Buzz

Just wanted to let everyone know that I got my stream team packet from the MDC yesterday. I wondered if anyone else received thiers yet? Buzz

Actually it has been slow around here so I have been getting off around 3:00 or 3:30. I was between Tipton Ford and Neosho. They are starting to turn on with this good weather. I'm going hit it again today.

I had a funny feeling yesterday morning that I should hit the creek for a little while in the afternoon. I got off work at 3:15 and was at one of my favorite banks by 4:40. The wind was blowing hard out of the south and hitting the bank I was standing on(good sign). I made a few casts with the spinner bait, but only got one short halfhearted strike, so I switched to a jig and baby woolly hawgtail. I started getting bites right off. I caught six largemouth in 25 Min's. Only four were on the small side, 8 to 11 inches. Two were good sized. Sometimes they would hit it right after the cast when the bait hit the bottom. Other times I would let the bait sit for 5 to 10 seconds before moving it and they would pick it up and run with it. When the bite slowed down I moved downstream to and old sunken tree with lots of limbs. I flipped out into the current and let the bait swing in beside the tree and after one hop I hooked a really nice fish that gave me quite a run through the tree limbs and wrapped up twice. Next cast was the same and hooked another nice fish which fought just as hard. I fished a little longer and caught a short smallmouth in the faster water below where the tree lies. All in all, a great hour and a half. I hope I can do it again today and maybe Thursday. Buzz

This is great news Chief. I bet Dylan is pretty excited. You have an exceptional boy there.

I found it online at Barnes and Noble. It was actually in the used book section, but it is actually new. Also it is a paperback. I've nearly finished reading it and it does have a lot of good info on flies and the history behind fly fishing and fly tying. I look forward to reading more of his books.

I just received the Chuck and Sharon Tryon book "All About Flies"" Everything the Fly Fisher Needs to Know"2003 It is everything I expected and more. It's very informative and makes the most complex things easy to understand. I have been fly fishing for more than 20 years and am still learning, like most of us are. Anyway, it only cost $1.99 plus shipping and is well worth the cost. Just thought I'd pass this one on. Buzz

I personally am OK with the fishing additions, especially the creeks and streams. I'm not sure I would visit these other places, but it is always good to compare tactics and presentations. Also, as the big dog you could weed out the one's that don't get any posts or responses. Buzz

I took a few pictures of a stream Chief and I checked out last weekend. Two springs coming out of the same hill. Hope you enjoy. Believe me, it is better seen in person than from a picture.

Happy Birthday Ducky. Great gift DD'SMC.

Thanks for the report Hopper. Glad you caught some fish. Hopefully we will get at least one more stocking. You are right about " more catch than release", it's unfortunate but, that's life in the little city of poor enforcement. Buzz

Once again, nice pics. I remember the good ol' days when you could catch a lot of brownies throughout the park. Now you have to get closer to Shoal Creek to have any consistent luck.

OTF, actually the creek fishes pretty good when it is stocked properly and as you said not over harvested. This season we have had both situations unfortunately. As I understand the poll it refers mainly to the upkeep and trash that has accumulated in and around the stream. Anyway we all hope to address that soon. Buzz

I think those days would be good also, but don't forget what the park and creek looked like after the 4th of July last year. It was totally trashed. It might not be so bad if they don't let the islanders take it over again, but still it will probably be bad, especially the water. Welcome aboard tclubbs2. Any and all help is appreciated. Don't forget everyone we have to come up with a name for the stream team. I would think that it will have to be on the application. I haven't seen any of the other stream team names, so I'm not sure what direction we should go in. Any ideas? Go ahead toss some out there and maybe we can do a vote or something.

Travis, I have never noticed any redds in the creek. There could be some spawning in the lower parts of the creek that doesn't get any pressure. I know there are a few fish in there year around, but haven't caught any fish that I might think are wild. Not to criticize at all, but I think a game camera would last as long as the trout do. If we have to we may have to be content with reporting poachers and let the MDC deal with them. Maybe, if they get enough calls they might put it on a priority list and make themselves seen more. Chief did say that if we can get the "Operation Game Thief signs", the city(I believe) will donate and set the posts for us. I believe the signs will give a lot of people the confidence to make the call if needed, and make the poachers a little uneasy. Buzz

Nice fish. I wish I'd been away from work on a day like this. Thanks for the picture.

