Stoneroller

No it's ok, the populace of iowa don't have enough brain power and are too busy inbreeding to know how to turn on one of these new fangled 'puters! why do we use those hicks as a gauge for the presidential primaries? I heard you love the big black snake...

google 'nothern banded watersnake ventral scales' and the debate is over. the corn snake has a completely different ventral scale pattern, plus as Mitch has pointed out, the snake's back was dark, it was not banded red/orange and white, which rules out the corn snake. http://mdc.mo.gov/si...5/5187_3026.pdf the snake also does not have the markings, red bands seperated by black then white then black bands as the red milk snake has. The red milk snake is a king snake and they have very distinct body and head shapes that are very difficult to misidentify. The literature in the above MDC pdf specifically talks about the belly markings on the northern water snake, which this snake clearly is, taking into account the body size and head shape, plus Mitch's first hand observation of it's coloration. Had Mitch said it was red/orange and black or white banded, then I would have guessed corn snake at first.

mitch the one you are choking is a northern banded watersnake, as andy pointed out. the milksnake is a slender bodied snake so it's unlikely it's one of those. a corn snake could maybe get that big, but if it had a dark back then it wasn't a corn snake either. Corn snakes also tend to be slender. (although you cannot rule out a 'pet' being released, in which case it's body size/shape may not be typical of the wild types) the two your brother found are black rat snakes, from what I can see. they could possibly be black racers, but being that they were relatively passive (ie doing the deed) I would lean towards black rat snakes. either way great snakes to have around your house.

wow, great video too! local news cameramen should take lessons from you lol! Very odd to see an aquatic mammal like that running around in your yard, how close is a creek to your house?

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2012/04/18/flat-branchs-biological-recovery-be-studied-missouri-department-conservation/ COLUMBIA — For at least the next three years, the Missouri Department of Conservation will conduct a study on the recovery of the Flat Branch from the recent fish kill there. The purpose of the study is to track how long it takes for the stream, fed in part by downtown storm drains, to heal itself, said Rebecca O'Hearn, a Conservation Department scientist who investigated the death of nearly 15,000 of the creek's fish. MoreStory Related Media Seth Lanning, resource assistant for the Missouri Department of Conservation, identifies an Argia damselfly larvae at Flat Branch Creek on Tuesday. Lanning and other members of the department have been assessing damage to aquatic life after the creek was contaminated by the recent fire at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Related Articles Petrochemicals found in Flat Branch after fish kill Estimate of fish killed at Flat Branch increases to 14,000 Flat Branch fish deaths, possible link to fire investigated O'Hearn will lead a field team while Matt Combes, a Conservation Department scientist based in Kirkwood, analyzes the data she collects. The opportunity to study how quickly aquatic life repopulates a creek doesn't come up often, O'Hearn said — maybe once in a career. There won't be an end point when the stream has recovered, Combes said. But the information will help understand how urban streams recover from pollution incidents. Each season, O'Hearn will sample fish at three different points on the creek. These points are the same as the area she sampled for the fish kill. Fish are caught with a large mesh net, called a seine haul, which extends across the length of the stream. With people holding it on each side, the net is dug into the creek bottom to shake up sediment and trap fish. Each fish species is catalogued and returned to the stream. Macro-invertebrates, like crawfish and insects with a larvae stage in the water, will be sampled twice a year, in the spring and fall. The research will identify which aquatic species repopulate the stream first, and how quickly. The data will be compared to models of an unpolluted stream developed by the Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership at MU using fish collection data from streams statewide. "It's not so much an answer as a description," Combes said. "It can be used to compare to other incidents in urban streams, as a benchmark." Because both Flat Branch and Hinkson Creek — which Flat Branch empties into — are urban streams, the recovery study done on Flat Branch will inform scientists about how Hinkson Creek could recover, too, Combes said. The study will complement ongoing research at Hinkson Creek, which is led by a partnership between John Schulz of the Missouri Department of Conservation and Jason Hubbart, an assistant professor of forest hyrdrology at MU.

yeah no scupper holes in the seat area is a complete fatal flaw for any SOT kayak design. One of many reasons i'm not a fan of that ascend kayak that bps sells. pelican makes one without seat scupper holes too. great way have a wet, chaffed butt the entire day. Fish in that two days in a row and your skin is going to start breaking down, that's not a good thing. and yes, drip rings are a must! Most people put them way close to their hands though, the drip rings should be right up against the paddle blade, and in the very least, far enough out that they are outboard of your gunwale. Which brings up paddle length. Make sure you get a paddle wide enough for whatever kayak you are looking at. 230cm would be the minimum I would even consider for the fishing yaks i've been in. 240-260cm would be the best options for most boats. 10cm ~ 4 inches You will sill get drips though, so cotton clothing is a big no-no as it absorbs any moisture, wicks it around and doesn't dry, also loses all thermal properties when wet.

