Phil Lilley

OP- I think you have to be here and see it for yourself AND you have to be an avid trout fisherman to understand.

Gezzz that's nothing. Taney's trout can flat get with it behind someone that's shuffling. I may have to go out and see how many rainbows I can get touching my feet. At least we'll have the San Juan beat at something...

There are areas on the upper lake that are ideal for shuffling and there are areas that are not. You need current and gravel to shuffle. If you really look at the wadable part of the lake, most areas are not good for shuffling thus you can get away from them if you want. I fish the Rocking Chair down to the boat ramp, catch nice fish, and never see anyone shuffling because the bottom and current isn't conducive to shuffling. Boat ramp to Trophy Run- the chute there may be good for shuffling but don't know if they've found it. By boat- the whole trophy area can be waded if you have a boat that can take you there. So the only area that shufflers use is from the cable down to Big Hole. If that's the only water you like to fish then you're affected by the shuffler's technique. But Taney's much more than just this quarter-mile stretch. BTW- using your hand to fish like that is illegal I believe although it is splitting hairs.

Told ya I videoed the weigh in... my near camera didn't work out.

Ice is already gone. Remember the water from Table Rock is a balmy 43 degrees. Supposed to be in the 70's by the weekend!

I've only seen Lake Taneycomo completely freeze once in the 31 years I've had the resort. That was back in the 80's and it only lasted over night. When they kick the water on it breaks up and goes down lake. I didn't get up early enough to see the lake frozen but this is evidence that it did and it was rather thick. Big chunks floating down lake - quite a sight to see.

Buster Loving will be conducting all the classes on March 8 and half of the classes on March 9. March 8 11am Locating Bass in New Waters 1pm Local Techniques for Bull Shoals Lake 2pm Spinning Reel Tactics for Bass Pro Shops 3pm Does the Color of your Bass Lure Matter? 4pm Become a Smallmouth Specialist 5pm Choosing the Right Soft Plastics for Bass March 9 11am Locating Bass in New Waters 1pm Topwater Techniques for Bass 2pm Spinning Reel Tactics for Bass Pro Shops 3pm Does the Color of your Bass Lure Matter? 4pm Become a Smallmouth Specialist 5pm Choosing the Right Soft Plastics for Bass

The presentation Al did last evening involved mostly images of sections of rivers and creeks he fishes, taken from google earth and enhanced to show depths and current. He explained basically where to look for fish in these situations. Providing the audio of his talk won't do the listener any good because he won't have the images Al is referring to and Al does not want to post these images. I am going to go through the recording in the next couple of days and see if I can edit and provide at least some of his talk.

I'll start a new topic and announce this... The presentation Al did last evening involved mostly images of sections of rivers and creeks he fishes, taken from google earth and enhanced to show depths and current. He explained basically where to look for fish in these situations. Providing the audio of his talk won't do the listener any good because he won't have the images Al is referring to and Al does not want to post these images. I am going to go through the recording in the next couple of days and see if I can edit and provide at least some of his talk.

Real nice to meet you guys. Sorry the fishing was so tough for you.

Someone just pointed out that I had the incorrect dates for Steve Dally's seminar listed on this thread. It is Friday, March 7th! Thanks!

Good to see you here again, Clay. Thanks for sharing a very special event in your life!

Mark Wittington is providing updates for me. He's pretty involved in this process.

The Missouri senate closed today without bringing the bill to the floor. It will convene on 3/3. That means you still have time to email your rep/senator.

We'll do the best we can... audio for sure.

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/65616?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared Well it looks good till Sunday, then rain/ice/snow? Not sure WHEN Sunday it's coming in. Saturday 54 is pretty sweet but getting home Sunday may be the trick. Timing is the key- when will it hit 44...

Tell Cabelas to post their stuff on OAF and they'll have more people come to their events!

What about future management of any type? Fund allocations?

Evidently, it's supposed to be voted on in this afternoon's session- after 4 pm. And it is expected to PASS. But before they vote on it, amendments can be offered. EXEMPT MDC!

Nevermind... Bassin Bob didn't have anything to do with the "bump" in traffic. Mondays are the biggest day of the week. Yesterday's numbers surpassed last Monday. Traffic will build as it gets warmer and people get out and start fishing. It's all fun!

