Gary Lange

I posted about Cliff's Baits a while back and I wanted to show you guys some of his work. I think the guy does and awesome job on his baits.

I remember wading the Fox River in Illinois one Summer Day with a friend. We had been doing well working eddies and downed trees along the shoreline. I cast up to a downed tree a couple times and didn't get anything. I was talking to my friend and at the same time dropping a 1/16oz Charlie Brewer Crappie Slider with a 3" Watermelon BPS Stick-O straight down into this tree and pulling it back up. I did this about two times and was distracted talking with my friend when the water exploded next to me and a chunky 15" Smallmouth came clear out of the water to grab my little bait. It scared the crap out of me because I wasn't expecting it but he hooked himself up and after a short fight I lipped him, admired him and turned him loose. That was exciting to say the least because I was somewhere else in my mind when it happened and it brought me back to reality.

That's why I like to fish Top Water Baits and especially Buzz Baits. Just the anticipation of the strike coming at any moment gets my heart racing.

That sounds like a great trip with lots of exploring! Bring us back some pictures please!

It takes them a while to grow to any significant size. 4-6 Years to reach 12" 7-8 Years to reach 15" 10 Years or more to grow a 4 pounder. That is a long time growing in a Stream to reach a size that makes you smile proudly when you catch it.

Maybe we can find a place out that way somewhere and meet and talk about Smallmouths and you all can educate this old Illinois boy about Missouri Ozark Smallmouths, especially the Neosho Strain Smallmouth.

I have no Idea where to meet out that way. If you can find a place in Neosho to have a meeting Chief I'll come out that way.

Welcome to OAF and hope you make it down to some of the other great lakes Missouri has to offer.

Welcome to OAF it is a great site with a ton of information which I am sure you can use. You will likely run into some of the guys from the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance as there are a lot of members up that way and they meet in Kirkwood. Good luck on the move and welcome to the Missouri Ozarks.

Welcome to the OAF website and the first time you hook into a Smallmouth on that Flyrod you will be hooked on them for life. This is a great site and you can learn a lot from the members here.

If someone could find a place in Neosho, Mo. to hold a meeting that is free then I would dive down that way and hold a meeting. If i get enough interest I will do one every month in the winter months as long as the weather permits. I would also have some outings for the members to get to know each other and explore the Rivers and Streams in the Southwestern counties of Missouri.

I just wonder hown many of the big dollar trout are eaten by the low buck Smallmouth!

I started a Southwestern Chapter of the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance and had a meeting room set up at the Springfield Nature Center for the first Thursday of the month. Norris and myself sat alone for the months of April, May and June with nobody interested in coming out to listen to what I had to say. I canceled to meeting room as I felt that since nobody was coming out it was useless to keep the room from some other use. It seems to me that they would rather whine about things and complain about what others would like to do then to get involved themselves. Perhaps sometime down the road I will try again but for now I am going to fish Table Rock and enjoy life.

John Coleman is a well respected weatherman and founded the weather channel. Here is his take on Global Warming. http://www.kusi.com/home/78477082.html?video=pop&t=a

My wife won't even get in the boat! If she did no way is she gonna dive over the side and go looking for what the fish are eating and even if she did she don't swim well and I would have to go and save her anyway.

Welcome to Ozark Anglers! It is a very informative site and should give you all the info you need.

Out-of-State Lake Erie Bass Poachers Pay More Than $16,000 Jun 3 Written by: ODNR Division of Wildlife 6/3/2010 NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 3, 2010 Out-of-State Lake Erie Bass Poachers Pay More Than $16,000 Poachers forfeited two freezers and three bass boats and trailers SANDUSKY, OH – Three Tennessee men and three Georgia men appeared in Ottawa County Municipal Court in Port Clinton Wednesday for sentencing for taking 141 more than the legal limit of smallmouth bass on Lake Erie last April, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife. “The Western Basin of Lake Erie remains a prime location for anglers from around the country, and wildlife officers are working hard to keep it that way,” said Gino Barna, supervisor of the Division of Wildlife’s Lake Erie Law Enforcement Unit. “The 1-800-POACHER begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-800-POACHER end_of_the_skype_highlighting hotline is an important source of information for protecting this valuable natural resource.” The six men pled guilty to 30 charges on May 3, 2010, and Magistrate Lou Wargo ordered a pre-sentence investigation. The six fishermen appeared in Ottawa County Municipal Court on June 2, 2010 for sentencing. Magistrate Wargo ordered them to pay a combined total of $16,290 in fines, court costs and restitution. The restitution included $50 for each fish taken illegally in accordance with legislation that places a value on wild animals unlawfully held, taken, bought, sold or possessed. The men were also ordered to forfeit three bass boats, three trailers and two freezers, which have an estimated value of $32,000. Including the forfeited items, the total cost for the six men was $48,290. A total of 900 days in jail was handed down between all six men. Magistrate Wargo suspended the jail time pending completion of a probationary period of three years of good behavior. Their fishing licenses were revoked for three years and they will be entered into the Wildlife Violator’s Compact and most likely will lose privileges in 33 other states. During a surveillance project by Division of Wildlife investigators in the Bass Islands area of Lake Erie between April 25 and April 30, investigators observed the men “double and triple tripping.” (“Double and triple tripping” refers to catching a limit of fish, returning to shore, then returning to the water the same day to catch an additional limit of fish.) The legal limit for smallmouth bass on Lake Erie is five fish per day from the last Saturday in June through April 30 with a minimum size limit of 14 inches. Individual sentencing included: Freelan C. Leffew, 66, of Soddy Daisy, Tennessee – $1,500 in fines, $348 for court costs, three years license revocation, $1,300 in restitution, and forfeiture of a bass boat, a trailer and a freezer. Freddie Warren, 63, of Wildwood, Georgia – $1,250 in fines, $290 for court costs, three years license revocation, $1,250 in restitution, and forfeiture of a bass boat and trailer. Charles H. Burkhart, 67, of Ringgold, Georgia – $1,250 in fines, $290 for court costs, three years license revocation, $1,250 in restitution, and forfeiture of a freezer. Samuel J. Carroll, 65, of Ringgold, Georgia – $1,000 in fines, $232 for court costs, three years license revocation, $1,000 in restitution, and forfeiture of a bass boat and trailer. Herbert S. Stephens, 58, of Soddy Daisy, Tennessee – $1,000 in fines, $232 for court costs, three years license revocation, and $1,000 in restitution. Michael T. Leffew, 38, of Hixon, Tennessee – $1,500 in fines, $348 for court costs, three years license revocation, and $1,250 in restitution. -30- For more information, contact: Gino Barna, ODNR Lake Erie Law Enforcement 419. 625. 8062 Trackback Print Location: Blogs Statewide Wildlife News Tags:

