock was the clearest it's been in 30 years, with 30-40 ft vis. Any truth to that rumor?

Grass carp. White meat, good fried. You just have to know how to clean one. If you want to catch more of them, you could try chumming with corn and using cherry tomatoes.

1. Green pumpkin Bitsy bug with orange craw trailer. Possibly as a swim jig. 2. Chrome Norman little N 3. F11 rapala, gold/black 4. Zoom fluke 5. Fly rod poppers- the frog has worked well this year.

He said WY conditions. Maybe frogs?

As we approach the dog days of summer, be sure to check for leeches if you're wading. Little buggers only seem to come out when it's hottest.

Thanks. I'm just trying to match it on the fly rod now- they were crushing poppers over some boulders with current a couple weeks ago. Work has gotten in the way since then...

July 2010, on the river that most overlook. Never got a tape on her, but this is my best. I'm 6'2", for reference. Pretty sure it was pushing 20.

I was friends with someone that used to spear on some creeks, even some big smallmouth. I but my tongue and kindly educated him on how old those fish were, as well as how illegal it was to even possess an underwater spear on the banks of am unimpounded water. He promptly switched to rough fish in lakes, and I joined him a few times-even made my own Hawaiian sling. But my message to smalliebigs is this- getting disgusted and quitting means that the rest of us are going to have to pick up the slack. Additionally, I'm thinking phone-a-thon to the local mdc agent would be a good idea. Annoy them into taking action.

I was friends with someone that used to spear on some creeks, even some big smallmouth. I but my tongue and kindly educated him on how old those fish were, as well as how illegal it was to even possess an underwater spear on the banks of am unimpounded water. He promptly switched to rough fish in lakes, and I joined him a few times-even made my own Hawaiian sling. But my message to smalliebigs is this- getting disgusted and quitting means that the rest of us are going to have to pick up the slack. Additionally, I'm thinking phone-a-thon to the local mdc agent would be a good idea. Annoy them into taking action.

I was friends with someone that used to spear on some creeks, even some big smallmouth. I but my tongue and kindly educated him on how old those fish were, as well as how illegal it was to even possess an underwater spear on the banks of am unimpounded water. He promptly switched to rough fish in lakes, and I joined him a few times-even made my own Hawaiian sling. But my message to smalliebigs is this- getting disgusted and quitting means that the rest of us are going to have to pick up the slack. Additionally, I'm thinking phone-a-thon to the local mdc agent would be a good idea. Annoy them into taking action.

Hey now, not all of us from IL are after a bucket full of 10" bass. Unless they're spots. Those are pretty tasty.

Couple weeks late, but oh well. Went to the north end of the lake to avoid mud from the recent rains- found water with 3-4ft vis. Motored up an arm trying to find fishy water. Finally got the scent, started spider rigging 20-30 FOW with minnows 12-18ft down. Ran out of minnows, trolled soft plastics a bit and got a few more. Final tally was 46 crappie and 5 small bass. Nothing to write home about, with a 9-10" average on the fish. Rob

I would love to try dropping in on stripers, but I'd probably have to hire a guide to find any at all, and success would probably be limited, at best. I'll just save my ETO and money for a trip to the gulf, I think.

Fished the Bourbeuse a couple times this week, chasing fish for dinner. I released the largemouth and smallmouth, and 2 of the 20 keeper size fish I caught had gig marks on them- nothing else makes those kinds of wounds. Largemouth with lines of missing scales, and one hole behind his head, smallmouth with two lines of missing scales (one on each side). Biggest redhorse was only about 2.5lbs, as well. I wouldn't think the river had enough water around there for jetboats, but I guess I'd be wrong. Didn't gill-hook any of the C&R fish, or tear them up at all. Did catch a couple smaller ones with holes in their mouths, but nothing horrible.

I want to get started on spearfishing, but really wish there was something closer to STL than Norfork and BSL. Question- do you scuba or freedive?

I've caught OK bluegill, small bass, a few nice redear, and not much else. Heard of crappie on the banks in the spring, but I was always trout fishing instead. Watched a guy pull some out of mid-lake trees near the dam one day- had about 17 of them. I see people occasionally setting up by the dock for catfish at night, but never saw anyone catch them. Best bet? Give it a shot, you might get into something. I never had a boat, so I couldn't fish the spots I really wanted.

Made it to 35 today, on water by 7am. Was "bass" fishing with steel leaders; pulled out one 13" bass on a gold/black crankbait near the dam. Wind and vegetation made fishing difficult. This was my first trip out to Busch, and all I can say is that I had no idea how big the place was. Fishing left something to be desired, but at least it wasn't a skunk.

Baldwin lake has a lot of catfish in it, especially blue cats and baby channels. Use 8/0 circle hooks so the little channels can't get it in their mouths- the decent blues and flatheads will manage well enough. Had stretch in 2011- 3 days, over 300lbs of catfish kept, blues and flatheads. Threw back a lot of 3-6lb blues because I just didn't feel like cleaning them. Fish kills in the past two summers have depleted stocks, but the fish are still in there. Not like they were, but still there.

What about a bent frame, causing the spool to lock up? Had this happen after I dropped a Royal Express a while back. Had to send it to the "parts" box. Still sad about that one.

Ran into a couple guys throwing big stickbaits with one single hook in the back close to the dam on the White River a few years ago. Said they had gotten a 15lb brown around 4am way downstream. Big fish eat big baits, plain and simple.