JestersHK

Nice man! Water looks like chocolate milk.

Thanks for the report Phil. Can't wait to get down tomorrow... Full moon to boot. Hope to get into the shad bite with the jerk baits.

Good luck Buddy! Hope you guys are killing it right now. And yeah hope Taney is a bit cleared up before the weekend. We'll see though. Shad are coming through which should wake them up.

Man 2nd straight day of 4 units over 12k CFS... Am I reading too much into it that they will run this until they hit 915 at TR? Guess that will determine if I venture down or not... Hate to miss an opportunity though, I've had some of my best days after heavy generation down there.

Are you a stamp collector or C&R? Or both?

I had to push work to tomorrow so I can head down to taney this weekend... Super bummed I'm gonna miss combat fishing with you guys...

Have a potential window to come down again this weekend again... Looks like TableRock is still inching up? Any word on when they might stop the 10k plus flows? Any lake level they are targeting? Won't be much wade fishing in that flow though, may need to see a man about a boat!

Such a sad situation... First off I support and respect our Police Officers for what they have to deal with. They truly have a thankless job, and not sure how some of them deal with the scurge of the earth day in and day out. Most of my closest friends and family are all first responders, and they definitely don't do it for the glory or the salary. With that being said not sure which way the chips should fall on this one. On one hand I agree a handgun vs a rifle you're facing some horrendous odds. He'd likely end up the 18th victim, but would be hailed a hero. Instead he chose to likely follow some protocol put in place, or maybe felt the odds were too stacked on him not going home that night that he froze up. Who knows, but its not my job to armchair quarterback him to death or call him a coward. As others have stated you never know how you'll react until you've been there. The other side of it was that it was his job to defend those kids. He was armed and trained, and possibly could have done more? I know even my LEO buddy who is a park ranger has both a shotgun AND an AR in his truck. Not sure what they had at their disposal down there though. We also don't have all the details, but it sounds like there were multiple LEO's on site and they waited for SWAT / Backup. All while more kids were killed. At some point you'd think at least one of them would make a run on the killer. Maybe thats wishful thinking on my part having kids in 2 different public schools and my sister as a teacher...

Sounds like a plan.

Nice Job Ham! Interesting article too. Lucky me I'm allergic to all opioids... My buddy says when I'm on my way out he's gonna pump me full of them so I at least get to enjoy them one last time.

Seth I may roll down for the opener. I like to watch the spectacle, and combat fishing and then fish in the afternoon I usually hit up Bennett for the long weekend but have a packed schedule... Meramec I can make a day trip out of. If ya didn't mind the company that is. Didn't fish the spring one time last season... Too busy making runs to Taney

Can't wait to make my girls squirm with these John LOL. Dad jokes as they call them

The Facebook messaging app is a known listener. Once you accept the install it begins mining and listening in the background...

Likewise for those of you that have been through it and came out in the right side I am truly grateful. I'll continue to be prepared with the hopes I never have to use my tools or the training... I guess we'll agree to disagree.

I'm glad that you live in such a rose colored reality. I pray for you that you never get to experience seeing someone shot, a gun in your face, almost being stabbed, or knowing a home invasion victim that was tied up and raped for two days. I wish I was as lucky as you to live that care free. Feel free to continue to mock me and the situation though. Speaks volumes of your character...

Agreed! Thanks for sharing your trip with us!

Yeah any situation where you are outnumbered you are pretty well screwed. I like the manual of arms on the AR platform. Like to keep them all the same so that God forbid I end up in a crap situation my muscle memory takes over and I'm not freezing up unsafing a weapon that for me I have allot less rounds downrange on. Reason I carry 1911 style pistols as I grew up with 1911's and always carry cocked and locked. During my draw my brain automatically flicks the safety off before I'm on target. Need someone to make a reliable AR shotgun. Would be a good compromise.

Yep, agree with ya there Wrench. The percentage of people that are actually proficient with their firearms out there that carry them around would likely be a very low number... Just because you go to the range twice a year and keep all your shots on the paper at 7 yards doesn't make you a high speed operator that can take out domestic terrorists while watching Sunday football... Heck when we first started CCW here in MO there were some folks in the range portion of the class that couldn't stay on the paper We are straying from the topic though, how do we protect our kids in schools... That I wish I knew the answer to. Banning AR's won't stop them in my opinion. A shotgun with buckshot would of caused a tremendous amount of carnage in the FL scenario. I won't say equal amount of carnage but imo would of likely been similar outcome and lives lost. He had all the time in the world to reload. Would we ban shotguns then? Say you limit to 3 rounds. Thats still 24 projectiles going down a crowded hallway... Take that away and the kid would of just spent 15 minutes on google and could of went the bomb route... Ban fertilizer? Whats the answer... Sad times indeed we are discussing this on a fishing forum.

For engaging multiple targets quickly I'd take an AR over a shotgun yes. The old adage of just point and shoot with a shotgun is a far cry from the truth. Running magnum buckshot in a home defense shotgun, you better know whats on the other side of the walls in your home. Same said for AR's as well. Wife also handles the AR much better than shooting HD loads out of the shotgun. About the only downside to AR's indoor is the muzzle blast and the noise. You're gonna lose some hearing no matter what.

I may or may not have a plate carrier... But then again I'll quickly be labeled as an extremists who likes to play dress up. Have had some actual training with my weapons of mass destruction... There are a ton of folks out there who shouldn't have guns, but not everyone who has an AR is in it just to say they have cool toys. Better to have and not need than need and not have or something like that.

I have shotguns as well. AR's are very versatile tools. Never thought of them as cool toys, just tools that each fill a role. Have much cooler guns than any of my ARs... I don't fantasize about going down in a blaze of glory in a pile of brass, nor am I a crazed Doomsday prepper, but I won't go down without a fight if it ever came to the defense of my loved ones. To each their own...

Man love the colors on those fish. All on a flyrod?

We'll get ya there Bill and see this one through, We're on a mission now! Sent off some info from our session yesterday to Phil's guy too. Closing in on the 3 R's of Windows. Reboot, Repair, Rebuild LOL.

Man thats a nice mess there! I'd like to know the details on the swine hunt too!

Likewise, was a pleasure fishing with you both. Always good to see others night fishing, makes me think we're not as crazy when others are out there with us LOL. I usually post a bit in advance when I know I'm gonna make it down, feel free to hit me up as we all could use more fishing buddies! My cuz and I are already talking about bringing the kayaks down when it warms up. Never though of kayaking at night, but sounds like a good plan!