Gavin

Ugliest...definetly a bowfin...Coolest...havent caught one yet...Chased em for two days in Florida, but never got a hookup...Got close...saw a 50lb er suck my fly in 3 times but I never got a hook into that Tarpon. Gotta get back down for another go at them sometime. Cheers.

Dunno, I dont have all the answers...The harder evidence, and my personal experiences point one way...not much to support an abundance of wild rainbows on the Current. Exceptions, to the rule...very possible, but still a big who cares. Why waste time navel gazing about this bull stuff? Go Fish.

I've caught a few under 8"..Usually up in the park...no telling were they came from..Park Raceway...accident of nature.....I can guarantee you that I've caught more fish over 18" than I have in the under 8" class on the Current since I moved back to Missouri in 1992..and thats not a huge number of fish. The facts just dont support the existance of a significant amount of wild reproduction on the Current...period... Plus comparing the LP or another wild trout stream to the Current is comparing apples to oranges. Our wild trout streams contain fish that are genetically closer to wild rainbow trout. They spawn in January & February usually..Not so with the hatchery fish...Our hatchery fish are pretty far removed from wild rainbow populations...They are a manufactured fish that has been bred to make them easy to raise in a hatchery environment...There is bit of cutthroat in em...bit of steelhead in em, bit of assorted rainbow genetics. They have been selectively bred to spawn in Sept/October, stay calm in there pens, grow fast, and so on..... I just dont think that the hatchery mutts reproduce very well outside of the confines of a controlled hatchery environment. Just the way it is. Guess you could stock some better rainbow stock in the Current...Crane Creek McClouds or something that will reproduce, but what the heck for? Its a fantastic brown trout fishery as is.......If I want wild rainbows...I go out West or to the North Fork of the White. Cheers.

I've helped the MDC biologists shock the Current before...We probably handled 8-900 fish over the course of two days....not a trout smaller than 8" in the bunch. What does that tell ya?

Dont know the reason why, but there are a ton of rainbows between Baptist & Parker this year...and its not usually so. They werent there last winter, or this spring....so it makes me think that they came from someplace else...its the only logical conclusion..be that the park, moved up from below Cedar Grove, or they were stocked. I'd think that brown trout numbers are down this year. I'm not noticing an abundance of 12-14" fish from this years stocking, but there are a good number of plus sized browns in the river. Its been a great big fish year, IMO. Cheers.

We catch most of our better fish on minnow crankbaits....usually 3.5" to 5.5" long models on 8lb line. They all work at times...but timing and approach are the real key...I've said it time and time again.....just gotta get there before dawn, tie on something big enough to interest a big brown trout, sneak into position, and make your first cast count..Move on quickly if you dont hook a good one in a couple casts.

Nice...it was kind of cold yesterday AM and I elected to spend some time with the our daughters yesterday and start packing... We had a great morning on Saturday...My buddy Kip & I got on the water at Baptist Camp just before dawn. Kip and I caught several in the 14-17" range at the access then hole hopped our way downstream for 3/4 of mile or so... Water level & clarity was perfect for cranking and the fish were definitely related to the faster water. Absolutely beatiful morning with lots of frost flowers and frost glistening in the tree tops...To top it off... Kip landed a 24.5" female brown...not his longest one this year but within a half inch, but probably the heaviest...fat one and its head was probably 3.5" across....Figure it would have gone 7lbs or so. Things really slowed down after 8:15, so whe hiked back for breakfast. My wife did pretty well in the park on Saturday as well. Dropped her off at the Rock hole around 2:30 and picked her up at the White Oak hole and hour later with a big grin on her face. She was fishing a tandem rig, with a micro-egg above a prince nymph. Great weekend to be at Montauk, campground was darn near vacant. Cheers.

I believe we ARE headed to Montauk for the weekend...Hope you have a great one too.

No harm no foul works for me.....Unfortunately we have a ton of folks on this planet who want to control how other people live their lives. You can never completely trust a law enforcement officer or a politician....If they are talking to you in an offical capacity, they have a have a reason for it.....and it usually involves your money, your liberty. Cheers.

I'm done with it till next April or May...trout from here on out, but I may catch a bass or two by accident. Cheers.

I use hi vis-braid & a leader most of the time, even for those finiky trout.....if its below freezing its Maxima Ultragreen. Cheers.

My shimano's have had lots of binding problems...they just arent good reels for kayak & canoe fishing...the work fine for a couple months then the binding starts..Replaced my Shimano's with Daiwa's, then US Reel Supercasters (got em at wholesale price), and those didnt work out either..didnt bind but they had other issues... Anyway, I picked up an Abu Soron and a Plueger President about a month ago...will see how they hold up. Cheers.

Yep....my river tent is a 10-12 year old Mountain Hardware....still in pretty good shape after a couple hundred trips...might be less than a $1 each at this point. Cheers.

