Brian Jones

In the words of smallie bigs, "The internet. Ruining fishing holes since 1998".......

Legends are super boats. But those as well as the other jet boats built here in the Mo-Ark region are built and set up for the gravel bottomed rivers of our region where we rarely rarely encounter the type of water that you all on the Delaware, Susquehanna, and other eastern rivers have to run. Seems like most of the boats you see from out there are heavy bottomed, console forward sleds, often with an additional layer of UHMW (??) plastic screwed to the bottom.

Maybe I'm not reading this correctly but it seems like a real kick in the pants to the long time mercury dealers; especially for those in close proximity to evinrude dealers such as troutt and sons and cowtown. They're literally one exit apart.......

I don't recall. But I can ask the guy who caught it when I see him at church Sunday.

Though uncommon, I know of at least one 7 pound largemouth caught through that stretch and quite a few 4-6 pounders in the past ten or so years. As far as the smallies go, that species of fish seems to bring out the big eye in all anglers............. And for the most part that stretch isn't really known for giving really big smallies like some of the stretches of river a few miles downstream......at any rate a good day nonetheless and I appreciate the report. Been wanting to float the upper part but have been impatiently waiting for river and weather conditions to stabilize before doing so....

Without a doubt, my favorite jet boat name ever................. "what's he saying?? " go faster"..............

YES!!!!!! Have said the same thing for years. Family and I have eaten several spots; as well as crappie, walleye and saugers from the lower river (lower meaning below the Bourbeuse). So far so good. But then again I was raised on fish caught out of the Lead belt portion of Big River.................

Could be wrong but the first one looks all spot to me???..... Totally agree on bottom one and inconclusive on middle one. Is what it is. The spots and meanmouths have pretty much claimed the lower meramec.

One of my absolute fav's: "I'd rather drink turpentine and p!$$ on a brushfire". --Sheriff Kimbel Young Guns II.

"He always said he wanted to run the gauntlet".

"We may have to be neighbors but I don't have to be neighborly". "How's it with stains." "Well Mr. Capet bagger. Around these parts we got something called a Missouri boat ride".

I think we're gonna check out Mina Sauk again. Should have a good flow after Thursday's forecasted rain.

One of my favorite jokes wrench.

I agree totally. I've also seen that with engines as big as 70HP and was REALLY surprised at just how little sand it took to lock one up. This happened to a buddy once while several of us were down on Current River below Van Buren. I was convinced that my buddy had locked up his power head. But once we pulled the shoe, the engine fired right up. So we rinsed the sand and grit out of the shoe and liner, re attached it to the pump and it ran just fine the remainder of the trip.

I've never been above Blackwell bridge and have only done that a couple of times. Both were early spring week days when the river was high and I was pretty confident I wouldn't encounter anyone else. I know some local guys who run their jets around Cherokee Landing/St. Francois state park in the spring. But that is something I don't feel comfortable doing in ours and personally don't think the river needs jet boats up that high. As a general rule I won't run Big River when the gauge at Richwoods is below 3.2 and won't run above the hole at the old Big River Heights bridge once the river gets busy even if I can.

Over the years I have seen a handful of guys (mainly trappers) on the middle Gasconade and middle to lower Meramec using mud motors or small prop outboards with those hand operated engine lifts (those things are pretty neat). But the bottom line is if you are a river rat there is absolutely no substitution for a jet. Period. Sure you can walk riffles, etc. But on all of the rivers I fish there are good holes that are considerable distances between accesses. And putting through long holes and wading riffles is really impractical most of the time on these waters.

I don't think I've ever seen a mean mouth with that much spot in it.

Fished Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Took a trip on each section; upper or lower upper, middle and lower middle or upper lower depending on how you draw the lines. Each trip was good but Monday's trip was best. Partner boated a 20. I caught an 18 and we each caught a 17 along as well as 15-20 other "keepers". Brought home a wad of spots from the trip yesterday. Looking forward to Sunday's lunch...................water temps were 45 yesterday when I took out around 2:00.

Heckuva, heckuva day.

Does the MDC ever put any of videos of their electrofishing trips on YouTube and if not, why???....

I can only speak of the Invitational and I've been hit or miss for the past 10 or so years so I cannot speak for every tournament. But I can tell you this, when cwc87 was helping run the weigh ins NOT ONE spotted bass brought to the scales was returned to the river. I've always respected him for that.

I know that by the mid 90's they had already made it into Apple and Saline Creeks. However, no one in a position of importance gave a darn until they began to threaten Lake Michigan almst a decade later...... Would a more proactive approach (if one was even possible) to this problem made a difference? Who knows. But the one thing for certain is that ignoring the problem did absolutely nothing except bolster the population.

They're above Jerome.........

I guess I would say I'm more of a dabbler as I've only floated one creek from start to finish, but here is my list. Big River: Belgrade to Mammoth in the canoe. Mammoth to about 4 miles below Brown's Ford in the jet boat. And then a little bit of river above Morse Mill and above Rockford Beach in the jet boat as well. Mineral Fork: Hwy F to Big River confluence. Would like to explore above F sometime... Cedar Creek: Hwy 32 to Big River; in the canoe obviously.. Meramec: Scott's Ford to Garrison's in the canoe. Garrison's to Big River confluence in the jet boat. Huzzah: Some put in above Hwy 8 that Huzzah Valley uses to put floaters in down to the confluence with the Meramec St. Francis: A float on the upper, upper river in "Sims Mountain/Manion" country, then from Cedar Bottom to Coldwater in the canoe. Also, Greenville to about two miles above Bounds Creek in the jet boat. Little St. Francis: A short float in the middle section of this creek; in the canoe. Gasconade: From about 3 miles above Riddle Bridge down to Second Creek/Helds Island; all in the jet boat. Big Piney: Mason Bridge to Slabtown in the canoe, then from the Gasconade up to the first railroad bridge in the jet boat. Osage: Bagnell to Wardsville and from Mari-Osa up to the old lock and dam; all in the jet boat. James: Hootentown to Galena, both in the jet boat and canoe. Cape Fair up to a rock ledge. We were to scared to run through it in the jet boat. I guess we went past Blunk's. Beaver Creek: Can't remember exactly as it was a one time trip and it was too many years ago. But it was about a 5 mile float that didn't leave much of an impression......

I wish the mdc would do away with the public comment periods as well as the open houses they have any time there is a regulation change. Because in the end they're going to do whatever they wanted to do to begin with...... they actually concluded from an on line survey that extending the season would not harm non target species? Where is the science behind that? I guess they are now considering game fish target species? Hopefully we'll have another winter of high water.....