taxidermist

We headed out yesterday morning. Caught some bass just inside main lake points, then decided to bump bottom with some night crawlers and found walleye. We saw several people using minnows but all claimed they were slow. Just before dark we had landed 17 walleye with one 27" and 6 other keepers, plus some very good white bass over 2 pounds. Lost a good Kentucky when it found a hole in the net. Hate to tell this but its funny. I was fighting a very nice walleye, it surfaced out about 20 feet. tangle two other lines and I was stuck could not reel it in. so in a hurry I wiped out my knife to cut the lines. well in hast I hit the wrong line!! MY LINE!!!!! I carry a knife thats sharper than a razor blade and a bump I knew I had hit the wrong line!!! Sucked at the time but funny in retrospect. We are heading back out this afternoon. JOhn

I don't know about MO Law, but its not a game violation. It is fraud plain and simple. Now depending on what the prize won, it may be only a fine. I don't think for this type of fraud you can take his personal property. I don't know where or how the law comes into play but tying up the fish may not be a game violation, he caught them legally and just came back another day to get them. Its certainly not as bad as some guides I know that keep big bass in cages and charge their customers for them. A pic is $15.00 and to keep it $150.00 plus tip. I think this is worse but a crime is a crime thats why there are felonies and misdomeanres and they are classified into categories. So what game law did he violate? The tournament people could have fraud charges filled, but the game warden being involved may have caused all charges to be dropped because of it not being a game violation. I think the sheriffs office should have handled it. Yes, I know any law officier can make the arrest in most states. Anyone know the regs about this? Or does it fall under fraud or just a civil suite? NO speculations just facts.

http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=6...07&nav=8H3x Local fisherman arrested for cheating during a fishing tournament By: Ryan Tate WAPPAPELLO LAKE, WAYNE COUNTY, Mo. - Gary Jones of Poplar Bluff finds himself in the Wayne County Jail for allegedly cheating during a fishing tournament Sunday on Wappapello Lake. The Missouri Highway Patrol got a tip Saturday that Jones was acting suspicious near a duck blind on the lake. Troopers forwarded the tip to the Water Patrol and Conservation Department. Officers and Agents searched a blind and found two stringers, with a bass on each one. The agents tagged the fish, then set up surveillance near the blind. Jones arrived Sunday at the blind, and agents caught Jones on videotape taking the fish and putting them in his well. Jones went to the weigh and presented the fish, gathering enough weight to finish in second place. He also had the third biggest bass, which won him a gift certificate. Jones won a total of more than $800 dollars in cash and prizes. As he exited the stage, Water Patrol officers arrested him. "They spend a lot of money and they lose sometime, but when they lose to deceit they get pretty upset by that," Missouri Water Patrolman David Nelson said. "If you can't trust the people fishing in the competition, people won't enter the event," Julie Stuever said. Stuever is the Assistant Director of the fishing tournament. Wayne County authorities say Jones faces two to seven years behind bars if convicted.

Nice brown. We hit Table Rock Saturday AM did pretty good on spots and crankbaits. In the Afternoon, after a trip to BPS to get a prop for the trolling motor we hit Taneycomo, did very well drifting crappie jigs from the darn down. caught two nice 18 inch browns and a bunch of bows big bow was 17inches. John

Called the Dewey Short center just for grins and giggles. Then called the COE in Mt Home. just to make sure i had been told the correct things. Maybe you had better too and ask what the fine is for boating inside the buoys and then ask what could happen if you dive inside the buoys. Yes there are tickets written every summer for just such things. Now I know because I have done some additional diving but I have a bit more sense than to dive or swim inside the buoys. DD you need to check out the fine!!!!! Minnow "World Record" is your words not mine. YOUR WORDS, why not tell the story correctly of shutup minner. While on your knees dont talk with your mouth full, lmao at U. To many people seeking thrills and leading sheltered lives. Minner bet my bass is bigger than yours! HAHA John Phil when you leaving for Alaska I need to show you my bass before you go.

