mcp633

Nice slabs, although it looks like there's some work left in the sink .

Well, Jimmy muffed another one last night. Then he has a 3-1 count with the bases jammed in the bottom of the eighth, down by a run, with Carp on the hook for the loss and he strikes out. Unbelievable !!!!!!! That's all I have to say about that. Kyle

I can't, never could. Kyle

Brian, My experience on Monday was a good one overall. The stadium was great with a couple of complaints about my particular seats. . One thing I didn't care for in the old Busch was how if you were seated in certain sections of the outfield, your view of some portions of the field were cut out. Same thing here. I got into one of the Larussa plans when they went on sale. Can't say the price was bad, however, our seats are right down the first base foul line in the third level. There is a handicapped platform that juts out on the same level. We have no view of center field unless you stand and look over the disabled folks. Also, there is no scoreboard to view. Sucks for my wife who isn't real good at following the game pitch by pitch. Hopefully they will insert a scoreboard across the way so us folks in the right field sections have one to stare at. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. The stadium is beautiful, easy to get around, and still houses the best fans in baseball. Kyle

I'm sure the vendors will have no problem finding my hand and inserting a $9.00 semi-cold Budweiser in it . I believe it will be a tuff series with the Brew Crew. And I agree we need to escape Chitown with a big W tonite. We'll see what Ponson is made of. Kyle.

I've seen one here in Cole County also. I believe if there is a self-sustaining population of cougars here, they are appearantly doing alright on their own with no need for additional protective measures. I doubt a cougar has many natural predators, and encounters with humans are rare, so I don't see a real need for them to be on the endangered list.

Bummer about yesterday's loss to the Cubbies. Anyway I have tickets for opening day . As you can imagine, I'm pretty excited. My wife and I are rabid Cards fans. Anyone else going?

I fish Montauk quite a bit and have only caught one brown. It was about 12" and was right down by the wire. I figure it was an escapee from downstream. Kyle

We put in a Coffman on Tuesday morning. It was cold all day. Fishing was slow for the most part. We covered alot of water and only got into one hot spot. I caught a limit and a half of 8in. crappie, but only had five keepers. Although they were 12-13 inch keepers . My dad had a limit of nice crappie (can't outfish the old man). The water was two to three degrees (46-47 degrees)colder than the last time we were out about two weeks ago and still pretty clear. All caught on the old standby, yellow tube with a green skirt under a float 4-5 foot deep around brush and docks. Like I said, we only got into one good spot, the rest were picked up one or two at a time, here and there. Kyle

The only one that I can say for sure isn't that important to bass is the shape. It probably plays a role, but not the most important. The largest bass I ever caught was right at dusk, fishing for catfish. I was fast reeling my big wad of bait to recast, and the bass hit the doughbait. Wasn't particularly shaped like anything except a wad of doughbait. I figure the bass liked the action of the bait skimming accross the top of the water.

My dad and I took off for the lake this morning in search some crappie. We found them. We put in at Coffman and headed up towards Indian Creek and fished back down to the ramp. We got on the water about 10:00AM. Hit a few spots that dad fishes regularly this time of year. Fished yellow and green tubes under an indicator anywhere from 2-4 ft. around brush. We were off the water at 2:30PM with a limit of good size crappie each. The water is still very clear. I guess not enough rain the other day to stir it up. As a side note, some of the storm damage around that area was unbelievable. Several docks were flipped over on their tops on the bank, boats turned over, and at many houses destroyed. You could see where the storm tracked down one hill, crossed the lake and headed up the hill on the other side. Amazing .

How 'bout those asian carp? take your head right off if you're not careful.

Just my opinion, but if you are going to fish any of the trout parks, go with Montauk. Less crowding, more room to fish, and I think just a better overall experience. Usually if you wait out the whistle fishermen, you can pretty much have your run of the park for the rest of the day. The fly only area is never to congested even on busy weekends at the whistle. I go at least twice a year with a big group for "guys" weekends and we always enjoy it. The campgrounds are really nice and right on the stream. I really have only been to Bennett a couple of times, but there is no competition in my mind between the two. The added benefit, the beautiful Current river below the park, also great fishing and where I spend the mornings. I'll fish the park for my four stockers in the afternoon for the fryer. Rooster tails usually work well all over the park if you're spin fishing. If you've got the long rod in hand, you've got to try the glo balls. I know it kills alot of fly fisherman to use them, but they produce. They have quite an assortment at the lodge, I prefer tri-color (orange, pink, yellow), yellow, or pink. Never hurts to have a white one on hand with a red dot for obvious reasons. As for the water being low, it has never been a problem for me.