Great work Mark and Travis on the flier. I think when we get it completed we can all print our own copies and post them in each of the many Wal-Mart stores and Southtown and Academy Sports, not to mention we might be able to get it to run in one or both of the local papers(Neosho Daily News and The Joplin Globe) along with the date that we decide on for the first cleanup. Ollie, you are going to be a great help too with all of your connections. Glad you are on board Fishin', we'll need all of the help we can get. If you need another e-mail address I will gladly donate mine to the cause, mrbuzib1@aol.com. If you need another phone number let me know by PM. I'm really excited about the possibilities here. Buzz

All great ideas here. I like the idea of organizing a stream team. I also believe that we don't want to embarrass the city either, maybe let them know what our plans are and give them a chance to get on board before anything that might be embarrassing hits the news, not that it really has to be. I know that over the last 15 or so years they have purchased most of the land surrounding the creek, so they do have a lot of money invested in it. I am going to go to Hickory this weekend and take a few pictures of some of the problem areas. Buzz

Hey Travis, No offense taken. I didn't get on the forum Sunday and I guess I missed this post yesterday. So I will respond now. I have been making posts such as yours for a while now and I agree that we need to do more than just talk about it. I think I will make a few phone calls this week to find out who we need to take this to. When I find out something I'll post it and we can proceed from there. There are a few of us who are locals and I know there are many more that I don't know personally who might want to get involved with this. I really don't think the city has any idea of the amount of money that can be generated or lost if not done properly.I really think that they under estimate what they have in their own backyard. We'll just have to see what happens.

That is funny. How dumb do they think people really are. Priceless quote: "Well, it may raise some money for PETA, but I don't think it'll change the way we manage the fisheries," Dixon says. "I think I may eat some sea kittens tonight."

Very cool video. Thanks.

Great topic. Right now I'm trying to decide how many of the definitions I fit into. SOWBUG,PIROUETTE,INDICATER,and HARDROCK. I'm sure there will be many more. Keep it up Terry and everyone. I've got the printer running now. Buzz

Around here I usually fish the same colors as Al does, although I don't rig them the same way. We have a lot of darker colored water in the bigger creeks where I would use tubes. I use 1/8 or 1/4 oz. weedless tube jigs and primarily dead drift them through the faster water, just lifting it often enough to keep it moving and keep the slack out. Most takes are just spongie stops, not many hard takes but they do happen. Most times it will be a smallmouth, but sometimes it's a largemouth, a spot, or a big goggle eye. In the dead of winter they work really well in the bigger slow holes on largemouth, sometimes all you have to do is let it set for a minute and one will pick it up. I agree that you should use a good sensitive rod with a lot of backbone. Buzz

TROUT WASTE VS. TURKEY,CHICKEN,HOG,CATTLE,AND ANY OTHER Have you ever lived next to one of these????????? I have neighbors who run turkey and chicken houses. It's funny but I only notice them when we have a good hot wind from the east. Oh and when they freely fertilize all of the other neighbors fields, yeah that's a good one. It's always hot and the stink lasts for no less than 2 weeks. Has anyone ever noticed that these things are primarily located on hilltops? Maybe it's just here where I live but I have 3 of them within 1 mile and all of them are located on hill tops above streams or major creeks. To think that this "CRAP" cannot effect our watersheds is either naive or just plain nuts. I think we should push for more historical sites and get the government to push the limit to at least 5 miles. Not sure if it is an historical site or not but, Roaring River should be. If you read the history you would truly appreciate the outrage. Buzz

MC, I wasn't able to fish Shoal Creek last Winter and early Spring with all of the flooding, but believe it or not some of my biggest fish were caught in January, February, and March. You might not catch a lot of fish,but when you find them you might catch anywhere from 5 to 10 bass ranging from 2 to 5 lbs. and maybe in only one or two spots on the entire float. The quality more than makes up for the quantity. I'm sure Al can agree with that. Buzz

Count me in. That sounds like a lot of fun. Yeah, Ole Buff Lamb had a reputation back then that covered at least 5 counties. He had my respect that's for sure.