Gary Lange

Your business is just a little ways away from me here in Nixa. Welcome to the Ozarks I think you will like the people and the Hunting and fishing.

Welcome to OAF. It is a great site with a lot of information and good people!

HydroTec Marine Performance in Nixa, Mo. works on mercury also and they do some very good work. 725-5714 Just ask for Matt and he will get you in and get it fixed.

Welcome to Ozark Anglers Forum. You are in a nice location for Creeks and Streams. Try the Elk River out of Pineville or Noel, Mo. also there are a few OAF people in that area that can help you out.

Excellent program Al, thanks Phil for making it possible!

Well Joe if you're coming to Springfield for Bass Pro Shop or any reason for that matter give me a heads up and I'll buy breakfast!

Joe I guess I just assumed it was Missouri you were talking about. That part of Arkansas is beautiful and the wife and I looked the Mountain Home area over before we retired. I felt that it lacked the shopping and amenities that my wife would need so we looked around the Springfield, Mo. area and settled on Nixa, Mo. It is close to a large group of lakes and Bass Pro Shop. I have been here since 2005 and love that area very much.

Welcome to the site and hope you get in a bunch of fishing on Stockton and Pomme this year. I may have to drag the boat up that way and hook up with you as I have never fished with a Professor before. I am retired so I have a lot of free time supposedly anyway. I love Little Pomme as I used to fish it when the Father-in-law lived in Bolivar, Mo. great lake with some good fishing. We will try to hook up this year.

Welcome to OAF Joe. This is a great site and has a ton of information. Will you be in Oakland in St. Louis County or Oakland in Laclede County? If you're going to be up around St Louis County check into the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance as they fish the rivers a lot up that way and you can surely learn a bunch from them and do a little for Conservation at the same time.

I fished that Spillway and number of years ago and it was pretty good. Got a lot of Muskie. If you float down river you can get into some good Smallmouth fishing. Just practice Catch and Release for this growing population and we will have a good fishery one day.

I know we have some people out here in the Ozarks that Stream Fish for Smallmouth Bass. I am sure that they would like to see some improvements in the fishing and some cleaner Access Points. We can make this happen together but I sure can't do it alone. The SWMSA can get you with like minded anglers and we can all enjoy some outings and get some cleanups done on our local rivers, streams and creeks. Come out for the next meeting and see what it is all about. We can all learn something from getting together and enjoying our sport. The next meeting will be May 6, 2010 at the Springfield Nature Center. Don't just view this post and blow it off come out and be part of a great organization.

The Southwestern Chapter of the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance will have its first meeting Thursday evening at 7:00pm at the Springfield Nature Center off Republic Rd. I hope many of you that are interested in Stream Smallmouth Fishing and want to help make it better will come out and join us and see what it is all about.

The Decals would be nice. I tried the Magnetic one but it kept falling off the fiberglass. Sticks real nice to the back of the truck though. I suppose until someone realizes it is magnetic and takes it. Of course there aren't to many Red and Black Cobra's running around the lake.

I have a rubber legged story of my own. I didn't share it at the Seminar so as not to disturb Brian's train of thought. I was fishing Powerton Lake in Illinois and met up with a group from the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance who were all friends of mine. Powerton is a small cooling water lake and has some good Smallmouths. I had taken a Mr. Twister 3" twister tail and pulled three rubber bands through it to give it legs so to speak. They all laughed at me except that I was the only one that caught any Smallmouths that day so was it the rubberband legs or question. :rolleyes:

Phil, This site should help you get some answers to the Hiking the Buffalo question! http://www.harrisonarkansas.org/hiking.htm

Welcome Ann and I think you have a good teacher!

The first Meeting for the newly forming Southwestern Chapter of the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance will be April 1, 2010 at the Springfield Nature Center off Republic and Glenstone. Subsequent meetings will be the first Thursday of the Month through December. Come out and get and idea of what we are about. Time is 7:00pm until 9:00pm.

I don't see a lot of information on the Neosho Smallmouth but I am still looking. I tried to contact Rick Horton, Fisheries Management Biologist, station in Neosho but my e-mail went unanswered. I would like to know what he has found with these Smallies since this is his area. We need more study done on these fish before we try any regulations that are directly targeting this Bass. Just for the record Big Smallmouth caught in Small Streams migrated from larger bodies of water that had more prey to offer. I really think the real issue is that the Neosho Subspecies of Smallmouth is a smaller fish with a growth rate to match. Then again I am not a Fisheries Biologist just a fisherman that is concerned about the Smallmouth.

I went out to Neosho, Mo. today and hooked up with Chief GreyBear for breakfast and then he showed me the Elk River, Sugar Creek, Indian Creek and a little of Shoal Creek. The Elk is a small stream and the two feeders are fast moving smallwaters with very few pools from what I could see. I wanted very much to catch one of the Neosho Strain Smallies but they were hiding from me I guess. I will go back again later for another try when the weather settles down some and try again. I can see that these waters are not going to grow big fish as the fish will have to work hard for forage and against a strong current. If the Neosho strain run smaller as has been said then some special regs or catch and release may be the order of the day. I would like to see more information on them and maybe some growth date is available. It was a beautiful area and the water was clear, cold and moving fast. Thank you Chief for showing me around as I would have never found those roads on my own. Got some real back country roads down that way.

Andy, the MSA needs guys like you with a passion for the Smallmouth Bass. Step up and become a member my friend and I mean you are my friend I need a young man to carry on and Smallies need and Alliance in Kansas to protect them.

I tell you Eric. When I was in Illinois if the Temp. got to be above freezing we fished. I am sure you have some or know where some warm water discharges are such as from a treatment plant. The Smallmouths chase bait up into the warm waters and we used to use a 1/16oz. jig and a Pearl Twister. That or if you know where the deeper holes are use a float n fly which is a very light jig below a bobber allowed to drift and bounce along the bottom. The Bass are there you just have to find them.

I am going to take a drive over by the Elk River at Pineville and Noel, Mo. to get some idea of what it is like and I may even try to catch one of the Neosho Smallmouths. Going to go out Route 60 and then down 71/59. Should be a great drive even if I am by myself.

She made me help her do that Spring Cleaning thing then suckered me into making Pizza for Supper tonight. She is a sly little fox that girl! :rolleyes:

I want you as part of the organization in any capacity you can be. I told you that a Kansas Smallmouth Alliance would be a good idea and I believe that it would be. One persons voice by itself will not be heard but 100 people or more will be listened to. Our strength is in dedication and numbers. If enough of us want Catch and Release only together we have a better chance of getting it then standing alone. Now my wife is calling someone rescue me from Spring Cleaning!!!!!!!!!!!

All of this just because some Smallmouth Fisherman want to get Chapter of the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance going in the Southwestern Part of the state. Getting it started and getting some intell as to what is needed could go along way into gaining a voice with the MDC. If you want to join fine if not that is fine also I want as many as I can get the more the better. We are going to have fun fishing area streams and cleaning up access points and looking into all this talk about the Neosho Smallmouth.