Bobby, is lake Mac still low? Last summer and fall trips to Mac were good as the lake is super low, putting all the walleye and striper on the main lake points. Mac just dont have much to look at or other entertainment. Ogalala Chamber still thinks it is a big lake!!! John

There are three additional dams on White River below Bull SHoals, these are lock 3,2,1, 1 being at Batesville, I am sure somewhere on down river is another dam with a lock. I have never been south of Oil Trough, so I dont know. Lock 1 at Batesville is being convertted to hydro power, 2 is only about 25' deep and since water goes over the top of these three dams dont know that much damage from them would happen. I have done swift water search and recover above #2 and below #2 was my pontoon that Indepence County used. #2 is located near Locust Grove AR. I have never been to #3. GFD is not on the White River it is on the Red. Sommeone mentioned Greer would go too, but its safe should anything on White FAIL. Locate Cotton Plant on your Arkansas map. back in I think it was 1932 or so. White River Cache Rivers flooded and was over four miles wide, 20 feet deep as has been reported. From 1999 to 2005. I lived on the White River just where the Ozarks stopped, Maybe two miles below the Lock #1. We have seen water all the way up to the road known as Gap RD. HWY 394 There is the low bank which is about 8-12 feet above river average flow, then the high bank another 8 feet above that. Its a lot of water to flood the high bank. We lost all the wheat for two years, it took a year of dozer work to cleanup the logs and crap. Ex-wifes family owns about 3000 acres there and down at Oil Trough. The low bank at Oil Trough is nearly 20 feet high and it gets over that from time to time. During the big flood during those years I lived there we also lost the wheat crop, corn crop and hay crops at the Oil Trough farm. Also lost the silos in 1999, was fishing White River at Oil Trough when the tornado blew thru. Anyway as you get past Batesville the river bottom really spreads out, its flat so flat to deer hunt we use bean field guns, 25-06 and other super flat shooting centerfires. The lakes store a lot of water no doubt, but damage would be mno greater than medium flood damage thru the bottom and would pretty well be diverted thru the White River refuge and slowed to the confluience of the Arkansas. then to the Mississippi. White is pretty well levied to hold normal flood waters near towns such as Jacksonport and Newport, Batesville would flood the downtown and industrial area. Those towns would certainly flood as would others but many homes in that area are sharecropper shacks matter of fact all the way to the Mississippi. These are old houses that have been around 100 years, setting up on rocks on the flood plain. $$$ value is minor for these. As for the kid and its parents playing with danger, well thats how people win the Darwin Awards. You cannot protect everybody all the time or others begin loosing freedom. Those might be you fly fishing below the dam at the outlets. Above the dam thats why those bouys have been there since I can remember, you are not to be inside of those bouys boating, fishing or swimming let alone diving! John

Wild minnow, thats right haha MINNOW. 1st No it is not safe to dive and touch the face of the dam. Matter of fact the riprap is all you are allowed to dive. No I will never see a fish stuck in the screens I will not dive the concrete area. Doing things like that will end up causing loss of privledges. Last my BASS is bigger than yours!!!! BUt it will cost you to see it. BUt I did catch it at Sara Gossa Spain some years back and its a largemouth bass all bass, well excpet the foam body. and eyes. Matter of fact I just remounted it, yes sometimes I can remount an a fish and I decided its time to remount it. You got cash? I dont show my bass to just anyone for free and you dont qualify with a small mind even though it does handicap you a bit. Do you qualify to hang the blue tag on your fishing rod? Willing to put MOney where your mouth is???? Sweet dreams John

Last week the water was very warm at Buffalo City. and Zero flow for several days it appeared. So what has happened to the original Min. flow standards etablished in 1951? And then the flow standards meeting of last year???

