Chief Grey Bear

Sportsman were the least of his clientele. For decades he and others pounded the hell out the James. Raping her for everything she had. Much more than that pittance of tragedy we continually hear of to the east a little. As then, to this day, she continues to be a top destination due to her fine fishing ability and stunning beauty.

Apparently you don't know much about the James. Or a man named Jim Owen.

Well other than the 30 million bison had a few hundred million acres to crap on. Not the same 100 day after day. They never over grazed either. Cattle pastures today are severely over grazed. An exorbitant amount of litter is spread on crop land. You can see huge piles of it waiting to be spread. And that is in addition to the tons and tons of petro fertilizers. And we haven't even touched on human waste that gets spread. There are a lot of honeywagons out there running every day. So no, it's not a new problem. But it's getting bigger everyday that we add more people to the food chain that need to be feed. But hey, it's all ok because the water is the same color it's always been.

Actually you can read in old reports from fishing clubs and the like from the day, they used to throw smallouth up on the bank to rot.

Second only behind Texas in beef production. Millions of turkeys and chickens. Massive dairy operations. Large scale hog operations. All that poop has to go somewhere.

Oh yeah that old lame quote. It could always be better. But what would I cry about then?

And still one of the top producing big Smallmouth rivers in the state.

Mussels of many species have been on the decline for many, many years. They are finding that they are not reproducing and expiring at a very young age. Two points are being looked at as potential reasons. One being a change at the amount ultra violet light that now reaches earth, which is also being looked at as a contributing factor for the reason of the decline in frogs also. The second is land use practices. Lobbyist such as Farm Bureau have much more power than those agencies that actually want to protect the land like the DNR and EPA. Those of a certain political party have for years pleaded and cried to the public that these agencies were overreaching and out of control. And in some areas I may somewhat with squinted eye, almost agree. But just because it is your land, doesn't mean it won't affect others, even me. But hey, the water is the same color so we know that ain't it.

Yeah, I'm still here. Thanks Phil!

No wonder they kicked you out. You have ZERO reading comprehension.

Apparently they always do except for one certain renegade group of them in one certain watershed.

They're freaking everywhere!

The ugly baby was the water shed. I thought you could understand that. I guess it was a little too in depth for you.

But the water is the same color. But the water is the same color.

Always glad to help when I can.

I'm not Al, but they both mature and start spawning at about the same time. Usually by the third or fourth year.

Before and after results. Cook that in your fancy sandwich bag! I kid because I love.

I don't think anyone is claiming it is a cesspool of poison. But water quality has obviously changed. To deny that is being disingenuous. Did it change to favor the smallmouth? Or did it change to favor the spotted bass? We all know what the results say.

I'm just being a turd really.

I totally understand that and can appreciate that. But you're going to have to face the fact that you are the parents of an ugly baby. No parent wants to admit it but we all know sometimes it's true. There are many factors that come into play that made it more favorable for spotted bass than it has smallmouth. And land use practices does not mean just those along the stream bank. It can be from many miles away. There has been a major amount of urban sprawl over the decades in the lower Meramec River basin. Each little ravine and spring creek, whether running or dry, is a blood vessel feeding to the main artery. Every time a lawn or golf course gets fertilized, every time somebody dumped oil, every time it snows and chemicals are put on the roads, every time it just rains and washes off all the roads and ground clutter, it all flows to the stream. There is nothing healthy about that. It doesn't matter what the habitat is. When you add that up with everything else I mentioned in my previous post you wonder how anything survives. But you don't have to believe me and you don't have to believe the MDC. But it's true you have an ugly baby.

Or a crockpot. Much more versatile. And you can still cut your cooking time and a half!

I knew it was a waste of time.

Cast iron skillet seared a couple of Ribeyes. About 8 minutes.

I was not going to enter into this discussion as I saw no value in my participation. It was obvious of the agenda and the direction that this would take and I was not disappointed. But since Al did mention my name, the name that I hide behind on this forum, and since he did it with respect, I thought I would oblige and give my thoughts and opinions. Over the years we have had many many discussions on this very subject. Some points we may agree on some points we may not. That is the nature of the beast. I am just going to briefly skim over points of fact and not get into a deep explanation. First let us address why there are spotted bass in the Meramec system. This will be one of the areas where Al and I somewhat possibly disagree. I say that because from where the spotted bass came from nobody truly knows. They're only thoughts, opinions and theories. Spotted bass may have come from where Al thinks they may have come from as he pointed out in his previous post. But do not forget that spotted bass are native to the Mississippi and Ohio river systems and some of its tributaries. It is completely possible that those spotted bass came from those river systems. The question is why now have they sought to occupy the Meramec River system? Since the 1970s we have started to experience changes in our climate where it appears to be getting warmer. And that is one advantage for the spotted bass. We are now seeing many species of animals, birds, and fish thriving outside of their historical native ranges. Some areas are also experiencing a major shift in land use practices. And it is my understanding that the lower sections of the Meramec River system has experienced what could almost be classified as catastrophic land use practices. Just because the water looks great and the habitat appears to be there does not mean it is hospitable for all species. Over the years I have read many population density reports on stream bass from the MDC. In everyone of those reports the Spotted bass was a distant third in stream bass population densities. If I recollect correctly I think about the highest density I can recall seeing it was 20%. Obviously I have not read every density report and I can't even recall what stream reports I have read at this point. Some reports would show a high density a smallmouth over largemouth and others were just opposite. But that also had a lot to do with what section of stream they were doing such as upper versus middle or lower. But in every section the spotted bass was very low, relatively, on the list. I don't know if there has been a population density study on the lower Meramac. I'm sure it has been and that would be interesting to read. Electroshocking surveys are not the end-all to learning the exact populations of any stream section. But it is the best method of sampling we have to date. It is exactly what it says it is, a sampling to give you somewhat of an idea. Many fish, especially the larger fish, are able to escape the electronic field. The times that I have participated in this, we were only able to get about 10% of the population in any given pool that we were sampling. It is my consensus that electroshocking is far more accurate than angling. Being that I can fish the same section of river once each week for month and get different results every time. Some days you have a better smallmouth bite others you may have a better largemouth bite. Some days you have a really good mix of both. I've had days where I didn't catch anything but spotted bass. And then I can go for months in that exact same stretch and not catch one and only catch largemouth and smallmouth. It's really just the luck of the day on what your prevalent species will be. But when you do electroshocking sampling it doesn't matter what kind of mood they are in. If they get caught in the field they get caught. So for a small recap here's what we know. Something has changed the lower end of the Meramec River. Something has made it more hospitable to spotted bass then smallmouth. There are many factors at work here. Not just the Spot showing up. Now, I'm ready to discuss.

I'd do it Gavin. There is a Insta Pot group on FB that has some fantastic looking recipes. And a treasure trove of info! Let me know and I'll add you to the group.