Holy crap a hobie! you must think everyone is a 1%er. Instead of a hobie, I suggest buying 2 kayaks of any other brand (for the same cost of the 1 hobie at that!) AND you won't need 3 friends to help you lift your boat. They make great products if you like paying $2600 for a 125lb kayak... I like to spend my money wisely, but that's me. you guys that are saying a SOT is not dry, need some paddling lessons. Sure you will get the occassional drip on you and if you are paddling in the wind you might get extra drips blown onto you, but it's not a 'wet' ride as some are claiming. If you are getting anymore than a few drops on you here and there, you are doing something wrong, really wrong. Paddling technique aside, a pair of paddling pants will go along way in cooler weather towards keeping you bone dry. If you wear the proper attire, you won't be bothered by the occassional drip or splash. Proper technique, proper gear, goes a long way to making your trip more enjoyable.

Have to be in it to win it...

I am happy to announce GreenFish as an official sponsor to the Missouri Smallmouth Challenge. This is a small US company that makes a really amazing product. Please check out their entire product line. Greenfish has agreed to donate one of their CPR camera mounts to the tournament. Someone is going to win this mount within the first couple of months of the event. (depends on when I actually get the mount) That way the winner of the mount can use it for the rest of the event.and it's not a bag of chompers! This mount fits in rocket style rod tubes, scotty flush mounts, is infinitely adjustable, floats, is well made, comes with a nice case, and retails for under $100!! so even if you don't win this one, you can get one at a great price. (they also donate some of the cost to charity) Sign up now! YOU could win this mount, among other prizes.

you might take a look at the Feel Free Moken Angler. Although I've not paddled one, it has a lot of nice features and the hull design could handle an ozark stream/river without much issue. Ocean Kayak's tetra might be worth looking at too. Make sure you take into consideration the weight of some of the kayaks out there. My trident 13 is all I care to handle when it comes to hefting it ontop of my car without destroying my car in the process. it has a claimed weight of 68lbs. 13 feet of 68lbs is much more difficult to lift over your head than you might imagine.

if you get within casting distance of me, i'm liable to I will cast something with sharp dangly hooks on it, right close to your eyes. Might even hit you in the head, i'm not the most accurate caster, sorry, should have stayed further back I guess. note: that's just for being within casting distance.

Don't forget, I will be speaking at the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance meeting at Powder Valley on wenesday April 18th at 7pm. I will talk be talking about my guide service and covering in depth, the tournament rules, measuring devices, and photography guidelines. If you have any questions, please plan on attending. You do not need to be a member to attend, but we always welcome those wishing to become members.

like this then. I see what you are saying, it is thicker than most point and shoots. definately not super comfortable in the pocket, but if i'm carrying it, i stick it in my fishing vest, otherwise it's in a mount. not my first option for shooting stills but it beats the hell out of a $100-300 paperweight.

who said 'bulky'?

My crankbaits and jerkbaits are all kept in plano 4700 boxes. I have recently purchased one of their terminal tackle boxes for my hooks, weights, spring keepers, etc etc and I love it. I keep those in a softsided tote along with a fishing barometer, extra line and misc stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else. Safety pin style spinnerbaits I keep in a binder, that I think was made for grubs or 4 inch worms, but it works great for spnnerbaits. I can store 20 in the space of a couple of packages of soft plastics. Those big spinnerbait boxes don't work well on a kayak/canoe where space is a premium, at least not for me. I keep my soft plastics either in a finesse worm binder or in their original packages inside a small soft sided tote that also houses my spilt ring pliers, wire cutters, and scale w/float. The tote has mostly river stuff, beavers/flukes/grubs. I have two small plano stowaway boxes that I have my jig heads in. I can toss those in the tote and be ready for smallmouth in flash. Everything is sorted out too. I have basically two sets of tackle. One for lakes, the other specific to ozark rivers. (when I say 'river' that's what I mean, not missouri/mississippi) That way I can take just the few things that have the gear I need on the river, but have a choice on the lakes with whatever I want to take. Deep diving stuff in one box, shallow/top water in another, worms in a 3rd, craws/trailers in a 4th, etc etc. I also have a catch-all box that has a mix of plastics which is usually what goes with me while the bulk are stored in their own boxes. I carry a lot of stuff and it's much easier to find when you keep it organized and in associated boxes/wallets/bags. I'm not a big fan of hard sided tackleboxes like I used to have when I was a kid because they really lack versatility and don't fit anywhere well.

