riverhyker

FishnDave not meant to rebutt what you are saying at all...You are right on both fronts. Releasing of the King/Queen (bigger fish) give the breed/brood stock that you need to reproduce bigger fish (first heard by me from an article by Doug Stange). Then to let those bigger fish go they are big enough to eat the smaller and stunted fish (Big eyes etc. in comparison to body size). We are truly on the same page. Although I don't have an issue with people keeping bass for the table I never do within a slot... and on the rivers I don't at all... But again, those fish we caught in Strafford were because of very low fishing pressure and fish big enough bass/catfish that had no other forage outside of the new year minnows, bugs etc that they had to live on....but you are right.

I never did understand the science, because it doesn't prove untrue in southern ponds, but also in northern ponds... case in point.... My son was 4 yrs old when I took him to a sheep farm pond in Ohio (cold climate) in the Tappan Lake area. It was his first fishing trip, but I didn't spend time with him prior to us making the trip, ie how to set the hook in the backyard, casting etc. He would sit back, cast, then say Dad, my bobbers gone over and over. He missed fish after fish because he had to let me know that his bobber was gone so that I could tell him to set the hook. Most of the crappie were over 10 inches and then there were some huge bass. Few and far between considering how many crappie we caught. His PB crappie was 16" and a strict fatty...it was hillarious because he kept trying to get me to take the pole and pull it in and I wouldn't. Didn't have a scale back then, but I haven't caught many crappie as big as the one he caught that day (I eventually helped him, but he had the biggest grin on his face). Then I moved my family here and met a friend in Strafford that new a landowner who had a small pond. Just about every 'gill we caught were as big as my hand and I can palm a basketball (well let's say that I used to be able to...getting old...lol). But, every largemouth we caught were very nice. So I think that it all comes down to pond management. I now own close to 7 acres with 3 being wooded...looking to take out some trees and building a pond of about 1.5 acres...besides bass and cats I WILL be stocking CRAPPIE regardless of what MDC states on pond management. I truly don't believe that it can't be done if managed correctly. My motto has alway been, " If you have access to a pond, especially if it is not fished on a regular basis with catch and release on the bigger bass and cats, YOU WILL catch some great bluegill and/or crappie if they were stocked.

Although I have lived here longer (35 years) than I have lived anywhere before, I am very disappointed in the laws here about river access. Where I came from a certain amount of the bank to the river mark was public land and there were normally accessible areas every 2 to 3 miles. Mr. Agnew I totally understand what you are saying... I have also been to Jeff City for these "Meetings", and have a folder full of crap from the time that I found out that you could legally string bobwire across a river...lol.... I have also taken Water Quality testing classes with the Stream Team... We may be right about the law, but when a landowner shoots you in the head.because of a gravel bar... wow, even in some of the places that I have been they would say that is a game changer..... The State and those in power need to make these "Laws" clear, evident and written in stone. I will not clean, walk, or test any stream where I feel there is a *&KHhole that feels he has the right to shoot someone in HIS RIVER...lol. The government really just needs to get there crap together and not play favorites no matter what

That is fantastic... We remember us when someone that we loved took us fishing and we just didn't get it . We didn't need to...it grows on us, we may leave it but it never leaves us.... Congrats for the fish, but even more.... Congrats for a child that always remember the experiences and that you are Always Her Hero.

I don't know why people state that there are no fish in Fellows Lake or Lake Springfield or McDaniels Lake...you just have to find them....the issue is over fishing...remember the tout to leave some for ours? It didn't take in those lakes. I watched 5 gal buckets of fish leave these lakes with no thought of limits....look around for DOC and they were nowhere even during the spawn...We reap what we sow. The good news is that there are plenty of fish, but fewer...I don't know how young your children are but if they are old enough to wear PFDs, a decent quality inflatable, ie Sea Eagle or another decent brand will insure that you (with an adult in the boat with them and you relatively close with decent electronics on your kayak) can find the fish and lead them to them....I do it every year with my daughter and grandchildren on some of the water up in KC. I used to fish Fellows all of the time...find the brush piles...available on MDC there are even some close enough to shore to cast to with a bobber....the best time is from the winter to now because it concentrates the fish....I just ask that you teach your children how to be selective of the fish they take home and explain the loss if they aren't....Bank/Bridge fishing used to be great in Springfield....until it wasn't because of mismanagement by fishermen....totally sucks.... I also fish from a kayak....have a Sea Eagle inflatable kayak also...If you ever decide to go out and it is about the kids especially...PM me....we will figure things out....PS they can also be put on banks off of the beaten path during the spawn with an inflatable or kayak.... Much Luck

