SilverMallard

They do it float-trip style. The put in at the MDC ramp, row a bit upstream from there, then drift down to below Fall Creek...sometimes even into downtown. They are picked up there like a shuttle service would do for canoers.

Nutrient loads have an ideal range. Too little is not good and too much is horrible. When the science says nutrient loads are "improving" in our fisheries, it means they are moving from way too high (as they were in the 70s through 90s) back DOWN into the ideal range (as they are today). Nutrient loading isn't all fertilizer. It is also effluent from WTPs and septic systems and such. Water quality isn't a zero sum game. It's about balance.

When drift fishing in my old boat, I would motor upstream on heavy generation and then row to control the drift while others fished. From downtown on downstream, rowing is a very realistic option even on pretty heavy generation. The further downstream you are, the more sense it makes. The drift boat guides do the same thing...put in upstream and drift down. You can row back against the current for short distances when needed to get to the right spot. But somebody's gonna pick you up downstream later. Unless generation drops to 1 generator, you aren't going to row back upstream very far against the current more than once. And on 4 gens, you aren't doing it once.

A lot more! But ag and tourism-related commerce combine to make up the bulk of it. And in total economic impact, they're neck and neck. Trading one for the other is suicide. A politician needs them both. And Missouri needs them both to be healthy. But more importantly, we ALL lose if we ruin our natural resources. And we ALL lose if we centralize control of things in Jeff City and strip cities and counties of their ability to govern.

The ones who really get my goat...and make me laugh later...are the duck hunters who back their boats down the launch into the water in the pre-dawn launch hour without putting the plug in and/or removing the tie-downs. Now you want to see some hopping mad duck hunters, that's the time! It makes everyone behind them late, which can ruin a duck hunt. But it is monumentally embarassing to the guys who do it. So it's a time of annoyance AND humor. I've seen this happen several times. Once, in southern Arkansas on a 3-wide boat ramp in an NWR, my buddy and I watched 2 rigs back down the ramp side-by-side and BOTH sunk their boats in this manner at the end of the launch with about 10 other rigs behind them waiting to launch. That was NOT a good morning! But by Noon, it sure was hilarious.

Well, here's my theory: 1. If I'm driving at or above the speed limit and you are not an emergency first responder with your lights flashing, you got nothing to be upset about when I cause you to slow down no matter which lane I'm in. 2. If you give me time to execute a pass at the speed limit, I will get out of your way. 3. If you start flashing lights or tailgating or using sign language, you might be stuck there for quite some time. 4. The cash register deal we're in complete agreement on. Folks aren't prepared to pay at the time to pay piss me off too! Folks who need the small countertop to put their change/receipt away QUICKLY don't bother me at all. When they stand there and reorganize their entire purse or clean out their wallet, they DO. 5. If the lady in front of me drops her purse or has a sneezing fit or something, I'm more likely to help her than I am to be upset by the delay. 6. People who "camp out" in the passing lane at or below the speed limit torque me off too...especially when they are in MY blind spot and I'm in the slow lane. But people who can't pick a speed and maintain it on the highway are the ones who REALLY annoy me. 7. People who honk as soon as the light turns green REALLY get frustrated by me. If the horn honks in the first 2 seconds of a green light, I'm sitting there for another 5-10 seconds before moving. Just because THEY are in a hurry does NOT mean I have to be.

