Gavin

1.5” ice, nothing flew. Busted a big hole through the ice for the next bunch. Still fun. Sportsman’s bar in Sumner is worth a revisit.

Did you sous vide and pan sear that? Looks perfectly rare.

Depends on what you do...but if you work as well as you fish you will find something quick. It is hard to hire good candidates in STL...We take our chances and train mostly, or spend for an experienced hire. Not to happy with most of our trainees. The Universities rip most of them off IMO. They should have a clue about accounting if they are an accounting major before they start....Most do not, fail the CPA exam many times and move on. Shoot me a PM with your CV, Resume, and can make a suggestion. I work with hundreds of businesses.

When did they start opening C&R trout fishing before the deer opener? It used to be the Friday before the Rifle Deer opener...Not that I care one way or the other.

Chili recipe is a keeper...So is the Cheesy one... Chili 5lbs Beef/Venison 1lb Hot Breakfast Sausage Brown it and combine with 32 oz Tomatoe Sauce 2 Cans Chix Broth 2 Cans Beef Broth 1 Can Rotel 1 Can diced Tomatoes (or more) 6oz of your favorite chili powder 2 T garlic powder 1oz Salt 1/2T Black Pepper 1oz Cumin 1t Cayenne 2T Onion Powder 1T Sriracha Sauce 1/3 C Ketchup... Salt, Chili Powder, & Cumin Measurements are by dry weight NOT volume. Simmer until meat is tender, and that's it.

Good for you! Blanked on my first hunt last Sunday...Coulda killed 4 limits of coots, but ducks not flying. Gonna try again Wednesday...Hope this front doesnt move them all out.

Enjoy the last of the homegrown tomatoes! Tomorrow's front is gonna kill that action. Pulled a couple straggler green tomatoes off and fried them a couple weeks ago...MMM Good.

Got the Cheesy Tortilla Soup in the Crock Pot..Chili in the Stock Pot. Gonna make some Jiffy cornbread (best there is) and enjoy in an hour our two.

Show up and Craig will announce the rules. Usually most fish. Dunno, have to shout out for a witness. Call him tomorrow at Hargrove’s. Will be shuttling kids on Sunday. Can’t make it again, but a fun bunch.

C’mon it’s worth at least $8.99 plus tax😀!

Jefferson Lake Tournament update. Fly rods only unless disabled. Must fish with flies. 10am until Noon CST this Sunday. Get their early to rig up and so Craig can announce the rules, prizes, etc. Might be a case of Stag! Will be announced at the rules meet, or awarded at the end.

I don’t know what they stock outside of STL.. If you have a contact at private hatcheries near your area ask them. Yes MDC has paid Westover for trout. Tom & Marty raise the fish. Not as much demand, so the raise them right. Around West Plains would buy trout from Rockbridge if you want some big ones. Average there is 2-3lbs.

FWIW, allot of the STL area lakes get stocked with trout from Westover Farm in Steelville, not Bennett springs. A friend of mine runs the fisheries operation out there, and they grow some high quality trout. The T. Hargrove guys are having their annual urban fly fishing tourney at Jefferson Sunday AM. Top prize is bragging rights, a 40oz Malt Liquor, and your name burned on the the trophy...Not the Stanley Cup but fun. If interested, call Craig at the shop and ask for the details. Think it's 11-1pm...but not sure (will edit this evening)

C'mon put your big baw pants on! You chose to live where you do, so like it or lump it😁!

Scott you probably killed that fish...You cant lip or boga a big trout and hang it vertically w/o doing some damage. They are not bass. Hope you got a bloody thumb to teach you better 😁. I have 3-4 trout lakes within a couple miles of the house. Used to fish Jefferson allot when I audited the City Water Dept every November. I have seen fish in the 8-10lb range caught on Jefferson. Its a popular program. Folks have allot of fun with it why be jealous? Urban people pay the most 1/8 cent sales tax....so they should get something for it. Nothing is stopping anyone from driving to the city to fish an urban lake lunker if they want to.

FW thinks Fish Biologists are full of themselves, and some of them are. The Girondo’s are not very bright IMO. Ackerson, Meneau, Pratt, and Kruse are good. Not sure if any are still there other than the Girondo’s. They need a move to go manage walleye in Texas. Probably no Walleye in Texas, but they do well at managing for no fish.

Have new chili recipe to try, will post up if good. Our friend Angie sent us her soup party recipe. Cheesy Tortilla soup. She is a darn good cook.

Got the camper done, and the pool pump , pipes & skimmer. Outside faucets all shut off and hoses drained. Sprinkler system blown out. Ready to roll. Looking forward to some brisk weather.

Its on the North side of the 21 bridge.

Gotta go and winterize the camper. Way earlier than usual....

They mostly rowed or poled those beasts upriver.

You can catch some trout near spring creek mouths down into St Louis County.. Some landowners stock their spring branches occasionally.

Its red ribbon because of the habitat issues...The stretch below the Spring down to Suicide hill contains about 95% of the good trout habitat, and there are long stretches of unproductive water in that stretch.....Figure there is only 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile of prime trout water in that 7 mile stretch. It will never hold a candle to the Current/Eleven Pt/ or North Fork. Granted, that you can catch trout way down river...but It does not happen often.

Y’all been cooking! My wife did RPS’s pasta fazool recipe while I was out last weekend. It was very good.

No more hunting this week or weekend. Headed out next Tuesday & Wednesday. DIY looky loo & maybe a solo hunt on open public land on Tuesday night. Grab a room someplace. Have a reservation at Swan Lake NWR in Sumner, MO on Wednesday. Have 2 available spots for Swan on Wednesday, FWS blind S2. Guaranteed to hunt. Check in 5-7, hunt till 12, gotta checkout, be out by 1. Let me know if interested.