CaptainT16

I've always wanted to fish beneath the bridge as well, but have never made it. Seems like we always get in one area and stay around that. I would like to venture out a bit more and see what I can find. Were the crowds very bad for you guys? I wouldn't think they would be with the heat, but I suppose as the beginning there will be a few, but as the day goes by, probably gets thinnned out some?

Thanks for the great report. I think my father and I are going to head over that way on Tuesday. Anyone else going to be around that area on Tuesday? With Taney running water all the time, we thought we would make the drive back to Bennett since it's been awhile since we have been there. Sounds like a great time, can't wait! Did you mainly fish zone 1 while you were there? That is the only zone I fish, but may try a few other places this time? Only time will tell!

Of course you would have to have puppies right before our first little one is about ready to be born! I have been trying to get my wife to let me get a lab, but lately it's been a no go. With the little one due Sept 4th and our other dog, she thinks the house will be a "Zoo"! I don't know, but if something changes, I would love to snag one of them up.

Both great stories. Made me feel like I was right there on the stream. Sounds like he did have a "wild ride" alright.

Just wondered if anyone has any good reports of any of these being caught anywhere? I know here in KS they are catching them on top, so let the fun begin. My dad and I got into some stripers on the surface last year and what a blast they were. I caught my biggest wiper so far, probably around 7-8lbs on memorial day this year. It was a great time!

I think it would be a great idea. I know I have only fished it once, I was pretty pleased with it overall. A little closer drive for us. The only thing that I thought of too was enforcement, but sounds like they may have that covered then? 7 days a week C & R though would be great!

Well, unfortunately I live in KS so I will say my home water would be Milford Lake in east central KS. I wish I could say my home lake is Taney, although while living in Springfield I took up Fly Fishing at Taney. So glad to have had that opportunity.

Yes, if someone walks into the river, of course it is going to get the fish going by messing up the botome of the lake or river, BUT it's not done intentionally. If someone out there is moving their feet around all the time purposely disturbing the bottom, that is what that is saying. Of course while wading you are going to move some small rocks here and there, but not purposely going out and shuffling the bottom to get some fish to eat at a free buffett.

Those are the same that get played on mine the most as well. Great Stuff!

Wow, what a bad situation to get into. I remember the second time fishing there and heard the horn blow and was on the south side of the lake. By the time I was about halfway to the north side, I was getting a bit worried that I might now make it and I tell you I was getting a bit panicky. I can just imagine what this poor guy was thinking. Glad to hear everyone was on his side and he got help as quickly as he did. Not sure about ticket wise, but I am sure he surely will never have to worry about doing that again. Listen to the horns and as soon as they are sounding, head to shore.

Here is a website for Weavers store, they update their Bennett Springs Fishing report on Sundays and Wednesdays. They always are very informative and up to date with info. Good luck and let us know how you do. www.missouritrout.com/weavers

Yes, they will attach themselves to everything they can. There is a picture of a fishing pole on the front of Kansas Wildlife and Parks website and it shows a simple fishing pole that someone had lost throughout their fishing adventure and it is covered with the mussels. I got snagged on a bigger tree limb once at El Dorado and I reeled it in and to my surprise it was so covered and sharp I had to end up cutting the line. I have noticed one attached to my boat once while fishing, but keeping your boat in for long periods of time, yep, they will cover it. As far as the weight they add I'm not sure. They are pretty small and I would thinks thousands of them would create some weight issues, but not quite sure on that. It is sad to see them being scattered everywhere as they are.

