peegee12

The Corps of Engineers was funded in the Omnibus Budget passed last year - they are not in the Department of Homeland Security, so a shutdown of that department shouldn't affect the Corps ramps.

This post has gone on for a while, but it's a volatile subject ... As a former Missouri conservation agent, I've caught a few illegal giggers, but it takes a lot of patience and, usually, a very long hike in the dark. I was raised on the Current River, and saw first-hand what devastation could be brought on the smallmouth and walleye populations by illegal gigging. I think the gigging season is too long (a month was added to the end of the season for SW Missouri giggers because streams don't clear as early; then a month was added to the beginning of the season as a mollification to Current & Black River giggers). I also think that SMAs should be expanded to portions of the Current River, the Black River, and Flat Creek, and that a trial period of "no gigging" should be enforced in SMAs. I also think a reduced daily limit of smallmouth in streams is a good idea. But the reality is that the MDC Rules Committee has a lot of inertia, and needs a great deal of public sentiment (and some scientific evidence) in order to make changes in regulations. Could take a while, but showing up at Commission meetings, lobbying for research on illegal kills in SMAs, and additional research on the impact of gigging, bowfishing, etc., on rough fish populations could eventually pay off.

Champ, hope there was more than one of you in the boat java script:emoticon('', 'smid_5') (daily limit on TR for crappie is 15) ... what time of day were you catching them?

Missouri Congressional districts that have Mark Twain National Forest within their boundaries are 4 (Rep. Ike Skelton), 7 (Rep. Roy Blunt), 8 (Rep. Jo Ann Emerson), and 9 (Rep. Kenny Hulshof). A link to the state map with boundaries of the districts: http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/maps/uscongress/ I would urge you to write your congressperson -- this administration has a long record of not providing the "whole truth," and it would be a shame to sell off any public land that is available for sportmen's use. I would be willing to bet that those rural school districts won't see much of the money ...

Missouri law regarding navigable waterways was decided by a MO Supreme Court decision in 1954 -- in short, you may boat on navigable waters (which includes most streams in MO), and may even trespass briefly on land which is below the high-water line (e.g., pulling a canoe around an obstruction), but the bank and the streambed belong to the landowner to the midway point of the stream (all the way across if the landowner owns both sides of the stream). Corps lakes are public property to the easement lines (and subject to federal & state regulations regarding hunting, fishing, camping, picnicking, and other activities).

It seems to me that a horsepower-limit like is used on the Ozark Scenic Riverways might work on Taneycome ... for instance, nothing above 25 hp from Fall Creek to the Dam, 50 hp limit from Hwy 65 bridge to Fall Creek, unlimited from Hwy 65 bridge downstream. Narrow channels and big bass boats driven too fast are a potentially lethal mix ... this would keep the new BPS marina "test drivers" downstream, and put folks back in boats that are more appropriate for the waterway.

Glad I could chime in ... although I wouldn't presume to speak for the agents currently working SW MO, I was always able to exercise reasonable latitude as to how I dealt with offenders. Most violations should result in a ticket, but for very technical regulations, sometimes a little "friendly education" makes more sense than a citation.

The answer is, yes, the rules are different in trout parks -- I was a conservation agent in southwest Missouri a number of years ago, and back then, the regulations required that you stop fishing for all species once you have taken a limit of trout into possession. Just double checked, and the regulation is still the same. The pertinent link is: http://www.mdc.mo.gov/documents/regs/fishsum.pdf