Wayne SW/MO

I think it was a big mistake. They've had their troubles in the Big 8 and the Big 12 and it won't change in the SEC. It goes back to good old Dan Devine who was a journeyman coach hoping to beat OK and NB once in awhile. He always lost most of the cream of MO footballers. The present success is based on recruiting Texas, but that will most likely become a lot harder now because they will no longer get the recruits that want to play Texas teams and they will instead go head to head with AR, A&M, and LSU, all of which play a better schedule.

Don't want them worrying about the browns and the smallies getting gigged when they can chase a native weed that is already everywhere.

I once drove from central Oklahoma to Cuidad Victoria in Mexico to fish.

My grandson still has my 10' Richline from '57, it's been around. I agree with Al that you don't want to go upstream in a jon if you have many riffles to worry about. On the positive side a small trolling motor will give you some help in frog water situations. Cricket makes maximum use of one on the Niangua. I would go with a 12' and would only use it on lakes where I can put into coves and stay there. This isn't always a bad thing because more often then not people who launch in a cove can't wait to get out of it. I would check my towing capacity and go for the max because a small jon won't have much in the way of wind resistance, allowing you to utilize all your vehicle's capacity. You might be able to get into a 14' or 16' jon if you stay with the 36" bottom and that width is very stable within reason. Springfield and fellows should be doable if you use common sense.

No reason to think they won't. They chute extension placed at outlet 2 by the "Friends of Trout Snagging" has survived and it's composed of much lighter rocks.

That area isn't exactly a magnet compared to the waders that also spend money . You do know that there is approximately 25 miles of stocked lake to fish below that area, right?

I believe there is some payment made to offset the taxes lost. There isn't a lot of infrastructure in the area. A few primitive parking areas for the most part and any of the other related projects are carried out in many areas across the state where there is no sport fishing. Buying land to preserve access doesn't seem to be that expensive considering the permanent status of land. I believe much of it, and possibly the one in question, is from the 1/8th cent sales tax and fulfills one of the goals..

Sounds like a lot, BUT once property is bought the only cost is the taxes and there is no stocking, so all the future fish could be reasonably added to the equation. The rocks will improve the fishery and it will keep more trout in the area IMO. The biggest problem in the upper end is the lack of lies and that is one reason fish tend to congregate around anglers in the upper end. They need current breaks and eventually I see small pockets being created behind the rocks that will hold more fish.

I think they will improve the habitat by producing pockets behind the rocks. There was a small rock SW of outlet 2 that produced a small pocket and it always had a fish or two in it. High water flows eventually obliterated it because o its small size. It will make the fish more vulnerable which is probably not a bad thing in a trophy area unless the number of people who keep them increases.

I've been doing Bennett for about 60+ years and I've never seen a park ranger on the stream or far from his vehicle for that matter. I don't think it's where their focus is. The few times I can remember seeing agents they were as I said earlier, mingling with he fishermen and then writing tickets. I'm sure there have been times they have been around and no one, including me, noticed.

I would have say, with reservations and subject to change, ginger, crackleback, yellow grizzly, black, brown, and grizzly, in that order. You never know, but in Missouri ginger is my most consistent color in the larger nymph style flies.

The park rangers patrol the park including the roads. As far as the stream goes, yes I have seen agents checking the stream. I might add that the only reason I saw agents was because the were writing tickets, dress in vests and carrying flyrods.

I wish they would put them all across the stream to get a better spread. I would think the could anchor a sign that says NO BOATING BEYOND THIS POINT at a level where it would be covered by water when it didn't apply. I that for years that the bed needed rocks or concrete obstructions. After the high water this winter there should be some good holes behind the rocks.

I believe that in most surveys of this type the eliminate the edges. The exaggerators or the poor fishermen wouldn't then skew the results. I don't remember averaging being to complicated, even for me. I would like for them to use something on the level of average success or reasonable limits of success to describe the stream. Lets face it, we only care about estimated, think guess, numbers because we think high ones will mean a better chance of sucess, but that's not always true.

I think you'll find that you'll get a lot of views. A forum like this reaches many more people then the number of posts indicate. This is why you shouldn't post anything you feel you don't want well known and think you're only reaching a few.

Color me a skeptic, but I can't wrap my mind around the the claim that they can estimate he number of fish through shocking. I have no doubts about claims of condition and growth, but I don't see how they can get beyond a claim that there is a reasonable population or not. I would think angler surveys would produce better results because of the longer period of time involved.

I have a couple of Crankin' Stiks and they aren't bad for the money. They are exactly what they say and not jerkbait or topwater rods and they won't make do either..

A Tarpon would do all those things well with the exception of the maneuverability. I'm not saying they don't maneuver, I'm saying that they don't compare to my Mohawk Solo 13, but then it doesn't track either. I have a Tarpon 12 and as far as stability goes it won't turn over, you'll have to turn it over. I also have a Pamlico 10 which is a sit in. The Pam is a great creek boat, but it is hard to store much gear that you can reach. The Tarpons on the other hand can store a lot of gear rhat you can reach while floating. Anything in the back of the tarpon can be reached by sitting on the side of the yak with your legs over the side, and it won't turn over. Given its weight and length I think for you a Tarpon 10 would make you happy. I would only upgrade to the 12 if I thought I would do a lot of frog water or lakes.

Eucha and Spavinia lakes in OK have had some good reps in the past. You might check out how they're fishing now. I would never overlook Truman or the LOZ either.

That's a fairly new one, but the old Ride 135? has been around a long time. There are rules when it comes to kayaks and one of them is the wider the beam the more stable it is. The more narrow the faster and easier to paddle. This applies to equal lengths of course. The Ride has always been advertised as a yak you could stand a fly cast comfortably from. I've never read of any exceptions when being compared to kayaks in general. Having said that it's always hard to make a recommendation without any idea of what you want it to do and what is most important when there are conflicts. One example would be tracking and maneuverability, they aren't on the same page and some compromise is necessary.

Wash the area real well and then wrap it with an old dish towel. Keep the towel damp with white vinegar which will soften it up. A gallon at Wally world is cheap.

I'm another who votes keep the location a secret.

The front moved across all of southern Missouri, but it didn't affect the creeks here. The ground was so dry around here the rains haven't really moved the creeks and rivers that much

I've caught a few meanmouths out of the lower Bryant, not too far above the hiway. They generaly appear to be smallies looking down on them, then when above the water the kentucky shows up.

I've never found one. I believe they still make the standard size, but the baby, which was one of the best lures out there, is gone.