T.J. Clarke

They recommend fatheads. Plan on stocking the end of May.....fathead minnows, red ear, blue gill, bass, a few sterile carp. No catfish.

35 years ago I bought large sculpin flies mail order from Cabella's. Been in the fly box ever since and don't think I've ever been lucky with them. Sad to admit, I know. The other day just for the heck of it, tried one at the spring hole, Bennett. Yep, caught one in calf deep water. Better late than never. Hooks still seem good, but I should upgrade. Got a hoot out of that one fish, and made the day.

Congrats on the 5 pounder! I was at Bennett and the wind was brutal.

Weed stores are fleeing California due to high cost of doing business, and TAXES. As Cali goes, so does the rest of the nation. Before long the remaining states will make the effort prohibitive. Back to illegal weed at that point.

You will like the town, has that Mayberry vibe, small shops, stores, vintage toy store, great German food. Not open every day however.

On a smaller scale try Cole camp MO and the "German Table" restaurant. Best German food in MO. Nice town.

I spend half my free time fighting trees; falling on the fence lines, interfering with security lights, and electric lines, falling on the barn, dropping limbs at the slightest blow of wind. I am messing with the trees more than the woodpeckers! The trees have evolved artificial intelligence and are trying to kill me before I kill them. On the upside the wood stove saves on the electric bill.

mic said all nicely. I would just add the human nature factor since we were cavemen. Humans like a whisper, whisper, wink, wink secret. It is in our DNA. On a side note, Washington DC insiders who leave bureaucracies make big $$$ trading on their security clearence. It is bread and butter for them. Self-serving circle.

am up to 8 vintage automatic fly reels. It's a fun hobby and another deal to add to the fishing arsenal. What a hoot! I hear you, thinking about a second automatic outfit.

Monday has become my favorite C&R day at Bennett. Light crowds are nice. Mixed it up with a 1980 fiberglass rod, and a 1960s automatic reel. Have a lot of fun whenever it is used. Topped off the vintage day by catching one at the spot I caught my very first trout in 1971, slightly downstream from the large handicap area (just below dam). Fishing was good, stream clearing up nice for now, lots of fish holding below fast water, levels normal, few people, a lot of activity at the hatchery.

1/23/2023 | BENNETT SPRING STATE PARK | LEBANON, MO Representatives from Missouri State Parks invite the public to provide input on the future of Bennett Spring State Park’s wooden Bramwell Bridge. A public meeting will be held at 6 p.m., Monday, Jan. 23, at the Bennett Spring nature center. A 30-day comment period will begin on Jan. 23, with a survey available online on the park's homepage. For more information about this event and the online survey, call the park at 417-532-4338. Click here to read the news release. MEETING TIME: 6 P.M. 26250 Highway 64A, Lebanon, MO | 417-532-4338 NOTE-----The online survey does not begin till JAN 23rd

They scrapped the swimming pool. It sits there covered in buzzard poop and fish bones. Sad, we had lots of fun at the pool in our teens. I am old enough to remember when Roaring River had a pool.

Fished Bennett the other day and landed 2 fat bluegills minutes apart, just above the dam. Maybe just me but of all the years fishing there, decades, I do not remember ever catching them (maybe I did but forgot). They would have been keepers on a pond.

I travel to Illinois for work and over the summer gas would fluctuate 50-1.00 per gallon in 30 miles it was crazy. And it was always way more expensive once you cross the river for MO. Thank god for a company car and card, They actually got me a diesel over the summer. Good mileage but it costs a lot more One of the most dangerous places on the roadway is between an Illionois driver and a MO gas station! Poor folks from IL filling up 5-gallon jugs/trucks, cars full of gas just across the JB and other bridges. Same across the Kentucky line.

Several Christmases ago we did a blind taste test at our party of every honey whiskey on the market. We also included Drambuie even though it is from Scotland. The winner was Drambuie, with American Honey #2. Surprised most of us. I believer Drambuie is the second oldest liquor recipe in the world, with "Liquor 43" being the oldest.

For years we put up one of those silver tinsel trees, with an antique color wheel from the 1960s. It was easy, but this year the Mrs. said "no more tinsel tree" she hated it. I miss the simple, easy setup of the thing!

This is the MDC reporting map/info if you have not seen it. You can email the pics to Mountain Lion Report Team. People are seeing them in Northern Laclede County, but nobody has sent in evidence. Confirmed Mountain Lion Reports | Missouri Department of Conservation

Only once in 1985, took a horse trail switchback off a normal trail, and messed up. I used to work near Howell Island Conservation Area on the Missouri River. Even though it is an Island, one road, one entrance by land, people were lost all the time. Darkness would set in, and St Charles County Fire EMS would have to rescue them. I carry a small compass on a zipper jacket pull, and a larger compass in my day pack. I bring it on every hike no matter how short, or how established the trail blaze is. Just over cautious, besides I just like compasses.

Great photos MO, thanks for posting!

I fish Barclay during the winter a lot. Using boot foot waders with a good belt, keep a sharp knife on my vest. A few times I wore a life vest. Try to be as careful as possible. Maybe an inflatable suspender type as insurance, maybe over thinking it? Wonder how many Folks wear inflatables? I do not notice any on people. Like you, I hear best thing is to just swim with them, go with the flow, moved to bank when safe to do so.

Very poor reporting on this. You would think a major question to ask is "what was he doing, fishing, boating", etc. A key point in any story like this. News said he was 75 year old.

Those of you who never seen the Jeffrey Spaide neighbor shooting, I strongly recommend it. It is an amazing look at social breakdown, "treat others as you would like to be treated", etc. etc. I found an unedited version (harder to find). I think it should be mandatory showing at all neighborhood association meetings, Police Academy Recruits, crisis counselors, and others. It is fascinating on many levels. Watch it all because he comes back with a rifle. Listen to his comments. VIDEO: 3 killed in Pennsylvania snow-removal dispute - Cayman Marl Road

A lot of Folks bank fish in zone 2, just above the whistle bridge with spin outfits only.

Nice that you took the photos. I always took first day at school pics of my 2 daughters. All the way into Grad School! Nice to look back at them in the albums. These and the "First Fish" caught pics are some of the best.