Phil Lilley

Muzzleloader harvest sets a record With the Antlerless Portion of Firearms Deer Season still ahead, Missouri's firearms deer harvest already is in the top five of all time. JEFFERSON CITY-Favorable weather and an abundance of tags left over from the November Portion of Firearms Deer Season enabled Missouri hunters to check a record 13,372 deer during the Muzzleloader Portion Nov. 23 through Dec. 2. The strong showing boosts the running tally of this year's firearms deer harvest into the top five of all time. Missouri Department of Conservation Resource Scientist Lonnie Hansen said unseasonably warm weather during most of the November Portion of Firearms Deer Season limited deer movement and, therefore, their visibility to hunters. "I heard from lots of deer hunters who said they didn't see as many deer in November as they usually do," said Hansen. "When the muzzleloader portion rolled around, there were more people out there trying to fill deer tags, simply because they weren't successful in November." He said deer were more active during the Muzzleloader Portion because the weather turned colder after Thanksgiving. The change in weather showed up in a harvest that topped last year's muzzleloader harvest by 42 percent and bested the muzzleloader harvest record set in 2004 by 12 percent. The top three muzzleloader harvest counties were Oregon with 405, Osage with 294 and Jefferson with 292. Regional harvest figures were: Ozark, 2,405; central, 2,239; northeast, 1,702; southeast, 1,647; northwest, 1,469; southwest, 1,442; St. Louis, 1,411; and Kansas City, 1,057. The number of deer checked by hunters during the opening weekend of the November Portion was down by 32,647 - 25 percent - compared to the record-setting opening weekend of 2004. Hunters picked up the pace in the following nine days, however, checking 214,494 deer by the end of that portion. That was the fourth-largest number of deer ever taken during the November hunt and only 9 percent fewer than the all-time record of 235,409. Missouri's more than 50,000 muzzleloader hunters further closed the gap between this and previous years' firearms deer kills. The number of deer taken by firearms hunters so far this year stands at 240,687, just 7 percent below last year’s record figure. With the nine-day Antlerless Portion of Firearms Deer Season still ahead, this year’s total deer harvest almost certainly will rise at least one more place in all-time standings. Since the antlerless hunt was moved from January to December five years ago, that portion’s harvest has averaged a little more than 21,500 deer. A modest harvest of 13,681 deer during the Antlerless Portion would be enough to propel this year’s firearms harvest to third place. Recent year's muzzleloader and antlerless harvests have been: 2002 - muzzleloader, 9,364; antlerless, 13,413 2003 - muzzleloader, 11,131; antlerless, 25,151 2004 - muzzleloader, 11,938; antlerless, 24,217 2005 - muzzleloader, 10,115; antlerless, 21,922 2006 - muzzleloader, 9,436; antlerless, 23,098 2007 - muzzleloader, 13,372; antlerless, ---. -Jim Low- http://mdc.mo.gov/cgi-bin/news/news_search...197049604,28051,

Trouble follows Knight, it seems

Read the story here Pretty cool.......

Tournament's coming up this Sunday... forecast says it's going to be a little chilly but it's better than sitting at home twiddling your thumbs!! If it's too cold, you could always just send your entry money in and help out the family....

I'm looking for fishing related news site, esp local sites like bass club sites, bass tournament fishing sites, not just bass but walleye, crappie and other "fishes", current fishing blogs and other fishy sites we all would be interested in. Anything that keeps up with current news. XML service even better!

Still a valid subject....

First one - Gotta listen to the whole thing.

This hits close to my second home... the Pebble Mine won't affect the Naknek but what's next? The Article Here

A book review on MidCurrent. Take a look. Fly Fishing Book Excerpt: Castwork

Fly tying, to many, is an art. From tying the simpliest of flies to intricate patterns meant for just a framed set on the wall, some of us would consider it art, others just a hobby. Larry Myhre, outdoor writer for the Sioux City Journal, share his thoughts in a piece published today. The Article

Emailed James at the hatchery this am. I don't like to bug him unless I think something may be happening. Since fishing was so good yesterday and the fish seemed to be full of like (and O2), I thought maybe the process was happening. I was wrong. James said the water temp hasn't moved much, first indicator that the lake is starting to turn. DO levels are still near zero so the Corp must be injecting O2 while generating. We need more cold weather!

