gonefishin

Agreed Phil. There is nothing wrong with being helpful. I have done the same thing, and if the people are interested then everything is cool but if they are clearly not interested - I leave them be and let the law handle it. Like OnTheFly I have been harassed when on the water. I like to fly fish but I don't as often as I used to because I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. I was in the -fly only area- a couple of years ago using my spinning rod... from the way people acted you would have thought I was some kind of mass murder or something. I finally left. It sure ruined my day of fishing. Why should I be harassed? I pay my taxes and by my licences just like everyone else and was not breaking the law. My point is people have to be careful and not get carried away. My position is the same as Dano. There is nothing wrong with being helpful and if we see a serious violation then the law should be called but, that is where it should end. The enforcement part should be left up to the law.

Just an FYI my family has been involved in law enforcement for years also we are talking about fish not felionious assults against persons. Lets keep things in perspective. I do not agree with confrontation on the water because; where does it stop? I can guarentee there are people out there who fish a certain place who would use the law to "protect thier personal spot on the lake". If the law were to indescrimanetly ticket these people, who just happen to be in the other persons spot and not know it, then not only would innocent persons be harmed but also the law enforcement agents time would be wasted and the courts would be jammed with worthless cases. In the case of aiding a woman being raped or someone being murdered I agree a person should help but let me ask this. What about the the guy who broke up with his gal and then doesn't like it because some other guy is dating her. Being a smart individual he thinks ah-hah and grabs his baseball bat and beats the crap out of the guy who is out with his ex. Then when the law shows up he claims he was only being a good citizen and defending her? When the cop says 'she says he wasnt bothering her' the guy says "ohh, really...it sure looked like it to me. Sorry I guess I was wrong. Then goes on his merry way because after all he was only trying to be a good samaratin. If you think this kind of thing doesn't happen then you certainly have not been in law enforcement long enough. I am sorry but I do not agree that it is the sportsmans place to confront others on the water. If you think someone is seriously breaking the law then first make sure you know what you are talking about then second call the law. Then as Dano said be ready to do your civic duty by being a witness in court.

This discussion has been on here before. I reckon what we should do is start local vigilanti groups at various fishing spots in the state. That way we can keep the people we don't want in "our" areas out. I mean its not as if everyone in the state pays taxes for these public lakes and parks. Sorry guys I am being a little sarcastic but, I do not believe anyone other than law enforcement should confront others because they might be doing something wrong. If you think someone is breaking the law call the the enforcement officer. Earlier this year there was a post on here about a fly a guy was using in the fly fishing only area at Taney. I would have bet money it was an illegal fly. I just knew the guy was a 'poacher'. Guess what. I was wrong. It was legal. Best bet is if you think someone is doing wrong, call law enforcement and let them handle it. Thats why we pay taxes and have these guys trained.

There is some good gill fishing at Stockton and from what I hear in Taney. I think though to catch any quantity of them in Taney one really needs a boat. I have done alright for gills and an occasional cracker in TR in the Viola area. I have heard Lamar lake has some good fishing and Bushwaker too. Council Bluff is supposed to have some really big crackers.

Always interested in catching some 'gills or 'crackers. What do you have in mind?

I wonder what, if any, impact filter feeding fish (Spoonbill, Buffolo, ect) have on Zebra Mussle Larva? Anybody heard?

I think having a hunting site is a good idea however, I don't think adding hunting to this site would be good. The sites should be kept separate. I know MoCarp and I are in the minority on this but I agree with him. It would clutter the site and make it difficult to navigate.

The state of Mo should stock more Blue Cats and Redear. Predation on exotic zebra mussels by native fishes: effects on predator and prey Daniel D. Magoulick* and Lindsey C. Lewis† SUMMARY1. Exotic zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, occur in southern U.S. waterways in high densities, but little is known about the interaction between native fish predators and zebra mussels. Previous studies have suggested that exotic zebra mussels are low profitability prey items and native vertebrate predators are unlikely to reduce zebra mussel densities. We tested these hypotheses by observing prey use of fishes, determining energy content of primary prey species of fishes, and conducting predator exclusion experiments in Lake Dardanelle, Arkansas. 2. Zebra mussels were the primary prey eaten by 52.9% of blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus; 48.2% of freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens; and 100% of adult redear sunfish, Lepomis microlophus. Blue catfish showed distinct seasonal prey shifts, feeding on zebra mussels in summer and shad, Dorosoma spp., during winter. Energy content (joules g-1) of blue catfish prey (threadfin shad, Dorosoma petenense; gizzard shad, D. cepedianum; zebra mussels; and asiatic clams, Corbicula fluminea) showed a significant species by season interaction, but shad were always significantly greater in energy content than bivalves examined as either ash-free dry mass or whole organism dry mass. Fish predators significantly reduced densities of large zebra mussels (>5 mm length) colonising clay tiles in the summers of 1997 and 1998, but predation effects on small zebra mussels (≤5 mm length) were less clear. 3. Freshwater drum and redear sunfish process bivalve prey by crushing shells and obtain low amounts of higher-energy food (only the flesh), whereas blue catfish lack a shell-crushing apparatus and ingest large amounts of low-energy food per unit time (bivalves with their shells). Blue catfish appeared to select the abundant zebra mussel over the more energetically rich shad during summer, then shifted to shad during winter when shad experienced temperature-dependent stress and mortality. Native fish predators can suppress adult zebra mussel colonisation, but are ultimately unlikely to limit population density because of zebra mussel reproductive potential. You might find this interesting. Of course since these were caught it has been found that the shellfish are Zebra Mussels. Amos M. Gay and his new all-tackle world record redear sunfish (shellcracker) from Santee Cooper Diversional Canal, caught in August, 1998. The fish weighed 5 lbs. 7.5 ozs. and topped another fish from the same fishing hole by 3.5 ozs. The fishing hole where Gay caught this fish has produced at least three redear over 5 lbs. It is located where the canal meets Lake Moultrie. The area was intensively sprayed to remove vegetation, and the resulting bare bottom became the perfect home for an unnamed species of Asiatic shellfish. The shellfish are, of course, dinner for shellcrackers, and redear feeding in this area experience phenomenal growth and weight gain. If the shellfish are the infamous zebra mussels, redear appear to offer a perfect solution to control. Reduced zebra mussel expansion and big redear in one package! Raymond F. Lee's redear would have been a new world record at 5 lbs., 4 ozs., but for Amos M. Gay's even bigger fish (see above) caught just after Lee caught this fish. Both fish came from the Santee Cooper Diversonal Canal near its confluence at Lake Moultrie, South Carolina.