I suppose somebody's Chickens got to hot and died so they just figured what the heck throw them in the creek. People should be fined thousands for this stuff.

With 32 views I hope to have a few Guys and or Gals come out to talk about Stream Smallmouths and what this area has to offer. I am new to the area but have experience in Stream Smallmouth fishing from Illinois. If you care about your streams come out and lets talk about them and your concerns. Lets get together and see the streams you're talking about and lets work together to make them better then they are now. I hope to have some of you come out this evening and spend some time talking about Stream Smallmouths and perhaps setting up some outings or clean up dates for areas you have found that are in need. It is a little disheartening for me to read all your concerns for conservation yet to no have anyone come out and voice those concerns. The Missouri Smallmouth Alliance is your voice to the MDC and the bigger the membership the bigger the voice. The Southwestern Chapter is new and needs members to continue and to be a voice for the Smallmouth Streams in our little corner of the state. Come out listen to what I have to say and what I would like to accomplish and talk Smallmouth Fishing in Southwestern Missouri.

Will be having a meeting of the Southwestern Chapter of the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance this Thursday at the Springfield Nature Center. Meeting starts at 7:00pm come out and visit and see what it is all about.

When you get up at 3:30am so you can be on the water at first light!

I did fish with you and I had no idea where I was so I figured I better not make you made or you would walk off and leave me in the middle of nowhere. It was a beautiful area and we had a good time looking over the Elk River watershed.

They also chased some fisherman over on Amstad Lake but were out run. The Mexican Drug Wars are creating this with putting this drug runners out of business and they are looking for another way to support themselves.

I couldn't believe I was reading it right when it said $50.00. I am just hoping that the IDNR does something more then this with a company doing $50 million on business. They are paying for clean up but the damage is already done. I just hope it doesn't or didn't get down to the Fox River itself as that river has a very big population of Smallmouth, Musky and Walleye. They get Smallmouths up to 20" and Muskies up to 45+". Walleye are still small yet but population is growing. What is nice is a good portion of the river is wade-able and some areas you need a boat. The wade-able sections are very accessible and easy to wade. I hope to hear more in the future and will post when I get it.

May 21, 2010 By GLORIA CARR gcarr@stmedianetwork.com SOUTH ELGIN -- The business at the heart of an illegal chemical dumping investigation did not have an occupancy permit or a special-use permit -- requirements for operating in the village, South Elgin officials said. Officials said they discovered last week that D&Y Recycling, in the 600 block of Sundown Road, was occupying the building illegally. The discovery was made as officials gathered paperwork for another tenant in the same building, Community Development Director Steve Super said. "We were in the process of verifying all the facts when they (the company) had the dumping incident over the weekend," Super said, adding code enforcement officers closed the business down earlier this week. "We went out and basically informed them they could not be in the village without the occupancy permit." Neighbors called police Saturday evening after spotting bubbling foam and dead fish in a stream running into the river near Sundown and Route 31. Police checked the nearby industrial park and spotted two employees from D&Y pouring what is believed to have been an acid-based chemical into the storm sewer leading to the stream, authorities said. The company is owned by John Zheng, according to reports. Calls to the firm were not returned Thursday. "He's out of business; he is not operating there," Super said. Code enforcement officers wrote six tickets -- two to the property owner and four to Zheng. The property owner, identified as Parker Scruggs, was cited with failure to obtain an occupancy permit and work without a permit. Zheng was cited with failure to obtain an occupancy permit, working without a permit, littering and illicit discharge, which relates to the dumping, Super said. The village cannot file criminal charges in the dumping case, but only issue the ordinance violations, he said. Each ticket carries a $50 fine. Both men must appear at an administrative hearing at village hall unless they pay the fines, he said. In addition to an occupancy permit, D&Y Recycling was required to obtain a special-use permit because of the type of business it did, Super said. Recycling lends itself to businesses "not always knowing what they are getting," Super said. "The village is concerned how they are managing it." The dumping investigation "is a perfect example of why we would require a special-use permit," he said. According to its website, the company -- founded in 2004 -- handles waste plastic for recycling, and its main market is mainland China. The company's total U.S. sales were reported to be $50 million. Its company slogan is "making the world cleaner." No one appeared to be working at the Sundown Road business Thursday. Zheng reportedly was removing his property from the building this week, Super said. Illinois Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Januari Smith said Thursday there were no new developments in the state's investigation of the chemical dumping. The IDNR is the lead agency in the probe. It is awaiting test results to determine what was dumped into the storm sewer at the business. D&Y Recycling hired a private company to clean up the stream earlier this week.