I get these "Ebook Bites" from one of my distributors every month. I don't pay much attention because we don't sell alot of books but I looked at this email and saw something I thought some of you might like. They're journals. Well... I thought I would offer them at my cost which is listed below each one. There are 2 I think are pretty cool and if you ever thought about keeping a journal of your fishing trips, Jan 1 would be the time to start, I guess. I really enjoyed Al Agnew's post, sharing what he wrote in his journal. So here's what they are and what they costs- Fly fishers will be delighted to write their fishing adventures & attach their photos in these journals handmade from the barks of Lokta plants that grow wildly in the foothills of the Himalayas. Soft & dark leather cover is hand sewn onto 100 leaves of natural handmade paper. Image of a fly is blocked on the cover. Guava button closure; 7x5 inches, 200 pgs. $34.95 retail 1/2 off - $17.49 plus shipping Fly fishers will be delighted to write their fishing adventures & attach their photos in these journals handmade from the barks of Lokta plants that grow wildly in the foothills of the Himalayas. Slippery leather cover is hand sewn onto 96 leaves (192 pages) of natural handmade paper. Image of a trout is blocked on the cover.. The journal measures approximately 5" x 6 1/2". $29.95 retail 1/2 off - $14.95 plus shipping Shipping will be whatever it costs to ship it to you. I have not ordered these yet. I'll wait 3 days- if you want one, send me a PM or email. I'll order them and send them right out. This is how they appear in the ad. This IS for one journal for the price, not two. I would think I can get these to you by the end of the year... but probably not by Christmas. We'll see.

Yea- I saw you and waved a couple of times but you were concentrating on that float... didn't the guy downstream of you have a OAF hat on? I thought I recognized him too.

Cool site- your My Space. Saw one of your "friends", Kerry Livgren from Kansas and THEN followed it to his site and saw where he's working with 2 of my favorite artists (from my past) Phil Keaggy and Matthew Ward. I sat on the 3rd row of one of Keaggy's concerts back in 1977 in Dallas and watched as he played... simply amazing. Got to spend a little time with Phil back then. Haven't heard much from him is a few years. Good luck with the concert. Thanks for posting the notice. Hope some from the forum can go.

Just a reminder- if you're in town or live around these parts, you should come on down and join us tonight at Covenant Life Church - 3rd and Atlantic - at 7 pm for smoked chicken dinner and a presentation by Jim Johnson on Michigan fishing and Alaska fishing. Public is welcomed- $5 per person for the meal. Bring friends!! I'm smoking 8 chickens!!!

Walk past the restrooms to outlet #3 where the bridge crosses- it's before you get there. There's a new log fence there now.

It worked very well... saw rainbows trying to jump the first step today. But the browns did climb the ladder and MDC was able to do their spawning just fine.

Boated to the dam this am about 9:30 with Jim and James Johnson. 2 units running about 705 and it dropped most of the time we were up there- very slowly. No other boats except one guy who came up later. 2 people in outlet #1 and no body else- later Thom and another couple of guys who I recognized but didn't know their names came into outlet #2 later as well- Brad Wright was fishing outlet #1 later. We drifted 3 times from the cable to the boat ramp. First drift we caught probably 20 on 1/8th oz sulpin/peach jigs working them close to the bottom. The other drifts were about the same maybe a little less trout to the boat. Tried white- not much. Tried brown/orange and did just as good as sculpin/peach. 7 browns less than 11 inches and the rest rainbows. About half were dinks (10-12 inches) and the rest over 12 up to one 18 inch male. About 40% were in spawning colors the rest silver. Good fishing fish... no real hot spots- good all over.

Trout Unlimited unveils position on warming Sunday, December 09, 2007 By Deborah Weisberg Trout Unlimited's focus is on cold water, but this week the group released its first position statement on global warming. Using its own studies and new data from the U.S. Forest Service, the Washington, D.C., based cold water fisheries lobbying group predicts climate change will cause the widespread loss of trout and salmon -- as much as 90 percent in Appalachia and other regions -- over the next 50 years unless the public and private sectors partner to protect habitat now. "Even a 4 1/2-degree increase in the mean July air temperature can have a dramatic impact on trout fisheries," said TU fisheries scientist Nathaniel Gillespie, who warned of an expanding list of endangered trout species and a huge decline in more common varieties. "Climate change will add additional stress to areas already heavily impacted by humans in terms of landscape and water quality." The challenge is to help fisheries build resilience now, Gillespie said, through riparian tree planting, erosion and sedimentation control, dam removal and the restoration of flood plains. "We need to protect areas where fish are still in good shape," he said. "We have to look at whole watersheds, get rid of barriers and reconnect streams so fish have cooler water to move to, provide shade, keep livestock out of sensitive areas ... these kinds of things." TU's public stance on global warming coincides with the introduction of the Climate Security Act, Senate Bill 2191, which would enable Congress to provide $175 billion over 30 years for projects aimed at helping fisheries cope with reduced snowpack, earlier spring runoff and other effects of rising mercury. Although the measure has yet to wend its way through the legislative process, Gillespie said it is bringing new awareness to one of the planet's most dire dilemmas, "one that will be a driving factor in everything we do from now on." Tom Shetterley, resource management chairman of the Chestnut Ridge chapter of Trout Unlimited and a southwestern Pennsylvania representative to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, called TU's statement "long overdue," and said the bottom line is that "we have to pull the reins in on fossil fuels, which cause global warming." He said state agencies, not volunteers, should be expected to take the lead in protecting streams, because they hold the purse strings and have the expertise. "A lot of physical things have to be done," he said, "and physical things cost money." Ken Undercoffer, president of the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited, which oversees the commonwealth's 53 TU chapters, hopes TU's call to action will expand conservation efforts. "The chapters have always been involved in stream work," he said. "This just gives them special impetus to do more of the same. It helps get the issue of global warming and the whole concept of protecting streams more into the public consciousness." TU's position statement, "Healing Troubled Waters," is posted on the group's Web site at http://tu.org.

