Buzz

Really slow. Without a stocking since late Sept.or early Oct. the fish are spread out quite a bit. They are there but, not like it was last year. Since catch and release started Nov. 1 we have yet to see Hickory or Capp's stocked. I'm not sure why we have been forgotten or if this is a statewide issue. Maybe someone else on the forum would have the answer to that question. I'll check Wed. to see if they stock and let you know. Buzz

Sorry we missed you guys Brian. I'm looking forward to the rest of the roadtrip video too. You don't have to worry about me eating any brownies.

You said almost exactly what I told Chief, only instead of stupid I think I said something to the effect of brain damaged. We might be able to meet up on the 11th, I'll have to check the calendar,but it'll be hard for me to get off except for the next 2 holidays, as far as during the week goes. If the weather breaks I'd like to hit Crane. I haven't been down there since last January. At least I know there are fish in that creek. Puerfish, because you said you caught your fish on a black jig, I'm guessing spinning rod? That was how Ollie kicked our butts today. I couldn't get a bite on any of my flies. Something else. While Chief and I were walking upstream from the lowest bridge I found a dead Brown trout that would have gone at least 17" and still had most all of it's colors. I'd say it hadn't been dead more than 24 hours at most. Hard to say what killed it. Didn't see any damage other what the crawdads had done.

Ollie, Chief, and I met at the mill this morning at 8:30 am. Cold temperatures and blowing snow, at least it wasn't raining. We decided to start out at the old mill dam. Ollie struck first with this very nice Brown. The very next cast he hooked another brown of the same size or larger but it broke him off. I got another pic of his last trout which was this pretty rainbow. Ollie wins the honors of the best fisherman this year. I, unfortunately got skunked. Without a stocking, in who knows how long, its tough fishing right now. There are obviously fish in there, but they aren't stupid. Good job Ollie. Just you wait until next year.....

I'll see you then. At least it's not supposed to rain. Buzz

I can take any kind of cold as long as I catch fish. That's a good size brown. I'd like to hook into one of those down there, but haven't yet. Thanks for the update purefish. If I recall, it was pretty cold last year for most of the morning. Buzz

Ammo price increases are not new. The price of turkey shells are outrageous. I have a registered 357 magnum and the last time I went to buy shells I decided to go for .38 rounds instead, because of the price. I used to be able to buy powder over the counter at one of the local stores, but now you can't hardly find it. This same thing happened when Clinton won in '92. Nothing new. If I have read anything right, the main regulations would be on assault rifles and clips that hold over 20 rounds. I don't know about you, but I've never needed more than 3 rounds per day deer hunting and most "assault rifles" have no place in hunting of any kind. Don't get me wrong. I own guns and will always own guns, but to think that a President, any President, would have any chance to take away your 2nd Amendment is naive to say the least, even with the majority of both houses.

I'd have to say that the N.R.A. has more to do with it than anything. I got a postcard from them about 2 weeks before the election that said that ammo would cost about $200.00 a case or box( I don't remember). I refused it and let them pay for the return trip to thier trash can. Looks like it worked. Record sales of handguns and ammo. More fear to fuel the economy.

After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for my driver's license to verify my age. I looked in my pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home. I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have to go home and come back later. The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'. So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She said, 'That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me' and she processed my Social Security application. When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my experience at the Social Security office. She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You might have gotten disability, too' And then the fight started..... ************************************************************************ My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table. My wife asked, 'Do you know her?' 'Yes,' I sighed, 'She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since.' 'My God!' says my wife, 'Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?' And then the fight started..... ************************************************************************ I rear-ended a car this morning. So, there we were alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car. You know how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and little things just seem funny? Yeah, well I couldn't believe it.... he was a DWARF!!! He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted, 'I AM NOT HAPPY!!!' So, I looked down at him and said, 'Well, then which one are you?' And then the fight started... .. *********************************************************************** A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband, 'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.' The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's darn near perfect.' And then the fight started....

tgard27, Thanks for the report. I'm glad you hooked into a big brown. I haven't seen any for a while, although I know they are in there. There are some really good spots on the creek for trout in general and some spots where the browns should be. I'll probably try it out again in a couple of weeks and of course Thanksging weekend. You are welcome to join us, it should be a good time. Buzz

Speaking of C&R, what are the allowed baits? Is it fly only in the whole park as it is at Roaring River? I'd like to take a trip up there this year if I can, just wanted to know what to expect. Buzz

Yeah, it looks like you guys had a great day on the Spring. Some very nice fish, too. Buzz

When we were at the foot bridge an OLDER lady asked me, "Where did they stocked the fish'? I told her that I didn't know that they had stocked lately. She said she knew someone that told her that they had. I don't think it was a very good stocking, if it was. Most of the fish I saw were 8 to 10 in., and not very many of them. It is coming soon. I hope to hit the creek this week and maybe next weekend. I'm working nights this week so I might be able to get into them if they put them in. I actually was wading Sunday, and I believe the water is cool enough for a good stocking to be soon. I'm ready for it. I think I've got Emmanuel fired up too. When they do stock Hickory and Capp's you'll know where I'll be. You guys know my truck ( obviously), so don't hesitate to track me down. I'm looking forward to a good day so I can show Emmanuel what it"s like to fight a feisty Missouri Rainbow. I think I got onto the water a little after you left Ollie, maybe about 1:00pm. The wind was tough, but who cares it's trout fishin'. Fishin', I'll let Emmanuell know of your support and hope to see you and your son on the water soon. Buzz

