big country

Does anyone know the price for renting waders? Mine leak and my boots are felt soled. I've got no way of replacing them before next year sometime and would like to try to get in a day trip to Taney before the end of the year.

I've only been down once this year. Between that trip and what most people are saying about the tough/weird conditions this year I've decided to go north to MT where at least I know the spawn hasn't really got going yet. Loz is just gonna have to settle into more of a normal pattern before I can justify spending the gas money to come back again for a little while.

Went to the Glaize arm yesterday. The crappie bite was tough. I caught my limit but my friend only got 5 or 6. The water was muddy to stained depending on where you where. We only caught 4 females and only 2 of the males had torn up tails. Don't know if the fish have all come and gone or if they haven't really started yet. We caught all of our fish from 2 to 20 feet off the bank, from 1 to 4 feet deep. Couldn't seem to get more than 2 or 3 fish out of any one spot. On the plus side almost all the fish we caught were keepers. If anyone knows if the spawn is over or just starting on the Glaize I would greatly appreciate any info.

going to the lake tommorrow. Anybody know if the crappie are still spawning in the Glaize arm?

thanks for the info. I'm hoping to go to the lake on monday, either going to fish the Gravois or Glaize arm. Not sure which yet. Will post any info if I get to go.

what area of the lake where you on?

weighed one that a guy caught in june of 2008 right at outlet 1. It weighed 4 and a half pounds and he caught it on some kind of rapala minnow type lure. I caught a couple small ones on an olive wollie bugger the same day both near outlet 1. My understanding is that during periods of generation that are closer to normal the smallie fishing can be quite good on the lower stretches. For what it's worth the guy that caught the big smallie also had a stringer of some very nice walleyes.

did you go with John and his wife?

Hey Pete I go to Maremec sometimes and may do some catch and release once the season opens. Maybe we can hook up some time. If you really feel the need to scratch the itch MDC stocked trout at August Busch Wildlife area last week. There are generally a handful of 3 to 6 lb. (sometimes bigger) trout stocked in the ponds that are catch and release until Feb. 1.

Coming down to the lake tommorrow. Probably gonna put in at PB2. Haven't done much fall crappie fishing. Should I just try to find the shad this time of year or should I key on flats or coves etc..? Any general info would be appreciated. I'm bringing my wife with me and she hasn't had an opportunity to come with me for several years since the birth of our children, but doesn't complain when I go any time I get the chance (she's very understanding when it comes to my fishing addiction... fished 3 days on the honeymoon). I'm really hoping to put her on some great fishing and make sure she has a great day. Hopefully in a few years my kids will take an interest and I can bring them too. May do a little drift fishing for cats as well. We're going on tuesday and I have a 20 ft. camo xpress and a green ford truck. Stop and say hi if you see us.

I need to get a new pair of wading boots due to the regs change and was wondering if any of you had any suggestions. I've heard about the vibram soles and was wondering if there where any other options out there to consider. Thanks

I think I'm going to start getting some days off through the week starting at the beginning of next year. I'm interested in possibly take vets that have been wounded in the line of service on fishing trips (1/2 day, 1 day, and maybe overnighters in a tent during the pleasant months). Most likely to LOZ, Mark Twain Lake, or the Missouri River, could also be some short half day trips to the trout parks (Taney will have to wait until I have a better skill set there). Probably no more than 1 vet at a time to start. Probably somewhere between 1 and 4 trips the first year. My fishing skills on these waters are still in the developmental stages but I rarely get skunked any more. I'm hoping a nice day on the water being reminded that those of us who haven't served appreciate and respect what they have done for us as well as a chance at catching some fish will be something they enjoy. I'm thinking about something along the lines of the wounded warrior project. I haven't committed myself to this yet (neither has my wife) as I keep hitting roadblocks on line in my search for info (my computer skills aren't good, the fish don't seem to have much use for them so neither do I) My main concerns are insurance liabilities and wether I can choose who I take and who I don't feel comfortable taking (some disabilities may be too much for me too handle at least at first, physically and financially) I won't have time to do much if any fund raising for this so the cost would be my own, unless I could come across an organization that has a system in place that I could volunteer me and my boat for. I would appreciate any info anyone might have on this matter as well as any info on other areas of concern that I may have overlooked.

I floated hwy 8 to Scotts last week and the smallmouth bite was definitly still active. Had a huge smallie crush my fly right at the river and the spring (broke my tippet before I could even set the hook) I would wade fish above Hwy. 8 and maybe slightly below it, or park at the trout park, walk down to the river and start form there. There were actually a lot of smallies holding just upstream of the spring, right on the bottom out in the middle of the river. I didn't expect to see them there as there isn't much cover. They moved off quite quickly at the site of our canoes, so if you go there stealth will be at a premium. There also was a big largemouth (4.5 to 5.5 lbs.) as well as some good size spots. I still can't get over the number of large smallies there (At one time we counted 5 that were all easily over 2 pounds, and a couple of them were true pigs). That was the only spot we actually saw any close to the spring but we did catch a couple smaller ones slightly down stream (2 or 3 riffles down). Wherever you go good luck and if you don't mind make a couple cast for me as I have to work all weekend.

Well I went on my trip over the last couple of days. The first day (hwy 8 to Scotts) was a pretty good day. Caught several smallmouth goggle eye and a couple of largemouth before hitting the spring. Once we got to the spring we caught several trout and I lost a HUGE smallie on the fly rod. Actually I'm not sure if it would qualify as a lost fish since it took my fly so hard it broke my line before I could even set the hook. Best guess on the weight would be around 5 lbs. It was kind enough to swim around us until we left with my fly dangling from the corner of its mouth. Next time I will fish this area with the 9 weight and heavier tippet before switching over to lighter gear for the trout. A good learning experience that definitely got the blood pumping. After the spring we picked up a couple of fish on the way to dry fork. Caught several trout spots largemouth and smallies in that area. After that we started moving at a pretty good clip and not fishing much as we realized we used too much time in the upper reaches. Our biggest smallie landed on day one was around 16" with most of them in the 7" to 12" range. Saw several larger ones but couldn't fool them. As far as trout go my brother in law had a nice brown maybe 5 or 6 lbs. offer at his lure but didn't hook up. We did catch a handful of trout that would have been legal to keep but since we had steaks in the cooler they all went back for another angler to enjoy. This was a fantastic float with decent fishing. I have to feel that with a few more trips through this stretch and a little more experience gained I would upgrade my assesment of the fishing in this stretch to fairly good. Day 2 (Scotts to indian spring campground) was a nice float but the fishing was truly lousy. We didn't catch a single trout (not real suprised that far from meramac spring) but were hoping that maybe we would as I know some do show up down there. We had 2 goggle eyes in the upper reaches and not another fish until we had Indian Springs in sight. That stretch did give up several bass in short order. I think we may have just hit a day with a bad morning bite. We also had some trouble with a wind that seemed to conspire to push us right over the prime spots instead of allowing us to stay back aways regardless of which direction the whole was moving. Next time I will bring an anchor. All in all over the two days we had a great time caught some nice fish and when the fish weren't biting enjoyed the scenery. Thanks too all for the information that helped on this trip. I think we may make the Hwy 8 to scotts trip again. If so we're probably going to turn it into a two day trip so we can still fish as thoroughly as we wanted to this time. I did notice dry fork looked like it might hold some fish. Anyone ever try to fish it?