fishinwrench

I did see that. It's the type of article you'd expect to see in a tourist (travelers) magazine. Kinda like, "guess what, there are a few TROUT streams in that state, and they are kinda pretty". LOL

Not sure what site you're using to get the info. The number for the recording at Bagnell dam is 573-365-9205 Todays level was 655.19 and falling, and surface temp at the dam is 35-37*

They say it's a "social event", designed to make you anti-social.

Predictions of "unfavorable weather" is the only thing a weatherman has to sell. If they tell us it is going to be pleasant for weeks on end...nobody would keep tuning in to listen to them. There is always gloom and doom in the extended forcast when it's nice, and there's always a light at the end of the tunnel when it's cold and nasty. And the uglier the weather-person is....the more extreme the predictions get.

Just for reference, there is a used TX17 on Ebay that will probably go for a little over 4,000.00 and it only has a 25 Merc on it. So just hold tight, with all the extra's you're offering your price is fine.

You can do that with rotary cables, but usually not on racks on Nitro's...unless you cut the rack off and pull the old ones out from the back (while feeding the fresh cables under the dash). Also if you are replacing factory installed cables they are usually strapped to the harness and shift/throttle cables. If you go jerking around on that you'll tear something up. We are talking about a Nitro here, where factory cables are usually secured in place before the cap is installed on the hull. I'm just sayin'.... Ronnie, Are you in the L.O. area by chance ? Just as a "for instance", I have had several Nitros and Trackers in the shop for cable replacements, that had the floataion foam blown in ON TOP OF the electrical harness, steering and control cables.....talk about a friggin' nightmare ! I'm not trying to freak you out, I'm just telling you what to look for before stepping off in the middle of it. LOL

I got yer WENCH right here buddy

As one who started flyfishing with fiberglass, then fell madly in love with the first graphite rod I ever laid hands on, I really can't seem to appreciate the feel and action of a bamboo rod at all. They do look sweet, but every single one that I have handled was either way too tip heavy, or way too slow for me to build up decent line speed. I'd take a cheap and ugly IM6 graphite rod over a gorgeous piece of grass, anyday. As far as "slow is always best for bass" ? I say noway. A fly that is actively moving often gets several fish competing for it, which obviously ups your chances that one of them is gonna get stuck. Whereas a slow moving fly is less likely to cause such a reaction among a group of fish. In most cases I think the longer a bass looks at a fly the less likely he is to take it in his mouth (unless you're bed fishing). I know that most of my bites come within 10 seconds of the fly hitting the water. But I guess if you cast and let it sit for a minute or two you might up your chances of a fish cruising under it, noticing a twitch, then MAYBE eating it, but that doesn't suit my style at all (I'm way to impatient for all that "ring settling" business)LOL. I honestly think trying to elicit a reaction strike is a better approach for Me 90% of the time, especially in the clear streams, ponds and lakes where I normally throw bass flys. There is a time though that I'll dead drift a white sneaky pete and do pretty well, but that's only about a 3 week window in the Fall on a certain stretch of the little Niangua. Never had it work as well anywhere else, or at any other time. But of course I'm not done learning and trying different things, by far. My bass flyrodding success, especially in regard to smallmouth, is somewhat hampered by the fact that I'll pick up a spinning rod real quick if the action is kinda slow.

You're talkin' about the truck...right ? LOL

There's still some ice but it's busting up pretty good. They've been sucking her down hard and fast over the last few days, lake level is around 654 and still falling. Once we get a few days of sunshine the jerkbait bite should start getting good.

I've never fished the Table Rock Spring run of Whites, but everywhere else I persue them my usual system for locating them is to run up a tributary arm to the area of the first riffle and start there. Then jump up to the next...ect. If you don't find any by the 3rd or 4th riffle, go back to the first and start working your way downstream, fishing the heads and tails of the deep pools and any eddys you come across. Just make a dozen or so good casts at each spot and keep moving. Don't waste any time in any one area until you start getting a few bites. And like Wayne said, keep an eye out for fish movement. Whether it is the flashes of Whites turning sideways, or just baitfish flicking around. Any area where you notice fish activity (of any kind) is worth a few casts. Good luck, and I hope you get into them. I know I'm getting the Whitefever in a big way.

I was referring to the hole at the Barclay canoe dump. Sink-hole...not "stinkhole". LOL And yeah it usually always has some dink rainbows finning around in it, especially after a stocking.

