Chief Grey Bear

Here is what getting personal looks like. You, Ness, are an F'ing idiot. Nerver in any of the post that you said I made it personal, did I ever mention anyone. Not even close. That is kind of a key point in getting personal.

Personal? Pointing out that the political lines are very evident is getting personal?

That was hilarious. I can see the lines very clearly. Especially right before you posted.

I guess I read it wrong a couple of years ago when the MDC said it would also give them an idea of how much pressure there was on smallmouth.

How are they going to know how many are fishing for them? All they are going to know is how long it took someone to catch it and how far it has moved, if at all, from where it was tagged and released. Actaully the longer it takes, the less pressure it will look like.

But you all loved the idea when you first heard about it. You complained that the MDC was doing nothing. Now you all are pissed because they are.

How funny, I was just wondering about you and your cousin last weekend. Hadn't seen you here in a while and was thinking I needed to PM you. I was fishing the same float where Buzz and I ran into you guys years ago. Good to see you here.

Really? I found them to be about as easy as a rabbit. Maybe a little tougher but not much. But like you say, turtles and squirrels are as tough as they come! If you don't have the proper set up, turtles are a two man job!! This pig I cleaned, I am going to fry. It was a youngster so I hope it is not too tough.

Like you, I catch a few of this fish every year. Though this one is the most severe that I have encountered. Most have some pretty nasty wounds that will heal. And you are right on, on how tough fish are. Growing up, if I saw a fish bleeding, I always believed it was a death sentence. It is what I was taught. I still released them though. But over time, through years of observation, I have concluded that a large percentage of these fish survive and this one is just more proof. For the longest time I thought trout were very fragile, when the opposite is more true. And it is no different with other species. I have seen a bass with gill that was ripped from the bottom of the gill. It was healed and the fish was just fine. I shouldn't have used your bleeding fish above. I wanted to use this fish compared to the pics of gigged fish you taken. In that yes we have some unethical giggers, and yes it appears we have the same with the C&R crowd.

I agree with every thing you just said. As far as the wound on this particular fish, I was thinking it was a spinnerbait that stuck in the boney plate of the jaw hinge. I say that because I have stuck some fish in that very area with spinnerbait and buzzbaits and they can be very difficult to remove. This wound is relatively fresh from the looks of it.

I actually quit trapping and just went to seining. It is much quicker and you get a greater variety. It will also give you a great insight into the health of the stream.

It is my understanding that glass and styrofoam are banned from streams in Missouri.

I've cleaned two snappers and a whistle pig in the last two weeks. Talk about some some good eats!

I just ment glass traps. They were and still are the best ones. The wire mesh and plastic one are still kosher. Sorry about scarring you. Didn't mean to do that at all.

Duane was a master of the slide! And Jimi Hendrix was, and still is a head of his time, and my time, and the next gens time. Agreed my friend! You know, I have never liked their studio work. But yeah, I know what you are saying.

Agreed completely. Just pointing out that we(including me) put C&R above everything else and we (including me) look down upon every other type of fishing. When in fact do we know the true ramifications of it? I recall a pic posted by Mitch of a fish Al caught. In the pic was a pool of blood on the seat of the boat. I mentioned it and Mitch quickly told me that the fish swam off healthy. True the fish may have swam off, they always will. Doesn't mean it survived. I know the same has happened to me.

Most everyone know that I am pretty much a staunch C&R fisherman. Only rarely do I keep a mess of fish and they have never been any of the three Black Bass species. But when I see this, I can't really get behind bashing on giggers. I actually caught two fish like this yesterday. The first one was not as severe as this but none the less it had some pretty brutal damage. I also encountered a three generation, father-son-grandson, team floating the same stretch. Very likeable people and just as friendly as could be. I thanked them for teaching the grandson the ways of the river and having him out there. Seconds later grandpa held up a stringer with a about 3 short goggle eye and one short bass. When we got out of earshot, I asked Dylan if he thought that bass would measure. He shook his head no. So now I don't feel they are teaching the boy right. But that is just my opinion. After leaving them, a mile or so on down, we ran into another father-daughter team in a john working a hole of water. Very nice fella. Told what the brownies were biting on and such. He never showed his stringer but I saw one near him and one near her.