We are our own best security! I dive in the Gulf of Mexico a couple times per year, the Coast Gaurd has a system in place where if something is wrong or you suspect a boat wouold bomb a oil rig, in minutes the Helo is on site!! Trucker drivers also have a website where they can report suspect vehicles and the like. Last fall I was filmed doing a camera stalk on a herd of elk. It was recorded as the game warden let me see the video. I was amazed that they had cameras that are as small as an old fashioned fountian pen and they are high tech fantastic details!!! So just because you dont see the security measures don't think they are not there. Space tech is so hitech these days a company in Thornton Colorado is the first licensed for one half meter photos. Half meter is just that less than 2 feet by 2 feet!!! Thats pretty darn tight from space. I have been diving for a lot of years and have a lot of dives under my belt, but noway would I swim up to the dam in 100 feet of water, I have seen 11-12 knot currents happen right there at Dewey Short Center, swiming up to the dam is not very darn bright!!! Wanna get caught in the screens?? Not me!!! My biggest fear would be someone in a airplane trying to take out the dam, I am sure that would do more damage than a car boomb in the parking lot or even on top of the dam. Hoover dam has security gaurds in place and have been inspecting cars for some years now. My brother lives in Vegas and hates having to cross the dam because of it. I can see the gun turrets now being built to protect everything from everybody.

I wonder why the high officials say, "We need to drive smaller cars." "We need mor energy effiecient homes." and so on, then they fail to be the leader we elected them to be. They say "drive less" well I would if we had mass transist, I would much rather ride a train to Little Rock to the VA tomorrow than drive!! But I dont see the governement building any new railroad thru these hills. Hell they don't even have a bus running thru Harrison any more. My home is as energy effecient as they made them a decade ago and if and when I build a new home it willnot be a mansion like I see many building. So why do our leaders not lead? How can an oil company claim only 9cents per gallon when net profits have been in the billions of dollars per quarter. Noway am I buying that crap. Yes, I dont agree with the governemnt on the taxes, where is this going? I guess its for the HWY 65 expansion to Branson. Yep just wait till the Democrate raise taxes in a few years!!

Every few years that RUMOR surfaces. Don't think the area has the personel to man a Disney, certainly not the 20 million people visitor base. I think Peter Hershiend (SP) on Ozarks Watch last week said there was a 9 million people visitor base for the area. Then you are dealing with weather cold in the winter. Maybe we can blame the slightly warmer weather on Disney changing that too.

Fished White River Friday did verywell lots of good bows, 13-16 inch range, one three pounder. Saturday hit Norfork Lake in the dam area to Jordan caught some smallies all small, 12 inches and under one nice crappie. Found several Largemouth on beds. Sunday pm hit Table Rock from just below 86 bridge to about 1 1/2 north did zilch, one long eared sunfish, found white bass surfacing but could not convience them to hit our lures. Found a lot of fish on the fish finder but could not entice a hit. I figure they were K's on beds. I may run up and dive the points to confirm that those are really fish. If you want to fish for fun carp are spawning and chasing anything thats in their way. John

My wife just came in from school, again she is iritated that many parents just don't care. The kids all talk about they "don't need no education" They have dreams of being loggers and working in sawmills. I think so sad. Some even think they don't need an education because they are going into the service (yes some families do know the real value of freedom). She tells them they still need an education, but the parents really dont give a crap. If it's good enough for them its good enough for their kids. It is so sad that these kids many have not been out of state! Not to Branson or Springfield. Thier idea of big time is the punny fair in Harrison. Few have internet but you can be sure they have Dishnet or another sat. tv. MOst live in run down housing but they you must remember the size of the house does not make it a home. I feel the schools here are every student left behind. The emphasis is on sports!!! Wow two different teams in the state playoffs. How many pro sports stars came from small towns in America these days? No our schools have left more than a few kids behind and those without finacial means or are slower learning are left way down the road. So to test would require that all schools be taught at a nation wide standard with checks and balances along the way all year long. Thats would also require that school board members not be allowed to pick the books the teachers are to use. It could also require consolidation of small school districts to form better school districts. But the sports programs would suffer!! My vote is do away with school sports programs, they only serve a select few students. If you don't play the basketball, football etc. programs are worthless. There is possibly a impossible standard to reach nationwide testing of teachers and students. Some of the best teachers I had were not good students. John

