Buzz

I'm not sure about that spot. I went back and looked at several pics I have of bigger brownies and most all of the more colorful fish seem to have it on the gill plate. Maybe it is just inherent in the species. I honestly never thought about it before. Do the brownies in your neck of the woods have the same white spot?

Very nice brownie.

I'll look forward to it KC. P.S. Happy Birthday Wader!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now don't bite my head off. I have read everything posted on this subject over the last few years and I know it won't be resolved on a forum. I also know that most of us don't want any sort of damming done on our streams, but maybe a few mill type dams placed in very well thought out locations could slow the progress of the spots, maybe even give the regulations a better chance to work. Just a thought. I'd like to hear all of the pros and cons for this idea, and not just the inconvenience of floaters. Buzz

That's the funniest story I've read on the forum in a long time. Thanks.

Call them whatever you want wader, but keep them coming. I enjoy reading your reports.

Yeah, I saw that name when it was the newest member and it made me wonder if it might not be a spammer. Thankfully, Lillie got it cleaned up before I had to deal with it.

This reminds me of a joke I got the other day................ Subject: error I was having trouble with my computer. So I called Richard, the 11 year old next door whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come over. Richard clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem. As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong? He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.' I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An, ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again.' Richard grinned. 'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?'' No,' I replied. 'Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it out.' So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T I used to like the little turd....

Wow eric, you really misread my post. When I wrote of government, it was pertaining to the laws of Eminent Domain, where they can take your home or business if they see it necessary. Sorry you didn't get it. You guys just go ahead with your ideas to eradicate a species. I won't be involved with that. You and OTF are obviously passionate about this subject and won't see any other views, so I'll bow out now and let you like minded individuals discuss this amongst yourselves.

So, maybe natural evolution wasn't the correct way of stating my point. On the other highlighted statements, I still have to stick with them.

Not to be disrespectful but, could this be natural evolution?????? Stuff happens all of the time that we don't notice until it"s too late. This is concerning the spots that are moving into the streams and rivers mentioned. Could it be that they are the stronger species? Sort of like eminent domain!!!! Don't get me wrong, I am totally against this when government is involved but, we are talking about fish. It seems to me that it is or was going to happen anyway. Total eradication of a species just seems wrong. I feel for you guys that have seen a decrease in smallmouth populations and I don't have any ideas for you, but to blatantly ask for the killing of any and all of any species of fish seems to be a little opposite of the conservationists that normally frequent this forum. I am strictly C & R. Concerning the original topic of trout, I really don't see a problem there. They were put into places that were obviously needed for commerce and the support of the sport of trout fishing, which is a multi-million dollar industry in our state. Buzz

Either day is Ok with me too.

LOL. I like the sarcasm, assuming it is sarcasm. I love to fish and catch trout in our great state. If not for my early experiences at R.R.S.P. I would have never started trout fishing or even picked up a fly rod. The sad thing is that, if in some of these places that trout are stocked on a regular basis and were allowed to go back to their original state it would take more years than any of us have. Also, if it were not for trout stocking, I would never have bothered to fish Capp's Creek. There are other species of fish in it, I have caught a couple of big largemouth but, mainly suckers will be caught if the trout stocking is slow, and there are plenty of LM and SM below in Shoal Creek anyway. I will admit that I've fished Taney only about a half dozen times and never fished any of the other rivers other than Crane Creek and a few wild trout streams that we have found in our area. We still have a couple of nearly untouched Smallmouth streams in S.W. MO. that can rival any in the state. I don't see any change coming soon. And, until MDC does start stocking Smallmouth, I will just enjoy what we have and not worry too much about what it was like a couple of hundred years ago. BTW, we actually have a couple of streams that have an over abundance of Smallmouth ( if that's possible ), to the point that it may be stunting their overall growth. Just sayin'. Buzz

I remember fishing Hickory Creek a little more than 20 years back when you would catch Brownies, goggle-eye, perch, and the occasional largemouth. I even caught a 15 in. Brownie on a buzzbait near the ballfields. You won't find that anymore. Neosho would stock trout every once in a while, but not consistently. Now you feel lucky to catch any of those native fish in this stream. I don't think the trout are directly responsible, I believe it was because of the trout publicity and the p!$$ poor monitoring of the stream that decimated the smallmouth population. These people never even bothered to check the rules or regs. and would take out any and every fish that was caught. Don't forget the huge trout that were found under the Grand Falls several years back. I wonder where they came from? In truth, I believe you are right. I have never found any great numbers of trout in any of the places that were stated before, but I don't fish for them in those places either. I have heard from reliable sources that they are are there and are still caught occasionally. Sort of funny we have never heard of this old (seven years) regulation until today on this forum. Apparently, it can be found on the MDC web site.?????? Trout are a funny creature, you all have to agree, they thrive in some of the strangest places. Kansas has at least one pit that is stocked on a regular basis with the same size fish that are normally stocked in any of the trout parks. I know co-workers who fish it regularly and have caught trout much bigger than the normal stocking size. I even caught an 8 in. rainbow in Shoal Creek several years ago. This was in late August.

