John Smoot

I think it just makes them easier targets...

Excellent work, Phil! Harold Ensley would be proud.

Phil, thanks for sharing. As usual, great pics and videos!

Leonard, I hear they like to be scratched behind their ears.

Phil, So good to hear from you! There are many of us that think about what you're going through...and are praying that things improve quickly. I wish I was close enough to help. I'm not surprised that you have many friends that can and will...Hang in there!!

"Guess when I set the hook on the bass bite the carp must have been close and got stuck." That's a good one. Next time I snag a big old carp, I'm using it...

Phil, Really good setup with that camera. I thought the images were very clear for a wide angle lens. I have to say...I got cold just watching it!

Made it!

Dang nice fish! Even if the lucky guy was drifting a Power Bait and it somehow simply floated into the fish's mouth for a hookup...who cares? I have no doubt that we all started (no matter how "accomplished" you think you are) fishing about the same way...That would be using crude, newbie methods and hoping for a fish like that. Come on. Unless dynamite was in your first tackle box...

Congratulations Lamar! Looks like you've got a couple things on your side already....a great location at Branson and a great friend in Phil. Good job!!

Whoa, that'd been a good picture....except for the guys getting tossed around. I'm guessing a big whirlwind. I've seen some as big as houses across the base out in New Mexico. That is quite a sight. Around here, I saw one once in a snow covered field that was about 40 foot at the base and went about 100 feet high. Looked like snow tornado...on a cold, sunny, clear, day. A water spout it actually a tornado over water. I've never seen one of those....yet. Shoot, I've lived my whole life in "Tornado Alley", and never have seen a tornado.

Phil, That sounds like the ultimate shopping excursion. I'll have to remember that trick.

Just had to pass this on.... My fishing buddy was down Wednesday (11/21) with a couple of friends. They were doing the drift thing with Power Bait and were catching plenty of stocker size rainbows. Anyhow, just upstream of the 65 bridge, by buddy was bringing in a 10 incher, when out of the depths a HUGE brown...he thought about 25-30 lbs, ran on the bow and stopped short. It came right to the surface. He told the other 2 guys in the boat, and 1 of the guys had a small rainbow on. He dropped in back in he water and the brown did another run on that bow, just stopping short...basically on his nose. This time they all saw it. Needless to say, they thought they may have been looking at a state record brown. Babler, why don't you try one of the Castaic Rainbow (10") lures on that guy? Kinda sad, ain't it? I'm posting 2nd hand fishing stories...

Daady C, can't say I disagree with much of what you said. I wish that more people, including the so-called justice system, could really put themselves in the spot where what if that child were theirs. I think there'd be less of this crap going on in just a few years....because punishment would be swift, severe, and for all to witness. I think that would be a deterrent. It sure seems that the status quo isn't much of one. People preying on children is at epidemic levels it seems. If it would happen to one of mine, God forbid, I don't think I could stay out of prison...

No lynx in the KC area. Check some resources. Lynx are native to areas north...much further north than KC. Like Canada. Maybe Minnesota. Bobcat. They have tufts on their ears, also.

This incident and how the news simply ran with the "mountain lion story" illustrates the occasional so-called mountain lion sighting. I've heard about people seeing them for years...and even black panthers. Yet, I've probably spent several thousands of hours in the outdoors in KS and MO and have never seen one or even a track. I've listened to people who I find reasonable people tell me they saw one here or there. I say they 99.999% of the time they've seen a bobcat. I have seen several of them, even in urban KC area. They are way more common than most realize. Phil, you'll like this, because I know you fish the San Juan in NW New Mexico on occasion. I did find a lion track on one of the tight trails leading to the San Juan River. The trails are extemely tight and wooly. It is a little un-nerving to think of a lion watching you in that location. The guy who owns Abe's (Tim Chavez) told me that they are there and come to prey on the numerous mule deer in that river valley. But, no known human issues. There is no doubt that the occasional lion will find it's way to the midwest...they've been documented. Just very rare. I'd still like to spot one.

Micheal, That'd be great. It would be cool to see a wild one. I've seen them in captivity. And, I think I'd prefer to see them at a distance or through the windshield....

