ColdWaterFshr

Willie and Norah

While we're on a roll with duets. This was a recent find . . . A bit sterile and scrubbed of any grit, but dammmb.

C'mon, you're just jealous you can't dance like that. How about this one. Merle and Bonnie . . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfuX1rc_f3s

This can't be appreciated enough. I know, I know --- probably not the nicest dude and he beat his wives and stuff, but wow, what a talent.

Love the ole possum

Love these kinds of reports.

In your kayak?? I'd save the kayak for the creeks, small rivers and ponds. And #%^&@!, what did I tell you about the rooster tails? Go back and read STEP 1 of my 12-step program. I like Cedar Ridge or State Park better than Ruark. But rent a boat. Get some minnows and nightcrawlers. Work those big points out in about 30 feet of water. Either super early in the morning, or late in the evening after its dark.

Its only 3 miles, so you should be able to fish that effectively in less than 4 hours

Atta boy, Jimmy. I think we've all been a little too hard on the beaver . . . . . So I'm going to let him in on some secret spots around Springfield, so you don't have to go all the way to the Big Piney to find success. 1) James River ABOVE Hwy 60 bridge. Put your kayak in at the Joe Crighton Access which is on Farm road 164. And take out at Hwy 65 bridge. Call Uber or a buddy to take you back to your car. Fish with small buzz baits, ned rig in deeper holes. 2) Finely Creek above Hwy 125/Lindenlure. Good place for trespassing and some killer fishing if you don't mind walking through stinging nettles. 3) Bull Creek, Swan Creek, can't reveal secret spots . . . .but go just about anywhere you can access the creek 4) Osage Fork of the Gasconade. Go above Hwy 32.

We should all reach out to help Jimmy on his journey. Who among us hasn't been skunked at Fellows Lake? or passed out from heat exhaustion under the Hwy 65 bridge on a blanket only to wake up in the morning with chigger bites on your junk and raccoons that got into your chicken livers and not catfish ? Raise your hand??!! ........... thats what I thought. Jimmy's story is a cry for help. Its not so much SAD, as it is HOPELESS. So I'm going to offer my services. What I think this calls for is a 12-step program to bring this newb out of the wilderness and into party rooms of stringer after stringer of big, big fish, tackle sponsors banging down your door, trophies, and of course cocaine, and all night parties with playboy bunnies. So, here we go: Step 1. Refund. If you still got the receipt on those rooster tails, take them back from whence they came. Or better yet, put them in a burlap sack tightly rubber banded to a dead house-cat and bury it in a cemetery at midnight. A road-kill armadillo will work in a pinch too. Step 2. Location. Quit going to the James River, Fellows Lake, and Lake Springfield, and Stockton. I'll let you in on a little secret . . . . . these places suck. Oh, and before you get tempted by exotic locales like McDaniel Lake, and Finley Creek they suck too. Now, Wilson Creek --- there's a creek you should seek out. shhhhh, don't tell anyone. Step 3. Proper Hydration. Start drinking Old Crow bourbon, heavily, at least an hour before each fishing trip. It gives you instinctive clarity and an edge, but more importantly, courage, to resist tying on a rooster tail or a treble hook with a goddam chicken liver on it. Old Crow bourbon in particular has some kinda fish-mojo pheromone. Step 4. Wear a lot of bug spray, especially on your junk. It only stings for the first few minutes. Step 5. Confidence. You need it bad. Get you some old Lee Marvin movies and watch them all. Step 6. Diet. Eat lots of Cashew Chicken and Mexican Villa (sancho, enchilada style) is especially good for keeping you regular and will help build muscle mass, particularly in the forearms, these foods will help you develop high reflex response - which comes in handy for setting the hook. I have a feeling you are missing a lot of bites because you are not setting the hook. Step 7. Rest. Sleep at night, under heavy medication, and during the summer, don't even bother to start fishing until about 1 p.m. Buy a 24 lb bag of ice and set it on your lap while you fish. This really works. Step 8. Quit reading fishing magazines while at the barber shop or waiting for an oil change. You are only reinforcing your own poor self esteem if you do this. Step 9. Make sure all your fishing rods are high modulus graphite and cost a lot. Same with your fishing reels. Nothing less than 10 ball bearings and Japanese. Skip the Johnny Morris signature series garbage. Step 10. Fishing Line. Buy this on sale at garage sales. They don't make good fishing line the way they used to. The Stren purple stuff, if you can find it in a big spool at some old codgers estate sale . . . . BUY IT. Step 11. Practice casting in front of a mirror. 3 hours a day. Step 12. Put more pressure on yourself. You have acknowledged that you are a terrible fisherman, and that is a good first step in recognizing that you need to significantly increase your expectations. Necessity is the mother of invention, so go ahead and get mad at yourself. Its okay to throw your fishing rod into the water at Montauk or Bennett Springs. Those fish don't respect you anyway, nor do they deserve your respect.

