Mark

Maybe physically challenge would be a better way of putting it. Overweight and a bad back would limit my adventures.

Yes I ate them but feel OK now that you have identified squirrels as BAD. Please identify the rest of the animal kingdom for me so I know which is BAD and which is GOOD.

As someone who doesn't hunt and as a child, may have killed a total of 6 squirrels in my life, I just shake my head and smirk at mankind in general, and hunters in particular, on their attitudes and rationalizations toward wildlife. It's really hard to understand sometime. Let's see....... Mountain lions, GOOD. Bobcats, BAD. Wolves, GOOD. Coyotes, BAD. Dove, GOOD. Pigeons, BAD. Cattle, GOOD. Wild boar, BAD. Sitting out in the woods for hours waiting for a deer to wander along so you can use a sniper gun to kill it 1,000 yards away, GOOD. Using a small pitchfork to kill a fish, BAD. Please save the rationalizations

I am seriously considering a trip to Northern Minnesota/BWCA/Lake of the Woods early next June. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions, with considerations to a couple points..... We will be a group of 2-4 middle age guys and plan on possibly staying a week. We prefer to not get tied down with reservations and agendas, but rather play it by ear. We may take tents for a night or two, but prefer a cheap motel/cabin when we do pay for lodging but don't want to get reservations in advance. There's nothing worse than getting tied down to a specific locale and not liking it so much or not great fishing for whatever reason. We could haul my canoe with 2.5 hp motor, a johnboat with jet prop, or could rent when we get there, depending on how expensive renting watercraft would be. As expected, we want to catch fish!! We really want a chance at some pike, walleye, muskie, and lots of smallmouth. Ideally, we would like some seclusion from the tourists areas, but still close enough to civilization to run to town for an occasional dinner and some brews. For the time being, I would like some info on specific locations. We can get down to the details of fishing after we research some locations. A couple of us have spent time working in Minnesota and North Dakota, so we know what to expect as far as the elements.

I am seriously thinking of planning a trip next early June. I would welcome all suggestions, advice....

I'm considering putting together a fly in fishing trip for next June. I am considering Canada or Alaska. I have never made one of these trips and I'm looking for suggestions from your own personal experiences. How much? where? type of fishing? All aspects of the trip that I should consider would be appreciated. Something I've always wanted to do.

Then there is also dynamite!

Absolutely - maybe MDC should make nets legal also, it would be very effective also!!

Good read Al. If you tell me where the creek is (in private, of course), I'll have my girls take it easy on you at Sunday/Wednesday night basketball games. A tip for leaving coolers out at night - leave some garlic or onion on top of them and critters will leave it alone.

Yes, snagging is a very effective method.

Geez - I just had a double a month ago on the Eleven Point RIver near Cane Bluff. 2 12" smallmouth on a minnow imatation. I thought I had done something really unique.

Delvis and myself made a one day trip on Saturday. We made the usual Turner Mill to Whitten trip in my trusty canoe with 2.5 HP motor. Beautiful day with lots of people on the river. We got an early start for us at 9am. The river appeared to be about normal flow and clear. We had early luck around Stinking Pond area. In my opinion, the gravel bar at Stinking Pond is one of the best camping places on the river. There is shade most of the day, plenty of wading water upstream and downstream, a great swimming hole to cool off, a beautiful bluff across the river where we always see an eagle or two, and most of the river traffic has past Stinking Pond by early afternoon. We spent most of the morning working the first half mile downstream from Turner Mill. We could have easily limited out by noon, but started the day releasing the smaller ones that we lip hooked. You know us bait chuckers, we do occasionally gut hook some fish, and we do keep the ones that look like they wouldn't survive. We took our time early in the day to let the canoers get ahead of us. We work the first two bends in the river a good hour each, catching several fish at each turn. Fisherman's Hook had a crowd of jet boats. Guess they were keeping entertained watching canoers not familiar with the river getting dumped in the hook and guessing by the amount of debris near the Hook and just downstream, I will ascertain that they had plenty of guests who were glad the jet boats were near to help track down supplies after the canoeists overturned. Overall, there sure seems to be alot more trash in the river than I have seen before. Goodness gracious, we have such a wonderful, beautiful, natural resource with the Eleven Point River. There are fewer and fewer place you can go with the freedom to camp where you choose, not whole lot of regulations or restrictions, get the feeling of actually being in the wilderness away from civilization, and people can't make the effort to pick up their own trash. Just above Horseshoe Bend, we came across 3 Federal Officers stuck in a shoal with motor problems. Seems they sucked up a little too much gravel. I think they were pretty embarrassed as we heard them trying to get it running for the next hour or so. They would get it running, head downstream for a short distance, and then we would hear it sputtering again. They didn't check us or anyone else we saw as they went by, and we figured they just had enough of the engine problems and headed back to their trucks. With the holiday weekend coming up, I would expect that law enforcement will be out on the river full force this weekend. No problem if you're obeying the law!!! We spent the rest of the day cheery picking our favorite spots. We figured we each easily caught 15-20 fish a piece, although some of the better spots that usually produce didn't fare as well as we expected the further downstream we got. We hypothesized that the nearer we got to Whitten, the more river traffic we encountered and probably had the fish pretty spooked by the end of the day. All in all, a great trip for late August. Keep your tip up!!! Mark