We currently have them in El Dorado lake just east of Wichita here in KS and they are amazing critters. I went over there a couple of weeks ago and saw all of them when the water was down. They are absolutely everywhere. Kansas Wildlife and Parks as well as most fisherman are very worried about them right now. They eat alot of plankton and other nutrients our lakes have and I was amazed at how they clean the lakes right up. Very clear water over at El Dorado and pretty clear is quite something for a lake in KS. It's sad to see these guys taking over the lakes and downstream. I will say make sure you wear shoes anytime walking around in a lake with them otherwise your feet will show it as well as your fishing line being cut. Not good! Where did zebra mussels come from? Zebra mussels are native to the Black and Caspian Sea in Europe. They arrived into the Great Lakes in 1988 in the ballast water of ships. Zebra mussels are established in El Dorado Reservoir and the Walnut River below the dam. Zebra mussels have become widespread throughout the Midwestern US. Click here to see where. What do zebra mussels look like? Zebra mussels look like small clams, usually less than an inch long with a D-shaped shell. Usually the shell is yellowish-brown with alternating dark and light stripes. Zebra mussels use sticky byssal threads to attach tightly to any hard surface. Why are zebra mussels a problem? Zebra mussels are a problem because they filter water, up to a liter a day, to eat plankton. Although this filtering action may clear up the water, clear water does NOT mean clean water and the clear water zebra mussels leave behind will often lead to algal blooms that are harmful to people. The clear water can also let UV rays damage fish eggs laid during the spawn. Larval fish and native mussels rely on this same plankton to survive. Zebra mussels also clog pipes by forming colonies inside of the pipes. Then the water cannot flow through the pipes as easily. Nationwide expenditures to control zebra mussels in water intake pipes, water filtration equipment, and electric generating plants are estimated at $3.1 billion over 10 years. How do zebra mussels spread? Transport by people is probably the primary vector for the spread of zebra mussels to unconnected waters. Zebra mussels will attach to a solid substrate and can be easily transported on recreational equipment. Zebra mussel larvae (veligers) are about the diameter of a human hair and are so small you can?t see them without a microscope. The veliger floats in a water column for 1-5 weeks and then as it grows it begins to sinks and search for a hard surface on which to live and grow. It is illegal to release zebra mussels into a waterbody. How do we control zebra mussels? Zebra mussels cannot be controlled in the wild. On intake pipes, chemicals can be used that will kill the larva. If these chemicals were used in an open lake they would also affect fish and native mussels. The spread of zebra mussels can be prevented by draining all of the water from boats, live wells, and bait wells. Thoroughly inspect your boat's hull and trailer for any zebra mussels and remove. Wash equipment with 104-degree water (your local car wash hot water rinse), a 10-percent chlorine bleach and water solution, or a hot saltwater solution. Let equipment sit for 5 days. Never take fish or plants from one lake and put them in another. Never dip your bait bucket into a lake or river if it has water in it from another waterbody. What do I do if I find zebra mussels? If you find a zebra mussel, do not release it back into the water, note the date and location, and call the Emporia Research Office at (620) 342-0658 or email the Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator. Public assistance in reporting zebra mussel sightings at new locations is essential to help prevent its spread to other inland lakes and rivers.

Now where do I sign up! Yeah, awesome video, wish I could have helped out in this production!

That is sad to hear. We have found the zebras in El Dorado lake just east of Wichita here in KS, and they are everywhere. When the water was really low a couple of months ago, all of the dead ones still attached to the rocks is amazing. They do keep the water really clean, but they are very worried about the long term effects on them. I guess only time will tell, but it is amazing to see how quickly they attach themselves to things. Don't ever go swimming barefoot, or you are going to get cut up badly.

I love the "Highway Cone"! The name says it all!

Yeah, unfortunately I bet alcohol did have something to play in the accident. And for it to happen so late in the evening? Scooper, glad to hear you got to take out your 88yr old father for a trip on the river. It's great when you still have the opportunity to be able to do that with him. I wish you many more years of canoeing with him.

That is one great fish. Congrats on such a beauty. Also glad to hear you got her back in the water okay. Hope to hear of another great story someday about someone catching and releasing it.

