rFisherk

Here's a link to an article in the Kansas City Star about the current legislative attacks on the Missouri Department of Conservation. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/outdoors/article9527909.html

I suspect this guy kept everything, though I don't know for sure. At any rate, you're point is valid and I would love to see MDC impose much stricter length and creel limits on all creeks and parts of rivers that can't be floated. Why don't you bring that up at the next meeting?

I agree, Al. These creeks are very vulnerable. They can be ruined by just one fish hog in a single season. I saw that happen to my closest and formally one of my favorite creeks a few years ago. I used to fish it often and never saw another soul, until that fateful year I ran into a bait fisherman. Saw him twice that year and talked with him each time. Nice enough fellow, and I talked to him about how harvesting the smallmouth could ruin it, but he just stared at me. By the end of that season, even little smallmouth were very hard to find. Haven't seen him since, probably because the fishing isn't any good anymore. I'll bet he still doesn't have a clue he's the reason. Probably blames MDC for mismanaging it. That's the kind of logic I've heard poachers and meat fishermen voice around here. Anyway, last season was the second year since the depletion, and the population was just starting to rebound. Maybe it will be decent this year, good again in a couple more years. Farm ponds are the same way.

I like everything about golden retrievers. This is my third one.

Meet Doc, my new (5 years old, registered) hunting and all around companion.

Everything good thing about the outdoors we have in this state, and the nation, was the result of citizen involvement and political pressure from the populace. It's time to get involved again.

I'm not fishing for names or locations. I prefer small waters, creeks and upper arms, because I think smallmouth, though they hold and feed similar to trout, are basically bottom huggers, and getting weighted lines and flies down in larger rivers is not a lot of fun for me. I'd rather just use a spinning rod. Besides, I usually have smaller streams all to myself, which seems fitting and proper when I fly fish. Bass are generally smaller in smaller streams, but that doesn't matter to me. At my age, I just like to feel my rod throb. Small streams give me a total experience, not something to brag about, but something to digest deep into my soul. I think you can catch smallmouth on most any fly you can put in front of them on small streams. They're usually very clear, so the real key is to keep from spooking them. I like to wear camo, sneak around, keep low and make delicate casts.

By the way, I've seen more cottonmouths in this area than anywhere. It is where I got this and other shots.

Those are some fine looking poppers. I always thought a shorter shank with a wider gap was better too.

I would second the advice Lancer09 gave, but add Wolly Buggers to the list. Before I quit guiding float fishermen on the Current River, I took fly fishermen out who caught them on all kinds of flies and topwater offerings. I think, generally, you catch more smallmouth with baits or flies that you can get down to the bottom and keep them there. But a whole bunch of it is just being in the right place at the right time. This is a smallmouth one of my clients caught on a popper in a back eddy beside the first run we came to on a float trip.

As many know, I'm a light tackle advocate. I became one back in the 1980's, when I guided on KY Lake. But I've not liked any of the rods considered ultra-light, because they were generally too short for good casting and lure manipulation and too limber for even decent light strike detection. So I've generally used longer, stiffer rods rated for 6 to 12 pound test. The best cheap rod I've found of this kind is Berkley's Cherry Rod. But a few years ago, I was privileged to test a few Carbon X rods, and one of them was their ultra-light version. This is by far the finest casting, most sensitive, best strike detection rod I've ever used. It handles either 4- or 6-pound-test line beautifully. The best thing, however, is how it feels with a fish on. It literally is more fun than a fly rod. They're about $150, which is a bit over your budget, but the pleasure this rod will give you with small fish is worth much more. You can't get them at Wal-Mart, or even Bass Pro Shops. Check them out here: http://www.carbonxfishingrods.com/

In the near future, the Conservation Federation of Missouri will launch a new interactive, grassroots advocacy portal that will easily allow you to vote and comment on a piece of pending legislation. It will present our voices so your representatives know, in near real-time, how you feel on the issue before they vote on it and before they take the floor to talk for or against various measures? Through this easy-to-use tool, you can now share your individual sentiment, in a quick, high-tech manner, with your representatives on a district-by-district basis. Don't just complain about things here, to other people who can't really do much about it. Make you individual and collective voices heard right at the top. This information is brand new, so CFM doesn't even have it up on their website yet, but you can learn more about it on their Face Book Page at: https://www.facebook.com/confedmo.