Terry, my biggest pet peeve is the folks behind me who are always in such a G-D hurry! LOL FYI, that CC thing about swiping after the first item doesn't ALWAYS work. Many of those machines have to be reset manually by the subtotal key of the cashier before they will register your "swipe." And the swipe takes what? 1 second? If you're in that big of a hurry, you don't have time to shop. You know, I have done that "block the boatramp" thing without thinking. I felt like a heel for doing it. I'm usually very conscious of such things. Somehow, that day it didn't dawn on me that the guy in the pickup was pulling a trailer and I saw no other boats motoring about in the vicinity. Uh-oh! The boat he was going to pick up was tied to a covered dock a few feet from the launch. Without seeing a waiting boat the way I expected to, I didn't scan the parking lot for a waiting truck and empty trailer. I saw the truck out of my periferal vision, but didn't realize there was a driver sitting behind the wheel and an emptry trailer attached (due to the angle the trailer was out of plain view). Two days later, I saw the guy at the marina again and he asked if that was me. I said yes and he told me what I had done...politely. It had obviously offended him. And I was embarassed because I get torqued by inconsiderate people too...and try very hard never to be one. But in my observation, the most inconsiderate are usually not the slow-pokes. They are usually the ones in such a hurry to get nowhere. This little event taught me something, though. It made me stop and think that not ALL of these people have persoality problems/character flaws that cause them to be rude. SOMETIMES, it's just an honest mistake by folks who honestly try to be considerate and mannerly. That has caused me to give a bit more benefit of the doubt when I'm on the receiving end. But some situations are just obvious...like the one taxidermist described. You don't knock a lady out of a boat onto a dock and just act like it never happened. And if you didn't notice it, you need to slow down and pay more attention! I would have wanted to stomp a mudhole in those boys if it were my wife they did that to.

A week or so ago, I sent a letter to Matt Blunt's office stating my opposition to SB364, asking for his position on SB364, and predicting that if he supports it that decision would cost him a LOT of support among the outdoor recreation, tourism, and conservation community right here in his own backyard. I got a response by mail today. It BLUNTLY says that he supports SB364 because ag is the backbone of the MO economy...period. So our Governor is staking out his allegiances quite clearly: ag over tourism, recreation, and public health. End of discussion. I hope we ALL remember this come election time. I know I will, and I will be reminding others.

Very well said, Al. And I agree with your opinion on federal land out West. You lease it with the full knowledge that there might be wolves, cougars, bears, etc. running around there. Predation is part of the cost-benefit analysis. But this would make that land less marketable, and the feds aren't even going to support that vigorously. Somebody might lose his gov't job. And ranchers are politically powerful out there in no man's land. Wolves don't vote or contribute cash to campaign coffers. That is why conservationists need to be their advocates - WHERE AND WHEN IT IS APPROPRIATE. These weren't wild wolves. This was a manmade problem in a densely populated suburban, recreational, and historically agricultural setting. In a sense, this was a "pollution" matter. And I hold the owner of Predator World responsible for the deaths of these animals and anything else they killed. I'm not saying they were negligent with the escape. That can...and WILL...happen from time to time with any such operation. Permit issuing authorities TAKE NOTE! But they had them located and pinned down to a den quite some time ago and decided NOT to capture them due to the owner's financial interest in the pups that momma was about to whelp. That was a gamble and we all knew it. And it was socially irresponsible.

I have NO problem with a rancher protecting his livestock from predation. That's why wolves are so scarce in North America nowadays. Sometimes people...especially city folks and suburbanites...forget that WE are full members of nature and the food chain as well. Everything in life is ultimately about competition for limited resources. In the end, one has to decide if he/she wants to be a winner or a loser.

Yep! Which is why I have long argued as you are here: that these functions make more sense under USEPA or even USFWS than they do under USACE. But outdoorsmen really don't want USEPA at the helm, either. And USFWS nor USEPA have the in-house expertise or experience. Personally, I think we need a major overhaul of ALL 3 orgs and a new division created out of the ashes of the Phoenix that is tasted with the protection and management of wildlife and recreational natural resources. EPA should regulate traditional commercial natural resources venues like ag and industry. USFWS should keep doing what they do except for their enforcement division. And the USFWS enforcement division and the USEPA wildlife folks should be sent to the new agency whose sole mission would be wildlife and recreational natural resource conservation and management. All permits that potentially impact wildlife and recreation should have to be vetted and approved by this independent agency. And they would have ALL of the enforcement responsibilities for the same issues. Bottom line: assigning engineers to watchdog and regulate engineers and farmers to watchdog and regulate farmers (and so forth) is DUMB when it comes to conservation of public assets. That is no smarter than hiring commercial fishermen to make and enforce the rules for the commercial fishing industry. It's like letting Congress police itself. Oh wait! We do that too. Don't we? LOL