Saw this in the KC Star the other day. Sounds pretty interesting, but why? I can't even imagine where someone would even come up with something like this. I would like to hear everyones thoughts on this issue. I think it is one of the craziest things I have heard of in the fishing industry. I know, that it would be way to expensive to even think about trying to do this in most places. I have used creatine during my running, weightlifting days and it does, work, but giving it to a fish, crazy. I just can't imagine that it making a trout fight that much harder? Meet Super Trout Researchers at MU are building fish that are lean, mean fighting machines — thanks to a little boost from creatine By BRENT FRAZEE The Kansas City Star Imagine going to your favorite trout stream and being able to tangle with a “super fish” — a muscle-bound rainbow that has amazing strength and endurance. Now imagine how that fish got that way — by taking creatine, the same performance-enhancing supplement Mark McGwire used on the way to breaking baseball’s then-single-season home-run record in 1998. A far-fetched scenario, you say? Not in the eyes of researchers at the University of Missouri. For more than a year, MU professors have been experimenting with feeding rainbow trout a diet supplemented with 5 percent creatine, which is used by athletes to increase muscle mass and endurance and recover more quickly from injuries. The results have been striking. Preliminary findings indicated that some of the trout taking the creatine — a naturally occurring amino acid, not a steroid or a hormone — showed a five-fold increase in their stamina, measured by the length of time they were able to swim against a controlled current. The day when that might translate to better fishing is still a long way off. The federal government does not approve creatine in fish that are to be consumed by humans, though the substance is legally sold over the counter as a supplement. But researchers haven’t ruled out the possibility that the substance — if proved safe, effective and economically feasible — might one day change the face of fishing for some species. “There would be a lot of marketability for harder-fighting fish,” said Rob Hayward, a fisheries professor at MU who is involved in the study. “Fishermen probably would pay a premium for a chance of catching fish that fought longer and harder. “Fee-fishing operations could market that they had harder-fighting fish, and they could gain some business.” Alicia Amyx, part of the family that has operated the Rainbow Trout Ranch fee-fishing operation near Rockbridge, Mo., since 1954, agreed that it could present new possibilities. “I’m sure it would be attractive to some of our fishermen, having harder-fighting trout,” she said. “Trout 2 pounds and up fight hard enough. We hear a lot of stories about the one that got away. To have a trout that fought even harder could be exciting. “But before we even considered using something like creatine, we would have to make sure it was safe (to consume) on a long-term basis. We’re careful that our fish are natural and of high quality. We wouldn’t want to jeopardize that in any way.” But the gains wouldn’t necessarily be confined to freshwater fish. The benefits of creatine also could extend to saltwater fish, Hayward said. “The big thing now is open-ocean aquaculture, in which fish are raised in large cages as far as 200 miles off shore,” Hayward said. “By supplementing the diet of those fish with creatine, they might grow stronger and be able to withstand stronger currents.” Hayward emphasizes that the study is still in its preliminary stages. But early returns have opened some eyes. Creatine was first used by MU researchers in research with pigs to see whether it could improve the quality of pork. Hayward and animal-sciences professor Eric Berg later decided to test the substance to see whether it could improve muscle growth in fish. To test the fish’s swimming stamina, they used a Plexiglas swim tube in which the current could be regulated. “In effect, it’s like a treadmill,” Hayward said. “We can adjust the flow rate and see how the fish react.” Hayward and Berg, aided by undergraduate researchers Amber Wiewel and Kyle Winders, also tested creatine’s effects on bluegills, but the results were not profound. “Bluegills are relatively sedentary and are reluctant to swim, so differences weren’t pronounced,” Hayward said. But the researchers found good subjects in the trout, which are current-oriented fish. Now they are thinking of testing other species, including the closely related salmon. “We can’t say if this will ever have any application to fishing or aquaculture,” Hayward said. “We are just providing the science. “But it does provide some interesting possibilities.”

I would agree Farley all the way. Nice fish by the way!

I would have to agree, I really like my XM. I am happy with the service, and can't believe they didn't come up with this sooner. Good stuff!

ahhh, someday!!!!

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I always wondered why there wouldn't be any natural reproduction? So the normal generation usually takes it's toll on the beds then? Just the current of it I take it?

Wow, that would be a great place to try. I would much rather fish a stream or small river then a lake. Sounds like a great little place to try if I ever make it up that way. Great Report!