SilverMallard

troutchaser, There have been small hatches of Sulphurs, BWOs, and March Browns on upper Taney for as long as I've been fishing there (1998). On the "lake" part of the lake, there have always been mayflies. But what Phil described and what I saw Monday is far more significant in volume than they have been in the past. And the trout were actually feeding on the surface aggressively.

From the SPANISH?

So were they charged with fishing illegally or with trespassing? The ruling said they had a right to be there. So, if they were charged with trespassing, this is a victory. The ruling only said there is no right to FISH expressed in the law. Many states have Constitutional amendments guaranteeing the right to hunt and fish. As common as these past-times are in the Sportsman's Paradise state, I guess they never thought such an amendment would be necessary. Now, if they got out of the boat and stood on flooded private ground, as I understand the law they would be trespassing. But there certainly is no law in LA that says a guy who has a right to be floating in his boat where he is cannot also fish there. This much I do know.

Bottom line is that riparian and littoral rights law is a very fluid subject.

The more you get into western ranch country, Beverage, you will find this to be the case. You will also find more and longer stretches of streams that bisect a single property owner's land instead of having separate owners on each bank. This is why angler access is generally a bigger deal the further West you go in the US.

Well, most of the tickets written by wardens in Taney County get dismissed or minimal fines anyway. I've found it almost always works just to politely set them straight. I didn't pay much attention, but these fellas seemed a bit rowdy...perhaps drinking pretty heavily. Had I been walking by anywhere near them and realized they were in violation, I would have said something to them in all likelihood. But they were probably 500 meters downstream from the ramp and you can't easily walk down that stretch of the bank. You have to go up the hill and use the bluff trail and then descend the last stair access. And I'm out there to have fun, not make sure everybody else behaves.

Maybe so, Terry. But the issue isn't usually about that for me. It's about whether I WANT TO wrestle or not. If I do, I might even walk a bit out of the way. LOL

If you think you have trouble carrying a fishing rod or floating along in a kayak, try setting up before dawn to hunt ducks and 2-4 guys opening up 30 minutes before sunrise on a flock of Wood Ducks! Landowners tend to be in better spirits in the mid-afternoon than they are when they are roused from slumber before dawn by a dozen quick shotgun blasts. LOL Some states use the federal navigable water standard (commercial navigation). Some use the recreational navigation standard like MO. In some states, landowners only own to the high water mark on any water. In others, they own the stream bed as well. In some states, landowners have the right to refuse trespass if they own the land along both banks of a stream that is not federal navigable water. But those states are few and mostly out West. Each jurisdiction is different, down to the municipal level in many cases. Just like with game laws and traffic laws, ignorance is no excuse. If you travel to various areas to take part in outdoor recreation, it is YOUR responsibility to research and learn and abide by ALL applicaple municipal and county ordinances, and state and federal laws. I have found that if I have questions about the law in these regards in a new area, a call to the county sheriff's office/local game warden will clear it all up for me. I may or may not like what they tell me. But the idea is to have fun and relax. The LAST things I want are a shootout, fight, or legal battle. I don't hunt/fish/float/camp to save the world. I don't do it to prove a point. I do it for ME. I can joust windmills and slay dragons the REST of the time.

Lots o moss! Yes. And I thought they were bait fishing because of a few things I overhead when they got loud. I will always say something if I'm right by them/walking right by. But I wasn't going to walk all the way down there just to set them straight. I also carry a cell and have the wardens in my contact list. But I won't call them over a suspicion, either. I have to KNOW something is wrong. Yeah, if you see me again, stop for a visit. I'll do likewise.

Yes. That was me. I gave up the ghost right after you pulled out. It was getting dark enough I was having trouble seeing. You could probably tell from watching me untangle my line after that last fish spit the hook up close. LOL