There's a bit of everything (structure-wise) along the Barclay stretch. Couple of fast rocky riffles, some fast deep runs, a long deep boulder pool with some scattered wood, a long slow pool, a stillwater oxbow sinkhole pond, couple of nice gravel bars, and an active spring branch. Only thing that beautiful stretch of water it's lacking in...is TROUT. (especially browns)

Depending on your setup and rigging, swapping out cables can either be a piece of cake, a total bitch...or somewhere in between. The first thing to check is to see if the old cables will fully retract and slide free of the tilt tubes without having to unbolt the motor from the transom or jackplate. If they will, then you probably escaped the worst case scenario. Don't apply any force to the tilt tubes in the process. They are a very soft and crumbly aluminum alloy.

I'm on board for L.O. Truman, and Pomme....providing we have a sizable petty cash fund to draw from, and I demand that it be kept separate from the PD 4-way blotter fund

I wouldn't expect "less people being present at the plant" to make a difference in water quality in the creek anytime soon, unless that definately means "less chickens" also. Less people available to take care of things usually means sloppier practices, and less environmental control. Hopefully someone is keeping a close eye on them.

I clean them with spray carburetor cleaner, and then just wipe a little reel oil on the shaft. If you get grease, or too much oil in the bearing housing they will slip. Especially in cold weather.

LOL, True that.

Chris, I see situations similar to what you describe pretty often. And this is just my personal feelings, but I really wouldn't purchase a used Opti (for a fair price) unless it had some warranty time left on it. If it was a straight Merc EFI with no warranty I'd jump on it, but not the Opti-max, and especially not one manufactured just prior to the race to meet emission mandate. 4Fishys, "fantastic" is quite a stretch, but Thank you, and you are more than welcome. I think you made the wiser purchase. What engine did you have on the boat, how bad was it blown, and are they keeping it as part of the deal ?

Myself, I would go the extra 2,500 and get a fresher outboard. You are going to gain at least that much in resale value. And in the event of an insurance claim that 05 will be depreciated...regardless of how "new" it is to you.

That 95 200 Johnson is a darn fine engine. Take care of her and she'll be good to you. Keep an eye on your voltmeter and tach though, and if either of them starts acting differently get it to a shop ASAP. Rectifier/regulator fires are somewhat common, and when the regulator gets too hot it will take the stator and powerpack with it.

The factory does pay the dealership for warranty work BUT they do not get paid their usual shop rate, and they miss out on the parts markup, so as a dealer you kinda get the short end of the stick IF you get bombarded with warranty work and have other non-warranty work waiting. There were some "issues" with the Opti's during that time period, but the bulletins should cover the important ones. It's my opinion that Mercury Marine tends to rush things, trying to get thier cutting edge products on the market fast.... and then they attempt to correct the short-sighted glitches as they surface. 2006 was the deadline on emission standard compliance, and Merc had their engines running REALLY lean coming into 05-06. Then as powerheads began to meltdown by the thousands all you heard was them blaming it all on poor quality fuel. Well, That is darn hard for a customer to control! And while that excuse might save their reputation, it doesn't help the owner of that engine one iota. Even the ones that had failures inside the warranty period were without their boats for months waiting on a replacement powerhead. My "growing pile" statement was kind of generally speaking to be honest. It simply won't be uncommon at all to see alot of 03-06 engines going down in 2010. You can be sure that at least half will be the result of lack of maintanence or lack of USE. People that use their outboards on a regular basis have far fewer problems than those that only run thier boats 6-10 times per year.

Let me clarify.... What I meant was that the lower end (so far) has been the focus of water quality testing and referrals to the AG on violations. I wasn't trying to imply that the upper-end water was better, although it most likely is, as far as pollutants are concerned. One interesting pattern I've noticed is that Zebra mussels seem to be thicker in the Hurricane deck area than anywhere else. The boats that have been hauled to my shop from other areas of the lake usually have a few mussels on them...But several boats from the lower Osage have been loaded with them.

Have a tech run the serial number for updated service bulletins, they should be covered if you are aquiring it with full factory warranty. There were several "covered upgrades" (Merc refuses to use the term "recall") around that time I think. One was the alternator....and you DO NOT wanna get stuck with that one out of your own pocket if it can at all be avoided. And I believe they have a better spark plug for that application now, vs. the ones that came stock in '05 Swapping out the impeller would be cheap insurance because they take a permanent set after sitting unused for awhile. And make sure the rigging is done by a cert. Merc dealer to avoid warranty red-tape later on. There IS quite a growing pile of blown 05 Opti's out there.....so take that for whatever it's worth.

What's the bluegill population like at Busch, are there many big ones ?