Constitutional Amendment Means Politics Back in Missouri Conservation By Kenneth L. Kieser “An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in his subject, and how to avoid them.” Werner Heisenberg, Physics and Beyond I am not a political activist. However, I have never been shy of writing or speaking my opinion when a bill or legislation concerns conservation or hunting and fishing, especially in Missouri. There currently is a proposed constitutional amendment working its way through the State Capitol that would completely change the way conservation is regulated in Missouri. If approved by voters, SJR42 (Senator Schmitt from Kirkwood) and HJR57 (Representative Barnes from Jefferson City) would create a permanent Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, meaning, the General Assembly would govern conservation. I have traveled the entire United States while writing about different types of hunting or fishing and seldom meet another state’s wildlife biologist or Conservation agent who is not familiar with Missouri’s quality Conservation Department. Many consider this group a model for how all conservation groups should be run. Missouri is envied by the Conservation world because of their successful programs and dedicated personnel. “Missouri’s current system of allowing the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) to govern is what makes Missouri one of the foremost conservation states in our country,” said Brandon Butler, executive director for the Conservation Federation of Missouri. “The fact that we don’t allow politics to override biological sense and public opinion ensures Missourians can trust the MDC to act in the best interest of conservation with no influence from special interest groups. In fact, recent surveys in the Missouri Conservationist show that nine out of 10 Missourians are interested in fish, forest and wildlife; 85% say they can trust MDC; and 73% say the Department is doing a good or excellent job. These are excellent approval ratings for our citizen-led Conservation Commission.” The MDC is not perfect, they make mistakes. We all do. But they generally correct their mistakes and the majority of their programs are highly successful. So why would changes be necessary? More importantly, what do members of the General Assembly know about wildlife legislation? The MDC spends considerable time conducting research and engaging citizens to gather input on hunting and fishing seasons, creating successful programs. Imagine a Timex department store clerk working on a finely tuned Swiss clock in perfect working order. A Swiss clock maker would be required to repair the costly clock after this amateur ruined the delicate mechanism. MDC personnel are highly trained experts in their chosen fields of certain kinds of wildlife or habitat. Their decisions, with public input, should never be hindered. We don’t need lobbyist, special interest groups and legislators setting deer and turkey seasons. “If SJR 42 or HJR57 were to pass, rules brought forth for the MDC would be passed through a General Assembly approval process,” Butler said. “According to the language in this bill, “Any rule disapproved by majority vote of the committee shall be held in abeyance and not effective until the conclusion of certain legislative and judicial action.” If the General Assembly could not agree on the opening day of deer season, instead of sitting on a hillside waiting on a buck you’ll be at home waiting on politicians to decide when to allow you to hunt. That’s not what I want. Doubt you do either.” Butler, a former public affairs specialist for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, learned from experience that many states have politically tied conservation departments, and one thing the employees of those state agencies have in common is the collective wish for the elimination of bureaucracy in the governing of conservation. Currently, the MDC is governed by the Conservation Commission that is made up of four commissioners that serve statewide, serving both urban and rural Missouri. No more than two commissioners may be of the same political party. The checks and balances come with the appointment of volunteer citizens by the Governor and confirmation by the Missouri Senate. This process has worked for more than 75 years and serves as a successful track record. Our current conservation governing system is truly an apolitical, scientific-based agency and must stay that way. Missouri does not need to go back to partisan-politic days. Missouri was there once, and legislative politics watched as our natural resources disappeared. The citizen-led Conservation Commission is responsible for approving or disapproving all regulations promulgated by MDC. The rules passed by the Conservation Commission do not go to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules/General Assembly for final approval. In this sense, our MDC is unique, as it has been since the 1936 constitutional amendment that created the Conservation Commission. MDC is never going to please everyone. No organization of the masses can. However, MDC goes to great lengths to gather citizen input through public meetings, outreach efforts, workshops, online surveys, and research prior to proposing and setting rules. We need you! “Missouri is an exceptionally blessed state when it comes to the natural resources we have here,” Butler said. “The system we have in place for the governance of conservation isn’t broken. On the contrary, it is the shining example in our nation of how conservation should be governed. We cannot allow SJR42 or HJR57 to pass. You must contact your elected officials and adamantly express your desire for leaving the Conservation Commission in charge of deciding what is right for Missourians.” Please contact your local legislators and voice disapproval. You can look up the bill up online to learn more by Googling Missouri Bill Hjr57. Don’t sit back and wait for this damaging issue to pass, act now if your love nature or hunting and fishing in the Show-Me State.

I edited the title of this tread... hope you don't mind, Chief. I never looked at it. I've been advised, and I think it's a good idea, to contact OA members and ask them to write, email or call this state reps and ask them to EXEMPT MDC from this rule. That should take all question of who's right and wrong about how this would affect MDC in any way. We should do it today because time is running out.

And yes this was a catch and release tournament- all fish went back in the lake and swam off. I only saw one dead rainbow weighed in. The gal in yellow, last pic, is Vince Elfrink's widow, JoBeth Elfrink. With her is Shawn Pingleton and his dad Garry. They took first place.

The last few days have proven to everyone that MDC has stocked some nice rainbows here in the last couple of weeks. We started to see some of these trout last week while fishing down at the Landing and below Branson. Friday actually was the day to be out fishing. Some of my regular anglers who fish here a lot said they'd never caught that many trout here - and the average size was quite good. I did hear from one of the guys that Lamar at Scotty's told them that MDC's stocking boat is down, has been for a while, and that they've been stocking off boat ramps. There are several small private ramps below Branson, not to mention Rockaway and Ozark Beach ramps. I think they've been stocking off all these lower lake ramps- that's why there's so many trout below Branson. The winning fish were caught mostly at the Landing and lower in the lake on jigs and spoons Saturday. Big trout (rainbow) was 1.82 and was caught at the Landing on a jig. No legal browns but guys said they did catch good numbers of browns from 12 to 19 inches. This has been common this winter- anglers saying they've never caught this many browns. And that they're schooling together. In my opinion, the fact that there's so many trout in the lake and at least in the middle part of the lake there's so many good rainbows, this really leveled the playing field at the tournament. I think that's a good thing. One more point- we had only 2 out of 39 teams not weigh in, one of those teams fished above Fall Creek. That's pretty cool- means participants wanted to see how much their bags weighed because they thought they did well, and they did. The average weight was considerably heavier than most tournaments. All this means we should have a very good spring "catching" season here on Taneycomo. Next year the brown pot will increase to $1,200 and I think there's a good chance we'll see a legal brown weighed in. If not next year, the following year- definitely!