Micheal, I've lived and hunted (alot) most of my life throughout Kansas. I've come literally face-to-face with about 5 or 6 bobcats, and seen at least 20 more from a further distance. Most of these times I was in camo and trying to be sneaky...deer, turkey, or squirrel hunting, I think. They are way more common than most people would suspect. In fact, I've found 2 road-killed in the last 10 years in Kansas City metro. One on south Troost and 1 on the interstate in the Grandview Triangle. Anyhow, I'd love to see a cougar. Never have, and have never seen a track. Where did you see all these cougars? It's documented that they indeed do come through this area on occasion...1 was road-killed about 6 years ago in North KC...but, there simply cannot be any residents, at least in any numbers. It is kinda humorous about every year, we hear of people taking pics or video of a cougar or black panther. All the videos and pics I've seen are clearly not a cougar or panther. I've seen photo/videos that looked like dogs, housecats, foxes, and now, bobcats. I'm not saying your wrong. I'm just real skeptical due to instances like this, which are very numerous and always with either bad or mistaken "evidence".

I thought you guys might enjoy this. This was on the local news, KCTV5 here in KC. The link attached is the report with actual video footage of a mountain lion. Only problem is, is that the cat is clearly a bobcat. I don't understand how the news people can report so-called facts to the public without doing just a little bit of research and verification. I e-mailed the reporter who did the story and told him the bad news. Then I told him I've seen bigfoot in my backyard a couple of times, and when I got video, I'd call him. I wonder if he'll respond... Here's the link: http://www.kctv5.com/video/14503347/index.html Now, if someone can get some bonfide video of the Taney squid, I think I know how to get the word out to the public. (I was actually thinkin' it's not a squid, but probably a type of Loch Ness type monster. They're rather common, I guess.)

This looks like 2 large issues and several smaller ones. Small first. Dredging out a few deep...like 10' deep...holes would be great. A stepped bottom (concrete) flowing into those holes would be good. Structure could be added where appropriate using concrete to set up smaller holes. The larger issues are the DO and the outlet "shooting fish in a barrel" thing. The DO I know little about, other than they can open suction valves near the turbines to add air to the water. The outlet fishing thing....hmmm. They could divert the flows from the hatchery through a piping system or chutes that dump into the newly constructed deeper holes, near the bottom. This would not slow the flow from the hatchery, but, it would slow the flow where it meets the river. And, if the outlet dumps were 8' - 10' under water, it would discourage the so-called fishermen abusing the outlets for snagging...both purposely and inadverently. The fish could, and likely would to a lesser degree than currently, still congregate at these points. But, they'd be much harder to get at for a snagging incident. And the fact that the flows would be slowed would also not create such a attractive location to fish.

Jeremy, Whoa baby!!! What a trip and story. Now, it's real easy to see that both of those fish were about all you could ask for. But....a gal who actually WANTS to go fly fishing at night? And hooks a monster? And that cute? AND...6 months pregnant???? Where in the world did you find her???? Lucky guy.....

"I have heard this debated on many forums, but the bottom line is the conservation laws dictate the appropriate behavior when it comes to keeping fish. If it is within the legal slot to keep don't run someone down about keeping it, or how they land it, or what they do with it it is none of you business." Wildminnow, Gotta disagree with you on 1 point. How they land it and/or if the fish survives or not is indeed an issue for me. The reason is this: Just like the young man I saw kill the 25" bow by beaching it, he kept right on fishing. You know, that is not right, and, I'll bet against the law...at least in the eyes of most game wardens. Yeah, you wanna keep a legal fish...whatever, it's your right. But, it is not your (or anyone's) right to kill a fish, then keep on fishing, and kill another, and another....That's why it does matter how you handle and treat a fish.

That may not be 'Bowzilla', but it has to be his not-so-younger brother (or sister). Leonard, what kinda tackle you using to get one like that to net?!?

Darn it!! I sorta liked the idea of a "secret" fly. Sounds kinda double-o-seven! Seriously, I think Leonard would share his fly patterns with most all of us...shoot, he's already started to do just that. I've tried patterns that were meant for out west that catch fish on Taney. Sorta fun to experiment. I remember years ago I was fishing upper Taney early in my fly fishing "career". I had a couple of out of town friends with me and 1 of those guys was over 70. We were catching a few, but, we weren't exactly tearing them up either. We struck a conversation with a guide...I wish I knew his name...who was doing quite well with a client. He offered some good advice on depth, etc., and then gave us a handful of flies...no cost. We all immediately started catching more fish....and more importantly...having more fun. I won't forget that day, as will neither of my 2 friends.

I know JUST the fly you're talking about. I've got some of those, too. I got them from another guy on this site. I think he got them from some other guy on this site. Yep....secret.