Johnsfolly

I slept on one of the cots and do agree that it was hard to sleep on, but the rest of the accommodations were great.

There isn't much that I can add except that this was a great time with a great bunch of guys. I got to fish with WoundedOne and Terrierman on Friday. I have never fished the White and have to say even with the five trout that I was able to boat on Friday I was truly impressed. WoundedOne and Terrierman were putting fish in the boat. So it wasn't because of few fish, the numbers were due to my fishing, weight and color combos that I was using. I was certainly undergunned for the fast and deep water. As I wade fisherman, an 1/8 oz jig is just something you end up leaving in the boulders on every cast. Once I got the bait down to them, I was getting bit. We found a great riffle that consistently had active fish. Four or five passes through that riffle put a bunch of fish and many doubles in the boat. What a special fishery. After a great meal with a metric ton of food great conversations and solving all of the world's problems, it was out below Norfork dam with Ham and Micropterus the next morning. Phil had caught a walleye and they boated cutthroat trout as well. I was hoping for a chance at a cutthroat and possibly a brook trout or walleye as a bonus new species for 2016. They were to run one unit that morning that never happened. So with the low flow, I was able to fish my 1/32 and 1/16 oz jigs with some effect. The lack of real flow resulted in fewer fish, but they were larger fish being caught and none of them were passing powerbait. Ham and Micropterus were getting it done and even I landed a real nice rainbow by the docks on an olive and black 1/16 oz jig. . When we got into the catch and release section, the narrative changed from chunky rainbows to variety. I landed my first cutthroat (Marty they stock Snake river cutthroat) and it was my largest fish of the day a 15.5" fish. I was pumped. This was the 46th different and my 19th new species of the year. Now I will credit that I was fishing one of Ham's Airstream rods at the time. So maybe a little mojo wore off on me. Micropterus landed a very respectable brook trout and lost what looked like a nice brown in this same stretch. Soi we had encountered all four trout species on this morning's trip. Ham had to get back to set up the smoker and put on ribs for a fine dinner later that night. So at Ham's suggestion, I fished the confluence of Dry run creek and the Norfork for brook trout. I had three hits with one definite brook hit and landed a small rainbow with some parr markings that got me thinking I might have caught a brookie. No other hits and Micropterus and I had lunch and met Ham at Rim shoals for the afternoon trip. Started to rain, but that didn't slow down the fishing. This section was definitely on this day a numbers area instead of size. As a wade fisherman fishing small water once you make a pass through a riffle, pool or run, you are likely done. So fishing a run and catching fish over again and again on a big river is definitely a different experience. We had a lot of doubles on the day and just missed a couple of triples. Ham and Micropterus can correct me later, I believe that they caught 30 and 25+ fish apiece. I ended up with 18 rainbows and I even caught a 7" brown trout. I ended up with three species of trout and lost the fourth. There was a bunch of good conversation and trash talk throughout the day. It was a great day on the boat regardless of the cold and rain. My best baits were olive / ginger and brown / ginger 1/16 and 1/32 oz jigs. I only caught one rainbow on and F11 hand-painted Rapala jerkbait. Sunday I am now obsessed to spend an hour or tow trying again for a brook trout at the confluence of Dry Run Creek/Norfork river. On the first strike I turned a brook trout as I could see its fins clearly before it threw the hook. I also had a heart breaker when I cast a chartreuse microjig in front of an active brook trout and had the knot slip as I set the hook. That fish wanted to eat. It kept going after each new bait I threw at it but it wouldn't commit fully. I found out from Ham later that I could have drifted a red worm in front of it and possibly landed that trout. I'll keep that in mind for next time. One the way home I stopped at the crossing of Bryant creek and fished a size 14 hook with a bit of red worm. I had a lot of interest with small minnows, but with the larger hook couldn't catch any of them. The larger minnows weren't too interested. I did land one duskystripe shiner, which was my last fish of this trip. The only problem is that you just couldn't get to fish with everyone on one trip. I would have loved to fish with Duane and Phil, or LittleRedFisherman and Grizwilson or N9Bow and Richard. Still I really had a great time!

Congrats to all! That's a great looking fish! I'm still at work at 6:30 pm trying to get the work off my desk to be able to get down there tomorrow.

I have to agree with RPS! That venison looks amazing! How do I get invited next year?

That's amazing video! I have never seen stripers in this much of a frenzy. I would have loved to experienced something like this. I was snorkeling in Long Island sound as a teen and got into a school of bunker that was being chased by bluefish. Bunker were getting torn apart. Wasn't as dramatic is this video, but I got out of the water pretty quickly.

JD Sorry about your loss. You are so filled with memories that Uncle Bo and Aunt Judy will never be forgotten. Cherish those and pass them along. We each want to be immortal and seems that those two are well on the way in yours and your family's hearts.

