txdave

Thank you Xraydude. The sites you recommended look like a great start.

I am looking for information or a good place to find information on fishing in the badlands. My wife and I are wanting to plan a trip in May. We are retired so the amount of time is not an issue. In the fall we usually make a trip to the Gasconade river for smallmouth fishing and then down to the Whiteriver for a couple of weeks of flyfishing for trout. We pull are travel trailer so we are only limited by campgrounds. Would like to know about about public fishing access. We are also not limited to just flyfishing. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Txdave and wife may try to make. Is there a RV park close by?

I hunted around Mehlville. Still have my Sheridan. It got to where it would not hold air. Found a guy in California that built high end air guns and he rebuilt it.

I hunted rabbits in the St. Louis suburbs 55 years ago with my sheridan pellet gun. The rule is you had to have a hard frost this would kill the "wolves" this was the parasite that caused tumalaria (sp). I also had a beagle that you had to catch to stop him from running rabbits. I kept track one year and killed 112 rabbits with the pellet gun. The family eat everyone. My mother threaten to whip me if I went rabbit hunting again and brought rabbits home. I used to have to carry a copy of the hunting rules to prove to the St. Louis county police that I was not breaking the law. Those were great years.

Lisa Ballue

In 1974 I was a senior in high school. During Christmas break I would usually find some kind of job. Pay was about $2/hr. I usually worked about 160 hrs. for $320. Coons were $30-50 each. Muskrats were $7 each. told my mother I was trapping she told me I was crazy. We lived in a suburb of St. Louis. I managed to catch 100 muskrats and 40 coons. Drove to a fur buyer in Illinois. Came home with a check for $1900. My mom and dad were blown away.

Guys I live on the coast and fish the saltwater a lot. Like everyone is saying steel only for mackeral, blues and sharks. we catch a ton of Jack Crevalle up to 40lbs and use 80lb mono for a leader. Just check after a fish to be sure it has not gotten chaffed. For the trout and reds 20lb mono or flurocarbon is great.

In the 70's my uncle talked about going to Peel AR and dragging night crawlers for trout. No idea what kind they caught. Also, back then I caught a 22 inch rainbow fishing under lights at night fishing for white bass.

Live in Rockport, TX and fish for reds and trout all the time. Fly fishing I have a 9' 8wt. Most fly fishing for the reds is site casting to cruising or tailing reds it is a blast. Throwing plastics I use a bait casting reel with a 7 ft. rod similar to a flipping rod. I can throw a popping cork with the bait caster however, it is a lot easier with a spinning rod and a reel in the 3000 or 4000 range. When I am done fishing I spray reel magic on a rag and wipe everything off. If the reel gets dunked it is taken apart and cleaned otherwise the saltwater will corrode the inside of the reel.

Larry Babin Hogs on the Fly 870-321-2792. Great guide my wife and I fish with him when we make the trip to White River.

Thank you for the recommendations.

If you are surf fishing you learn to read where the waves are breaking. Typical on the gulf coast there are 3 bars running parallel to the shower and you can tell when the waves roll over them. Waves bring water in and it has to get back out somehow. So you watch where the waves do not break until they hit the beach. This is a drain that lets the water move back out. It also pulls bait back out and the fish hang around for the bait to be pulled out. Depending where your at there are all kinds of things to catch whiting, redfish, black drum, pompano, jack crevalle, sharks. You would be amazed how big of sharks are caught every year along the Texas gulf coast. Run bait out 200-300 yds offshore and if you are lucky you can figure out how to get and 8 to 10 foot shark beached and released. Shark a thon happens every year on the Padre Island National seashore. Huge shark fishing tournament.

I need some advice on traveling with waders. Are there any light weight reasonable priced stocking foot waders that pack small for traveling? I will be flying into Jackson Hole Wyoming. Thank you for your advice

Live on the Texas Gulf Coast and fish the saltwater all the time. Reels do not become a problem until you start dipping them in the salt water. If you do they need to come apart and be rinsed otherwise they corrode. If not dipped in saltwater a gentle rinse with fresh water. I run a boat in the saltwater needs to be washed after every trip. The motor also needs to be flushed. Not a big deal just have to be very willing to do it every time.