Tim McDougald

Yeah, some of those fish pics you posted are great. I'd be happy to catch them too. It takes some dedication and skill to target the fish you are going after. I look forward to future reports.

No, I did not measure either of them. The crappie filled my trout net pretty good so I estimate around 10-12 inches and stopped fighting about the time I hooked it. The bluegill was a bit on the smallish side and put a serious bend in my 3 wt.

I was out at Wild Acres Park, an urban park in St. Louis, on 3/16/16 playing with my 3 wt. It was a pretty windy day day so I didn't stay long. The first is a blue gill - which gave my 3 wt a work out. The second looks like a black crappie - which surprised me because I did not know that crappie were stocked at Wild Acres. It was also surprising because it was much bigger than the blue gill but put up no where near the fight.

My goal is to go fly fishing more than two times in 2016. That is my goal every year, but life has a way of messing up the best laid plans...

Glad you lived to tell the tale.

Thank you to all the veterans

I am a relative novice at fly fishing but I would love the opportunity to help, but don't have the transportation down there

My wife and I went to Montauk from 7/31 - 8/3. The trip was fun, but a mixed bag. Due to circumstances beyond our control we did not get on the road until about 11:30. Stopped for lunch, etc. and got to the park around 2:30. Did a little fishing with my spinning rod and white roostertail across from the cemetery but didn't catch anything. I took a short break and then put my waders on, grabbed my fly rod and did some fishing behibd the lodge...and was skunked again. Saturday, my wife and I got up and found spots by about 6:20 (it was kids fish free day so the was a minor miracle). I was fishing near the falls and she was fishing in the social hole. She got skunked. I had one follow but at the last minute a small fishe grabbed my roostertail...turned out to be a blue gill, which I found amusing. Later that afternoon I went up by the spring and caught one keeper. Sunday I went back up near the spring and caught a small one, which I tossed back. Caught a second one this size (or maybe it was the same one) and tossed it back. At that point, some old dude with a fly rod asked me what color of fly I was using and started fishing about five feet a way from me. I thought that was a bit tacky. Moved on downstream through a riffle (fishing when I could) and found a nice spot about 40 feet from my nearest neighbor. Their were some nice fish in this pool, but they had no interest in the fly I had on my line so I decided to change it when finished I looked up to discover someone standing in the spot I had been casting to, such is life. Didn't catch anything else the rest of the day. Monday my wife and father in law (who had come down Sunday and was staying until Wednesday) fished along the wall by the old low water bridge. She caught two and he caught one. I should have went with them. Instead I went up by the spring. On the way to the spring I tripped and fell and broke my fly rod. Went back to the lodge, got another fly rod and went back to the spring. Got one hook up that spit the hook as I was reeling it in. We left Montauk and headed back to St. Louis about 11:30. As I say, it was a mixed bag with the delayed start, broken fly - which has been repaired, and a couple of tacky fishermen. On the other hand I am a relative novice when it comes to fly fishing and I learned quite a bit on this trip. It was also my first time wading. So even though I only had one keeper and my wife two, it, overall, was a positive outing.

Until the obnoxious campers with a couple of flashlights and an airhorn make ya think you are about to be creamed by a semi...

LOL, I apologize to sasquatchs everywhere.

Could be a sasquatch with OCD...

My wife and I are going to Montauk from 7/31 - 8/3. I have been a number of times in the past, but this will be my first time wading, so I am really looking forward to it. Been tying flies all spring in preparation. I'm hoping it does not rain anymore between now and then.

Never mind, the July issue came in the mail today and the story is in that.

Which issue? I'm a couple months behind on reading the Conservationist.

Welcome! How about those Royals!

It's an urban park in St. Louis county

Had a little time on my hands yesterday and today so I wen t to Wild Acres. Yesterday I small bluegill. I today I caught a nice trout.

I have signed up and sent emails to my state rep and state senator. Thanks for posting the link.

Couple of inches in St. Louis but it is still snowing.

Some of those studies referred to mammals. Further searching yields studies deer, moose, puma and bear. It is important to note that in a lot of these studies the animals involved had their lead levels mentioned in the wild and lead can have pathological effects at lower levels. Most of the studies I am familiar with come from various state DNR's and are focused on dealing with the problem so that hunting can continue or from researchers who have a long standing interest in the subject. Since I don't know the "they" people you are referencing I have no choice but to set ideology aside and accept the empirical research on the subject. To each their own I guess...

Took about five minutes searching google to find evidence to the contrary. The most relevant is to this https://www.peregrinefund.org/subsites/conference-lead/2008PbConf_Proceedings.htm conference on the subject. The papers are available for free download. The impact of lead on wildlife is widely studied and there is an abundant literature on the subject. An interesting tidbit, peak seasons for lead poisoning and mortality from lead poisoning occur during the hunting season. Also, contrary to previous statements, there are quite a few autopsies relating animal death to lead poisoning and lead ammunition.

I have never been checked in Missouri. Was checked once in Colorado.

I think the article is a day late and a dollar short. The authors of the paper mention IGFA's length based catch and release world records and the use of smartphones and whatnot to validate records. At the end of the paper they mention that their recommendations are for threatened species where studies have not been done to assess the impact of recreational fishing on the fishery.

According to the article on STLToday (http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/two-men-die-after-separate-boat-crashes-on-missouri-lakes/article_b7abe460-bff1-54cc-8f14-678f19b529cb.html) they were drifting, hit a downed tree and capsized. The gentleman who died was not wearing a life jacket.

This is from IUCN's Website on the common carp (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/6181/0):