Wayne SW/MO

The 2 most common colors I've seen in stream craws, available to Smallies, have either orange or chartreuse highlights under a green pumpkin color. They also have some black from time to time. There are about 35 species of craws in Missouri, but not all of them are available to the fish, even when in the same waters. The jigs I dress myself are generally olive, green pumpkin or pumpkin with about 4 strands underneath of orange or chartreuse. The most productive for me is the green pumpkin with chartreuse highlights under.

I think some heavy duty law enforcement at certain times would improve what's already stocked. I know funds are hard to come by, but I think a "hit squad" could send a message that would stop a lot the damage to the fish trying to spawn.

You got the wrong ones, the good ones are made of cedar. I've had some luck on the X Raps in the fall. The take is very subtle, so you have to pay close attention.

I don't know about the rod, but P-Lines are premium.

I've seen Smallies do this, I mean come up on shad. I don't know if they actually chase them or if they take advantage of a close encounter. I tend to believe its the latter. Its getting close to the time when they will feed heavily on baitfish. How were you rigging the Doctor?

I suppose it depends on the streams. I've had quite a bit of experience in inflatable cats and rafts on everything up to class IV. If there is enough water they are great, if not, they're a big pain. They have a tendency to grab rocks rather than slide over them. On are streams its hard to find any that don't have they're share of shallow shoals. I'll take my hard shell yaks or solo canoe any day.

I think this link will work Cody. KNOT WARS I don't want anyone to think that there's a big difference in most of these knots, while its true that the Fish-N-Fool bested the others, the devil is in the details. The test were done on comparable, new lines clean of any abrasion. The top lines were all close and well above 90%, if I remember right. The test don't take in to consideration any different characteristics that other brands of lines have. Some braids are slicker than others, some aren't braided but are fused, and most change with age. Some "monos" are hybrids. These differences might also change the outcomes, but probably not by much. My present lines are P-line hybrids and TUF XP braid and these are the lines that the knots need to work well on for me. I'm of the school "If it ain't broke don't fix it", and if the I had never had the Eugene bend break I wouldn't change tying it or recommending it. I don't like the Palomar, but I've used it for years on virtually all my connections, the exception is when I need a loop, the Rapala fills that niche. I would like a dependable knot that can be done without a lot of forethought and that doesn't use up a lot of line.

Your boss may remember a Supreme Court case that involved a shooting by a shotgun. A farmer had an empty house that was broken in too several times, he set up a shotgun aimed at the front door with a trip wire, and someone was killed. A conviction was upheld because of the intent. Its been decades since I read it, but that's the gist of it.

I think the only thing you need to remember is that there should be reasonable cause to believe you and or your family is in serious danger. After that requirement is met you're free to defend.

I recognize that spot, we were there last Sunday, but we blanked. Troutgnat, I believe Big Cedar is on Long Creek.

I think many of you are misreading the Obama issue. The point is, whether he had anything to do with the initial plan or not, there is a new plan according to the president. So is he going to push congress to rethink this, or let it slide in favor of a political perk to the Arkansas delegation? I'm still puzzled by It all, how is it going to significantly increase tourism? The fish aren't native and the fishery is decades old, why would people suddenly flock to it because of an increased flow? Its still in the middle of no where and doesn't necessarily outshine other destinations in other parts of the country.

Not according to their test. Eventually they all fell to the Fish-N-Fool knot. "The Miller knot beat the Eugene Bend in the nylon mono and fluoro categories, and was within four-hundredths of a pound when the two were compared with braided line. During tests with fluorocarbon line the Miller averaged 15.5 pounds; the Eugene Bend came in at 14.64. With nylon, the Miller had a 20.13-pound average break strength while the Eugene Bend offered a 17.78-pound average. When tied with braid the Miller knot broke at an average of 15.66 pounds, while the Eugene Bend averaged 15.7 pounds. Despite its slightly higher difficulty factor, the Miller knot got the nod and will face the popular San Diego Jam knot in the next edition of Knot Wars."

Well now we know who is paying attention and who ain't. Darn spell check. I don't tie a true blood knot, but a knot that has similar results that I came up with about 50 years ago. Its much easier to tie than a true blood and it works well mono to mono. I can't really say how it works with Fluorocarbon, although it works with the small stuff. I fish a lot of braid, TUF XP mostly, and when I'm in a canoe or kayak I want something easier to break off than 15 or 20 lb braid. That's when I like a long leader of something like Floroclear. I'm with you on the complicated angle, I wouldn't attempt an Allbright streamside.

I just recently found this so I have no experience with it, but I'm going to give a good try. I hate the palomar, but not as much as breakoffs.

You're apparently using the Flouroclear different than I do. I use about 8' of it, not only for stealth, but to prevent breaking my braid. If I have a problem when I'm fishing I blood knot a piece of Flouroclear to itself temporarily. I'm a big P-Line fan. Of all the lines easily obtainable here I think its tops. The premium CX is my favorite and has the thinnest diameter, but it isn't as abrasion resistant as Flouroclear.

This knot is suppose to best the palomar for all three types of lines. Fish-n-fool knot

An Allbright is the one to use, just be sure and do a half hitch on each end and a spot of glue. The PP is slick and that's the reason for the extras. This knot is very close to 100%, if not a full 100%. I've put it to the test with some really big cats and carp and it held fine. I broke 20# Flouroclear one time below the Allbright.

Looks like fun. My son and grandkids are in Fair Grove also. Hows that tick fever doing?

I'm curious also. Can you explain that without giving up the location?

Congratulations, more joy coming.

I'm afraid they are here to stay and they will only spread faster. The lakes are becoming more cloudy every year and that won't change from human intervention. The DNR doesn't work that hard at prevention and with the huge number of septic tanks around the lakes the input is not going to change. I don't know how well the mussels tolerate silt, but if they don't some lakes will have areas free of them. For fishermen the answer is probably yes, but for the environmental stability, no.

I didn't get into this because overall its beyond late. The natural cold water streams have had trout in them far too long to know what, if any, impact that trout have had on native species. The Niangua is a good example of misreading a stream. In summer when most are fishing the trout area the Smallie population is thin, but as the river cools in the winter the smallies flock to the now warmer water. I doubt that trout have had much of an impact on most native fish because most native fish don't tolerate the temperatures that trout do. The biggest culprit in Missouri is dams and illegal introductions.

I don't know that there is any public land around the Sac. The Eleven Point came to my mind first, I would look hard at Brian's recommendation.

Generally when its normal, as it is now, there isn't a lot of activity other than small trout, unless the water is running. If they are generating at TR, then a few hours after the water will be running at Powersite. It always seems to take about 4 hours for the water to reach the Taney dam.

Have you ever used the 100b? This is not a taunt, I'm curious as to how they would compare. I think the 100b was one of the best and was probably only surpassed by the Japanese Scorpion. I've never handle the new E.