closing your bail by hand is more about longevity of the cam and gears inside the reel that operate the bail than it is about line twist . I had to watch some video to see what I do, as it happens so fast and by muscle memory I wasn't able to slow down to pay attention. I brake the line with my left hand (if needed) and flip the bail close, then I lift the rod tip to remove slack before making the first handle turn. before every cast I do a quick lookover of my reel and guides to make sure there are not loops or snags. if anything looks or FEELS abnormal I fix it before it gets worse. once you get the movements down it all happens so fast you don't even notice you are doing anything. i have seen some saltwater reels without the bail wire on the reel. they are made for deep jigging and not for casting. although with practice and patience I'm sure anyone could master casting without a bail wire as all it does is guide the line back to the line roller.

sounds like you need to make a call to MDC and report your findings, including any names you may have heard. People who violate the wildlife code are stealing from ALL of us!!

xxx

the way to keep your braid from getting jacked up in a split ring is to make sure you are tying to the section of the split ring that isn't doubled over. use a palomar knot and make sure you pull it tight and you will rarely have an issue with the spit ring eating your line or knot. as for sloppy hook/lure eyes. I will tie a knot with some 30lb braid, cut the knot free so it's on the eye and slide it around to block the gap. If this doesn't work, give that lure or hook to a friend. =)

ok first of all, when is this that you claim to go fishing? secondly I brought 2 rods, not 6. I only take 6 or 7 or 8 when I go to the lake. how many clubs does a golfer have?

uni to uni knot for the braid to fluoro/mono leader. 4 wraps with the braid, 6 with the fluoro/mono. the modified albright is supposed to be a really good one too. I typically use the green braid, mostly because that's the available color. I'm now trying the 'ghost' color of the 832. it looks exactly like crystal fusion firewire in color. the nanofil is a white color. I don't think the fish care about line color. they can feel the line through their lateral line anyway, especially when snapping the line like with a jerkbait, jig, topwater etc. I use a fluoro leader for anything under the surface and occasionally a mono leader for WTD type lures.

on the rock bass the rows of spots along it's side will be darkest and largest below the lateral line. The ozark bass has it's darkest rows of spots along it's side and back, not so much along it's lower sides and belly. the shadow bass usually lacks the rows of spots and has irregular vertical splotches. There is likely some hybridization between species which can make identification more difficult and keep in mind, when fish are caught they display different color characteristics depending on stress level. So a fish on a hook after a fight isn't always the normal coloration.

take some pvc pipe and put it up in the bow, that way you can slide the rod tips in the pvc and rest the butts on the seat

PP has a new 8 strand braid out that is rounder and more abrasion resistant than their normal braid. Guess they saw the abrasion results on the newer 8 thread braids and saw that it worked. You guys that throw spinning gear. Take a look at Nanofil. I've been throwing it for a year or so now and I'm really impressed with it's performance on lighter spinning rigs. It does have a couple of drawbacks: 1. it's rated test is actually closer to it's realistic breaking point than normal braids ie 8lb is 8lb, not 20lb. 2. it's more slippery than any other line, you have to do a double wrap on the overhand knot of a palomar 3. it's less abrasion resistant than most lines, maybe all. make sure you use ample spit on the knot when you tie it. the line shows wear easily so don't be afraid to retie bonues: 1. what line twist? this stuff can be twisted to an incredible amount and it simply shrugs it off like it doesn't exist. 2. casting distance. if you are throwing something 1/5th oz or less, this stuff cannot be beat, it is incredible the distance you can get. 3. it's gelspun braid. your hook wont get stuck through the line, it's round, it doesn't stretch, it's really sensitive. just started tying a fluoro leader on my braids this year. uni to uni is a super easy knot to learn and really strong. I do suggest using a leader around 2.5 times the length of your rod. Sounds crazy right? a 14-20 foot leader? why? simple. the knot, which is the weakest link in any system will be on your spool when the fish is near, instead of popping through the eyes or breaking at that critical moment.

I first started using spiderwire, then switched to power pro, now i'm using suffix 832 and for crankbaits or bottom contact ie anytime you want your line to sink, the 832 is simply amazing. even more round than power pro and like a steel cable. If I hang 17lb 832 in a tree, I can easily just reel myself over to it, but unlike some braids, the 832 seems to withstand the abrasion even better. frankly I'd buy whichever I could find cheaper. Both are on sale at cabela's right now, and suffix makes the 832 in a white color which reminds me of crystal fusion fireline, but it's not fused.