Outside Bend

Do you guys have an approximate date in mind? 20 hours covers a lot of country, and depending on when you can get away will have a big impact on your options. For example, many of the Rocky Mountain streams are unfishable May and June, while fishing in the Great Lakes region can be excellent that time of year.

Gosh, what a waste. I bet you even stick your fingers behind their gill plates! Cool read Jeff, thanks for sharing. You caught those bigheads on the clouser minnow too? There thick in a few Missouri River tributaries here around Columbia, and I've been thinking about tackling them this spring. I've eaten them, and would honestly prefer bigheads or silvers over pellet-fed hatchery trout any day, no matter how much you dock 'em up with lemon or butter or garlic. Ugly as sin though.

There's some decent bluegill fishing in the lake, and the redear fishing in May can be spectacular- lots of fish in the 7-9" range. Small jigs & streamers worked in the shallow coves during the spring produce pretty well for them. There's good numbers of black and white crappie, most around 7-8", but I've seen fish as large as 14" in there. There's a lot of largemouth, most 12" or less, but MDC has shocked a few in there over 8lbs, and one just a hair over 10lbs. There's some weird stuff in there too, as mhall said- paddlefish, some very large blue catfish (20-30 lbs), a few lake sturgeon. They apparently tried stocking it with smallmouth as well in the 80's or early 90's, but had little success. Good luck!

Nice Pickerel!

Sure thing, thanks!

Unfortunately not TC- would you mind sending another set?

Zach, your flies came in yesterday. Thanks!

I just saw this too, Phil. Shame to hear, I never met the guy but his books were very influential on my Ozark fishing trips. He will be missed.

I'm just ready to open the windows...

tying warmwater bugs as we speak...spring can't get here soon enough for me.

Out in Wyoming I met a guide who was considering moving his elk camp or going out of business entirely. It was just getting too hard to convince folks to spend 4 or 5 days in the backcountry without cell service I've killed far too many phones on the river and in the woods to trust myself bringing them along any more. Most of the places I fish in Missouri are close enough to help that spending a long time without seeing someone isn't likely, and most of the places I fish elsewhere are so remote a cellphone is of no use. Then again, I'm also young and invincible

Real cool video, thanks for sharing that

Weird stuff happens in the mail TC, especially given the recent weather. Let's give it a few more days and see if it shows up

Reminds me of that Jack Handy quote... "If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, and for no good reason."

Jeff's flies came in the mail this morning.

Even with those "severe limitations," China plans to be off fossil fuels by 2030, based largely on wind power. Even with those "severe limitations," 85% of Brazil's energy is produced domestically using renewable energy. Even with those "severe limitations," 81% of Iceland's domestic energy is renewable. Even with those "severe limitations," 99% of Costa Rica's domestic energy is renewable. Even with those "severe limitations," 90% of domestic hot water in Israel, and 99% of domestic hot water in Greece, is generated via solar poewr. Even with those "severe limitations," several regions of Spain are 100% energy independent, with all their energy coming from renewables. Even with those "severe limitations," many European nations have made significant steps toward energy independence using renewable technology. You guys keep saying it can't be done, yet there are people out there doing it. I guess those severe limitations aren't as severe as some folks imagine. What's unproven about green energy? Either a turbine produces electricity, or it doesn't. Windmills and waterwheels are thousands of years old, and work on the same principles as modern-day wind turbines, hydropower and geothermal plants. You and I and the fossil fuels we burn are all various packets of solar energy. Harnessing wind and water to do work for us humans is as old as civilization itself, and in many ways is far more proven than any internal combustion engine or nuclear reactor. Green technology isn't new, it's centuries old, scientists are just modifying it to suit today's needs.

No worries, then we're just waiting on Zach Bearden's.

Jeremy Hunt's flies are on the way, as are JDC/Trout Commander's, to my knowledge. The only folks I haven't heard from are fishinwrench and Zach Bearden.

Gavin's flies are in. I haven't been too worried about the deadline given this week's weather, for the folks who are still holding out, try and get 'em in as soon as you can. Thanks!

Pretty similar. Give a dozen morons a dozen ATV's and wayyyyy too much free time...and watch a stream go down the toilet.

I saw alot of ATV damage working in the Boone National Forest in southern Kentucky- clear upland streams turned into turbid mudholes, streambanks and riparian corridors stripped of vegetation, gullies forming where folks had tried going straight up hills. I've seen similar destruction on a few MDC accesses on the Missouri River. If destroying your own property is your prerogative I can't say much, but I have absolutely zero respect for the folks who do it in public property.

There's a big difference an element's general abundance in the crust and whether it exists in concentrations that make mining operations profitable. Even still- it's a finite resource, a short-term fix. With a billion folks of their own to take care of, and US business track record (Bhopal), I'm not sure how willing India would be to divest itself of energy resources.

So investment and research has made nuclear technology safer and more reliable, but investment and research into renewable energy won't overcome the present-day issues. I guess that's the problem I'm having with a lot of the pro-nuclear discussion- a lot of the arguments seem pretty arbitrary. Don't trust the government to do something right, unless it's about the placement, defense, and storage of radioactive waste. Nuclear technology has advanced in the last 40 or so years, but wind, geothermal, & solar technology won't advance in the next 40 years or so. Truth is there have been rapid advancements in renewable technology even in the last decade- from more efficient homes, appliances, solar cells and other equipment to less intrusive means of collecting solar energy. You may think it's impractical, but the reality is many nations are capitalizing on their renewable energy assets, and capitalizing on American's sloth towards renewable energy development. There's a technology vacuum which will be filled- if not by us, then by China or Germany. The cost of renewables is too expensive, and those expenses will be passed on to consumers. But developing domestic uranium supplies, environmental costs and cleanup, building reactors, building waste storage sites, and security of nuclear plants and waste sites- those costs will no doubt be passed on to consumers. If we can reduce current electricity consumption through making homes more efficient- better insulation, more efficient appliances, exploitation of solar and geothermal energy sources right there on the property- then there's no NEED to build more nuclear plants. There's no NEED to deal with protection of nuclear sites, or dealing with radioactive waste. There's no NEED to pass those costs onto consumers- whether you're paying for more insulation or paying for the construction of a cooling tower- you're still paying. And you're paying for something that doesn't even really benefit you- solar cells on the roof and high-efficiency appliances directly up the value of your property- having a nuke plant in the backyard doesn't. It's economics- you reduce electricity demand through energy conservation, and you won't NEED greater supply. Sorry for the soapbox.

You may also want to look into some of the smaller tribs, like the Huzzah or Courtois, if the Meramec mainstem is blown out then. Late March can be a pretty sketchy time of year, weather-wise.