Just my luck.

We are trying to stay on top of the best we can. Keep an eye out for Ollie's post for the next date. He should be posting something in the next couple of weeks. We would be happy for any and all help.

Great report. Glad you found your rod. I lost 3 last year and only recovered 1. Sometimes it gets expensive. I see you got that spinner bait bite you were looking for. Those grubs make good additions. I like to use a grub on all of my SB's, usually a twin tail on the bigger baits and single's on the smaller baits.

Dang!!! That's just rediculous.

Thanks. We have another stream cleanup coming next month. It's really difficult keeping up with the trash.

Thanks for that CBNMO. 2,300 acres? Does anyone know how big Springfield Lake is? I'd to find something to compare it too.

Hang in there Denjac. I know exactly how it feels. Several years ago I was climbing over a cattle panel fence with a bucket in one hand when my foot slipped and I landed on the edge of the fence. I had a hard time catching my breath. I didn't go to the hospital, but I know I broke a couple of ribs. You just know.

Where exactly did you see all of the trash? There are trash cans all along the creek, but mainly near the places that people congregate the most. Was the trash in the water or along the banks? Our stream team cleaned that section back in July, but didn't go past the bridge. Back in the Spring we cleaned up the area from Hwy. 86 down to the ballfields. That place you fished is very popular with the swimmers, so I'm not too surprised. A lot of the trash is blown in from the park and some washes in during big rain storms. We'll have to check it out before our next cleanup.

Actually the second one is 2) A receptacle for a fluid. 3)An extra supply; store. No size requirements are listed, but I think lake sort of says it all. Fishing, FISHING??? After all that you have the gawl to ask if I'll go fishing with YOU???????? Ok.

Just a reminder. This reservoir is intended to supplement the increased water usage ( projected population increases ) for the next 20 to 50 years. It is also a cooperative plan that will help supply water to not only Springfield and Joplin, but also Monett and I would suspect many other smaller towns along the way. So, I have a hard time believing that this will be even remotely similar to what we have on Shoal Creek already. Those two spots have a great water flow year around and are not much more than wide spots in the creek. They do exactly what they are intended to do without too much interference with the actual flow of the creek itself and are not used to the extent that I believe these proposals are intended. Not Urinating Chief. Just my take on the situation. My main concern is the term "RESERVOIR". Websters Dictionaries definition of reservoir: 1) A place where some material is stored for use, esp. a lake, usu. artificial, for collecting and storing water. The proposed site for Shoal Creek is at or near the point where Hwy. 60 crosses it. This is a huge valley of farmland and hayfields, very few individual farms, but a lot of land either way. That is why I think that site was picked. As for Crane, I really don't understand why this creek was even picked. Does anyone remember the drought that just about put it down completely???? This creek has an average flow, nothing great, and it is supposed to help supply water to well over a half million people. I wonder if they are not messing with us just a little bit. JMO. I just don't want to wait and see that they pulled a fast one. That's why I suggest you ask the questions to the one's that were elected to work for us.

http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/Leg_Resul...0&Zip4=8279 I did a look up for the elected officials for this area's ( the Shoal Creek location ) state Representatives and U.S. Senators . You can e-mail one or all of them with your concerns about the proposed reservoir locations. There is also a look up by zip code so you can find your area specific elected officials ( Missouri ), even if they are not from the proposed locations, and e-mail them so they know what is going on. I intend to e-mail each of them. If and when I get a response I will let you all know what it is. I did not have the 9 digit zip code for the Crane area, so I wasn't able to find the elected officials for that area. Someone who has that could put it up and we could get in touch with those individuals also. I think everyone, even those out-of-stater's, should chime in on this if you feel strongly about this subject. Save any e-mails you may receive. If needed these responses could be taken to the media, so we can let the public know that there are people out there who really care about the environment and the unique fisheries that are in jeopardy. Buzz