WebFreeman

I forgot they were out of the country, so to speak. I don't know him, but I'll send him an email anyway. I think it's listed at the end of his columns.

I'm definately in this for the fun. I spend more time fishing w/ powerbait w/ my 5-year-old (1 orange, 1 yellow is my fav.) than my fly rod (which now only gets cast in the yard), so I've got NO qualms about keeping trout. But having a stringer full of illegal fish and getting caught because you thought it was ok would ruin anyone's trip. It's very good to know the lower end is loose, but that still makes me nervous. A cranking warden could still write a hefty ticket As far as keeping below the slot, that's what the slot is for. If we don't keep some fish from up there, it messes up the management plan. Otherwise, they would have just set a 20" limit. Someone needs to start keeping fish.

That's why I suggested steve brigman early on. The News-Leader may not let him tackle political issues, but the outdoors section should be covering topics like this as well as the grip and grin shots w/ fish.

No, but I don't want to hire one if I get caught w/ 4 12-inch fish. I bet that fine would be hefty!! (Heftier than 4 12-inch stockers!!)

Not trying to nick-pick, but don't 12-inchers need to go back. I think the reg. reads the slot is 12"-20" must be returned. So they need to be 11 15/16 and under to keep. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Also, I've been wondering about the "possession" limit. If I have 20 trout in my freezer (I don't, btw), am I in violation of the 8 trout possession limit?

I caught my first trout at Rockbridge. It's not that much different than the parks except the fish are a lot bigger. I haven't been there is years, but it's nice. $75 does seem pretty high, but it might be worth it just to beat the crowds. The creek is very scenic at it's a really pretty area. Like Tim said, it's a great place to take a kid or wife/gf to get them hooked.

Maybe you could plant a bug with Steve Brigman to write something about it. You could also contact Watershed Committee of the Ozarks (http://www.watershedcommittee.org/), James River Basin Partnership (http://www.jrbp.missouristate.edu/), or White River Basib Partnership http://www.whiteriverbasin.org though I think it's down). I would think they'd all have something to say about. But if MDC is rolling over, there might not be anything left to do.

Takes shuffling to a whole new level. What about the impact on existing businesses as a deciding factor. I would think this could have a negative impact on the fishing at your resort and those around you.

So Powersite would no longer generate power? Do you know why Beaver and Table Rock aren't included since they will help control the leverl of Bull Shoals? Thanks for the report? So Powersite would no longer generate power? Do you know why Beaver and Table Rock aren't included since they will help control the leverl of Bull Shoals? Thanks for the report.

what's a gitzit, aside from the tube jig variety, which I would guess would be pretty hard to cast on my fly rod.

I can only seem to find Vanish in 6lb. I've wanted it for my spinning rod that light, too. I noticed Berkley makes a Vanish saltwater tippet and it starts at 10 and goes 100lb. I'd guess it's the same stuff as the big spools Anyone have experience w/ the Bass Pro brand fluro? Kevin Van Dam claims he uses it on the BASS tour.

I have a couple co-workers w/ digital Canon Rebels. They really like them and I think other Canon lenses will fit it. I've just held them, but they seem to look and feel just like a film SLR. I work in a Marketing Dept and we have 6-8 Canons from point-and-shoot to SLR w/ not a bad thing to say about them.

Does the web cam save images on the server. You're pretty set up already.

But why was the space available at Branson Meadows? I think they'd much rather have filled that w/ retail and than office. True about LA and NY, but neither are marketed as an outdoorsie place to be. There are a lot of places more crowded, but the whole point of Branson is stuff to do in a picturesque/scenic area. My only point is development w/o very long-range vision is dangerous. SDC is lucky because they have nature built-in to the park, but the rest of Branson/Tri-Lakes isn't.

That stinks that they had to cut the line. :-)

True about the dam, but when you drive in to Rockaway today, it still feels like the summer of 58 before the dam opened, and not in a Celebration City/Coney Island retro way. Other than the Pizza Cellar, is there a reason to go to Rockaway right now? It wouldn't take a casino to revitalize the area and make it family friendly, but it would take something. Rockaway needs a niche, whether it involves poker chips or not. I would guess that it will fail again if it comes to ballot, whether it's an off year election or not.

I'd be curious how many of these million visitors were new. Summer is the peak time in Branson. How many visitors did Tanger or Factory Outlet got in those 2 months. A lot of the criticism is valid. They didn't utilize the lake view. We don't know the long term effect on locally owned and mom and pop businesses. Other benefits will be good: once the condos are filled w/ residents w/ disposable income, that will be good. Once conventions arrive, that will have a positive economic impact (though we don't know the environmental impact of having an extra 10,000 widget salesman will have.) The whole region (Springfield included) needs to move beyond the service industry and light manufacturing as an economic development base. At some point we'll run out of space to build another mall (look how Branson Meadows does. It's a virtual ghost town every time I've been). We're going to run out of lake front property. The scenic overlook on the way to the dam is not very scenic any more.

I was almost swamped below Powersite once when my anchor got stuck. You'd think the 3 crosses painted on the dam would have been enough of a warning. I can't imagine anchoring below Table Rock dam.

Your standard sculpin color? Those browns are beautiful....

Shouldn't we have to work to catch fish? I mean, the trout parks are already unnaturally full of fish, so when the water is low, the sun is high and hot and there is a lot of fishing pressure, I would expect the fishing to be more difficult. I think we take our put-and-take fisheries for granted (including taney). A lot of people are catching fish by adapting to the conditions. Tim caught 15 in 90 minutes. That's a fish every 6 minutes. Seems like good fishing to me.

I've caught a lot of trout at the pothole down to Swan Creek, but I was thinking the state record came from around K-Dock or Beaver Creek at some point in the past.

Are you talking about your avatar? Give us the story. I guess I can see near roaring river and up the White. Wasn't the Mo record brown from upper Bull Shoals at one time?

Any tips for keeping it at 350?

What's the best time of day for dock/bank fishing. I'd like to get my nearly 5-year-old sometime soon.

Has anyone ever built one? I have the plans from Larry Dablemont's book and there is also a neat site called gatorboats. My wood-working skills are pretty limited, though, so I've been reluctant to try one.