MOPanfisher

You will "draw" for a blind that is already constructed. and placed. Usually they are busily putting them out about now. There isn't much scouting to do, the blinds and shooting lanes are pre-set to avoid conflicts with other hunters, also part of the reason for the DRT recovering deer. There usually a sight-in day the Saturday before the hunt weekend. Justin, the North Fork is a fair ways away, from my house my response time might be a little slow.

EXCELLENT! The peas are just beginning to show through the cover crops. I believe that during the Stockton hunt the hunter is given the option of providing their own guide or having one provided for them from the staff of volunteers. Unless it has changed you could most certainly be her "guide", however there are several excellent ones available should you want or need to do something else. You won't need the cart as all you have to do after she shoots a deer is contact the number they will give you and the DRT (Deer Recovery Team) springs into action, we will show up, drag the deer out, load it into a pick-up and take it back to the camp/meeting area along with the notched tag. The hunter/guide can then stay in the blind if they wish and continue to hunt until their tags are filled or they want to leave for the morning/evening. The DRT will happily eithe field dress the deer where it is or do it back at the camp, along with quartering and skinning once it is checked in. The first morning the DRT stay pretty busy, and the staff prefers that the guide/hunter not leave the blind to track or recover the deer the DRT will do that. You would be amazed at the number of deer killed from a blind after we have left it with a deer in the truck. It is a great time and a great hunt. Hope to see you there, I sure hope everything is settled before the hunt time.

Sounds like a good morning Oneshot!

Ten_scoach I usually volunteer for the special hunt at Stockton, absolutely one of my favorite weekends of the year. If it gets cancelled I am gonna be seriously bummed.

You can still park above the barricade near the upper gate or even in the parking area along the highway. There are a lot of deer in there, sometimes they are everywhere sometimes you don't see any, just like deer. We did get some food plots planted to winter peas and hairy vetch before the shutdown, they should be sprouting nicely with the rains. Good luck hope you one or two.

The short or maybe not so short answer. We simply don't have the ability to close each and every access/parking area around the lake, plus any of them that are "outgranted" i.e. maintained by others were never on the shut down list. Trush me at the field level nobody wanted to close anything, we would have preferred to continue working under a deferred pay status and simply gone ahead with our jobs, and awaited a paycheck until congress could get an appropriation bill passed into law. That was never an option though.

yes they are.

Thank you, I try to provide information and try my best to stay out of the debates since in my mind I don't have the right to complain about closed ramps, campgrounds etc. as I unfortunately had to give the order to do it, including the ramp that I normally launch from. Also the back pay which is likely to happen for furloughed workers. I will speak for the vast majority of us, if the decision is made to give back pay, we would much rather be working under a "deferred pay" status, meaning we would get paid when the budget gets passed than sitting at home and get a check for that. We have things that need to be done, and some are time constrained, however I also understand the laws that make that illegal. Don't like it but do realize its a fact. Believe me when I say that Gov't workers see the silliness of federal budgeting first hand and know it is absolutely crazy, and the rules that are changed routinely just make it worse.

Contact the Pomme de Terre State Park at 417-852-4291, They are open and available. You might even be able to camp in one of their new Yurts!

Both sides of the State Park is open, also The Harbor and many smaller gravel ramps.

Yes it is closed.

I saw the article and pics, crazy.

Typically they will go through a boom/bust/stabilize cycle. They will explode in population for a while, then crash dramatically, finally they will stability in a population that is sustainable. Likely there will still be cycles up and down though.

Well the crappie won today, caught 3 nice ones in 50 yards of stumps then my old nemeis came to haunt me, NO WIND. Fished for about 3 hours more with nothing to show except listening to the little shad get slurped up by bass and acorns falling from the trees. Nearly got caught by a storm, was distracted fishing along going through the motions thinking about things in life and realized I couldn't see the stumps under the water any more, and there was an occasional grumble to be heard. Looked up and rut-row dark sky and thunder. Scooter for the ramp and loaded out in time to get rained on about 1/2 mile from the launch. However the 3 nice fat crappie will be a present for a very sweet lady at church who commented the other day she had never eaten a crappie, well I'm pretty sure I've given her some in the past, but it still seemed like a crime again nature not to have eaten crappie so come sunday morning the fillets will be frozen in a ziplock baggie for her. Also with time on my hand I am winning points with my wife hopefully, I scrubbed out the tub/shower after getting home. Hope this isn't what retirement is like, I had visions of playing with my grandkid and teaching him/her bad words to say when my daughter comes to pick him/her up, and of course giving them presents like pocket knives and fireworks.

darn, I wasn't aware they were in Bull Shoals. With it so close to Taneycomo and TR it may be a matter of time before they get transported in someones livewell. Not a given though, they have been in LOZ for quite a while but so far haven't been found in Truman, Pomme or Stockton. Although I would have expected it by now. OOPS the article said they have been found in an area of upper Truman, that's not good.