I'd look around at Sierra Trading Post or Campmor and see what is on sale....3 Season, probably a 3 person if you want a tight fit for two with a bit of space for gear storage. Other than that, sealed seams, and good quality aluminum poles is what you are looking for. Cheers.

Ness...I know that he's had his ears boxed worse than you fellows could ever give.... Ness has been a friend of mine for. 10-12 years. Always a gentleman...Great conversation, fun to fish with, plus he's one of the first off his arse if something needs doing in camp.......no complaints...lots of laughs! Time to pull the plug on this one....or if you wish to continue...lets do it round a campfire near a river someplace. Cheers.

Lots of em will do the trick...Guess I have 15-20 reels.....and I like most of them for different reasons. I like the sealed disk drag reels for cold weather fishing...The Lamson Konic cant be beat for the price, but many others will do the trick. My Galvan OB's have been fished hard and beat up in boats for years.... I've never had a problem with them. Shiltons are really nice too, if my Galvan's ever fail I'll probably get a Shilton. The Lamson Litespeed is a great reel too. I'm not a big fan of Abel, or Ross... Abels cost a bundle and they are heavy, good cork drag, but the drag on the Tibor is better..Ross...I dont like em cuz I had some issues with their old Cimarron model...(spool detent pin freezes and causes it to free spool in really cold conditions)..so I've stayed away from Ross since then. Their newer models may be better, but if the spool engages to the drag with a spring loaded pin..stay the heck away if you fish in freezing conditions. Many reels will fill the big...just depends on what you like and how much you have to spend.

I like em all...Clear water...worms, tubes, curly tail grubs, hula grubs. Its hard to find a salty smelly chunk of plastic that they wont eat sometimes.. Stained water-Jig & Chunk with or w/o a rattle. Cheers.

This guys clearly an odds on favorite to get the shaft because of the alleged scale of the activities that went on there. No doubt about it. I think that he should have done more to stem those activities but it still doesnt justify the actions of the government. If they can take this guys property without a criminal conviction, they might be able to take yours. This guy cleary isnt a no-nothing property owner, but there cleary needs to be some reform in the area of federal forfeiture law. Wonder how many no-nothing property owners have had there property taken? Say you have a rental house, and you rent it to a drug dealer by mistake. Your rent is paid on time & in full and your happy as a clam until the DEA breaks down the door arrests your tenant. Whats there to prevent them from filing suit to take your property away from you?

All the bases are covered...You buy their seed, you sign on the line saying you wont save any to replant with it. The big corporate food machine scares me to some extent. I try to grow a little bit of our own produce & some herbs, buy from the local farmers market, and my sister raises the majority our beef & pork..Just got done with this years cut order as a matter of fact....I'd love to dump big AG for goood, but I like to eat too. Cheers.

No denying that the place was a nuisance Mitch. I just dont like how they took his property. Last thing I'd ever want is for one of my daughters to attend an event at that place...same can be said about the St. Louis Mardi Gras...People go to both of those places to get drunk & stupid...and thats fine with me if you into that. Stay home if your not. FWIW, I go to Mardi Gras...but Zoe isnt my kinda crowd. Cheers.

Think the camp is around 350 acres...doubful that a bunch of stoners had the will to leave the party to do significant damage other peoples property...The LEO's certainly had it in for em though...I've seen several check points near the Round Spring Bridge on Hwy 19 when something was going on down there, and who says it was the Zoe folks doing damage to surrounding properties? Thousands of party floaters put in & take out at Round Spring on the Current on any summer Saturday. Those folks do allot of damage too. I've never attended any of their events, but this reeks of jack booted thuggery..Looks like they couldnt get the owner on anything after a 4 year investigation, so they seize his land & bank account without filing charges. Welcome to the new America!

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_f8a1fdec-7e8d-5834-b89f-53db236d9730.html Seems a bit extreme...Seizing a hippies land for doing what hippies do.

Depends on how you want to fish..My old park rod is a Falcon 5'6" UL. It works great for spinners, jigs, and stuff under a float, works for park fishing and for rainbow trout sized lures. Most of the time I go with a medium light or medium rod, both 6' fast action, with 2000 series reels for tossing 1/8oz &1/4oz jigs & 3-5.5" jerkbaits. 8lb test leader on hi vis braid usually, mono if its below freezing. Probably not the best lures to use for rainbows but the brown trout sure like em. Cheers.

There has never been a fly rod that I wouldnt cast.....bring some up to St. Louie and I'd be glad to take a go. Hargrove's Christmas Party is on the 4th of December. Think the band starts at noon, and there is plenty of food, drink, & comraderie.....bring some up and let the Fishheads take a spin with em.

Norm Crisp sent me this article this week.....shifting baselines...how true! Our time is short so we lack perspective. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_natural_world_vanishes_how_species_cease_to_matter/2258/