Wayne SW/MO

I've had a Contender for 30+ years and I still like it. I'm down to a 30 Harrett and a 357/44 Bains and Davis barrels now.

Ain't that the truth.:lol:

Well the dirt hadn't settled on his coffin before that was put in practice with a 180 degree turn.

Whether you or others like it or not, the MDC was heads and shoulders above their counterparts in AR for decades. They were not only above average in this region, but across the country. The big complaint about trout in this state seems to be C & R. You can promote C & R more than one way. I don't believe AR has any earth moving regulations for the bulk of the White or NF do they? How many big trout have you seen hauled up the bank at Taney's trophy area? I've seen one, but i've seen about a half dozen people who practice C & R float big ones down the stream after an extended picture taking session. I watched one that was easily over 24" go belly up after being "released" by a C & R practitioner.

good grief maybe it's a litter.

Looks good. A little cabin fever?

While Missouri has taken advantage of it's many springs, Arkansas has only exploited Mammoth, at least to my knowledge. Does this mean better management though? Maybe you should define management, as you define it. Have you fished other resources in the north and west and our you also using their management policies in your evaluation of the MDC. Who do you think the MDC should serve and how? Do you think tourist dollars, such as in Arkansas should play a big role? While we're on the subject, why did you chang your handle?

Apples and oranges grown in Missouri, an altered river against a man made lake stocked with non-native fish. Not a lot to grasp for comparison purposes. Beyond the selfish ranting, Missouri's trout programs serve a much more diverse population than Arkansas's ever will. While Missouri has taken advantage of it's many springs, Arkansas has only exploited Mammoth, at least to my knowledge. Again it's different environments, Missouri's cold water resource is naturally scattered and more compact. Arkansas's is man made, or made in Missouri , and individually larger. Different populations and resources, different tactics.

You're still picking and choosing your points to debate while you ignore the big picture. three world record browns yes, but it's not an imaginary line that separates the two in that regard. We all know that there are two huge chunks of concrete and two free flowing rivers below them. Do you know of anything similar in Missouri? Don't lecture me about Arkansas's fishery skills unless you can tell me why people can drive up the King's river bed or why Missouri MDC can produce stripers that challenge Arkansas, without even stocking them!:lol: How about Muskies and rainbows? Arkansas seems to be dragging their feet on Muskie and rainbows, at least by your standards.

And I don't think there is any gigging going on either.

Many of the arguments on here are ridicules and poorly thought out. You can't compare apples and oranges or make a silk purse out of a sows ear. If you want to compare AR to MO in the consrvation department you have find equal environments, but they don't exist. When did the size of record fish determine success in fisheries management? Aren't there a few more factors involved?

When in a yak you obviously need to keep the line up and a longer rod helps there. Don't overlook the fact that you can leave the yak and fish from shallow water. It's a lot easier to reach an isolated shoreline from a yak and fishing into shore can be very good at times.

Were those LM's or Kentucky's?

They worked with cutts and cuttbows and not all that many years ago you could still see the remnants of the cutt genes. The problem is they found that the Redband was a better match for Missouri, so doing their job they quit wasting money on the project. There's nothing about cutthroats that excite me over a bow, unless it's one from Mann lake in OR or Pyramid in NV. The Redband evolved from traditionally warmer waters then the cutthroats do.

Pure speculation, but maybe it has to do with a nest versus scattering of the eggs. Perhaps overall the trout eggs aren't as vulnerable to predation.

Al I understand what you're saying about a comparison between mature and immature balds. I know that of the four Goldens I've seen and Identified, they were, in my mind, larger than the Balds I'm used to seeing. I know Goldens have a reputation for taking larger prey then Balds. I doubt Goldens will ever expand to include Missouri, so it's probably all mute. In my example at the gutpile, which was actually two elk very close together, there was an immature also, but it left alone and ahead of the other two so there was no way to realistically compare the three. We were less than fifty yards from them, so identifying them wasn't difficult.

And that makes them bigger?

Who cares Chief, more for us.

Now Spiders aren't that bad!

I'm confused Al, why would someone mistake an immature Bald for a bigger Golden? The few Goldens I've seen were all obviously larger. I saw a mature Bald and a Golden come off of a gut pile one time and with that close comparison there was no doubt what the bigger bird was, even without the color comparison.

Well you're all wrong about the political aspect, and I'm old enough to know. It was a moderate, southern, Democrat state government that that removed themselves from the mix.

Having lived close to our brothers in AR for probably more years than you, I can tell you I can't remember a time when they need any help in screwing things up. While a lot of states have caught up with MO's MDC, there was a time when t was one of the countries models in wildlife management.

I believe your answer is very close to the truth.

Wow, unusual no doubt. I've seen a lot of eagles around winter duck areas in southern Oregon, but never anything close to 35. The brown heads last about 5 years, or so they say.

I suspect that the MDC is giving them the benefit of the doubt in this case, but they should have slapped their hands hard for giving a false report. In not doing anything about the falsehoods, they invite people to shoot first and make up a story later. The overabundance of coyotes is a result of a lack of predators and the deer herd here is just waiting for a extreme winter weather event to devastate the herd.