I stopped by Hickory this afternoon to teach Emmanuel how to cast a fly rod, and hoped maybe we might catch a trout or two. Well, after the lesson on roll casting in the grass, I had him try it in the water so he could feel the drag of the water, then I rigged him and myself up to try our luck. His casting improved greatly even with the 20 mph wind. We fished at the handicapped area by the ball fields but only caught 1 chub. We moved up to the walk bridge where I managed 3 small trout and he missed 2. We motored down to the North end I caught another 5 and he missed a couple more. The fish are few and far between and very spooky. Mostly small fish of 8 to 10 inches, but I did catch one of about 13 in. and saw a few more. The water is very clear and covered with this Fall's leaves. It did feel good to fight a Rainbow again.( I haven't fished for them since July) I'm looking forward to a fresh stocking and Emmanuel enjoyed this new way of fishing and is also looking forward. Buzz

It was definitely a good day. Everyone caught fish. Some good fish too. I think the funnest was at the spot we cooked the hot dogs. It looked like opening day at one of the trout parks. We were casting over each others lines and everything. It just so happened to have a great concentration of goggle-eye. I bet we fished there for at least an hour and pulled out 15 or 20 very nice fish. Looking to the next trip. Nice to meet everyone. I just hope to stay dryer next time. Buzz P.S. Emmanuel caught the tri-fecta, largemouth, Kentucky, and small mouth. Not too bad for only his second time on the creek. P.S.S. Great pics Fishin'.

Nice fish.. What baits were they bitin'? I hope the rain stays south of us too, I really need to catch some bass. I haven't really been in about 3 weekends. I'm glad to see they are still bitting. Buzz

I also watched the speech by Palin last night. I thought the remark about the pit bull was humorous. I also think that all of the tough talk opened her up for a real debate with Biden. She had better bring it to the debate. Biden is a very good debater and has done a great job in the senate( IMO). Biden has no reason now to take it easy on her now. As far as there being far more Republicans than Democrats on this thread, you may be right, but we just may not feel like getting bashed. My thanks go out to all of you (both sides) who have written the truth, and not the same rhetoric that we always seem to hear. I personally know B S when I hear it.

Nice fish Chief. Looks to me like Dylan had a good time puutin' to old Dad. He really is a good fisherman. The boy will fish for hours with us and never give up. I wish I had been able to tag along, but I had a good time at the family reunion anyway.

I'm in. Last year Ollie and I had so many doubles that I lost count. This year we'll have to make sure and get everyone together before we take off.

Looks like a good float. The fish are biting good right now. Thanks for the pics.

First, I would like to say that I have laughed more at this post than any other that I have read lately. Second, I have not been to Phil's store YET, but I hope too soon. I did stop at a local fly shop near the Dam a couple of years ago and was most impressed with the knowledge and the willingness to help. I'm not necessarily a beginner, but Taney is a different kind of animal. I probably spent $30.00 at that store and left feeling that I had done well. The bottom line is service, and I'm sure that you and all of the other shops deliver on that. As far as special items I agree with the thought of ordering that item for them. If orders come in more frequently then you might decide to stock it permanently. I do get by with the basics pretty well as of now.

Wow those are some nice fish. I might have to try that stretch. I haven't fish any of it in several years. Looks like all of the stories about the big fish being all fished out wasn't true after all. The best part of it is that you caught them on the same baits that I would have thrown. Well done. Ollie, I sure would have liked to have seen that 22 incher. Sounds like a good day all around.

Thanks RSBreth, It is nice being close to a great creek such as Shoal Creek. Fishin', I know where you are talking about. We usually fish that stretch down several times a year, it's one of my favorites. The biggest changes on the creek for me is the deeper holes that you used to be able to wade through, even if it was near the bank, are much tougher to get through. A lot of the old trees are gone and places that didn't have any are piled up. I do think all of the rain may have helped by flushing the creek out a little bit. It sure hasn't hurt the fishing. I guess I'm not used to the creek being at what should be it's normal level. Buzz

That little section always holds fish, but at different times of the year they are at different spots. Today is the first time to catch any on that particular bank, although I'd always suspected them to be there. Usually in April and May I can catch a lot of pre-spawner's along the banks if we don't have too much rain. I was really surprised to catch that big crappie. I haven't caught any on the creek for a long time. What stretch of the creek have you been fishin' ? Buzz

I took a few hours this fine Sunday afternoon to do a little bank/wade fishing near the house. After fighting my way through the undergrowth, I started out with the old trusty spinnerbait. I only got one hit but it was a good one. The next fish came from an undercut bank and slammed the buzzbait. I threw it for a while in a few different places but only had a few short strikes. I then switched to a wooly hawgtail and caught 1 smallmoth of about 13 inches and 2 more short largemouths. I decided to go back to where I caught the fish on the buzzbait and see if I could coax any more fish out with the hawgtail. First cast I caught another nice one. I caught 4 fish on five casts with the last being the big old crappie. All of the fish were very healthy and full of fight. Buzz