I've been grooving' on some classic christian rock vinyl lately.

Had 4" of rain on my gauge here in Ballwin.

You don't find that level of concentration just anywhere. I'm the Kevin Van Dam of fly fishing.

I dig it. Family and friends all laughed at these monsters I recently boasted about . . . caught them a couple weeks ago inside of Smoky Mountain NP. But I was well pleased with myself, especially the southern appalachia brookie. That bow and arrow cast in these tight confines ain't as easy as it might seem.

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Ness!! That food looks yummy, but show us some more pictures of your trip!

Okay, Paul Dallas will give you a pass this time around since cash was on the line . . . . . but in the future, try not to film that crap. And for gods sakes, what is with all the cameras? One on your chest, and one mounted on the cowling of the Evinrude too? Serenity now!

Man . . . I was so proud. No pictures unfortunately, but it did happen. Caught it in the creek right by the old swimming pool down near Soapstone cave. I shimmied out onto a limb and dangled a big white marabou jig in front of that nest guarding fish until she attacked it in anger. Same year I got chigger infestation on my junk and had to go see the camp nurse and show her my terrible affliction. Ahh . . . .the triumphs and humiliations one can suffer during 1 brutal week of summer camp.

Did you speed the video up? Or is your net partner just that agile? I would've tripped over rods and fallen on my face or out of the boat completely if I tried to move that fast.😂 And I sure as hell ain't going to come to the aid of my fishing partner that quick . . . . I'm going to finish my cast at the very least, and maybe my beer too, before I get the darn net for everyone of his 14 inchers that he mistakes for the next state record. I guess I don't have that level of servitude in me. And 40 minutes harassing a bedding fish? Ehh . . . . . You might want to edit that part out. I was 12 years old when I won the big fish trophy at Camp Arrowhead years ago, employing the exact same tactic, and I still carry the guilt. 😂

This always seems to be the toughest time of year for me for smallies. May to early June. What gives? Topwater theories? slow retrieve walk the dog lures first and then as you get deeper into summer, faster moving buzz baits? or smaller baits early in summer and working up to larger baits as summer progresses?

Wow. Helluva a fish for that river. And on 2 lb line??? Without giving away too many secret details - where was it caught? A. above Tan Vat B. between Tan Vat and Parker C. below Parker And what caught on? A. A-rig B. Ned-rig C. whopper plopper D. buzz-bait E. crankbait F. cheese

DeLorme map and Chuck Tryon's 200 smallmouth adventures book is all you need. Keep an eye out for ole man Prater if'n you decide to set foot on a gravel bar or go mushroom hunting. If you do encounter him, just say your one of Chief's friends.😂

Wow. Not a bad day!

My guess at lake 38 . . . . . . possibly a Puerto Rican Cutthroat Bass. Mean as hell. They've slowing been migrating northward with the climate change the last few years. First discovered in a garden pond on Castro's sprawling estate just outside Havana back in 87, when all his prized koi's were savagely maimed and most were eaten whole. Next they were found in a Sea World tank in Orlando in 2003, when one of their most celebrated Orcas, Stormy Dee, was found to have strange teeth marks on her nipples. She would never perform again or even reproduce, and after several interventions and therapy sessions, she drowned in her sleep in early 2004. Mistakenly believed to be quarantined and euthanized, from there, they spread throughout the southeast delta, gradually making their way up the Mississippi drainage where they have made themselves at home in many of Missouri's streams and impoundments. Have shown a particular fondness for Neosho strain smallmouth as their primary food of choice, though they are also known to viciously attack small animals and even domesticated livestock as they come to the waters edge for a drink. MDC has removed feral hogs and mountain lions from their #1 and #2 most wanted list. The Puerto Rican Cutthroat Bass is now #1.

Dimitris used to be where the Branson Landing is now at Sammy Lane Resort. That place was good. How is the food quality at The Chateau? Been a long time since I ate there. Remember it being overpriced. Has it improved?

Quite an amazing story and accomplishment! Seems like a good dude, too. Congratulations!