pruett417

Pig Farm Ink in conjunction with Missouri Spirits House and Plateau Fly Shop presents Iron Fly! Iron chef meets fly tying as tiers compete in a battle of feathers, fur, and froth from a bag of mystery ingredients. Put your livers to the test and show the judges your own brand of creativity! Everyone is welcome, wives, girlfriends, your long lost 3rd cousin visiting for the holiday, bring someone that doesn't flyfish! Learn to tie flies, get in on the Iron Fly, indulge in some fine spirits and good BBQ eats. Or just take in the debauchery! Special guests include Brad Bohen and Brian Wise! Free admission, swag from Skinny Water Culture, Simms, Southern Culture On The Fly, Scalefish Studio, Temple Fork Outfitters, just to name a few, cool give aways and door prizes.....SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL PIG FARM, BE THERE! November 29th at the Missouri Spirits House!

There aren't any big Muskie in Fellows Lake, it's a waste of time and valuable energy. If you ask me crocheting or basket weaving is a far better time.......

Both rods are sold!

Cabelas C.G.R. 6'6" 4wt fly rod $65 I have a brand new Cabelas Custom Glass 6'6" 4wt 3 piece. I bought this rod several years ago, casted it in the pool and put it away. It hasn't seen daylight since. These little rods came out with awesome quality, from the grip to the thread wraps. Can arrange for pickup or I can ship it. TFO Professional Series 7'6" 3wt Fly Rod $65 I have a TFO Lefty Kreh Professional Series 7'6" 3wt 4 piece fly rod. This rod is in pristine condition, it has probably been used 4 times, none at all in the last several years. I'm cleaning out my rod closet and have decided that this one shall go, This rod will come with a White River Fly Shop rod case. Can arrange for pick up or shipping.

I will remain ever so silent while being supportive of the criticism of the douchebaggery that takes place at the before mentioned establishment! Can I say douchebaggery here? I've have done my fair share of casting (no pun intended) light on these folks in a previous thread.

Awfully fun 5 minutes wasn't it?

It's been a while gentlemen, just curious to hear about any springtime Musky stories!

Alright, I may of been a little ridiculous in my last post....but come on dude, do I need to refer back to your original pompous post in this thread. If you come across a certain way you should expect it in return. And this has nothing to do with my character.

Shad and small Carp most definitely, do the Musky at Fellows eat Crappie, that's a yes as well....but not at the level that most think. Bluegill are not as soft skinned and fatty, definitely harder to digest than other species, but then again if a Musky wants to eat and a bluegill presents itself.......it's not gonna get turned down.

Follows, follows, and you guessed it more follows. I'm a firm believer that the pressure makes a difference, but with that being said, these fish will eat when they want to eat, and will eat what they want to when they want it. You can put a fly in front of the same fish 20 times and not get a nudge, but that 21st time it's on. So while I think it does make a difference, it doesn't affect these fish as much as other species.

You came here, to this thread and voiced your concern for the fact that Musky are responsible for poor fishing at Fellows Lake. Just like the countless others that refuse to listen to others that just might have a little more information and just a little more education on the subject you hit and run and try to make others look foolish because of your lack of useful information that back up your argument. There is no Musky fisherman vs Bass/Crappie fisherman.......there is mainly a informed vs ignorant battle going on, and not just at Fellows Lake it's nationwide, it's length limits, it's slots, it's whether Stripers decimate fisheries, you name it. There will always be this divide, but do me a favor sit on your hands and listen a little bit, I know your ADHD is acting up but try, LISTEN TO OTHERS THAT MAY BE MORE INFORMED THAN YOU! And live by your own "to each his own" mantra, and do us all a favor and please just "SHUT UP AND FISH", go have a HOOT!

Human predation happens on a far greater scale than what Muskies could ever account for, thanks KVD for sharing that. It seems that as long as Musky swim in a body of water they will be the "fallguy" for slow fishing. What I like are the stories of crappie fisherman spouting off with "everyone I catch, I cut it's throat", classic stuff there. The one thing that these folks seem to forget is that we are fishing, it's called fishing, not catching. Because you can't catch your limit, doesn't mean the fish aren't there, do you want them to jump on your hook and hook themselves. And I would like to second the fact that they sure don't seem to like the BAITFISH patterns I have been tying here lately.

I apologize for being MIA on this thread since I was the one that started it....but it's Fall and I've been too busy out hunting these rampaging killers.....

I am going to contact Dave Woods with the MDC, and ask permission to share some excerpts from emails between him and I, that I think would do wonders to answer some of these questions

Studies have proven over and over, that musky stocking programs have NO detrimental effect on populations of other species in the particular lake. Educate yourself before, like many before you, start throwing around accusations that Musky have ruined a fishery. Funny thing is, while flyrodding Musky at Fellows Lake we always end up with a proverbial ton of fly caught bass, not Musky! These fish are stocked in such relatively low numbers that the impact on the fishery is very minimal. If you want to talk about predatation lets talk about about your wonderful bass species, I would argue until we are both tired that bass have just as much impact if not more than the Musky at Fellows Lake.....all of your exclamation points tell me that you have an agenda. I would like to add this, real science, from real researchers....... “If muskie stocking resulted in a negative impact on other fish populations, we would have seen a pattern emerge,” “But that didn’t happen. Instead, we found great variability. When looking at individual species in individual lakes, our nets caught significantly more fish in 16 cases and significantly fewer fish in nine cases. Our nets caught essentially the same number of fish in the other 194 cases. “The lack of consistent negative changes suggests muskie and other species generally coexist quite well.”