I'm not suggesting that someone slap a homemade water patrol sticker on the side of their boat and police the waterways. I'm am saying if you happen to be out, and see someone doing something illegal, report them. That's what the game thief hotline is for. I know you probably ran into a few officers along the way that thought they knew everything, but we're not omnipotent. Chances are, if an officer knows where the problems are, it was probably someone who pointed it out to him to bring it to his attention. People usually don't break the law in front of a law enforcement officer unless they are ignorant of the regulations, inattentive, or just plain stupid. It's just my opinion that everyone who pays their fees to obtain a fishing license, trout stamp, or any other MDC permit has the duty to respect the laws and report those that don't. You can bet if I see someone breaking the law while I'm on the stream, they're getting reported. Even if he doesn't get caught by law enforcement this time, or the next, or the next...Guess what? MDC is now aware that there is a potential problem and maybe they'll pay attention, because I called. As for dishonest people that would intentionally divert law enforcement from an area, I don't disagree, but they would do that anyway. It happens probably more than you think.

Its always easy to say that we need more law enforcement people on the waterways to enforce the regulations set forth to protect our wildlife, but as a law enforcement officer, I have to say that it is the responsibility of everyone to protect what's important to us. I don't advocate vigilanteism, however, as a street cop, most of the time we depend on observant citizens to help us do our job. It would not matter if we tripled the number of vigilant MDC Agents in the field, they cannot be everywhere at once, there's too much ground to cover. My bottom line is, if you see someone "poaching" it is your responsiblity to report them. Not to confront them, but report them. That's how we help MDC. If you say nothing, look the other way, nobody knows there is a problem except you and the poachers. And the poachers don't care.

Thanks for the info. I will be sure to post after we get back. Not sure when we're going to head out. We had to cancel the other day. You know how things come up at the last minute.

My dad and I were planning to make a trip to the Osage river at the Pike's Camp access which is about five minutes from his house in Wardsville. We are going to throw out some floats for catfish and maybe wet a line for some walleye while waiting for the floats to bob. Anyone have some advice for what to throw at them and how to fish it? I remember going walleye fishing on the Osage, but I was really small and don't remember the tactics we used. I just know it was cold. As a matter of fact, the last walleye I caught was on Lake Ozark dropping minnows into brush for crappie. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Kyle

I tend to avoid fishing inside the trout parks for similar reasons during the "regular" trout season. Unless I am fishing the restricted area inside Montauk. I will usually wait to fish the parks once most people have harvested their four and have headed out of the stream. However, I believe the problem is not rudeness, but instead a general lack of fishing manners. I really believe that most people that you would consider "rude" are just ignorant of good fishing etiquette, or possibly the know-it-all types that I wouldn't want to be around anyway.

In the group that I fish with we gut and skin the fish. Then we fillet them and then cut the fillets into about one to two inch pieces. We soak them in clean water until the water gets grayish in color and then change the water and repeat until the water stays clear. This helps to eliminate the "fishy" taste that some people don't care for. Then just fry em up like you would a slab of crappie.

I fished the park on Friday 1/20 from about 10 AM - 1 PM. Had no luck for about the first hour and threw just about everything at them. Moved up to the pot hole and ran into a nice fellow who started hooking them on yellow glo balls. Tied one on and caught several fish. Eventually the glo ball stopped working and I switched to a red/gold beadhead midge and did okay for awhile drifting it under a indicator about three feet deep. One hit it so hard it broke me off before I could even set the hook. Not a bad day all in all.

Thanks Dave. Maybe I'll just stop in and if it's no good in the park, I'll just head for other waters. I really need a day of fishing, even if it isn't good fishing. Know what I mean?

Has anyone been to MSP recently for catch and release? I was planning on going on Friday if there is no lightening in the area. I need to know what flies are working in that area. I have had mixed results there in the past fishing cracklebacks, woolies, and various egg patterns. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Kyle

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely going to try to get down that way soon.

Howdy, probably won't make it down for opening day, but I never do. It's usually tough enough to fight the crowd let alone when its twice crowded. I did, however make it down for opening weekend last year, and it wasn't so bad. I usually go for "guys weekend out" once in the spring and once in the fall, but visit several times in between and always stay on loop four and in site 423 when available. I didn't really see too many changes in the park from '03 to '04 and don't really expect anything drastic.

Hello all. My name is Kyle Horn. I live in, was born in, and raised in Jefferson City. I have been a fisherman all my life thanks to my dad bringing my brother and I up crappie fishing on the Lake of the Ozarks. I got into fly fishing about two years ago and it instantly became an obsession. I spend most of my days off fly fishing now much to the dismay of my wife. I spend most of my fishing time on the upper Current, Meramec, Montauk, winter trout lake in J.C., and occasionally the Big Piney (love the smallies on the 5wt). However, I'm not one of those "fly fishing snobs" and regularly pick the brains of those around me in waters that I am not familliar with. I stumbled onto your forum while looking for information on Taneycomo, looks good, and a lot of great information. I hope to get down that way soon, wet a line, and get a piece of some of the action I have been reading about here. My wife enjoys camping which I can use as a good excuse to sneak away for some fishing. Any good campgrounds near the trout water? Happy New Year everybody and I hope to run across some of you soon. Kyle