Smalliebigs

For several years I've wanted to get two or three like-minded guys together and do a week-long "road trip", floating different river sections every day. Use only one vehicle (one that can carry two canoes and gear). Do piggyback floats each day...put in the first canoe, the guys in the second canoe drive to where the first canoe is going to take out and put in there. The vehicle is then waiting at the first canoe's take-out, those guys load up and drive to the second canoe's take-out and pick them up. Either camp in the area at night or stay in a cheap motel. Al, I have two trailers...they will each hold four canoes, I have a truck with 4wd, I have cash, I have canoes and kayaks..... I just need to know when and where????

Nice Brown......there are tons in there like that from Baptist to Cedar. It's real bummer about the Kingfisher....people need to be a little more smart about cleaning your line up...wow

I couldn't agree more Wayne....Falcons are very nice and Happy Birthday.... You have probally have forgot more fishing than what I have learned so, I hope you had a good one today you've earned it.

Breitbart was a beacon of reality

Aw, Mitch you know how I feel....It hurts and it's a disgrace. Greasy, I couldn't agree more.....when one of the things you feel good about is under assalt, it sucks.

I just had a buddy text me a pic of a friggin sweet 20 smallie caught just a few hours ago and it has gig wounds. Giggers gone wild!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....lol These poachers have no regard for the rivers....sad stuff

Wayne, since you resorted to name calling my Uncle is far from stupid and it's obvious my friend you don't have the brain compacity to see why gigging is inherently bad for Black bass on rivers because of the mind set of some that participate in it. Have fun warning people on this forum about things like scupper holes getting lodged on logs, like it's an issue.

Wayne, I knew you would expose your true fears eventually........ White Suckers eating more than their fair share of micro organisms that your precious non native fish to Missouri streams??? That just shows the conflict with in the MDC brain trust.....they want the cash cow from stocking fish that don't belong in our waters and can't compete with native species thus it's okay to remove the native to help the weak non native fish that strokes the pocket book allegedly. Wayne your arguments are lame just as the non native fish to Missouri waters you covet Al, # 5 from your post...... I thought that was a rumor????? He actually had his mailbox stuffed with gigged smallies???? That is mafioso stuff there...what a bunch of pinheads

Nice truck and pretty good price

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/boa/2821256364.html Drew here is the listing on St.Louis Craigslist he also posted here on the buy-sell-trade thread. Here is another solo in St.Louis http://stlouis.craigslist.org/boa/2877999772.html good luck

Drew, Dan Kreher from the MSA was trying to sell a Wenonah Vagabond with factory installed skid plates for $650, it's a sweeet vessle.

the typical attitude that the Tactician pointed out.......thanks for showing us first hand

Exiledguide, if you think that I wouldn't confront a gigger that I witnessed illegally gigging or filleting up some smallies on a sand bar or boat ramp??? well you don't know me all that well. I appologize if you feel bullied by my statements.

Oh, I'm sorry Wayne I didn't know that you know that much about me as far as that I allegedly don't know anyone who gigs or anything about gigging. Please enlighten me about the nuances of giging, please end my ignorance on gigging if you would. I think I pretty much know what gigging involves and I have gigged once with my uncle on the Current. The rest of your statement didn't make much sense......."If you see "lots", why do the rest of us see a few or the "fact" you've heard about White and Hognose"?????? I know what I have caught with gig scars and can only draw reasonable conclusions and you have know idea what or how I will say anything to anyone at the MDC. " why not use a resource?" oh please......let's start eating dogs there are plenty of them out there.Biological diversity in a stream is needed for healty system, we shouldn't just harvest something because they are present and won't bite your lure......talk about ignorance.

Base your arguments on facts and logic, not blanket insults against a whole class of people. And there are plenty of good points to be made against gigging, just not like this. OTF, there are no facts or logic on gigging.......The MDC has no idea of how many gamefish are beeing skewered out there. I know what I have witnessed over the last 8 years of fishing in the winter on rivers and that is I catch a lot of Smallmouth Bass, most of which are what would most consider trophies that have gig holes and wounds. These Smallmouth take a long time to get that big and we have no idea how many are actually beeing harvested.I can draw a conclusion that if I'm catching quite a few nice smallies with gig scars and wounds that there are probally way more actually beeing harvested. I can also say that if all of these fish are the product of mis-identification, the lame excuse I have herd over and over, that gigging and giggers are inherently dangerous to the trophy smallies that swim in our rivers.I also don't buy the lame "fact" that some allege the rivers would become over run with White and Hognose suckers if we didn't allow the "tradition" to continue. I gaurantee if you were catching Trophy Browns on the Current or little puny wild Rainbows from Crane with gig wounds in them you would be barking at the moon.

I have always like your style and agree whole heartedly

Al, I have some giged smallie pics for you from the last two times out on the Meramec.........it's a disgrace!!! email me so I can send these to you. scottd@iiistl.com

gigging is a time honored tradition in the Ozarks that all residents of Missouri should all partake in

gigging is a tradition in the ozarks.......giterdone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know all giggers are not criminals but, on the Meramec River it at an epidemic state right now and to see quality Smallies getting giged is f*** up. I will do everything in my power to stop it and bug as many people at the local level and MDC as I can. JD don't compare me fishing for smallies with giggers.....not even close. If you can't tell the difference between a smallie and a chub then you should not be gigging.

Gigging sucks and I have some new pics to prove it. Gigging is killing smallies on our streams.

Holy crap thats cool....lots of sediment left in there I'd say???

And to whether or not smallmouth fishing in the Ozarks could be world-class...how can you even venture a guess? We've never tried to establish world-class smallmouth fishing here, so your assumption that it's not possible is simply that...an assumption. My opinion is that it could absolutely be world-class, but it never will be if the regs allow EVERY fish to be harvested before they reach trophy status. There is ZERO protection for adult fish on the vast majority of Ozark streams. How on Earth could we know if it's capable of world-class fishing? One thing I'm sure of...our smallmouth streams reflect the current regulations...sustainable harvest - translation - consistent mediocrity. Eric, I couldn't agree more and this is just our opinion. Hearing the opinions of people who want to be able to keep smallies before they get big is funny to me. We will only know what it's like to allow the meat hunters rule in Missouri.....oh well.... I will still put them all back in the river to reproduce again, the good thing is Eric I think there are a lot of people like us out there throwing them back.......at least I hope

Ron, here's a nice one that I'm not sure if it was giged or Herron this fish had a tagged removed but, I'm not sure about this damage...same fish

Ron, here are some of the pics the MDC guys gave me when we met them on the Black in early spring.It was a very crappy float that day.