fozzie.

Not to mention those fish were likely just getting ready to spawn... I feel ya though, I guess it's just a matter of values. I've seen lots of things afield which make me shake my head- one of the things that always makes me wince are the obligatory "dump the fish on the gravel/rocks/grass/dirt/dry leaves next to my rod," photos. But at the same time, I feel everyone has the right to use the resource to their enjoyment, so long as they're not doing damage to said resource.

Cool! I liked the stuff on your site, too.

If the phone rings at 3 am....Phil's got it.

Hey folks, not if this is the right place for such an announcement, but I figured it couldn't hurt. In a nutshell: The Purple Hearts Family Support program is a non-profit which provides meals for the families of wounded and hospitalized veterans during the weekend, when hospital cafeterias are closed. Pepsi is currently running a contest/program where visitors to their website vote for nonprofit groups, and the winning group receives a donation from the company (apparently it's money they saved from not running Superbowl ads this year). With these funds, the Purple Hearts Family Support program would be able to up their service of 200 meals a year served in 2 hospitals to roughly 20,000 meals a year served in four hospitals. All you have to do is vote. For more information on the non-profit and the Pepsi promo, visit www.purpleheartfamilites.com/pepsi To vote, visit here. I think it'll work. Thanks guys!

That's precisely why I don't fish Colorado (aside from the Nat'l parks there), and why most of my western trips are to Montana as opposed to other states. Their stream laws are much more amenable to wading anglers.

You ought to be fine in a jet boat.

Hand in hand with the loss of manufacturing jobs, to me at least, is the shift in technology development. As an example, a few issues ago Nat'l Geographic had a big article on renewable energy development. Many European nations- Spain and Germany, for example, were developing solar and other renewable technologies, then starting companies and moving them to the US, to exploit renewable resources such as the Sonoran desert. IMO it has to be in part cultural- people are more enthralled to build the next Snuggie or ShamWOW than to develop a more efficient photovoltaic cell. It's not just manufacturing jobs which are being shipped overseas, but the the knowledge, training, and skill to develop the ideas, technologies and manufacturing processes which will be important in the future. In my opinion, at least.

The 6 weight should be fine. If you're looking to burn some cash though, you could always pick up another spool and a sink-tip or sinking line, and play around with that on your warmwater outings.

Sorry to keep jumping in, but yes- bag and length limits for spotted bass on some Missouri streams have been liberalized because the spots tend to hybridize with the smallmouth. It kind of illustrates my point- "hybrid vigor," is sort of a toss-up, and without close study, you can't be positive of the outcome of the cross. For example, in bluegill x green sunfish crosses, you get larger fish faster. In the smallmouth x spotted bass cross, though, you wind up with large numbers of small, slow growing fish. Not the ideal situation if you're managing for trophy black bass.

No pike, aside from occasional strays in the Mississippi River and some which occasionally escape from private impoundments.

Depends on what you want to get out of the experience. My guess is, for a 30th anniversary, you'd want something a little mellow- few crowds, better scenery, etc. In that case, I'd bag the fishing in-town and head up to the National Park. If flows are good, the water (and fishing) should be decent, and the scenery is fantastic. Good luck, and congratulations!

A Flaming Lips boat would be pretty cool too- disco balls and folks dressed up as Easter bunnies...

Pomme de Terre is supposed to have a pretty good population of muskies, probably the best in the state. Fellows Lake near Springfield also has some. Lake #35 at Busch Wildlife near St. Louis has some, as does Hazel Creek Lake near Kirksville, in the northern part of the state. You may want to drop by your local MDC office or search their website, they have some literature on where they're stocked.

But with Pink Floyd you'd have to switch out the rebel flags for some trippy technicolor lightshow...

Gorgeous pics, thanks for sharing.

I may have stretched it with that one, but I thought flatheads were introduced to some eastern drainages in Virginia, Pennsylvania, etc, and had some negative interactions there with other species. Plus I know a couple pond owners who have dumped flatheads into their impoundment in hopes of catching a 30 pounder in a few years. Sometimes they do, but more often I hear them wondering about where all the bass and bluegill went. Substitute them with smallmouth bass, atlantic salmon, or grass carp if you'd like : )

No offense- but how did you legally snag 32 paddlefish in six hours?

Thinking about it this morning, I guess my biggest reservation about just dumping Florida strain (or hybrids) into our state's waters boils down to that old saying: "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Kudzu, fescue, Autumn Olive, multiflora rose, Korean lespedeza, the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park- they were all introduced at some point because folks thought they'd be an asset. Instead, they've turned into major problems for many people, as well as wildlife and the ecosystem in general. On the aquatic side, there's tons of documentation of situations where people thought planting X or Y species would benefit an established fishery (pike, emerald shiners, rusty crayfish, nile tilapia, rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout, white perch, common carp, and flathead catfish all come to mind). In many instances the outcome wasn't what folks expected- stunted fish, competition with native/more desirable species, wholesale destruction of fisheries, environmental damage, and in some instances local extinction of species. It's hard to predict what will happen when you start @#!#in' around with nature. All I'm saying is that before we rush headlong into something, we need some basic questions answered. At minimum, we need to know these introductions won't have a negative impact on the species and resources we already have.

I haven't fished it a whole lot, but from what I know, there's not too many predictable hatches on the Eleven Point. Deep nymphing- stonefly and prince nymphs, fox tail nymphs, eggs, as well as streamers and crayfish patterns, typically seem to be the most productive.

Pit fishing is a blast, I did it a lot in college, and they do grow some suprisingly big fish. Not just bass, but crappie and bluegill, too. It'd be really neat if MDC stocked a few pit lakes with florida strain or hybrids and didn't let the public know so there's no angler bias to one pit over another, then compared growth rates, catchability, population dynamics, etc. Sort of like a blind study, I'm thinking...

Do you think conditions in strip pits simulate our large reservoirs close enough that the data provided from such a study would be applicable to large-reservoir situations? It's my understanding that strip pits have pretty different water quality and chemistry, and thermal regimes, when compared to other reservoirs. Not saying it's not worth pursuing, I'm just sort of thinking out loud...

True. Could've been "Dueling Bamjos"

I believe it's supposed to rain down there again Sunday, you may want to check the weather forecast before making any plans.

Too perfect

I've heard that, in spring, when they stack up around the mouth of feeder creeks and other flowing waters to spawn, that you can target them throwing white clouser and deceiver-type flies. Apparently it's an aggression/territorial response, sorta like pissed-off browns in the fall. I think it'd be worth a shot, and it'd be a blast getting one of those 10-15 pounders on the end of a flyrod. Shotgun would be fun, so would a baseball bat. Apparently it's now legal to keep/creel 'em if you catch them in a net midair.