Silver Mallard, again you are wrong. My son has attended US Government schools, in Germany and Kansas, Public schools in Kansas, and Arkansas. None of which understand how to use an IEP. Matter of fact I filed a complaint against one in the Kansas public schools and they lost some funding. My wife and I married last Sept. and she is not the mother of my son. So her being a teacher had Zero to do with the education of my son. Clinton started the program it was not called no child left behind, Bush just put a name to it. The schools failed to teach my son, yes it is the schools fault. IEP outline what the child should be doing, but what happens is they pass the child along and don't take the time to teach the slower kids what it takes to get along in life. This is why I say at about age 12 or so the students need to be divided into groups, there are students who are academic and those who learn by doing. The learn by doing students can be educated jobs skills. Teacher testing only works if all teachers are taught the samethings, evaluations are again subjective. Testing does not either, why? Because students don't have the same learning abilities, same ability to remember the same information. Everyone learns at a different rate, everyone sorts the same information differently, everyone is not the perfect clone. So this makes testing invalid!!! Learning even in lower life forms are different from animal to animal, one horse will learn at a different rate than the next, same for dogs and cats. Certainly humans all learn at different rates and humans cannot all remember the samethings or learn the samethings or everyone would be a Doctor or plumbers. I do know that schools will teach the kids what the test will be, they also sort out what kids will take the test!! I see that happening right now is several different schools. For testing to be prove anything you would have to pull kids at random out of class and the test be a random and unannounced. But that is not the way the testing is done. These test are announced well in advance and students are sorted out who will take the test and who will not. Standardised testing in a standardised world in nothing less than a pipe dream. It certainly does not test the teachers ability to teach, it only test the teachers knowledge of a given subject!! Everyone on this board knows that they have had teachers that made learning some subjects easier, they also know they had favorite subjects in school and did well in some and not so well in others. Some people are better at academics and others learn by doing, i.e. mechanical minded.... Testing does nothing to prove that one school is better than the next or even students for that matter. John

My Son and I hit the water a bit late, the water was the lowest I have seen it, bug hatches everywhere. I cannot identify the bugs, but there were several different type one ebing a black winged bug about 3/8 inch long just before dark, the fish went wild on these. Davy Wootons (man you need a real cowboy hat) boat did very well, in several places, don't know what they were using but they were fly fishing and had a good day. My Son and I used everything in the tackle box to see what they would not hit. hell rainbows and browns were hitting yellow beetle spins, green jigs slamming storm cranking craws. Seemed there was almost nothing that the bows would not hit. I lost a nice brown at the boat on a Mepps, black blade, green spots and brown tail. When we pulled up tot he ramp I could not believe the number of trucks there, 13 all with boats, I figured the day was shot!!!! While there was no parking places and the shaols were a bit crowded there are planty of nice fish and in plenty of places where there are few people fishing. Low water, high water I can catch fish, you can too, just think a bit different!!!! There is a difference of how to catch fish at all water levels. John

Silver Mallard you are wrong. Standardized testing does not test the teachers ability to communicate to the students. All schools would have to be taught at the standard to even begin the equalisation. All schools simply don't teach at a national standard. Also all students are not equal,,, and money does not have anything to do with the abilities of students to learn, nor their willing to learn. Finally it does fall on the school to enforce some sort of standard. My wife is a teacher, Earth Sciences, Bio, and students endanger of not graduating. The endangered students are hampered much by their own willingness to complete the work assigned and the fact here in the last semester there are tons of activities for the students to do. Only in your perfect world does Standardized testing work. It lacks the perfect students, the perfect teachers, the perfect school system.

