Ryan Miloshewski

I don't think they've made it there yet. A lot of the asian carp are stopped pretty nicely by the dams in KS. Of course, they'll find a way eventually. Zebra mussels are pretty bad there, though.

Could be that. Those would be ones I did not tie because I am not going to sculpt that head for me to lose it on a tree five casts in

Tricky with heavy flows. I throw a 350 or 400 grain sinking line and anything with deer hair sits high in the column while the line makes a bow from it to the boat. Not saying they won't eat it, but I really don't like the way it works when it does that crap.

Nice turn around and win. I know when I talked to you earlier in the day you said it was tough as can be. We weren't fishing they tourney but you were not wrong. Once they slowed the water we started catching really well. We landed an 18 and 19-inch rainbow right across from Phil's that sure would've put us up there. Weighed the 19 and it was 3.98 lbs. Should've registered..

Oh no but why?? Spinning it I can do with a few colors but I just hate the stuff haha. Maybe I'll come to terms with it one day like you have..

I despise deer hair or I'd be tying some dungeons, drunk and disorderlies, etc. The stuff gets everywhere and when there is high flows the fly just does not get down. I use these for whites and they kill em.

Started tying some articulated flies instead of paying for them. I think they'll work. Galloup's butt monkeys and boogiemen. Easy for an experienced tyer.

Really good wiper fishing if you can find them at that time, which is probably a toss up. The wipers in those Kansas lakes seem to disappear for months until they're hungry. Good smallmouth and walleye fishing, too. They should be on the rocky points or structure. Do you have a graph? If so, it's your best friend. Once you find the fish it can be unreal. That goes for all the lakes in Kansas I've fished. They seem to want to eat more often than Missouri fish. I know guys that fly fish for post-spawn smallies in May and crush some really nice fish.

I use a 3 wt for smaller, native fisheries. Not really a necessity but they're fun. I just have a cheap Echo and Reddington reel but it works well.

@Phil Lilley remember that day in 2020 where Steve Dickey and I landed four fish over 20? And we lost 4 others. Insanity! And nobody there to enjoy it.

Hey, I'm an actual biologist (by degree) lol. I still keep up with carrying capacity and population dynamic publications. Huge nerd, I know. Stuff is interesting and keeps you informed though!

Like Seth and Travis said, the lower lake resorts are dang near worthless now for fishing off the docks. My cousin's family goes down to Blue Haven a few times a year and they are averaging 3-5 fish each in 5 days. That is abysmal. I agree with Doug, too. The flooding changed the entire lake, as most of you know. The first 3 miles almost changes with each flood gate event. A dredging would do it wonders, but that'll never happen. And the growth of Branson..the amount of out of town folks in the summer is pretty substantial. During Covid two years ago I wade fished a lot and the amount of people poaching and using worms/corn/Powerbait/etc. was crazy. Best action is to inform them and let them make their decision. If they continue, call an agent. Every time I talked to folks they were happy I let them know and quit. I don't understand the concept of not looking up the regs before fishing a body of water, but that's just me. The poachers are a bad deal, though. They don't care about a fine. Like Phil said, time to start making it hurt.

@Travis Swift see I have always caught rainbows on jerkbaits, and sometimes more than browns during a week long trip or so. It could be the way I work it, type of bait, color, area--the list goes on and on. And funny enough, I have not caught a 20"+ rainbow working a jerkbait in the last two years. Last one was April 2020. All of mine have been on a fly or dragging a jerkbait.

Agree with Seth and Travis. Normally when it's tough it's because I'm trying to force feed the trout and not throw what they want. Now some days are just flat out tough with the lack of stockers to keep you busy. I like it, to be honest. It's more of a challenge and it is going to lead to new tactics, spots, etc. developing from myself and others. And a better quality of fish for a while. I do think they need to tweak the stocking. It's going to take some time to perfect it, and if we have a couple years where it's tough and those rainbows can get big, big--bring it. Like Seth and Travis noted, the size is great and I am not complaining. I caught 17 rainbows over 20-inches last year..that is just wild to the folks who don't live there but have been fishing here for a long time. Granted I fished a lot, but sheesh.