Hi MCrump....according to DOR you do.... I got my Ascend in 2014. I originally only used it on the rivers w/o an electric motor. But, I then decided that I would like to fish smaller lakes, maybe the bigger lakes during the week when there was low boat traffic. So I thought it would be nice to add a trolling motor for hands free use. I called DOR in Jeff. City and they stated that you do (the little office in Nixa and Ozark had no clue). You will need the serial number (it usually on the inside of the hull, if you don't know where it is you can sometimes find it online or YouTube) and I was also sent back to Bass Pro to get a form filled out by them. Things may have changed somewhat so you need to call DOR to make sure and you may have to either walk the clerk in the licensing office through it or have them call D.O.R. which is what my clerk ended up doing. Here is a cost breakdown for my setup for 3 yrs - (from 2016 - 2019): Agent Fee - 3.50, Registration Fee - 25.00, State & Local Tax - 32.86, Titling and another agent fee (???) -10.00 = 42.86 for 3 years. Be careful or the clerk/agent may try to charge you a titling fee if it is on a kayak that you have had for a year or two (mine was bought in 2014 and they originally charged me a penalty from the to 2016, but I had to debate the fact that my kayak sales taxes had been paid at Bass Pro and that a title was not required for those two years because it was propelled by oar...so no title needed....went round and round about that. Called the Jeff. City office and they contacted her and had her refund the 30.00 back to my credit card. Good Luck with the process and great fishin'....

First let me give you congrats on that catch...yes I am jealous... but so happy for you. I raised all of my girls on the water and it is great to see more and more women on the water...I am sending this to my daughter in Belton, MO. She comes to fish with Dad, she loves the rivers, but I am trying to get her to use our lakes a little more....Maybe she will see what you've caught and realize the possibilities...

Ain't that right.

I am no expert at all...been fishing for over 50 years...the argument will always go on as to what is the best equipment, but I don't see paying the kind of money that most companies are charging any more for rods and lures...even to the point that I am going to make my own lures, and no, I will not pay big money for a rod. That is my opinion. We will always argue these points. My way of looking at it is this...If I have a chance to make a 6 figure salary....I am buying top gear. If I am being sponsored by companies that give me gear. I am being given these 18.00 lures/400.00 rods/and a 75,000,000 boat, but I ain't buying it...then if this is now my profession, different story. The ever increasing costs....If you can afford to buy these high dollar lures/rods/boats (upwards of half of a house)...go for it. Believe me, I am happy for you and the prosperity that you have probably truly worked for...Most don't know the stress that it takes to be a semi-pro/pro, or just to get where you are...whether you are a guide, or are lucky enough to make enough money to get there. Much respect from me. but....if you are where most are, we are not making 6 figure salaries...we fish to fish. I have went from fishing MO waters to salt water fishing using the same brand of rods (budget class). I have out-fished my son in Oregon ocean fishing with an Ugly Stick, watched him break a High Dollar rod, my Ugly Stick hung in there even on bigger fish. (I raised my son on MO waters and Woods....lost my best partner, because he needed more...ha, ha, ha, there is always a price). I remember my Cherrywood and fiberglass poles...broke one...(maybe I wasn't catching big enough fish? 25 lb cat and 30 lb carp..caught on my grandfathers fiberglass.) Who's selling who?

I can float with my jeans or ball cap. I know that if I am tired swimming to give in and sink long enough to give my muscles time to recupe....even if it is every 3 or 4 yards....I never panic because I know that it is detrimental.....I am naval trained....in big water....I would have normally been on the river 20+ times after the fish moved deeper in the lakes and the temps started to get to the point that I was sweating....I have been out once..... But, rivers, current, strainers.....I would only know what is common sense if the water is high....I have a canoe, an inflatable kayak, and an SOT fishing kayak.....You won't catch me in/on any of those if the river is running over it's banks....RESPECT WATER....if it is to much to drink.....you may lose.....Why don't people understand that. I am from OH....(where we don't normally walk rivers and why I decided to move/stay here), but there was a man from OH that died at one of my fishing/floating spots in Galena....I wish I was with him, because he would have had on a life jacket or/and not on the river if things were questionable. If we are ever in water that we can't stand up in and especially if there is current....a life jacket is a must....I have swam around strainers after looking down river and the current was pushing me towards it. I am unsure if we will receive more heavy rains, but please be safe and don't be the lead story on the nightly news....WEAR YOUR PFD IN WATER THAT WILL BE CLOSE TO YOUR CHIN....the current pushing and the slippery bottom can easily put you face down. Again if you can't drink it ALL it is too much water.