Well.....it sold

Fin-Nor FR 10 Large Arbor Fly Reel . This reel is mint, excellent working condition. I'm asking $275 for it. It does has some very light wear, mainly small blemishes around the rim but hardly noticeable from use, if you look hard enough in the pictures you can see it. Any questions please feel free to ask. I used this reel as a backup, most of the time it has stayed in my boat bag, not being used because I was afraid to scratch it. This reel is very rare, and a real find for any angler or collector. Also this reel has the wooden retaining cap and spool knob, yes this is the rare one. The serial number of the reel is FR00180. Buyer will pay shipping cost and the reel will come with a neoprene reel case and backing. Thanks for looking.

I personally think it's a great thing that you haven't seen any floating fish, and seeing live fish is always a great thing. I think a lot of anglers are listening, if a few have then these threads are in fact deemed a success. I completely agree with Bob, 80 degrees the Musky flies stay in the box, that seems to be the standard that most Musky fisherman use. The water temperature at Fellows is a bit cooler, we have had some cooler weather as well as all of the rain has done a lot to lower temps. It won't be long now before that magical time that Musky anglers live for "Fall", and if we are lucky we may experience a earlier start this season. As far as keeping a legal fish in the summer, if you started out to harvest a legal fish then by all means you have the right to harvest the fish.......if you plan on practicing catch and release, don't boat the fish, and if you do, do your best to revive the fish. A far better option is not fish for Musky during these warm periods.

Received word this evening that the MDC is listening, and positive things are happening and will be in place soon......education is the key, and MDC is on board with those ideals.

Thanks for speaking up Bob, I appreciate it. Even in cooler weather, keep the fish in the water as much as possible.....be ready for pictures when the fish is taken from the water and place the fish immediately back in the water.

Studies have shown that muskies caught in hot water have been released only to die days later. A sad fate for a fish that we cherish. When a Musky is hooked and subsequently fought as the fish fights their lactic acid levels begin to build in their muscle tissue. The longer that fight lasts, the higher the level of lactic acid. Once that level of lactic acid reaches a certain point, the fish will never recover. The fish will often released looking healthy, however, an hour or two later or even 1-2 days later - they are floating inverted on the top of the water. This is even more important on hot days or when fishing warm water lakes. The warmer the water, the less oxygen readily available to the Musky. This fish was stressed beyond a reasonable limit, in hot weather, in water temperature approximately 84-86 degrees.......did we lose a trophy fish? I am not able to tell you that, did the fish appear to swim away fine.........supposedly, did the fish go belly up 1-2 days later.......scientific research has proved that it could possibly happen and does on a regular basis in these conditions.

Fish are still being caught, we are still losing fish....even the folks that make their living off that lake are still harvesting fish. Will this be detrimental to the Fall fishing, you be the judge. I have never stepped on the toes of those who wish to harvest a legally caught fish, if you wish to do that, by all means you have the right. The problem that I have is anglers who still chase these fish just for the catch....the catch and release anglers. My thoughts are just that my thoughts......if I can preserve a few trophy fish with my posts and help to aid the fishery in any way then my posts and/or rants are in fact a success. Facts.....Musky are not a naturally reproducing resource in Missouri, protect them....educate, close fishing in July and August (We are not Wisconsin), increase size limit to 45" (36" are trophies, but a 45" fish is a monster, this lake can produce them, if we let them grow..... "Most" musky anglers stop fishing these giants when the water temps increase, even in our northern states......why? To preserve their fisheries. Musky are easily caught right now....why exploit the resource? Fact is Musky are big fish that equals lots of O2, they are in the weeds for the oxygen, not for our disposal.....literally! Fish caught Wednesday and supposedly released (swam away after being caught, this fish was hooked, fought, held, transported to the marina, photographed, then revived, then released.............that's a lot of stress put on a 36" fish) This is the behavior that needs to stop, bottom line.....

This is not true for all big fish, other species do substantially better in warm water conditions as they are warm water species. With that being said catch and release success depends on all species being properly revived after a long battle, it's just the ethical thing to do. It's all about the large body size, the amount of dissolved oxygen content, lactic acid, all species suffer.....literally. Musky are big, muscled fish, big shoulders persay, they prefer cooler waters, they are non-native in our area, they are just not suited for these high water temps.

No not a cousin, but glad you share the same conservation minded ideals. I can tell you that certain things have been proposed to the MDC and the Marina owners at Fellows Lake, while I have not heard where we stand on this, I trust that the right decisions will be made.

Bob, this has just started with the high temps, after a CU water analysis last week we have learned that the fish are going to have a tough time this summer. And yes the MDC has been contacted regarding this, and we are hopeful that some moves will be made to, at the least, educate anglers on the high catch and release mortality rates during periods of high water temps. I will PM you with some more information.