Jack Jones

care to post a picture and/or recipe for that fly Troutnut?

I put in at Hootentown around 4:00 p.m. and paddled up river about an hour. It wasn't as low as it has been but there is quite a lot of algae all over the place. Floating around the gravel bars and littering the bottom. It made it difficult to fish because everything kept coming up fouled. I found several spots where it was a bit lighter than others and in some of the deeper pools it wasn't a problem. I tried spinners and crankbaits for a bit, but got nothing. Settled on a Texas rigged finesse worm because my jigheads kept picking up scum. I pulled in a few dinks and one very chunky 15 in largemouth. Also caught a google eye, first one I've caught on the James. One sad part of the trip was that I saw a heron that was caught up on what appeared to be kite string. I couldn't tell if it was wrapped aroung the wing, or if there was a hook at the end of the wing. The other part of the string was caught in a tree branch. I didn't get close enough to the bird to see the wing, but I was able to cut the line from the tree branch and at least free him up. Given what that wing looked like, with the loss of feathers and the way it was hanging, I doubt that bird's gonna live much longer. It was just an unfortunate sight. When I got back to the access, someone had built a fire near the boat launch. I didn't see anyone else around, but there was a fire going and a canoe paddle (blue with the name "Pettit" on it). Don't know what that was all about but knocked out the fire because I just found that irresponsible.

How'd you get through all the lily pads and such? When I was there last week, it was awful.

Flyrod, I have both a sit in kayak and a solo canoe. My advice.....try a solo canoe before buying a Kayak. I found an Old Town Pack used and its got tons of space, is lighter, and works well for fishing. If you are intent on a kayak, I would steer away from the sit in ones. Mine was my first paddlecraft, and although it got me out on the water, I found it bulky to deal with and a pain to get in and out of. Admittedly the pack is a little more expensive, but they also make the Discovery 119 that I've seen around for about $500.

I've been fishing mostly with finesse worms up to now. I'm wondering if my luck on rivers would be better with a craw bait. Any recommendations on brands, rigging (hook sizes, jigs, etc...)? What tends to work around here and how do you throw it?

Umm.....free rooms and/or guide service upon reaching a milestone number of posts???? Actually, I have to say I love this board. It's one of the only forums I check consistently and I've learned quite a bit about the area, its bodies of water, and the species that they hold. It's provided an opportunity to communicate with some real knowledgeable and friendly folks. One day, maybe I'll even meet a few of them in person. Thank you Phil and Co. for this service.

I'm looking to buy an ultralight rod/reel that would be used with 2lb, maybe 4lb test. Lures would likely be 1/8th and under. Are there any out there that are reasonably priced and that would cast such light lures a decent distance? I put this under bass, but I'd likely be using it to target panfish, google eye, etc.... Suggestions please!

I am a fan. I usually strip cracklebacks. While not necessarily full streamers, they tend to do well for me. I've also been a bugger fan but they've not done as well. What are your favorite streamers to strip, Siusaluki?

I took the canoe out Sunday mid-day since the weather had gotten cooler and I could finally get away. I went to Kerr because I figured there would be more water than if I'd put in at Hootentown. That river is mighty low. I ended up walking up from the Kerr Access with the canoe for a good ways before it was deep enough to paddle without scraping gravel. I know the heat of the day is a bad time to try catching anything, and that bore itself out with my limited success. I was there from about 2:00 until 4:30 and thankfully it wasn't horrifically hot. I fished a 4" finesse worm and came up with a few dinky smallmouth and one good size 15" smallie. Nothing else. I did see some good size carp there. It appeared that they were schooling. Or was I maybe seeing a different species, maybe drum? Anyone have any experience in pulling those out of the James? If so, what lures/bait typically entice them so I can have some backup for when the bass are ignoring me?

Looks like a lot of fun. I've never caught one of those. What flies/size were you using for those?

Is that the fast riffle decscribed as "the falls" by Sunburst?

I'll be in Columbia at the end of September, LOL. Unfortunately, I can't pack my canoe since it likely wouldn't fit in my hotel room.