I may have seen that same show, but this spring. The fish that they were showing were Wels Catfish and can get up to 7-8 feet in length and well over 150 lbs. The guy from River monsters has tangled with these guys in Germany and Spain. I believe that he landed one that was over 7 feet in length.

I know that there are a lot of folks that don't like the urban trout program, but I am a enthusiastic supporter of the program. It allows folks to fish for trout near their homes and more often than if they had to travel to the southern trout waters. I have fished eight different lakes and ponds over the last several years and even the lake at Bass Pro shops here in Columbia the year they stocked trout.. The latest was this last weekend when we were in Sedalia. I had about an hour to fish between 12:45 and 1:45 pm. I fished 2 # fluoroclear P-Line and a 1/16 oz pearl head, white marabou jig. I caught two rainbows on my first two casts (first one is pictured below) and landed three with a total of 7 casts. On the casts that I didn't land a fish, I did get bites, but didn't get a good hook set. My daughter came over and within three casts caught this rainbow. She only made a couple of more casts before giving me back my rod. I made two more casts and landed another rainbow. This all occurred in about 25-30 minutes of fishing. As I was processing these recent photos I got to reminiscing about trips to other urban lakes during the winter trout season. I have fished Here are some of those photos. Bethel-Cosmo park Columbia - with and without ice. Yes I do force my daughter onto the ice and even bought her an ice fishing rod that we didn't use last year due to no thick ice. Caught on a three salmon eggs. My daughter advocates giving them three under the ice. We even made the on-line version of the Columbia Tribune when I had her out ice fishing when she was 6. Unfortunately I can't get those photos uploaded. Spur Pond Kirksville First rainbow at Coot Lake - James Reed WA And no fish but a nice sunset at Plover Lake - James Reed WA

Geoff Pretty impressive trout. Thanks for posting the photos. I have threatened my wife that once I catch a 6+lb trout, I'm putting a reproduction on the wall. My best up to this point is a 5 lb 4 oz brown, so I haven't broke that mark yet. So I would definitely advocate on getting that big one mounted.

Congratulations on a giant striper! Sounded like pretty bad conditions. Great job sticking it out and getting it done! Would love to see a photo if you got one.

Those are definitely bruisers. I'm also impressed with the number of fish under your dock as well. I agree with JHK that I couldn't really work with a glass floor in my office overlooking that bunch of fish. Even knowing that I have a camera that can video them would really eat into my productivity at work. I would be thinking about filming what's there at dawn, high noon, slow flow, fast flow, dusk, etc.

Great Job!. She looks a little cold, but really happy with her fish.

Any time my wife and kids beat me at fishing I see that as a blessing. That usually means that I get to go out with them more often. Hopefully yours are hooked for life.

I'm still planning on bringing wings for an appetizer either Friday or Saturday and pumpkin cheese cake bars for help with dessert one night. I will also bring plastic silverware and paper plates/bowls for Friday and beyond.

Congrats on your success at Crane. Great looking rainbow! Glad you got to experience this special creek.

My wife made corned beef and cabbage tonight. Not just for St. Pats. It's good anytime.

My mouth is watering just looking at that turkey! Great Job Chief!

I agree Chief that is a fine looking bird!

I had caught a pelican in Florida as well and can also attest to what a pain in the butt it was to get that bird off my line. I ended up cutting the line. This bird had three other fishing lines in its beak already.

The backstraps look fantastic. I'm sure that the turkey will be great as well. Of course you can't go wrong with the bacon wrap.

John Great job on a nice buck. Your persistence did pay off. Congrats.

We did enjoy the bird cooked this way. May become the new tradition for future turkeys and even chickens. Thanks

As Ham mentioned we may be go after a variety of fishes on Sat. I appreciate his willingness to show me the Arkansas fishes and the chance to possibly catch something new or at least new for this year. Looking forward to this trip. I will likely need to find a boat ride for Friday afternoon.

Following RPS lead, I tried and spatchcocked our turkey (don't goggle how to spatchcock a chicken and misspell it slightly at least not when your 12 year old is around). I made up a rub with garlic powder, ground sage, thyme, ground cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. I also minced garlic and mixed that with a little of the rub and softened butter. I got as much of that butter mixture up under the skin on the breast and thighs. I laid it on a bed of carrots, celery and onions with about a cup of chicken broth. The bird cooked a lot faster with this preparation than I anticipated. about 1 3/4 hours instead of the 2 1/2 hours I anticipated. I basted with more butter, the spice rub, and red wine. Made gravy with the drippings. Served the turkey with au gratin potatoes that I used aged gouda and sharp white cheddar cheese. Also green bean casserole and homemade cranberry sauce. I had a glass of Charles Schwab Pinot Grigio, an ok white wine. Not a big ordeal this year, but certainly a fine Thanksgiving dinner. Now its turkey sandwiches and other turkey leftover meals. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving meal and time with your family and friends.

Great shot and a great looking bird. Congrats and enjoy that turkey.