LEBANON, Mo. -- The Missouri Water Patrol kept a watchful eye on canoers this weekend in the Bennett Springs Park area. Patrolmen watched for any illegal activity along the banks of the Niangua River -- and they found plenty of it. Water Patrol officials say they handed out 45 tickets for misdemeanor drug charges, minors in possession of alcohol, littering, adults supplying alcohol to minors, and for a boater not having a flotation device. Officers also arrested a man on two felony counts of sexual misconduct because they believe he expose himself to two young children. The Missouri Water patrol says the crackdown along the river was successful and plans to have one or two more before the end of the summer.

12 Gauge alarm system??

I always appreciate your reports Marty; thanks. I hope to come up and fish with you this fall. Are there any good Bluegill being caught?

Unless it is just a 'there is no where else to get it at the time case' I don't buy fishing supplies from Wal-Mart and very little from Bass Pro. I know I could save a few bucks if I did but realistically if I take the difference in cost between a jug of power bait purchased at Wal-Mart versus a local bait shop and divided the price difference between the number of times I could bait from the jug the cost difference would be very minimal. Besides gas is expensive and in my case when I am on the way to the fishing hole it is out of my way to go to Wallyworld or Bass Pro so I would actually lose money doing my buying there. It is hard for me to understand people would go to Lillys (or any resort) fishing and then go to to the local Wal-Mart to purchase bait. People are the strangest creatures.

Great info Mo. And absolutley correct. I have tried to explain this to people before but it has been difficult for me to get them to understand what I mean. In general when I am fishing I don't worry about what others are doing unless it is or intimidating, dangerous or seriously illegal. If someone is out there breaking the law they will eventually get caught and if I am not perstering the bejesus out of the enforcement agent and sending him all over the place for every little nit picking thing, then there is a lot better chance the law breaker will be caught because the enforcement officer will be doing what he needs to do where he needs to be doing it. Some people don't seen to have anything better to do than just be annoying. I am a bank fisherman and I can guarentee you within an hour of setting up in a spot to fish, if there are boats around, there will be some boater who thinks it is funny to do a fly by. You know, turn his boat at the highest speed possible to fling the biggest waves possible towards me. Others will use their trolling motors and get just as close as possible to me just to prove something that I dont understand. If I were to call the enforcement officer everytime this happened all he would ever get done is to chace boaters (ie tools). All I would accomplish by reporting all of these people is getting suckered into playing the tools game and keeping law enforcment from catching the real law-breakers.

Nice looking mess of fish. I have heard of lake Pawhuska but other than NE Okla I dont know where it is. I would like to come down there and try to catch some of them Okla 'Gills and 'Ears. I have a good friend in OK who I usually fish on Grand Lake a few times a year.

I would like to hear more reports on the Bluegill. Bluegill, actually Redear, are my favorite fish. If anyone is catching Redear on the Rock or anywhere else I would sure like to hear about it.

Hold the boat Bill. If you are upset by what I said dont be. It was not pointed at you. Also it was meant as humor hence the 'Heh heh' at the end of my comments. I use a lot of micro jigs. They catch fish as opposed to a lot of things in my tackle box that are only meant to catch fishermen's bucks. Personally I doubt you are making money on Micro jigs but if you are then more power to you because like I said, they work and the only way they are going to stay on the market is if people are making money on them. gonefishin

Ohhh my gosh Bill!!! Dont you know you are bucking a 500 year old tradition. Arent you worried you are going to offend some of the local trout fly fishing purist's by talking about fishing with jigs??? Arent you worried that they will start calling you at all hours of the day and night to give you a really hard time for supporting such unsportman like conduct? HEH Heh

Fished flooded timber today and caught a limit of nice slabs and several sandies. Caught a lot of non-keeper crappie also. Most of the females were still full of eggs. Used black and chartuse tube jigs with a red hook. Hoped to catch some walleyes but no luck. It was a tad damp on Stockton today. Been so long since I seen rain it almost scared me.

I agree with all of you. There are certainly Mountain Lions in Mo and there have been for years. I think the MDC stays mum on the subject because they don't want people getting upset because there are dangerous predators on the loose. I see no reason to have populations of mountain lions in a state as populated as Missouri-especially one that makes a lot of money on outdoor activities. I agree with the farmer quoted earlier if I get one in my crosshairs--he will be extremely endangered".

Just got a reply from Jeremy. Looks like they caught 90 and cleaned 60. Maybe we need to meet at his house for a fish fry. Caught 90 and cleaned 60 what? Whatever it was it sounds like they sure got into em.

Great looking fly!! Do you tie those yourself or are they available for purchase?

I dont know how far a White Bass can run but, I bet they sure look funny when the do run. gonefishin

Mo. Wouldn't this be a good article to post in the topic Non-native fish topic?

I hope he keeps his word and votes 'No Sale'!

Anyone catching 'eyes on Stockton?