ColdWaterFshr

You're welcome! Got more of it, but I need everyone to take careful notes. What else did we already know? Oh yeah, Chief Grey Bear . . . . Champion of all that is Native and suspicious of all that is non-native. Please educate us oh Chief on the dangers of putting non-native species ahead of native ones. I slept through those lectures.

North Fork (of the White) has Hellbenders . . . and browns. . . and non-native, reproducing rainbow trout. They all seem to be doing fine except hellbenders are in decline in ALL the Ozark waterways including those like the Jacks Fork which don't have any trout. I don't think its the trout that are the HB's problem. My guess is water quality, but what do I know. Several years ago, the multi-year experiment with wild trout only in the upper end of the 11 point (Greer to Turners) didn't turn out so well. Fishing was lousy for several years. I remember it well. Now it fishes better, but not without repeated stockings. My opinion, but I think that river could support a once a year brown trout stocking without any detriment to anything. As Al said, let the science and biologists determine what it can hold. My gut says the browns, bows, wild bows, and hellbenders would all get along famously and it could turn in to a hog farm of big brown water. But not without some help from getting rid of the motorized watercraft upstream of Turners. That would basically end gigging in that stretch, but it needs to happen. Locals won't like it, but there is a whole lot of 11 point to go around.

All for it. It would be a primo brown trout stream.

I was wondering that same thing myself. I think they get sent out to Ted Turners Ranch a couple times a year on the taxpayers dime. Typical day at the Missouri Mountain Lion Task Force Command Central office. Vern: Any calls about cats today, Joe? (after brewing 3rd pot of coffee) Joe: Nope. I think I'll polish my badge again and do a dart inventory check count again. Billy Rae: Me neither, Vern. I might call Jefferson City later this afternoon to report my . . . . err, findings. Vern: Maybe I'll run up to Sarcoxie and look for some clues.

Key words there are "on sight". How many confirmed sightings have there been in the last 20 years? What was it, 11 out of thousands of so-called reports?? Look . . . MDC has a Mountain Lion task force and they couldn't begin to tell you where you could go to see even ONE in the wild in our state. Get 100 of your best woodsman buddies, pick a county any county, spend a couple weeks or months combing that county with them, and I bet they come back with out so much as a pebble of cat poop. I'd rally around protecting whatever population of mountain cats we got, but truth be known, all the evidence suggests that we got a transient population of males from other states, at BEST. Getting upset about one farmer popping a cat off with his .22 in defense of his livestock . . . . well, god bless him. Next time I'd suggest he use a larger caliber weapon.

This has been an entertaining thread. Good grief, Eric1978, take your Ritalin son. I don't have a problem at all with what this farmer did. I'm not sure why he was all choked up crying about it, but thats another issue altogether. Defending your property, in this case, his livestock, is what the law allows for, and it makes sense. I love to know that mountain lions are out there . . . bears, too. But christ, once they become a nuisance, all bets are off. And I don't think we'll have to worry about a mountain lion attacking a human in this state. Makes for a sensational news story, but c'mon.

Yeah, I've seen the cats. Mostly in summer, sunning themselves on cheap K-mart vinyl lawn chairs, half-submerged in the river, lathered in Hawaiian Tropic, their bodies glistening. One time, near Cedar Grove, I paddled a little to close to make sure what I was seeing wasn't silicone. But instead I saw a Woody Wood Pecker tattoo on a not so young left breast. There was a 12 gauge right by their cooler. I muttered something inappropriate right before I saw the weapon and Woody, and like a wood duck, I flushed hurriedly downriver scared by what I had seen.

You kiss betta dan Dyson canista vak.

Ness, those emoticons are for folks who like to disc golf, songwrite, and compose poetry.

Obviously, you have never had coolers full of championship BBQ delivered to your gravel bar on a sub-zero, windswept river in February just in time for dinner, or you wouldn't be making such absurdly ridiculous suggestions as "ban Ness".

Here's some fish porn from Blue. Caught these lil crumb snatchers less than 2 weeks ago on a warm day. All came on top, sz 12 cracklebacks.

Let us not forget Paul Dallas who paved the way. Eldest cousin of Jimmy Houston . . . Paul got caught in a perpetual vortex of being ahead of his time with PURE fishing genius that often led to others amassed wealth at the expense of his own. Just as frequent as his brilliance were the unfortunate circumstances leading to inevitable scandal. Like MC Hammer or Frank Sinatra . . . he never concerned himself with the the type of company he kept, which didn't help in the topsy turvy, drug and alcohol fueled television fishing show industry of the late 60s and 70s. Fame and fortune were never his to enjoy here in this country even though his shows are still in syndication in Japan and he is wildly popular in North Korea where he is a worshipped as a demi-God to this day. He now spends his time in seclusion, splitting his time between incarceration, strip bars, and the wooded hillsides of Dent, Taney, and Oregon counties. Occasionally he is recognized purchasing Tito's and Dunhill's at convenience stores along the lonely by-ways of this great state. And is gone as quickly as he appeared. All the others mentioned in this thread are not fit to carry Pauls tackle box down the boat ramp. Not even the late great Virgil Ward. They know who came first.

darn jetboats.