No generation this afternoon. Fished just above the MDC boat ramp from 3 til dark. They started 2 gens just as I opened the trunk of my car to start stowing gear to leave. Mayfly hatch was going on. March Browns and some unidentified Baetis. The fish weren't keying on the March Browns. My size 12 parachute Adams were ignored. Went to a size 16 with an olive body and gray hackle and started catching fish right away. Eventually, that tapered off and I switched to a size 18 BH Zebra Midge in P&P. Fish on every cast for over an hour. Then that slacked off too. Switched to an irridescent green BH Zebra Midge with a black bead and rust thread as light began to dwindle. Caught some nice fish on that too. Best fish were an 18" Rainbow and an 18" Brown. Smallest were a pair of 13" Rainbows. Most fish were running 16" and fat and brightly colored. All fish fought harder than usual for Taney. The Brown actually had my arm starting to feel the strain before I got him landed. Caught over 40 fish in 5 hours. Stan and Carolyn Parker from River Run Outfitters were the only other folks within shouting distance of me all afternoon/evening. Attachments:

I caught several fish on PTN's the other day. Didn't get to fish a lot because they started generating and ramped up to 4 after a bit. But on 1 gen, I did well on BH PTN's. BH Hare's Ear is also a good choice...14-16. Both work well this time of year as things begin to warm up.

I'd also have to hit NFOW if I were you. Then make the loop west and hit Taneycomo or Capps Creek or Crane Creek...depending on generation at TRD.

You guys won't be able to find me on the stream by my WJ chest pack for awhile. They just sent me a Fusion Vest to field test and review. And I've had the waders and boots out a few times already. Will be writing about all 3 in the near future and forwarding to Phil.

March Browns, Phil. I've known about them on Taney for about 3-4 years now. Always last few days of March or early April. Usually starting about Point Royale, maybe a bit upstream. What you describe would be a HUGE hatch for Taney! And improving Mayfly hatches are usually a sign of improving water quality.

Did someone say Toga Party @ Lilley's? Toga! Toga! Toga! I'll put out the word on MySpace, Phil. What night do you want to have this shin-dig? LOL

You can check out more of Wilma's paintings, mosaics, and photos at http://www.myspace.com/wamdesigns Example of outdoor photography...this one is landscape from Colorado.

The "compromise" amendment to the bill that would have guaranteed a minimum setback of 10 miles (started at 5, but went to 10 trying to gain votes) from any state park, state monument, state forest, or national historical site for any Class I CAFO was DEFEATED, and the bill was returned to the informal calendar. So the Pres of MFB's vaulted "compromise" with the assn of counties went down in flames...for now...by about a margin of 2:1. You can go the senate website and look at "all actions" and see the notes from the Senate on April 3rd to see who voted how. Check on your senator. Mine voted NO.

I think we might have to eventually drag out the big guns on this one. There are some HUGE guns in MO on the side of tourism, watersports, and environmental conservation who do not owe much or anything to the big ag lobby. I can get to a few of them, but it's gotta be "divine intervention" time. And we aren't there...yet.

I just figured it was the result of a denial of service attack by a proxy cyber-terrorist group funded by Missouri Farm Bureau. LOL

That IS a good one, Dano! It's much better when you click the "slow" button.

There's an op ed piece in today's Springfield News-Leader from the President of Mo Farm Burea that is pure propaganda on SB364 in which he heralds a "compromise" between the association of counties and Farm Bureau regarding SB364. You can log in at the paper's website and post comments after his article. And this would be a VERY good idea. http://www.news-leader.com Then hit the search box and type in "CAFO Compromise" You can register there for free in about 2 minutes and then post. This battle is FAR from won!

Alright, I wanna know which of you jokers is making all the obscene phone calls to my wife since I posted her # on this thread? You can keep it up for a few more days, but you've got her all hot and bothered when she comes home in the evenings. In a few more days, I'm gonna need a break. But...for now...I just wanted to say... T H A N K S

No problem. That phone # I gave you is her cell #. You can call anytime. She's been having trouble with email lately. They have a new office network, and we can't get her sunsetrealtyservice.com address to feed into her Outlook. Freaking Centurytel! And peoplepc.com has been squirrely for about 2 weeks. She also has a wilma.morrow@mchsi.com address. That one works pretty well, but has historically been slower to deliver mail than peoplepc. So she's never switched her primary to that. Tech support is getting tough all the way around.

http://www.sunsetrealtyservices.com is their website. You can get a good look at Branson Canyon on there, too. We're really excited about that development, but it's not by any means all she focuses on. I say "we" because I just retired from real estate the end of 2005. And Wilma is my wife. So she is sensitive to sportsman issues and not ignorant of the fishing scene down here.