rainbow

Which means:Welcome to the forum Ozarks fishing, man. I'm sure you've already found the hospitality is rich here .. If your needs in the Ozarks are fishing related, you need look no further. If you are staying in Rolla I would suggest making a trip to Bennett Springs on the Niangua River, near my home in Lebanon (Lebanon). I'd be more than happy to show you around, even if I do not drive. Feel free to send me a private message and maybe we can organize an adventure? Oh, and please forgive my Italian is very simple and very probably quite horrible. My name is Cricket, I am pleased to meet you

I'll second that recommendation.

My first trip to Taney was in 1973 after watching a trout fishing episode on the old Virgil Ward show. Rented a boat at Roark Creek resort and motored up stream with my 5hp outboard and water running. The rest is history.

Congratulations Phil and Marsha.

As I understand it the stripers in Bull Shoals pretty well got wiped out because they came up to Powersite to eat the trout. Same thing would happen in Taney. They would follow the current to the dam and guys with 12" trout swim baits would wipe them out in no time. If there are fish the men will find a way to catch them.

Amen to that.

The Gasconade has a lot of smallies in the 18+" range. some over 20.

Hit the Gasconade or the Big Piney. Both are good smallie streams.

The guys in the green boat were probably the two older guys that do the creel census. They are not agents and they are really doing a survey.

We went turkey hunting at a good ol boys farm in the ozarks and after the hunt he invited us to his fish fry. All they had was fried gar loins as he called them and they were as good as crappie. Cut the back straps out of them with tin snips and fried em up. We didn't know it was gar and said how good the crappie was. He laughed and said it was gar and we ate some more.

When I was a kid scaling and gutting was the only way we knew how to clean them. we popped the eyes out and fried them with the heads on. Trout too. Ate the skin, fins and the meat. Bluegill are also great on the weber over hickory when left whole. Now I fillet everything except trout for the smoker that we make the smoked trout spread with.

They were bustin the surface all morning. throw anything white. caught one after another. big storm last night so the front must have pushed them deep. couldn't find them this morning.

Just came off the Osage arm at state park. Water is up ten feet but clean. Got in to a mess of white bass and crappie this morning. People are hammering the crappie where I have been fishing off the grand arm. Hotter than blazes though. Just cleaned a limit of whites and some crappie. fry is on tonight.

Wanted to bump this back to the top. We are planning a float trip there in July in the Boiling Springs resort area. Never been on the river or fished it so any advice would be apprecitated including what stretches to float.

Start off by telling them a buddy was fishing with (whatever they are using that's not legal) and he got caught and fined $250.00. The game warden took his picture from far off with telephoto lens and then showed up and wrote the ticket. Just wanted you guys to know so you would get stuck with a big fine. Works evertime.

Really good pictures Phil. Color and contrast are really good. When will you have some of the details of the trip in January?

I know some guides further up the coast but not there. Here is a link to an ESPN show that I watch and have heard these guys are pretty good. I have booked a couple of trips using ESPN show guides and have had good luck each time. Click on:Fla. Keys guidesyou can always check them out with the local chamber of commerce which is what i do.

On the water about 1:30 and drifted sunrise power bait from Fall Creek down to the power line near Branson. Drift rigs with the p bait and caught some nice bows all the way down. Wind was tough to keep the boat straight but the bite was good.

The units on that end of the Fall Creek complex are time shares so their the owners covenants will govern the situation. I had a condo near the creek facing the lake and when the back decks were condemned, due to using untreated lumber, the owners had to pay a special assessment and corner units paid double if the had the big deck like mine. There have been other law suits in that complex against the developer and nothing ever happened even though they knew the decks were of poor material quality. Condo's are a gamble if there is a problem but so is a subdivision if there is a homeowners association to deal with the common areas. All for one and one for all they say. That's why you read all the fine print when doing real estate deals.

Phil, glad I don't have a place there anymore. The special assessment will be huge. See you next week.

Al mentioned the Frying Pan and Roaring Fork in Colorado. Fished both of them last summer. Both gold medal streams. The upper American River in the Sierra's is also great. Have also fished Boca Grande for tarpon and the White. I still like good old Taney the best.

Glad we sold our place at Fall Creek before it fell in and floated by Lilley's.

kc300c said: "anything to be especially cautious about, etc?" Yes, watch out for the dang Taneycomo giant squid. Otherwise, the advice of the other guys is good.

Phil, sorry to see pictures like that and that you had this problem. Glad no one was injured. The picture in front of the condos was nice though.

These pictures have been floating around the net for a while. I have seen them on other sites which claimed the WERE NOT from Missouri. I think somebody must be pulling your pals leg.