Its bad here in Ballwin too. Black ice. Haven't been driving in it but the drive way is glazed and so is our street. Very thin glaze, but I don't imagine the main roads are too bad since they've been hit so hard with salt the last couple days.

I'd say neither. Go all the way and get a pair of Simms that will last you 3-4 years, OR for the same price as the 1 pair of Simms, get 5 pair of these and you'll be set for at least 10 years: http://www.albrightflyfishing.com/items/mens/list.htm

There is Roger Pielke, Jr. and then there is Roger Pielke, Sr. Junior is in the book-selling business and the one you have in your link. From what I can tell, he isn't really a hardcore meteorological or research scientist. His Dad may be, but certainly not him. Junior is more interested in the discussion of politics as it relates to climate change and teaching THAT subject at the school, chatting it up with NPR, etc. And notice how "climate change" is the new buzzword now. Not global warming. What were we talking about?

Who is Brian Pielke? And what exactly does he say about the "greenhouse effect"? What percentage of the "greenhouse effect" is directly attributable to human activities? The question about quantifying major wasn't related to whether the EFFECTS will be major. The original question was, did human activities play a major ROLE in global warming. If you got the cash to build a beach house .5 meters above high tide, then you got the cash to pay an insurance company big bucks to insure it against loss (I'm thinking a hurricane or small storm) would get it before rise in sea level.

I don't think we've had a "major" impact on the climate. How do you quantify major anyway? More than 50% (as in majority), or major meaning statistically significant (as in 2-10%)?? My gut tells me we are very, very small factors, near the statistically insignificant end of the spectrum . . . . when compared to major factors like ice ages, volcanoes/seismic activity, sun spots/solar flares, magnetic/polarity changes on our own planet. Still, I care about the environment just because I know I should. Reasons of sustainability, our health, and just preserving our wild places around the globe for our own enjoyment if nothing else, and reducing waste just makes a lot of sense. Those things matter. Worrying myself about a .5 degree fahrenheit average temp increase over the last 20 years seems kinda silly, and I ain't gonna make myself feel guilty about it. Averages will always be trending one direction or the other. Global Warming is one of those overly broad and vague phrases that means so many different things to different people. Kinda like the "War on Terror". What is that? It sure sounds bad doesn't it? I'm definitely opposed to terror and man-made warming, but so what?

Yes, just walk down the hill, about 50 yards, and pick up one of the trails.

I was there yesterday too with a couple buddies. We fished from about 10 a.m. - 12:30 pm. I'm still not sure about where you are saying this Double L place is. I almost always fish at the red gate (first pull-over on the right side of Hwy N) and fish between the bridge and up to about the sewage lagoon (near Salvation Army Camp). Caught about a dozen yesterday, 7 to 8 inches and smaller. They were nailing big cracklebacks with reckless abandon. Didn't work on the bigger fish in the slower, calmer water. Those fish are nearly impossible in clear, low-water conditions. Yes, you have to rest a hole for a good 15 minutes, especially if you've already pulled 4 or 5 out of it. A book isn't a bad idea! Long, long leaders of mostly tippet. Stay out of the water. Don't crunch gravel.

Excellent!

When you was a kid you could SEE them better. I think they're still at all those usual places, its just as we get older we can't pick 'em out like we used to.

Well done. Enjoyed every minute of it. Just curious, what does MFU stand for?

Almost forgot about that one. I recall laughing the whole time, seeing the panic on everyone's faces, as they struggled to keep their heads above water, their gear going downstream, or sinking to the bottom of that hole. Good times! Oh and the beaver rot smell was powerful. Thats the spot where we camped last year, isn't it? The trip of Ness's Nightmare, or the Three Tip Trip as some have called it. I won't open that one up. The wounds are still too fresh.

Forsythian and myself and some other dudes went to Montauk during the Xmas break last year. Fishing was outstanding for several hours and we had the place completely to ourselves, never really questioning why as none of us are park regulars in season or out of season. Just thought it was open for C & R! So we caught several nice fish up to 22 inches and just about had enough of it all after several hours and were ready to head back to the cabin when one of my buds was stopped by a hatchery worker driving a golf cart, as he was fishing off one of the bridges - obviously we weren't sneaking around and doing this intentionally, but the worker kindly stopped and informed that the park is closed during the week. Just moments before this, Forsythian had caught and landed a huge rainbow that went several pounds. I highly recommend fishing the park when its closed. But there could be consequences.