USACE was chartered to dam and bridge rivers, drain swamps, build levees, and blow them all up again. It is part of the US Army because that was the point: national defense; and because that's where most of our civil engineers were: in the Army. It's an anacronysm that has WAY outlived its purpose and usefulness. Today, the USACE is tasked with issuing the permit for all of these types of things. So all of our wetlands, lakes, and rivers are impacted by THEIR priorities. Their priorities put recreational uses LAST and natural resource conservation next to last. It's a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house. You put a guy whose life's ambition and training and work is all about building bridges, damming rivers, and blowing stuff up in charge of making sure we don't build too many bridges, dam too many rivers, or blow too much stuff up and you're gonna have "issues."

I gotta agree that when a major fishery like upper BS goes to Hell in a handbasket in a few short years, the fisheries biologists and water quality experts from the state should be all over it like white on rice. There's no excuse. Everybody KNOWS something is wrong. Nobody has a clue WHAT. That's what scientists and the gazillions of tax dollars we toss their way in good years and bad are there for!

That last pic on the bottom is of me and the dog scouting Henson Creek at Capitol City. The creek flows from right to left through the picture behind that line of brush in the background. I am standing in the meadow I described in the article. The beaver ponds were behind me and to the left edge of the photo.

I'm no respecter of offices. Haven't been since I resigned my military commission. I know many men I proudly call, "sir." But someone's title...especially an elected official...doesn't automatically rate that in my book. Just so you understand, I would always address him/her in person as Governor _____________, or Senator ________________, etc. In print media I would do the same. On an informal discussion forum, I feel no such compulsion any more than I would talking with close friends or family members. Governor Blunt can EARN my respect by actually doing what is clearly best for EVERYONE in his state, instead of what lines his own pockets. That would be a great start. I don't care for him not because of his shocking lack of experience and credentials, but for his DECISIONS. And I'm a Republican! LOL

It has been reported by multiple media sources and individuals who have attended recent meetings that Rep Blunt and Jr., Gov Matt Blunt are totally in the hip pocket of MO Farm Bureau on this stuff. At a recent watershed meeting in Springfield at Bass Pro Shops, Rep Roy Blunt was asked about the IES statements about groundwater depletion near the proposed Ethanol plant between Rogersville and Forland. His response was reported to be, "We should address those issues as they arise." WHAT? How do you address depleted aquifers? Anybody the least bit familiar with the science knows that is total lunacy! But more importantly, what he said was basically that we should CREATE PROBLEMS that we KNOW we are going to create and worry about how to FIX those problems AFTER we have created them! Does Roy work for the Corps of Engineers? That sounds like something THEY would do! No. A much wiser approach is to find a way to AVOID causing problems for ourselves. How stupid does this clown think we are? I'll tell you... He and the CEO of Farm Bureau also agreed that "uneducated, under-informed locals should not be allowed to stand in the way of large-scale agri-business in Missouri." FYI, Blunt's family business interests are reportedly (in major media) deeply invested in these ethanol production entities. See the quid pro quo? They get huge profits from the ethanol production facilities in exchange for deregulating CAFO's statewide...both of which are positions strongly advocated by MO Farm Bureau under the direction of Mr. Kruse (who hails from SEMO, btw...a part of the state with a completely different set of water and natural resource concerns than we have here in the Ozarks). This CAFO crap already stinks to high Heaven. And they haven't even gotten their way yet! P.S. I wrote to the young Governor about two weeks ago on this issue. I have gotten no acknowledgement of any kind.

Well, they're hatching all the way up to the MDC boat ramp. They were pretty thick up there Monday. But there were also some smaller, lighter colored mayflies hatching. And the trout up there were keying on those and on the midges (as usual). I'm pretty sure they are March Browns. I don't know what the smaller light-colored ones are...some sort of Baetis. But my small gray Para Adams were working fine.