IDAHO FALLS, December 1st, 2007 – RIO Products proudly announces the introduction of a brand new type of tippet material for the ultimate in all round performance. The new Extreme Tippet is a super sensitive tippet material with zero stretch and an unbelievable strength to diameter ratio. Extreme Tippet is actually a black, 100% braided Dyneema® which is a super strong polyethylene fiber that offers maximum strength combined with minimum weight. It is up to 15 times stronger than quality steel and up to 40% stronger than aramid fibers. Dyneema® floats on water and is extremely durable and resistant to moisture, UV light and chemicals. With the no-stretch properties of Extreme Tippet, bite detection increases significantly and setting the hook when striking is instantaneous. This allows for a far greater hook up rate than is usual. When fishing with techniques that rely on feeling the take - such as nymphing, swinging a fly for anadromous fish or fishing streamers – Extreme Tippet is the perfect choice for the fly fisher. One huge added advantage of Extreme Tippet is the strength to diameter ratio. With a strength of 10lbs (4.5 kgs) for a 5X diameter (0.006" 0,152 mm) it is more than twice as strong as the average material of this diameter and gives the angler all the advantages of this increased strength. The other sizes available are 15lbs (6.8 kgs) at 4X (0.007" 0,178 mm), 20lbs (9 kgs) at 3X (0.008" 0,203 mm) and 25lbs (11.4 kgs) at 2X (0.009" 0,229 mm). RIO recommends using the 5X for nymphing (especially for Czech nymphing), 4X for fishing hoppers and terrestrials, 3X for streamers and 2X for anadromous fish. This new Extreme Tippet is available from all authorized RIO dealers and has a recommended retail price of $8.95 for a 20 yard spool. For more details or information contact: Simon Gawesworth, simon@rioproducts.com or Zack Dalton, zack@rioproducts.com at RIO Products Intl., Inc. RIO Products Intl, Inc. • 5050 S. Yellowstone Hwy. • Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402 USA Tel. 208-524-7760 • FAX 208-524-7763 • Website: http://rioproducts.com

Loenard put together a night-time fly box for our shop and I wanted to get it on the forum so that you guys and gals could add it to your list of Christmas goodies... Here's a list of what's included: THE COMBO PACK 1- Black beaded PMS (#6) 1- Black non-beaded PMS (#6) 1- Black/olive non-beaded PMS (#4) 1- Olive beaded PMS (#6) 1- Olive non-beaded PMS (#6) 1- Nat/Tan beaded PMS (#6) 1- Nat/Tan non-beaded PMS (#6) 2- Natural Beaded Pine Squirrel (#8) 2- Black Beaded Pine Squirrel (#8) 2- Olive Beaded Pine Squirrel (#8) 2- Natural Unweighted Pine Squirrel (#8) 2- Black Unweighted Pine Squirrel (#8) 2- Olive Unweighted Pine Squirrel (#8) 1-Peach/red egg (#14) 2- Lead-eye Black wooly buggers (# 10) 2- Lead-eye Olive wooly bugger (#10) 1- Dark Olive Sow bug (#10) 1- Tan Sow bug (#10) 1- Gray Sow bug (#10) 1- Red Tungsten Midge (#12) 1- Black Tungsten Midge (#12) 1- Black Big Tungsten Midge (#10) 2- Roo Bugs (#12) 2- White Unweighted Wooly buggers (#10) 2- White Beaded Wooly buggers (#10) 2- White Lead-eye Wooly bugger (#10) 2- White Mohawk Sculpins (#8) Plus 2 packages of glow sticks and 3 floats. Retail on this box of flies is well over $100 but I'm selling them for $77.95. I only have 2 in stock. I'll throw in shipping.

I've already talked to Rusty in NE Oklahoma and they are without power and expect to be without for at least a week. If there are others, you might let us know.

Not sure how much rain we've gotten but we could use double or triple. Table Rock hasn't started rising yet. Hopefully we'll get a 3-5 foot jump in elevation. I've heard Kimberling City to Reed's Spring has ice on the trees. Not sure about north of us. But I'd be surprised if we don't get ice this time. We were spared last year... We'll get the chain saws out and get them ready for some cuttin'.

http://ozarkanglers.com/fff/nafff-12-07_newsletter.pdf

4 units this morning... hope you bring a boat!