Gavin

I'd agree with Jd about the decrease in the size of the average trout on the 11pt, but numbers are way up. Most of the fish I've caught in the last two years have been stockers (look for a left or right pectoral fin clip). In the last couple years, weve usually been catching around 20 trout a day, sometimes a lot more. Before the stocking it might be 5-6 in a weekend but the quality was a lot better. As for the pickeral, I've never eaten them but I've had n. pike before. Its similar to walleye in flavor and texture. Fillet them as usual, then remove the strip of Y bones that run along the lateral line. Never bothered to filet a pickeral though. The small ones under 18" dont have enough meat on them to justify the effort and the big ones are too pretty to filet. Cheers.

It depends, if your using 3 or 4x tippet and catching average sized trout an overhand knot should work just fine. If your after a big fish, or if you are using fine tippet, you would better off with a blood or a surgeons knot. Cheers.

There are some good smallies in that stretch and plenty of big chain pickeral. Youll be perfectly legal if you stick to crankbaits (bomber A's, wee craws, and rapala type baits), larger inline spinners, and some bass sized marabou & hair jigs (pork or plastic trailers are a no no). Bring some long nosed pliers to unhook those pickeral. Cheers.

Ted, its even easier than that, my favorite small caddis dry is just a dubbed body and a sparse deer or elk hair wing. Sometimes I tie some CDC under the wing, sometimes I use CDC dubbing for the body, but I'm not sure if it makes any difference. The fly is hard to see and it doesnt float well so I usually fish it 2-3ft behind a bigger dry like a fluttering caddis, or EHC. I also carry a few iris caddis, sparkle pupa's, and softhackles. Cheers.

Never tried the eagle claws, but they might be good hooks. I'd get a small box or two and compare them with Dai Riki's & Tiemco's before I'd order in any quantity. Frankly, I'll tie on anything, especially for smallmouth patterns. I've found some pretty neat hooks in the hook & jig racks at Bass Pro, Denny Dennis, and Paul's Bait & Tackle. Cheers.

You can usually find some midge, or tiny BWO's (22-28's)hatching in the winter, but the fish really prefer caddis, various of brown in sizes 16-20 will usually do the trick. Cheers.

Prongs would be your upper most access served by an outfitter. Its about 38 miles upstream of Eminence. At minimum, thats two days of fast padling with little time for much else. It would probably take me at least 4 days. http://www.windyscanoe.com/canoefloats.html

Drive on over to Hargroves or F. Craft, see what they have, and plunk down some money. Look at the hooks, are they what you want size & shape wise? If so any brand will do, as long as they are sharp, followed by price. Dai Riki's usually offer good value, followed by Tiemco. Mustads are usually the cheapest, but Dai Riki's and Tiemco's are usually sharper. If they dont have all the hooks you want, ask them to order them for you. Cheers.

Ken, the WFT usually kicks off the Wednesday or Thursday after the new year. The party gets a little out of hand at times but I'll talk to Kip if you are interested. I'm also trying to round up a few folks for a Friday-Sunday float on the 11pt in February.... Let me know.

Dunno Ken, I worked on carrier based aircraft electronics when I was in the service, and EVERYTHING corrodes. Sounds like a good research project for your kids. Whatever you get, make sure that you can hook up and iPod, MP3 players, etc. See ya a party cove !

Yep, no browns in the 11pt...Wish there were, but the USFS wont allow MDC to stock them. As for fall spawners, most hatchery strain rainbows have been bred to spawn in the fall like browns and brook trout. Wild rainbows usually spawn in January-February, and cutthroats spawn in late spring. Cheers.

The cabins in the park are open year round. There in pretty decent shape, but the ones with the hot tubs are the best (and hardest to book). Ask the park staff for additional recommendations. As for flies...in the park..micro eggs, midges (sunk & on top), general purpose nypmhs, and mohairs should do the trick. Cheers.

I'm not sure if there are any smallmouth up that way, but there could be. The area around Lebanon has some good smallmouth water, but I'm not aware of any decent smallmouth fishing up by KC. I'd try looking through the Missouri Conservation Atlas for stream access in your area, and the DeLorme Gazeteer for Missouri will help you find other places. Cheers.

Your right Randall. Springrise was sold, but the new owners have done a lot of improvments and reopened as Westover Farms. Check em out at... http://www.westoverfarms.com/

I think Spring Valley trout farm is in Highlandville but I havent been there. Rockbridge is a really nice place though. Good food, nice bar, decent accomodations, sporting clays, wingshooting, etc. Last year they were charging $95 a person for C&R fishing. Accourdingly, my wife and I decided to catch & keep and we ended up spending around $100 on fish. Might check out Windrush or Westover Farm near Steelville. Both allow C&R and the fees are in the $50 a day range. Cheers.

It would be a lot easier, and much safer to float from Quarry Park down to River Ridge. Short shuttle too. Cheers.

I dont enjoy watching NFL football as much as I used to. Commercial timeouts have really ruined the pace of the game, especially for those in the stands. Frankly, NFL football has become a real snore to watch so I rarely waste my time with it any more. I still enjoy a good college game though. Cheers.

You'll probably never get the $ back out of a refinished South Bend. I'd fish it the way it is or do it yourself. Cheers.

My wife and I fished at Cedar Grove on Sunday afternoon and did OK on glo-balls. We were lucky...fishing the White Ribbon area between Cedar and Akers is usually hit or miss depending on how recently the stocking truck has visited. Most of the stockers get harvested in less than a week. If your not looking for trout for the table fish the blue ribbon area between the park and Cedar Grove. The limit in that stretch is 1 trout >18" and bait and plastic lures are prohibited. Good Luck.

An inch or two off the tip usually isnt noticeable, but a foot off the tip will have a BIG effect on the action. I'd see if you can get a replacement tip from LL Bean, and if not, I'd chuck that beater in the trash and look for a new rod. Cheers.

There has been some discussion about reinstating the draft in recent years. I spent six years in the Marine Corp, and its not like it used to be under the draft. What we have now is a professional military thats pretty isolated from the rest of the populace. It's not a citizens army like we had in WWII and Vietnam and I'm not so sure thats the best for our military and our country. I doubt that the draft will come back, but I wouldnt oppose it if it did.

Synthetics are the way to go for big flies. Lots of materials like bozo hair, ultra hair, etc. can add length and they dont absorb a ton of water like rabbit. A fly similar to a wool head string leach might fill the bill nicely. I usually use 30lb braid to attach the Gamakasu Octopus stinger hook on string leaches. Cheers.

It should be just fine on Taney. Guess most sculpins run in the 2-3" range, but I've seen some up to 5-6" long. Cheers.

Boot sizes vary by manufacturer so I'd drive to a tackle shop and try some on with your fishing socks before you buy anything. Cheers.

I'f your after smallies, I'd head up toward Moon Valley or down below Prosperine. A float from Bennet to Barclay or Prosperine usually offers a good mix of trout and the occasional bass. Buggers and streamers seem to work best for browns and smallies. Eggs for the bows. Cheers.