Golf Pro, do you mind if I ask what it is you don't like about the COE. I am NOT trying to start an argument, just that I find that the vast majority of folks who don't like the corps it is about something that the COE had no control over (20 inches of rain, day use fees, building a lake, mandated closing of federal facilities etc.) or something they got caught doing such as clearing trees between their house and the lake or perhaps were denied a dock permit. Just curious, if you don't wish to discuss it that is fine. Don't think I am the "champion" of the COE has done more than their share of silly things, mostly forced upon them, or required by regulation but not always.

Spent much of the day posting COE campgrounds, day use areas and boat ramps as closed. Buildings locked up, utilities will be turned off beginning tomorrow. Guess I'll be home hoping the next paycheck isn't too far away. In my 25 years with the Corps I have never left work not knowing when I would return. With any luck we will be back out very soon taking down the AREA CLOSED signs. General guidance is that COE managed areas are to be closed, with a gate if possible, by posting AREA CLOSED signs if not. If the area is leased out to say a marina or other entity then it is fine. The state park areas are open for business also. Till then well my boat has fuel enough for a few trips maybe I can catch one of them crappies I hear about from Shockley!

Here is the link on the KC Facebook page for information. I will do my best to answer any questions to the best of my knowledge and ability. https://www.facebook.com/usace.kcd?ref=stream&hc_location=stream Cut and paste version. With the potential for a federal government shutdown beginning Tuesday, October 1, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing for a possible mandated closure of all Corps-operated campgrounds and day-use parks nationwide. The Corps regrets the impacts that these closure actions might have on the recreating public currently using or planning to use these facilities, and will work to keep the public informed about their availability.

This is the week that the MSHP will be holding their advanced swift water rescue and boating class. Thus this evening at around 4:00 we will increase the outflow to around 500 CFS, and tomorrow it will bump up to 2000 CFS and remain there until sometime Thursday evening. This will drop the lake some, predictions are 1.5 to 2 feet. If you are fishing this week on the lake it will be dropping for a few days.

SWEET!! Sounds like a great trip. Might have been a little hot in the campground there, seems like the wind has been dying in evening, and skeeters and horseflies coming out.

I grew up when crappie fishing meant a styrofoam bucket or picnic cooler full of minners. Catfish on trotlines or jug lines meant small bluegill caught usually with the top half of a broken fishing rod, tiny hook and piece of a worm. Heck catching the bait was as fun as the rest. Any more I am too lazy to use live bait, I will however on occasion tip a walleye jig with a juicy nightcrawler, or hook a small crawfish on hook and send him to his death under a rootwad in the river.

last time I went there were two lures that were the "go to". Majority of fish on a 3" brown curly tail Spring grub with a 1/16 oz. large hook head. Swim it slowly or hop it along likely spots. The other was a Rapala 2 3/4" or something close original minnow, I like the Hot Steel color but don't know if color really mattered or not. Down stream from the old mill site is a big long hole with lots of boulders that hold some good smallies and gogglers. Don't know how getting a flat bottom through there will work as we had kayaks and had to drag them a ways. You can always go upstream to the first set of stumps/riffles and catch gogglers and small smallies. That area that is easy access from the put in gets hit pretty hard.

I would like to see some above normal precip to help with groundwater tables, but would like to see it in multiple different events instead of one or two big ones. I live out in the sticks and big snows take me a while to dig out from. But then again I get to take a day or two off and play with the tractor so its not all bad. Guess I'll take whatever we get.

You could just follow me around when I throw jerkbaits and crankbaits for walleye, muskies seem to have a vendetta against my plugs. Have only gotten a few smaller ones in, but have had some massive hits, short runs followed by a "phatooie" as they spit it out, which is better than when they simply take it with them leaving me shaky and mad.

$2 chain hook stringer, clip them on your hook and toss it in the livewell, poof separate and identifiable. Many folks get checked and get tickets for not having their fish separate and identifiable, usually if there is more than one persons limit of fish. Its the law, I'm sure a lot of folks get a warning and sent on their way but I wouldn't bank on it.