ColdWaterFshr

Good points, JestersHK. Some dudes are fish whisperers for sure. The very act of fishing makes me happy . . . and is not something I have to remind myself to "fish happy". As for experts . . . I am more than content with never becoming one. I bank shoot . . . . and I find it satisfying, and the randomness of my success or failure under difficult conditions or on unfamiliar waters doesn't bother me terribly. In fact, I think its the randomness that keeps me interested. I like to fish new places and I often struggle adapting. I eventually will figure it out. < okay, maybe not the GD#$^@! Meramec>. Show me someone who can consistently catch big fish out of their familiar waters, and I can't say that it impresses me much. Is that really an expert? or is that someone that has specific dialed-in knowledge of that water and has a few "pet fish" that he has become acquainted with on previous occasions. Good for them.

John McPhee -- yes, thats him. "Uncommon Carriers" and "Survival of the Birch Bark Canoe". Thanks.

Al, totally off topic and sorry to hijack this thread. What was the name of that book you had recommended about the various modes of transportation, trucking, rail, river-tugboats, super-tankers, etc.? Great author, and very good book. I had bought it years ago on your recommendation and loaned it to a friend who I can't remember and its lost from my library. I had read a couple of his other works from the library, but can't remember his name and its driving me crazy. thanks.

Dying laughing. . . . . ah hell, Ness, Paul Dallas misses you.

Wish I could make it. Way to go MSA and all the volunteers.

I'll continue to bank chuck the spots. Love the sound of them flopping around in dry leaves. Neosho strain smallmouth I can throw pretty far too.

Not a fan of the lower Meremac. If I have to stay close to town, I'd find a subdivision pond to hit. Also - Fabick park has a couple lakes that aren't too bad. http://mdc7.mdc.mo.gov/applications/moatlas/AreaSummaryPage.aspx?txtAreaID=200815

It is the best bait to come down the pike in 20 years, far surpassing the Bill Dance grape-bubblegum scented plastic worm. I particularly like the durability of the plastic and the way it stays on the jig head. The jigheads are sweet too. I look forward to the slightly smaller craw and the hellgrammite. And of course, the many more innovations to come. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your pro staff. Paul Dallas

Just placed my order. Nice website fellas.

Wish I could've made the meeting, but I was out of town. Anxious to purchase some craws as soon as they are available. They work great!

Winner: gots to git me some g-flex. Thanks for the tips and advice everyone. Can't make heads or tails out of your scribblings, Gavin. Sorry.

Found this article and it recommends a g-flex epoxy and drilling a hole at the bottom of the crack like you mention MoPan. Check out the repair they did on this boat . . . it had similar cracks at every single screw coming down from the gunwales. http://www.westsystem.com/ss/repairing-a-royalex-canoe-with-g-flex-epoxy/ Guess I'll have to remember to back out the screws on the gunwales every winter. Royalex and wooden gunwales don't like each other in the winter. The plastic wants to contract and the wood wants to expand.

Any suggestions on how to repair this crack in my boat? I believe it was caused by the cold weather float I just took. temps were down to zero. Didn't discover it until I got home. Would a syringe of JB weld into the crack be enough or am I going to have to lay some kevlar fabric over both sides and then 2-part epoxy?

Heya Wayne, Good seeing you too. Hope the river treated you right. We caught fish, but nothing special. Was a great weekend to be out. How about that moonrise on Saturday night? That was special. Yes - Paul is splitting his time between his Scarab on Havasu and the Taney county jail. Did you hear that he is dating Megyn Kelly? She bought him the Scarab!

It ends up watering the golf courses of Las Vegas and Arizona, as well as evaporating as it sits in Lake Mead and Lake Powell. By the time the Colorado river gets to Gulf of California, it is barely a trickle.

Man, that was pretty graphic. This thread needs an R rating. Glad you're okay, Scott.

it took us 3 1/2 hours to cover that 3.2 miles. But we were in canoes and with kids. I imagine a kayak would go quicker. The last mile and a half or so was lake which we paddled through. Wouldn't want to do that if the wind was blowing. Would be better to take out at the Hwy 60 bridge if you could. Or old iron bridge a little further down, but that access was closed.

They were a lot of fun. Thats interesting water through there. At Crighton its basically boring frog water, but when you paddle down a ways, it turns into a very small creek again, and then past that it opens up to wide deep water and you think you've arrived at the back-up from the lake, but then it changes again back to creek. We did a lot of dragging separated by lots of paddling. Fish seemed to be concentrated in certain spots. In one small hole I caught 5 nice greenies on 5 consecutive casts. And they were aggressive. Then the next hole had nothing. Weird.

I fished the upper James from Crighton to 65 Bridge on Saturday, too. Its been many years since I had been there. Caught a bunch of greenies in the 12-15" range, and only 1 smallie.

Quite a report! Loved every bit of this. So jealous

You're darn-tootin' I do. Especially if you're on your cell phone, face-bookin or snap-chatting and I'm stuck behind you at a stale green light. Mitch, does that describe you?

You handled yourself incredibly well under those circumstances. You should have called the cops if your car was damaged. Assholes don't deserve a pass. These days it seems like more and more they don't care. Cell phone camera, snap some photos, pull away a few yards, call the cops and wait for them arrive and confront the dirtbag. Easier said than done in hindsight. I'm afraid I would be in jail if given your situation.

Electronics advancements aside . . . . you take this BaitCloud invention combined with the RocketFisherman invention and I'm truly worried that technology will ruin our beloved pastime once and for all. Don't forget the huge devastation that the Banjo Minnow caused -- it took a decade for fish populations to recover and for sport-fish to develop a natural resistance to its seductive charms. But this I fear, could be the end of fishing as we know it . . . especially that corn-flavored ball. vThrow a couple dozen of those out in the trophy area at Taney, when it is having a low-DO period in the fall and watch out!

Thanks for the info guys. Will give Capt. Ryan a call.

Got a buddy thats wanting to come visit and catch some big catfish on either the Missouri or Mississippi -- keeping within an hours drive of St. Louis. Can anyone recommend a guide service with the right boat and tackle and know-how?