I hate the no child left behind Bull crap. My sone is one of the kids that needed individual attention in school. He had an Individual Education plan, but none of the schools knew what the heck it was. So they passed him along. Now as an adult at age 23 he has trouble keeping a job, he just does not understand time or how money functions. We have had him to a large clinic in Kansas "Menniger" in Topeka they help write th IEP, bUt its was useless in Arkansas. One bad thng about the testing is they can findout what the weakness are but failed to find the strong point. Another clinic we took him to had additional testing for the price of $10,000. that could tell his strong points and again write an individual education plan. Well I just did not and still don't have the 10 grand for testing. So now I have a 23 year old son living at home, who cannot hold a job, he is slow moving and nothing you can do will increase the speed at which he works. Believe me I have tried, my folks have tried and his ex-wife tried, he is not lazy, he will work its just that his fast speed is about my slow speed and I ain't to fast these days. Yep, in school he was not left behind but in life he is stranded on the highway of life!! Had America's school been designed better each child would be tested and these children would have their education geared to three God given Strengths each person has. There are 27 talents that humans can be born with. Each person has three (according to the shrinks at Kansas State in Manhatten) These three strengths should be what each student is educated in. Germany had this going on for many years, they split the kids off into industrial, academic and artistic areas about what our seveth grade would be. No child left behind is not fair to the child!!! It began under Bill Clinton and was just enforced under bush.

Most receiver hitchs have holes for the saftey chains, make one a bit longer and put a Materlock Padlock thru the chain links. Then the trailer is locked to the truck. I bought one of those hitch locks and honestly I think it could be defeated with a hammer and a few good strikes. I know, I could defeat it with a hatchet and a hammer

White Cattle Egrets. Somehow they were either released or supposedly blown over to the western hemisphere from Africa. but they have invaded the south and each year a few more are seen farther north. Mid Arkansas has thouasands of them.

How does one take care of seven poles? If I have two out it to many. As for being labeled guess he could have had his name written on them. I know a rod company in Harrison does that with a gold pen then puts epoxy over it.

I dont know how long that fish in the pic is and dont get a rats butt. I do know a few eeks ago I found them surfacing and thats three trips back to the same spot, this time throwing a huge plastic bait that people use for musky. I have also mounted a lot of big stripers the largest being 54 lbs and this fish would beat that 54lb fish big time. Yesterday I went to Moutnain Home and picked up some big stripers to mount for clients. The fish I lost was much larger than the 38lber I picked up I went back and looked up the size on the 54 lber I mounted a few years back, it was 2 inches shorter and 3 inches smaller in girth than the fish I lost. So I figure I had a fish close to 60 lbs. maybe thats a big if it may have been a new state record. I have decided one thing tshould I ever catch another big fish I will knock it in the head as soon as its on the stringer. Wish I had done this one that way!! One of the guides at Moutnain HOme sent me this web addy. http://www.arkansasstripers.com/striped-bass-records.htm I checked some of the stats, yep some records are far shorter than others. So that means I could have had a 50lb fish or even a 45lb fish. I have caught a 15lb largemouth at Ray Roberts Res. several years ago and a 42 inch northern pike that only weighed 17lbs. many 20lb and under stripers. So I know how to measure a fish. Matter of fact I have a few nice brown trout I caught over the last year I have yet to mount, they would make all C&R fisherman scream, and catch and keep fisherman jealous. Sammy You are invited to come down and see the brown trout, funny the difference in weights verse the measurements. On the browns I did not measure or weigh them but I will use you as a witness to the difference in sizes and they all came from White River in different areas. I have a mold from a 21lb brown I made a couple years back, the fish was pockmarhed pretty badly and had it been mounted the skin would have looked like crap, so I molded it. But if you want to see the difference in size verse weight I can show you with brown trout Just let me know when????