I have too. Loved it. If you go to their shows expecting to be entertained with theatrics and light shows, stay home. They are there to play music and that is what they do. And very, very well I might add.

Finally. Thank you.

Ehhh, seining is much better. Plus the best traps have been outlawed. You rebel!

I would float it Chance. There is good water there. I think you will do well. You are fishing totally different from what I do. And these last couple of years, and I don't know why, but I have been floating more Al like and putting in more miles in less time. I really need to slow back down a little. As far as mileage, from the dam at Noel to the MDC Cowskin access is 9.25 miles. Another float to think about is from Cowskin to the where the Buffalo dumps in. It is about a 3 miler????? Maybe a little less. One thing about this lower end, is the river starts to leave the more typical Ozark topo and is entering the more prairie like topo. So the river flattens and gets wider. Especially from Cowskin on into Grand Lake. When I was on it a couple of weeks ago, like Ollie mentioned the catfish, they were chasing cranks. So you may have some great action with them and streamers. Ollie: "You could pay old stinky at Cowskin to take you up to the farm and put in. That put in is just upstream from the big boulder in the water by some caves. I think the place your talking about Chief is where the discharge from Tyson's is?" That is the place I am thinking of. Just up stream from the rock. We are thinking of the same place.

No spin here Deputy Dog. You need to go back and reread it. It was very pleasant conversation I had with the sheriff. Where if you remember he was on the side of the floaters. Remember??? He simply asked that I stay away from that stretch for a little while and let things cool down. Fine with me. It wasn't until 3 or 4 weeks later that I got a letter in the mail. Remember?? As you stated, it is very well documented. I think I have found a pattern here though. You continue posting factually inaccurate information as if you are a person who displays exceptional intellectual ability. And when I present the correct information so others are not led astray, you counter that with saying I have an ego problem. Well played.

Actually Wayne TIff City is on Buffalo. That is why I was ribbing him a little. But your point is well taken. Not the best of crowed hanging there. I have done it though without any trouble.

Man, I need a cigarett after that one Ness. Was it as good for you as it was for me? Ha. Now if I may. Since I never talked to the law that day, which as you say was well documented, I guess I didn't have much of a problem with them. In fact, as documented, it was a few days later before I even knew of any charges. And I didn't even find that out from the law. And seeing how I then went to talk to the top law officer near the end of the week and seeing how I walked out, doesn't seem like much trouble. He did mention you by name and said to me that because you called him, he had a change of heart. I used to post reports weekly. My bad that I don't anymore. I guess I have gotten lazy. So you have admittedly posted one report and that has cleansed your soul for purgatory. Now this political and ego stuff is intriguing. The way I see it, the political discussion is already going. But when I post my opinion 3 pages later, I am the one that turned into a politcial discussion . Fascinating. Ego....ehhhh, I can see your point in that. I just post my opinion using a lot less words. I just don't need to use 6 paragraphs to say what I can say in 1. Now if you will excuse me, I am exremely ticked because some one stole my homemade bed extender today at the put in.

I have put in at the ball field. That is just below the dam on the west side. That may be a little tough for a Drift boat though. There is also River Ranch on the east side that you could use. Probably a better option. Then if you look down river just a bit, where the river leaves the hiway, makes an L shape and comes right back, you will see a trail that heads to the gravel bar on the inside bend of the L. I am starting to see people use that area and saw a camp bus with trailer coming out of there. Didn't catch the name though. My figures show that to be a 9.25 mile float. Doesn't quite seem that long to me. But I skip a lot water on the upper part of that run too. Also I am not as impressed with the lower end as I am the upper end of this river. It is a very easy float with no obstacles. I was just on it a couple of weeks ago and you shouldn't have any trouble. There is a Jet boat with bow hunters running it too. You will find gar carcasses everywhere. I would like to know how you plan on getting out at Tiff City though? Most people take out at the Cow Skin access. LOL!