A size 22-26 mayfly? Something strikes me odd about that. Sounds to me like you are seeing those white MIDGES we get around here. I use a size 20 cream Adams or a Mosquito Midge in size 18-20 for those. Works pretty well if they're feeding on the surface. BUT MOST OF THE TIME, a light color soft hackle or emerger fished just below the film is the ticket. Fish feeding on emergers just below the surface still break the surface quite regularly. Give it a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. In fact, the first thing I would try if the tiny dries aren't working is a size 18-20 BH Zebra Midge in Primrose and Pearl suspended 12" to 18" below a palsa foam indicator on 6X fluorocarbon tippet. I'll almost guarantee you they will HAMMER that!

I'm with y'all on this, but here's the flip-side... Hoodlums and ne'er-do-wells aren't going to pay the $4 entry fee just to spray graffiti on stuff and bust car windows and stuff like that. This is actually a BIG part of the gov't argument in favor of daily use fees: eliminated most criminal activity, making the park more attractive to law-abiding, peace-loving family-friendly recreation. BUT...there is a Corps setback on these lakes! That WHOLE shoreline below the flood pool mark is PUBLIC ACCESS. This is a pretty well settled matter of littoral rights law. NO ONE...not even the freaking feds...can charge user fees for accessing that shoreline below the Corps line. This is a power/money grab. And it needs to be stopped. I have no problem with charging $4 per car through the gate because it does have some common sense positive benefits. Those monies do go to direct maintenance within the district. And MOST fed rec properties are under-funded. Some are being scaled back or closed due to that. But there is simply no excuse for trying to harass folks who walk down the shore to fish or pull up in a boat for a shore lunch. That's just BS. Those folks are NOT there to cause trouble and they are not using the gates, parking areas, or ramps that are maintained by these revenues. Just choose your battles wisely. I'd suggest going after the local policy of harassing the walk-ins and boaters ONLY using traditional littoral rights principles, and NOT going after the $4/car at the gates.

It's freaking snowing in Springfield!

Dave, I sure am glad YOU brought that up! LOL These icons freak me out. But I didn't want to be the first one to say so. Yes, the weather is supposed to improve considerably. Right now, it is snowing in Springfield.

Ah! Now I get it. Must be a WESTERN Ozarks thing. LOL

So what does a good ole boy from the Ozarks mean when he says "seined?" I grew up in the Ozarks and East Texas in a family of avid hunters and fishermen who trapped, netted, gigged, jug-lined, trotlined, hunted, and fished for subsistence AND sport. And when I read "seined," that means netting baitfish to use for trotlines, jug fishing, or live bait fishing on rod and reel. So please enlighten me. I'm always eager to learn something new and both language and fishing are particular areas of interest to me.

Well, I'm no stream biologist! But water conditions are a key factor: turbidity, nutrient loads, dissolved oxygen, submerged cover, flow rates, depth, temps, etc. all play a role in creating "ideal" conditions for everything in the water. And these things...like most in nature...ebb and flow over time. In a tailrace like this one...with extremely dynamic and unstable flows...whatever consistency one might witness in other streams just isn't there. So...to MY way of thinking...it's nearly impossible to isolate the variables on Taney enough to know what's actually causing what. So I just try to enjoy what I get and adapt to the EXTREME changing conditions. In fact, I think fishing Ozark tailraces makes one a more versatile angler than if we fished places with more consistent water management. In effect, each generation cycle is a "Spring runoff" in the Rockies. And each time they turn the generators off, we learn to fish on dropping water, then on shallow slow streams, and then on still waters. Sometimes we get bugs. Sometimes we fish streamers. Sometimes we fish emergers. Sometimes we get shad kills. And there is the ever-present macro-invertebrate population. We have two different Rainbow spawns and one Brown spawn on Taney alone. I consider Taney my fly-fishing school and laboratory. And when I travel to other locations, I always find something useful that I learned in changing conditions on Taneycomo.

Netting gamefish isn't legal, is it?