Certainly was a tough few days fishing for me and a couple of buddies. We caught 26 on Saturday on a meat hunting mission using worms, scuds, and jigs from Fall Creek to Monkey Island. Not nearly as good as normal, but we took 12 trout home. We did catch some healthy rainbows, the biggest being 19-inches right across from Lilley's dock on a jig, which we released. Should have sold it to somebody in the tourney.. I fished "for real" on Sunday from 12-5:30 pm. I tried dragging 639 and 762 jerkbaits but I did not even have a bite from the cable to Fall Creek, which is extremely odd. No moss either, which is normally the culprit for no fish. I ended up throwing a 110+1 for most of the day and landed 9 fish. Biggest were two browns right at 18-inches and a 19-inch rainbow. The rest of the fish were 10-14-inch browns. The cable through Trophy Run was about as unproductive as I've ever seen. Most of the fish were from Trophy Run through the Narrows. The good thing is when they hit, they hit. I only lost one fish, which naturally looked to be the biggest of the day, on the clay banks. The rest of the bites I landed. Threw 110+1's with Blake yesterday morning before I had to head home and we caught eight fish--four rainbows and four browns. Biggest brown was probably 18-inches and was the first fish of the day. In fact, second cast of the day. We fished from Lilley's down to the bend before Monkey Island and then tried dragging from Lookout to Fall Creek. Blake caught two fish, dinks, but that was it. Give me flood gates..

You guys are missing the best one...brings a tear to your eye 😢

Creel/possession limits are set for a daily harvest on each lake. Obviously, every day that threshold/quota is not met. Even if they're getting better (which I'd argue they're still bad fishermen), that doesn't put MOST lakes into an over-harvesting situation. At the end of the day the point is it's not Livescope "ruining" fisheries. Just because you catch 30 crappie does not mean you need to clean 30 crappie. People certainly abuse it, but like everything, it's up to fishermen to uphold and care for the resource.

I'd bet the amount of fish those guys are catching and keeping over a given year aren't making a dent in any crappie population. If they can't catch them traditionally, they just aren't good fishermen. In fact, most of the people I know utilizing Livescope are really good fishermen already--they're just using a new tool. They can catch fish without it. Like Seth said, you can find cover even better with side imaging. The fact you can drop it in their face is fun, but without LS you'd still be able to find and catch them. It's just another thing for "traditionalists" to complain about.

People who clamor Livescope is ruining fisheries are ignorant to it. It's not the tool, it's the fishermen. Like Seth said, he went home with just as many crappie as he usually does. Are people "limiting out" more? Maybe so. But that's highly likely a good thing for the health of the crappie population in the lakes where it's being used. People I fish with use Livescope on the big reservoirs in Missouri and Kansas and we always institute a slot limit. Three of us caught over 100 Saturday and we kept 25 (which is just over a one-man limit in Kansas), keeping fish only between 10-12-inches. What did people think when sonar first came out? A Vex for ice fishing? The Aquavue cameras? Bottom line: still gotta catch em!

They work nicely. I've used one two times when I was alone and had to get a deer in the bed of my truck and quarter it up.

@Skeeter ZX190 are there a lot of redds right now or no? Thinking of hitting it up next weekend.

Ever been to the Eelpout festival on Leech Lake?? It's not out of the question..

I was hunting Shannon County two springs ago and had a herd(?) of hogs walk up to within 40 yds of me. Counted 42 of them. Big boar in there and several sows with piglets. The destruction they do is unreal. I walked about 4 miles that day and some of the areas were just destroyed by their rooting. USDA/USFW have a bunch of traps set up down there. But with people hunting them, like FW said, they just get spooky immediately and flee to find new areas to mess up. I've done a couple articles on the topic. Eye opening to see how horrible they are and what a battle it is for everyone.

Smoked a chicken the other day. I'm not being hyperbolic when I say it's the best chicken I've ever had. Mayo as a binder and Holy Gospel by MeatChurch for the rub. Absolutely incredible.

Good deal. I still fear it's an unwinnable battle, but kill all you can. But anybody who advocates for hunting for them hasn't done their research. Every other state that's put bounties or seasons on them has had a population explosion. And the idiots in the Ozarks want to run their dogs after them, like they do deer, and chase them all over and spread their population out. I saw some rooting in Gasconade county this spring, which is pretty far north.