Thanks Wayne. I hadn't thought of freezing empty containers. Do you have an estimate on how much water, quantity-wise, you typically bring on an overnight for two people?

When the weather gets cooler this fall, I am contemplating making an attempt at an overnight float trip. Before that I intend to camp out at a state park first since I've never actually camped before.....but that's another story..... When floating/camping overnight, what do you guys usually do for water for drinking/cooking? Do you carry in? Do you filter/purify from the river you are floating? I will probably end up floating the James overnight, if that helps, but may consider other rivers. What are your suggestions?

All of this is good wisdom, and with it said, does anyone know anything about Chartered Waters out of Hollister? At some point, likely in the fall, I may be wanting to hire a guide for half a day for wading on Taneycomo with a focus on learning the spots below the dam, and techniques such as nymph and midge fishing. Im fairly proficient on cracklebacks and buggers now. In the alternative, I'd certainly welcome charity either on Taneycomo or Roaring River for learning nymphing/jiging . Maybe someone who could point out what I should be seeing, but am aparently not. Someone who could watch my technique and advise me on how incompetent is and how to fix that.

Waiting to see what happens tomorrow at the Kiss-In. All this hype over a chicken sandwich....wow!

Absolutely amazing story. Those folks are people to admire. I sure wish that our President could accomplish something like the CCC to put people back to work. Reading up on that everyone said that these programs were a slow slide into communism, but this story just shows that once the storm was over, this guy slipped right back into good old capitalism with the lessons he learned in part from the CCC. I hope we never have to go through something as bad as that generation did, but if we are headed that way, I hope we have a leader with the wisdom FDR had.

Some confusion back there in the threads. I never mentioned hearsay. Somewhere along the way folks got confused between my post and the responses to it, LOL. When all is said and done, I tend to agree with Chief and Zander. I'll leave it at that.

For those who hate Canadian healthcare...read this....http://ayoungmomsmusings.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-i-lost-my-fear-of-universal-health.html Most folks I've met from Canada, both Nova Scotia and Toronto love their healthcare. They acknowledge its faults, but day to day it's not too bad. As for the British system, if you truly analyze it, you will see that the Conservative government in the UK has killed it with their austerity measures and that is one of the reasons it is having so much trouble at this time. Bottom line....something is better than nothing. My wife's mother died back in the early ninety's from cancer that wasn't caught early enough mainly because as a suddenly widowed woman raising three children on poverty wages she couldn't afford to get regular checkups and preventative care. This bill would have helped. It would help me. And it will help many millions of people. If one of the Republicans wants to put forth an alternative plan or method, I'm willing to review it. However, they haven't and until they do, I'll stick with this starting point and improve it over time.

As someone with multiple "pre-existing" conditions, I've been forced in the past to take specific jobs just to have insurance coverage. I think we really hurt our economy and entrepreneurs when they have to work for someone else to have insurance. It's one of the ways corporate America has found to enslave the middle and working class, thereby avoiding competition. As for how insurance companies make money without denying people, come make that argument to me when their CEO's and execs aren't making multi-million dollar salaries and then we can talk about how having to accept people affects their bottom lines. The truth is they are doing just fine. In this day and age, it's a pity that we are one of the only advanced, industrial nations in the world to not offer health care to its citizens. And in the end, we will pay the price for it.

Here's the website Newb.....http://bluemangrill.com/

Thanks for the report. Was thinking of going this weekend, but it seems really low. Did you drag a lot? Also, what kind of rod/reel set up are you using with those topwaters?

You're headed left, into the main lake from the launch off the Evans Rd exit? I've tried that lane from the boathouse to where it starts to open open and never had much luck. Maybe I'll try heading in from the other direction this time. Working the worm around the weed beds was productive huh?

I grew up practically on a lake and I have never heard of this issue before. That said, I tend to believe that the codes in our area were much more stringent, even several decades ago. I've seen many of the hack jobs that some crews take out here. It scares me. I hope they find the source of the one up at LOZ. Guarantee there was no reason those kids had to die except carelessness.

very little in Nixa on Sunday. Needed more. But Springfield got a pounding.