Well, one of the smallmouth migration studies they've been conducting for the past few years was on the Black. I did my on investigation of it for a couple of winters, into the spring, and became convinced that nearly every bass from the Black and all three arms runs down to winter in Clearwater, which makes them very concentrated and vulnerable. I believe their study will show the same.The Black is so clear because it is infertile, and the bass leave when the crawfish burrow away to hibernate. There's just not enough forage left to sustain them. Then they return when the first crawfish and tadpoles appear. I suspect they can smell this happening from the river running into the lake.

That was the most glaring and blatant political spin, or outright lie, that I noticed too, Al. It really needs to be termed a lie, because anyone with the least bit of knowledge of CWD history in Missouri, and the most basic knowledge of how and where elk were reintroduced, knows there isn't the slightest possibility of any validity to this assumption or implication. It is the worst kind of politics that can only be perpetrated by a man who has completely sold his soul to special interests. One would think that such a blatant lie would totally destroy this man's credibility, and it does to those the least bit informed, but the general populace is woefully uninformed and some are ready to believe that the government (MDC) would introduce CWD by bringing elk from out of state and then try to blame it on someone else, especially in rural areas like where I live. I've heard this type of logic before. The frightening problem is this man has the power by virtue of an elected office and the podium to present such shameful misinformation to an uninformed public.

And that's exactly our biggest fear--contaminated deer in the game farms contaminating free-ranging deer, which contaminate other wild deer and on and on, until the entire herd is decimated. This is playing with fire that could go ragingly wild.

During the decade or so I guided on KY Lake, I always fished warm spells during the winter, and consistently caught the biggest bass of the year on suspended jerkbaits. The key was to get an extended period of weather that approached 60 or better, with sunshine. Never was much good until the third day of warm weather, but each day of warmth after the third was better and better. During these warm spells, the water near the banks becomes warmer than the rest of the lake, and the baitfish move up. Bass follow. Best spots were banks near deeper water, such as a main or secondary channel. Didn't seem to matter which way the bank was facing, as long as there was deep water nearby. Afternoons were always best. Heavy feeding would last for two or three hours. During that period, you could catch a bunch of big bass. The rest of the time, it was slow. Rarely caught anything during the mornings. So, after the first couple of years of doing this, I wouldn't go out until mid-afternoon and fish until almost dark. As soon as a cold front hit, it was over; I think because the shallows that warm quickly, cool quickly as well.

If you don't think Rep. Spencer (HJR27 and JR28) is trying to gut the Department of Conservation in retribution for captive deer industry, check out this link of his statement republished by the American Cervid Alliance. Talk about political spin! The claims in his statement are outrageous. If you will remember, a bill to reclassify captive deer as livestock (which could potentially be devastating to the entire wild herd) was passed some months ago, then vetoed by the Governor, and narrowly escaped an override vote. Now the same bill is back, along with many other measures that clearly constitute an effort by a few representative to destroy most of the MDC programs people like you and I appreciate. http://www.americancervidalliance.org/news.cfm?id=161 We need to stand together as a unified voice to combat the multi-pronged and vindictive attack on the MDC, and the best way to do that is to join and support the independent citizen's group, the Conservation Federation of Missouri. http://confedmo.org/

No, that is exactly what he said. But I suspect he was starting to feel political pressure from the growing public outrage.What about all the other bills on the docket? Do you think they just want to talk, too?

The problem is, these are bass that normally inhabit the Black River and its three forks. They all run down and gang up in Clearwater during the winter, and I'm afraid this concentrated gathering and fishing pressure (though many catch-and-release) is having a devastating effect on the number of bass left to run back up the river during the spring and spawn. There should be stringent harvest restrictions on Clearwater smallmouth during the winter months.

Make public how you feel about all this. Please follow the link post by BS and take the pool. It's a simple one question poll.

I use light stuff and rarely over 6-pound-test mono, and I think there are many advantages to a longer rod. Favorite rods are Carbon X.

If video is so important, you'd be better off with a video camera, or at least a GoPro.

That an excellent camera, but what I've learned from decades of doing this, is the glass is where it's at. I shot Nikons for decades and switched to Pentax when I switched to digital, mainly because they had glass comparable to Zeiss at 1/3 the price. Nikon makes some great glass too. It is very expensive, but my advice is to invest in it. I usually tell beginners to pay more for the lens than they do for the body.

I have a Pentax K10, K20 and K5. This particular shot was with the K20 and the DFA 100mm macro.

Thank you ducky. The reason these little birds fly so erratically, is they fold their wings behind their backs with each stroke, as seen here, thus an up and down flight, while bigger birds keep their wings comparatively outstretched.