It may have tied the Arkansas record, but its not no world record, there are a long of available striper replica that are over 55 inches, matter of fact I have been looking these evening for one close to the size and found 13 within a 1/2 inch. both length and girth. I have a lot of friends that are saltwater only taxidermist with their own molds that they don't sell to just anyone. One up in the northeast did the world record and he says its small compared to some he has. Fish are like people same size will weight in different. Slow moving open water verse ocean currents. The shattered rod to be put on my wall. Over the years I have mount a couple hundred big stripers and this one was huge compared to the 30 something pounds. even huge comared to the 40 pounders. Some of my speargun buddys have shot 45lbers as recent as last year in Bull Shoals. The age rings showed these fish to be the first releases and I bet this one is one of them. They are like the califonia bass they have plenty of trout to eat and those high protien and fat!!.

Came off the lake about 4:00AM,Apr 21. we found lots and lots of fish. Everything is on beds. I mean Largemouth, Smallmouth, Kentucky, crappie, lots of crappie. We could identify some of the hybred bass. aka Meanmouth. Found some walleye but nothing big. But water temps run from 49 to 57 degrees F and all species of fish are on beds. There are still a few huge stripers in Bull Shoals, I lost a monster at the boat!!! I was throwing a huge soft lure, where I had seen the fish surface earlier last month, had fished about 2 hours and bam!!!! About half way to the boat my rod shattered, not just broke but shattered. I have broken a few rods over the year but never shattered one. I managed to get the fish to the boat and we could not get it in. Everytime my wife and son tried they could not lift the fish. Yes I do know it was a striper!!! It put the reel to the test, I was thumbing the reel a bit and still worked for nearly 30 mintues just to get the fish to the boat. We tried to get to shallow water but along the bluffs there is no shallow water. Next we decided the wife should hold the rod and I would try to lift the fish. Finally got my hand in the gill cover and the fish rolled, sticking the doral srine in my arm, I tried to hang on but could not. Wife could not manage to reel the fish in with the broken rod. So I took it back, worked the fish back to the boat, this time I thought I could maybe get my hand in its mouth, a flash and a roll and now I am cut on the hand by the razor sharp gill flap. Now me bleeeding like a stuck pig, my wifes saying "Oh My God. thats a monster fish" my son who had never seen such a fish, we were hwhooping yelling. The fish one more time to the boat, now the fish was tired I was tired, I decided the best thing to do was head to the nearest bank I put a small rope thru the gill and into the mouth, we started leading the fish across the lake to the gravel flats. Once in the shallows I measured the beast. I decided to get into the water and lift the fish into the boat. I could not lift it. So we decided to lead it to the launch ramp, we were within 200 feet of the ramp me holding the fish on the rope and the sob came back to life with a vengence. I thought the fish was going to dislocate my right arm. I could not hold the fish, I was trying to hold on to the boat with my left hand and the fish in the righthand, My son jumped back to help just as I went over board. I turned loose of the rope to save the dope, I never thought of tying the fish off on the cleats. My son pointed this out to me as I got back in the boat. The fish did measure 67 inchs long and had a 39 inch girth!! I will attest to the fact FIRELINE is the strongest line made!!!! John I changed clothes and headed back out but did not get a bite after that!!!

3. If you start flashing lights or tailgating or using sign language, you might be stuck there for quite some time. This is the INTERNATIONAL signal to pass. Even in most states it says to either flash your headlights or honk your horn. Some states its the law to let the slower vehicle know a faster vehicle is approaching. Bottom line is this the left lane is for passing not strolling down the highway.. Back to the boat ramp situation, the man called me today raising 9 kinds of cat crap. He thinks its unfair of me to charge him a storage fee on his fish. He wants to just come and pick it up. Now the fact he signed a contract and initialed the line that says, storage fees will be charged un specimens held by me without deposit as per line 2. line 2. says that the person leaving the specimen must pay the deposit within 30 days. Which he also initialed. His excuse for not paying the depsoit is he don't have the money. I reminded him that his pickup cost way more than mine and his Triton boat and monster motor could use enough fuel that two trips fishing would have paid for the fish mount. He cussed me out a bit, but thats normal with people such as he who skip out on paying their bills. Funny had he paid the deposit he would have had the fish back within 45 days. As the world turns so do the days I need to go fishing. John