The Ste. Genevieve trout fishermen are heading down next week for a 3 day extravaganza. Expect intense competition for prime fishing spots. Coming back from a long sabbatical is He Who Fishes With One Sandal and Dead Eye Double D, so the Trout Whisperer could be in trouble for top honors. But of course he always has Snap available in the jet boat to cherry pick and keep on the move so he can snag some, I mean drift fish!!

Harvey????????????????????

Jet boats will be running crazy 4th of July weekend and no consideration for floaters.

This has been one of the most educational and entertaining threads I have read on Ozark Anglers. For too long, the landowners has been saying they own the creek, creek bed, gravel bars, bank, and anyone on the stretch of water withn their property lines is trespassing. And they firmly believe they are right. And their case is usually strengthened by law enforcement backing them. So for most of us, it's not worth fighting that battle. I for one am glad someone is fighting the battle.

OH and BTW - going to see the greatest steel guitar player of all time - Robert Randolph and the Family Band in Aspen, CO on June 11. Check him out on Youtube if you don't know who he is. Definitely some funky R & B.

Late in the conversation too - I've picked around since 7-8 years old. Own a cheap alvarez bought in a pawn shop. Me and my buddy (guitarist in the Dave Caputo Band) take our guitars with us on most Eleven Point River float trips. Specializing: Ozark Mountain Daredevils, John Prine, The Band, Rolling Stones, Amazing Rhythm Aces, Guess Who, Loudon Wainwright III, Marshall Tucker, CCR, and our latest - The Gourds cover to Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice". IF you are ever on the Eleven Point and see a couple old hippies with guitars, stop by with a request. We can fake most anything!!

I've posted on Colorado Fishing Forum w/out much luck. Wondering if anyone might have info for me: I am visiting Aspen, Colorado from June 8-12 and will have a 35' RV. Researching the area campgrounds, it looks like the only choices will be the Aspen/Basalt CG on the Frying Pan River and Difficult CG on the Roaring River. Aspen/Baslat CG is $40 per night and busy and touristy, while Difficult CG is more primitive with no electric hookups and only bathrooms and a faucet. Anyone with knowledge of these CG would be appreciated. Thanks Mark

The Frying Pan, Roaring River, and Crystal River are all located within an hour of each other in the Glenwwood Springs/Carbondale/Aspen area if you wanted to have a selection within a short drive. The Frying Pan and Roaring Rivers both have Gold Metal sections. A friend and I fished the Crystal River last summer with some success. We enjoyed it because of the no bait restrictions on the upper part, isolated from the bigger towns, availability of campgrounds, plenty of public access, and the scenery. If you want to check on a map, the river from Redstone to Marble is where we fished and is accessable to the public with lots of places to pull off the road. There are a couple National Forest Service campgrounds right on the river. I recommmend Bogan Flats about 30 minutes south of Carbondale.

I really don't think the fish care if you are sitting or standing!!

Do you use any sinkers with maribou jigs? What size? How far up the line? Do you use indicators? I don't think what I was throwing was the problem, I think it was the presentation, not getting deep enough, and when I went deep I lost my lure. After losing about $25-30 worth of fishing lures, a guy starts to wonder.........what the heck, this is getting expensive!!!

OK, I'm a bait chucker. The only time I fish with artificial bait is bass fishing on lakes with a plastic worm. I recently went thru the Greer to Turner section and not even sure if I had a nibble. Admittedly, I don't know how to use rapalas, rooster tails, etc. I did throw a crawdad imitation for awhile - first without any weight and then with a small split shot. I found with the split shot that if I put it too close to the lure, it didn't move in the water like it should. So moved it to about 14" up the line, but still no bites. Same with a minnow imitation - tried without weight, then small split shot, then bigger split shot, moved it up and down the line - nothing. With everything I threw, I tried different retrievals - sometimes slow, sometimes fast, sometimes let the current take it downstream, casting upstream, casting downstream, nothing! Any advice would be appreciated. I would like to fish that area more but I'm convinced I don't have enough knowledge to have any success with artificial baits. Also, you can assume that I don't know much, if you start talking wooly boogers, caddis, mayflies, etc., I have no friggin' idear what your talking about. I thought the Blue Ribbon area was beautiful, but if I don't catch fish, my trips thru the area will be minimal. Thanks, and with advice, remember K-I-S-S. Keep it simple stupid. Mark

If you are wanting breakfast at Grandma's, better plan on an hour. No one gets in any hurry. Good food, just saying...........