ColdWaterFshr

Since this thread has passed its yawn threshold, lets talk about Avatars: Ozark Trout Fisher, you need a new one. Nice size fish though it may be, it just could be the most silvery, pale, unhealthy looking trout park fish this side of Bennett Springs. Outside Bend, the look on your face says you have a pocket queens but that 8th rum and coke you just finished has gravely impaired what little poker skills you had to begin with and the box on your head screams "take my money". Fishin Cricket - what the? Nice bass-on-stump, but whats with the red velvet curtain shrine surrounding it? Do you draw those curtains back only on special occasions? And you need to fire your interior decorator with that choice of wall paint and curtains. Drew03cmc - no self-respecting fisherman ever poses with a goggle-eye, which may explain the hoody and dark shades.

Dear Flyflinger, I am glad you zipped back up your fly. I don't miss you either. As you already know, me and my dirty little step-sister, Suicide Hill, have long been seeing other boys. Mostly local boys. They treat us right, bring us juicy nightcrawlers and neon powerbait, and we let them give us hickies in the backseats of their jetboats like Rizzo in Grease. You just bring us cracklebacks and your tiny little San Juans, and whip my waters with your high dollar buggy whips, which makes me and my sister laugh mostly. Grow up and call us when you reach puberty. Signed, Cardiac and Suicide PS - Paul Dallas is the only fly-fisherman that really knows how to love us right.

The police have so far been unsuccesful in finding my missing screwdriver (black handle, flat head). I wouldn't bother calling them. Seriously - that ticks me off. Glad you approached him and gave him a scare. Seems like I have seen a beat-up old mini-van with bad paint parked at Baptist. Was it purple?

Its true. I will be in the area. Japanese paparazzi are already combing the campgrounds in preparation for my arrival. Plan is to harass the locals, harm the wildlife, and disturb the general peace. We will be heavily armed and if this relapse into meth doesn't improve, highly paranoid and easily provoked. Paul

Enjoyed it. Thank you.

Watched a couple of those videos . . .where did they go, did you take them down? Really enjoyed them. Looks like you guys had an amazing adventure and a trip of a lifetime. Amazed at the beauty and the vastness of Alaska, the colors, the isolation. Kodiak sounded like a bust, but the Kelly River float trip looked spectacular. Thank you for sharing that. And Babler seems to be a decent sport and not too bad with a fly rod either I was shocked to see. Fun trip with buds. Cheers, Paul D.

Pretty fish! Good for you, Forsythian.

Sorry if I got little over the top calling your grasp of economics as goofy, Oz Trout Fisher. I understand your point about the outfitters, but they are only there and survive and do a good business so long as there is a demand for their services. If 2 or 3 large outfitters were to open next summer on the Big Piney for example . . . their longterm success, simply by merely being open for business, would by no means be assured. Not as easy a business as it would seem. The BP will never have the mass appeal of the Current River for a number of reasons. The lack of outfitters is not chief among them. Similarly, if 2 or 3 outfitters on the Current River were to just arbitrarily quit the business and sell their property tomorrow, you could almost bet odds that someone would rush to fill that vacuum of their absence and business would resume next summer almost as if no lapse of service had occured. The Huzzah and Courtois are a bit closer to St. Louis than either the BP or Current, are scenic little gems in their own right, and will always be popular float destinations for these reasons and not just because an outfitter just randomly fell from the sky and set up shop there. By that logic, the Bourbeuse is a gold mine just waiting for an outfitter to set up and reap the rewards, its even CLOSER to St. Louis. Maybe someday it will, but I doubt it. But anyway, getting off topic about the # of canoes on our states favorite rivers in early-mid summer is another can of worms all in and of itself, but just like the navigable issue, it has nothing to do with ACCESS to a stream via someones private property and whatever they want to charge to park or put in a boat.

Dude, your understanding of economics are a little goofy. The huge crowds aren't there so that a business (canoe rental) can make money. Its the other way around. And as for the "it is more than likely legal to charge access fees" -- that suggests some gray area of doubt still remains in your mind. It is 100%, cut and dry, no ifs ands or buts about it, completely legal. A lot of people profit from our rivers and streams, get over it.

