Ryan Miloshewski

If anybody likes him, Childers is about to release a new album. Saw him in June in KC and it was top three concerts I've been to. He opened with "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." Sold me from the start. Did an acoustic set and played another 2.5 hours.

No, but I have. Very slow. This time last year it was on fire. Hopefully it picks up.

Here I tie these articulated streamers for my friends and they throw them in the trees in four casts. Tsk, tsk..

Juvenile black vultures

Went down with my grandpa and cousin John to fish an evening and day. Fished Sunday evening with jigs and caught quite a few fish from 5-7pm. Only running a half unit of water and they wanted 1/16-ounce and 1/32-ounce thrown at them. Lots of nice rainbows and I landed a 21-inch brown. Beautiful fish. John and I fished for a couple hours yesterday morning with the water off. I threw a hopper and he threw a jig. I only caught one fish, but it was a great 21-inch rainbow. Absolutely crushed the hopper. Only bite I got all morning, but well worth it. John caught quite a few on 1/32-oz jigs. We then went a got my grandpa and fished 3-7pm. It was warm but not too hot out there, and we caught quite a few browns on jerkbaits and jigs. We actually caught more browns than rainbows (22 browns to 7 rainbows). Nothing over 20-inches landed, but quite a few 17-19.5-inch fish. John and I both had one on that would have been great to land--nothing huge, but definitely in the 21-23-inch range. Took two trebles to the left index finger while unhooking a small brown. That hurt and caused a delay of 15 min or so. Pro tip: don't do that, it hurts. Home for a couple days then back down Friday..

I think a big issue is it's the easiest and most accessible area to fish in the area for people visiting. They don't read the rules, or feel the need to, they just want to fish while on vacation. Don't get me wrong some of the locals are just as bad, but the majority of the infractions and lack of respect I've seen are from people who have no clue. Most of the folks take very kindly to correction. I usually say "do what you want, but *insert rule or suggestion*." Of course there are always the people who don't care. The trash is a product of society. Disrespect for the resource is way easier than respect. Lisa Beumer said there was an agent down there last night in plain clothes wading. I was checked a couple Sundays ago on the water by Chris. I hope it becomes a regularity.

Have 48 hoppers for you. Going to be a fun summer. I'll force feed em with you!

Got away and fished Sunday afternoon and Monday morning since I was off work. Sunday afternoon was windy and cloudy and I wore them out wading. Landed two around 21-22-inches and multiple 14-18-inchers. Monday was a disaster as far as traffic on the lake. Had to idle from Lilleys to above the Narrows. Felt like a Saturday in July. I threw a sculpin most of the morning and had fish on it dang near every time, but they were really short striking it and not getting the hook. Still fun to see them go hog wild after in scooting on the bottom. Threw a jig and caught fish instantly. I like to play the "what can I force feed them today" game too much, I admit, but I like trying new/different things. Duane and Blake were wearing em out on jigs with their clients, but not a lot of other catching going on. I did have one rise on a hopper but the fish didn't get it in its mouth. Not yet time for that.

I'm with Wrench, I like to fly fish for them. A ned rig, jig, etc doesn't do it for me. A lunch money, white trash, and gonga are all top notch streamers I use. Ryan Walker ties a shuttlecock that works super well, too. Right now, a big popper is hard to beat in the twilight times.

100%. Social media has done a lot of good but it has really pitted everyone against each other.

I'll be there. DJ talked about sharing some lodging if you're interested.

I use Duane's, Megabass or a McStick.

I personally have every hunting and fishing Facebook group I'm apart of muted nowadays or have just flat out left them. They're so toxic and negative with very, very little positivity. I think people are having the same thoughts/feelings I do and are looking for more positive places to interact with other like-minded folks. I'm probably one of the younger guys on here and I prefer it tenfold to any group on a social media site.

I am jealous! Nothing beats a big bluegill or redear for eating.

Couple of whole fried gill and redear dinners from the last couple of weeks. I think those two, along with flathead, are the best tasting fish in Missouri. Had fried onions/taters and a roadkill squirrel we fried and finished in the oven, with pan gravy, on this dish.

Ha! I broke the second section of my Echo 6 wt a couple weekends ago. The warranty process was super easy and I already have a replacement for $50 with shipping. Great experience working with them.