Wow.....oneshot....we have cudos to your wife....we have common sense...but sometimes choose not to use it....I am hoping that you are talking about children that are at an age that they "shouldn't, need parental supervision. But, we have seen the deaths of a number of people in SW MO that were adults this year already....I am not going to point out the down right disrespect for water, as I don't want to hurt these families.

When I moved here 30+ years ago there were so many deep holes on the James....I hit a "Pothole" while fishing with my cousin and completely disappeared, my cousin said and my hat was floating...lol....but I came up with rod and fish. Because of the water levels I got a mental shot of my childhood dream from a tv show i used to watch as a kid (either Field and Stream or Sports Afield)....God, I caught this 16 in smallmouth while standing in the river w/o drowning (new to me as our rivers in OH are a Heck of a lot deeper...ha, ha, ha). I was standing in waist deep water, but, it jumped up between me and the sun and shook and I could actually see the rainbow in the water droplets coming off of the fish. I just looked at my cousin and said, "I am home..." I can't speak for the whole of the James, but those holes are about non existent any more. What he didn't know is that I had spotted a 6 foot black snake in a tree hanging over the river at Shelvin Rock, two in a tree he got hung in and one in a bush he stuck his hand in to get his lure....he was petrified of snakes....but, you know.....the fishing was so good that he got past that. (I had a ringneck snake believe it or not from MO when I was a kid in Brooklyn, didn't find that it was from here until after I moved here, I was 13 and tried to find a pretty snake my mother would accept). Thanks for the pics....my son can't believe that it was that bad when I told him that we could be washed out this late in the year.

FANTASTIC CATCH.....It has really been an abnormal year with all of the rainfall we have gotten. I would have normally been doing river fishing at this point (temps between 80 - 85. I would have normally been out at least 12 to 20 days at this point and have only been out twice. I really worried or wondered if they were shut down or flushed out of the holes I normally find them in.....OH....and THANKS for returning them....our local waters have some ultra light reel screaming sized smallmouth, but I have always been afraid to speak about it because of people that have no respect for the time it takes to get there. I watched a guy and his family with a tent set up on the Finley River under the 160 bridge and he had a 5 gallon bucket. He was fishing with his kids (GREAT thing), but he and was keeping EVERY SMALLMOUTH HE CAUGHT ABOVE 5 INCHES.....not just just ignorant, but he was teaching his children this. My best fishing partner is coming for back for 2 weeks from Oregon tomorrow. I started walking the rivers with him when he and his brother were 7 and 9 along with some of their friends. He is exactly like me...His Dad....MO just wasn't enough of the outdoors for him so he moved to Oregon....and I lost my best friend....didn't/couldn't say anything to him about his moving on...we do what is best for our children and if this is what he needed to do I was going to support it. (I also let him figure out how great the Ozarks is...We are from OH originally and moved them here because I had a dream about what was going to happen to our hometown of Steubenville OH). Yaknar, Thanks for the pics....we will be floating the Niangua with the in-laws on Weds. and then my son and I will be floating the Buffalo (weather permitting)...for 3 days of fishing and camping since there is no private property issues. I haven't been able to find a fishing partner since he left where we gelled and I was raised to be very respectful of other people. Thanks for letting us know that they weren't completely blown out....and for "Throwing them back bigger".

You are right Champ....Ms Donna is way below the 1/3 border on that equation. I Love seeing a woman in a boat.....married and still can't get it to happen...even after hours of shopping with her..lol

Maybe I am wrong, but the only reason I am answering is because out of all that lake..CU has always corralled us to that bridge. I too 35 yrs ago was taught how to jig under that bridge while CU kept the coves and great fishing spots out of reach. To me CU means US. even though I have moved and I fish south....CU means owned by the people (I thought)....why do they do so many underhanded things and things from people that just want to fish?...None of their issues cause an issue w/compliance w/the clean water actl. TOTALY Bullies.