There is no gray area on this issue. Has nothing to do with a navigable waterway at all. The property in question is fenced and gated and unless you had very poor eyesight, you would know, beyond any doubt, that you were on private property as you pull off the Hwy 8 and see the store there. I think we are a little bit spoiled in this state with all the access we do have, and all the public streams. With that being the case, some people just assume they have free access to the river if they can see a clear and reasonable path to get to it. Neverminding who owns that path or gravel road. I would be tempted, if I owned this property to just not even hassle with offering the access at all, making it only available to guests who were camping overnight or renting boats. The problem with this would be that people would then create their own paths, along that Hwy easement, which is steep and not a good idea with all the rocks, not to mention a danger as I don't recall there being much of a shoulder to park and unload, etc. So he is in a real catch-22.

It just dawned on me. I'm pretty sure we're talking about the Hwy 8 bridge on the lower Huzzah. He's got every right to charge what he wants. Got trash, traffic, and hoosiers to consider as part of his costs. Its a fair price. If I owned it, I would do the same. And you wouldn't want to put a boat in using the Highway easement. I've considered it. Not worth the trouble and there isn't any place to park.

River pimp with a furry hat and a bad case of stink eye guilt affectin the posture of your swing low, thats what I think.

C'mon guys, Crane Creek ain't that big of a secret.

Wow, those are some nice pictures. The colors on those fish are beautiful and so is the scenery. Very jealous. Looks like a 5-star float trip. Paul

Et tu, Ness? The world has lost its mind and Paul Dallas can only shoulder so much of the insanity. Suppose these 312 fish had been Neosho strain?

Review the numbers. 312 fish. Fish per mile stats, etc. Numerous fish paddle pictures presented for us all to closely verify and ascertain the true size. Take off your shoes when worshipping at the altar of Al, and repeat after him . . . you are not worthy. But like a candle in the darkness, I stand up and say . . . Anti-counterfishers of the world UNITE!!! This aggression cannot stand, MAN! Enter a tournament, Al, you would impress more folks there!!

I'd stick to the accesses at Tan Vat, Baptist, Parker, and Cedar Grove. The roads Gene has on his map aren't bad at first, but pretty quickly you need a serious 4WD, a car you don't mind putting some ozark-pinstriping (branch scrapes) down the side, and of course permission from folks who may or may not be home at the time, and certainly won't take kindly to finding your vehicle there when they come home.

Trout - 3-5 wt Smallmouth - 5-7 wt.

Thats the best way to put it, Gavin. High consequence water. I should wear a life jacket more than I do, but thats almost never. But I'm rarely on water as big as the middle Meramec. Wish the family well.

Gonnorhea.

You're absolutely right, Al, to each his own. I just struggle with that whole concept of counting fish. I lose count after 3, so keeping an exact tally over 3 days and announcing on board like this that you caught exactly 320 . . . we fish for very different reasons I suppose. I fish to relax, and yes I want to catch a lot, and the bigger the better, but I don't fish THAT hard, and I would never contemplate keeping stats. Reports yes. But fish per mile, fish per cast, fish per hour??? Cuckoo. And I know its not polite what I said, but my first temptation was to call this report a lie. But it isn't. I believe 100% the numbers you reported no matter how untrue I wanted it to be. Jealousy perhaps may be my character flaw (among many others). Its like a fellow worker showing you his paycheck, which he knows dwarfs your own. A lot of us are smiling and saying good for you to your face, but deep down, I'm pretty sure I'm not alone when I say I'd really like to take my power-drill to your canoe or snap your rods over my knee. BTW - I'm guess extreme upper Gasconade.

Alright, I'm going to catch it for saying this, but as I read through it . . . started to get nauseous. Tasted my own throw-up. I don't want to read a book about someone catching 320 bass. I think Al is a tournament fisher-wanna-be suffering from delusions of his own grandeur. There, I said it.

Wow. Good looking boat, and built in a little over 2 weeks??

I caught THE world record bass on Table Rock in 1981 on a chartreuse willow leaf spinnerbait tipped with a nightcrawler, a record that still stands but has been discredited by my many adversaries in the liberal media. Arkansas or Missouri, yeah sure, but Bill Babler netted it for me and can attest to this. It spit up gooey shad all over the carpet of his bran-new glitter-bleu Ranger and somehow I had dogpoo on the heel of my snakeskin boots which upset him greatly and should help jog his memory of the event. What I want to know is, who is that ugly chick in that Table Rock link and what is she doing holding MY fish? She looks like Joan Jett's momma. Paul Dallas

Sheat! Been looking for hooks like that to tie up a pattern called the meatwhistle. Where'd you find them? I've had good luck with PMS and smallies, but that one might just be the perfect smallmouth version. How did you fish it? Let it sink the bottom and twitch it from there? Nice work. Need GPS coordinates, or at least some hints. Promise to only eat a couple.