Finally got a whole weekend to play around on Taneycomo. Tried some different things and old tricks, and had success. My buddy Dave joined me Sunday morning after his trip on the Eleven Point. He did well there Saturday, and didn't see a single floater. Saturday I did not fish until the evening since it was a scorcher. The jerkbait bite was on fire. I tried some dries but nothing. I did lose three jerkbaits before I realized my line was trashed. One was on a really good brown (23-inch range) after it jumped. I use 8-lb test jerkbaitin so I was a little surprised. I can usually handle them well. Oh well. Tied on a new one and let it fly. Line snapped and a squirrel ducked on the bluff. Pulled off 15 feet of line, still in denial, and tied on another one. Same thing, but I recovered it on the water surface. Changed line since I had a 6-lb spool in my bag. No issues after the change. Definitely not in a groove like I normally am. That's what happens when you don't fish enough. Landed a lot of solid fish in a short period and had a great evening. Sunday morning we started off by Dave throwing a bulkhead deceiver he tied and me throwing a jerkbait. Dave had a TON of follows, relatively speaking, including one tank of a brown. He made a perfect cast and we both said "that's gotta get something." Simultaneously we saw the big, dark shadow immediately on his deceiver. It swiped a couple times but ultimately missed it. The adrenaline rush of seeing a big fish going after a streamer is something else. Sucks when they miss it! I landed four fish, one being a football of a 18.5-inch brown. We then tried some terrestrials and other creations we devised. Did not catch a single fish hah! Once the sun came up it was evident scuds/midges would be the ticket, but we just didn't want to fish that way. It was a solid 2 hours on the water. Hopefully I can get back down soon. Been a hectic spring and summer, and it was nice to focus on fishing for a couple days. Got to work today and had two scuds hitching a ride on my airpod case. No idea how they got in my work backpack, but also not surprised. The fish continue to amaze me. Even the smaller fish are as thick as can be. What a time to be able to fish Taneycomo..

I love my Echo 3 wt. Have a Redington Rise on it and SA line. Thing casts and handles well for $150. But, with fly fishing, if you have good line you can get away with less-than-stellar rod/reel.

For trout, anything under a certain length I usually just enjoy the fight and release. Don't take a pic unless it's exceptionally pretty. Just unhook, admire, and let go. Doesn't mean I take them for granted, just some of the 20-22" fish (wild to say) are cookie cutters of what I've caught. I did something similar on Taneycomo last August. Fishing the evening caught a 24 1/4" brown that was just a stud. Not my PB but one of the biggest I've caught in a while. Took a pic and stopped fishing. First cast the next morning on the fly rod I landed a brown right at 24". Took a pic and measurement and let it go within 30 seconds. Had I not caught the bigger fish (weight, mainly) the night before would have I reacted the same way? I'm not sure. Never been that lucky. We'll see next time, if there is one. That being said, I think it's a good goal to aim for big (and bigger) fish. Usually they are harder to land, so it's part of the evolution of becoming a better fisherman.

Got tired of doing yard work and power washing the deck Sunday so I headed south. Stopped by Roaring River (outside of the park) and hiked down to see if I could get a couple fish. The water is so low. I hiked 1000 yds downstream and there was one place that looked like it'd hold fish. Wasn't worth it so I headed over to Crane. Talked to Alex (@trythisonemv) and he told me a couple of decent dry fly spots. Nada. Crane, too, was very low. Much more fishable water than RR, though. It was pretty busy so I'm sure the fish were feeling very pressured. After 45 min there I headed to Taney to night fish and sculpin fish in the morning Monday. Taney water was off and boy I don't think I've seen it that low or dead (as in water flow) in some time. Could hardly use a size 12-14 tungsten bead on my streamer or it'd catch a glob of moss off the bottom. I caught fish on a pine squirrel and a special night time Lunch Money I tied up. Nothing huge, but the fish are solid as can be. Yesterday morning I grabbed by 7 wt and sculpin box and fished the gravel bars and clear areas--which was hard to find. I caught 15 fish in a couple hours, missing countless others. Ended up landing two rainbows over 20-inches. One was 21.5" and the other 22". I bet both fish were over four pounds. I could not get my hands around them. I saw two rainbows swimming around that I know would push 30-inches (probably 27-29" in reality), and that is amazing. They were too far to cast to and spooky, as one would imagine. No pictures--didn't bring my phone with me fishing on Taney, just enjoyed the time out there wet wading. Nice little less than 24 hr turn and burn in SWMO. Hank liked the gravel bars and low water at RR, though. Normally don't let him get in the water as to not disturb the bottom, other fishermen, etc. But it was hot and there wasn't much going on.

Got some good ones Saturday. The Rose-breasted grosbeaks are here in droves. Orioles are scattered now. Hummers are here in force. Have yet to get a good pic of them. I have one immature male who has one little speck of ruby on his throat.

Finally saw one the other day. Orioles, Rose-breasted grosbeaks, Vireos, catbirds and everything here now. Low light situation but decent pics.

Anybody ever done a pizza on a pellet grill? Tried searching but didn't get much return. Thinking something inspired by Missouri spring: morels, wild turkey, and maybe a ramp-based sauce. If you have, do you go directly on the grates or on a pizza pan? I like a crisp crust but wondered about the integrity of the crust holding up directly on the grill.

What are you guys using to keep the squirrels out besides a pellet gun? They dig almost every time I plant something. I don't have a garden, just boxes. I've tried putting cayenne and such in the dirt but they still just dig. A real pain.

Duck souvlaki (mallard speficially) with homemade tzatziki sauce and cucumber/onion/tomato salad. Very, very good.