Kyle

My buddy and I got out again on Friday and did pretty well. We ended up with 3, could have had one more to make our limit real easy, but lacked in the shooting skills. Did not see as many birds on this outing as on the previous, but still had plenty to work. We set-up right on the edge of the corn and bean fields with most of the decoys being in the beans. The birds came very late like 4:50 and it was totally dark by 5:30. Over all a fun, but muddy day. Here is a picture of the first hunt.

I say it depends on what kind of birds you are looking for. There are geese everywhere. I can't drive 5 miles with out seeing a flock flying or feeding in a field. I think that the ducks have passed through. With not much food because of the floods and now even the rivers frozen I think they just kept going.

JD, I have never seen a white front or Bryant goose in my life, let alone out in the field. Is there a populatioin of theese in Central Missouri? Do they behave like Canadas? Kyle

Sorry I misunderstood the question. Yes they were Canadians, however I don't know how to tell the difference between the greater and lesser canada goose.

Not real sure what is a small one or a big one, but I would say they were all between 10-12 pounds. Is that big or not? Also is it just me or is the 2 goose limit kinda crappy? I mean you spend an hour driving to the spot, an hour setting up, who knows how long waiting, an hour putting everything away and only like 10 min actually working and shooting birds. Also wondered if anyone has or knows anything about the "Carry-Lite Full Body Flying Canada Goose Decoy"? I got one with the the gear I bought, but have not really messed with it and was curious if anyone has any experience with them. Do they work? Do they flare birds? Are they just a waste of time? How far off of the ground should they be? Any information or opions would be appreicated. Kyle

A buddy and I went goose hunting in central Missouri yesterday for the first time. Neither of us had been field hunting before and were both excited and somewhat skeptical. I had bought a layout blind, 4 dozen shells, 6 super mag shells, and a dozen full bodys from a neighbor in the spring for a great deal and decided it was something I may like to get in to. So we load up the trailer with all of the supplies and the dog and get to the field at about 2. Seeing how it windy it was made us a little worried but we figured what the heck. We set up in a U shape with the wind to our backs and wait. After about an hour with nothing in sight ones mind starts to wander so I though it best to keep sanity by playing some games on the cell phone. I am very taken by a game and just happen too look to the right and here is a flock of about 30-35 birds coming right for our spread. We do a few light calls and they come in low and probably would have landed had I not yelled " take'em". We spring up and shoot like crazy. I dropped one. The dog goes to get it and we were very excited, but didn't have time to celebrate. Another huge flock was about 300 yards out. We call the dog back and get down. These birds take almost the exact same route as the first flock and when we shoot this time 2 fall from the sky. Well I am done with my 2 birds, but my buddy still has one to get and it looks as it there are 3 or 4 more good size flocks coming right for us. Well 2 of them flare so we decide we need to get the birds we had down already. (The dog didn't know what to do since it was the first time she had ever seen a goose.) We pick them up, but the rest of the flocks we see don't seem to want to work as good. A couple land in the same field about 50 yards away and some fly over for a look, my friend shoots a few more times but to no avail. We should have had 4 birds but we were very pleased with our trip anyway. I am now definately addicted to this field hunting and can't wait for next weekend. Sorry so long, but I wanted to tell the story to people who would appreciate it. Thank for reading. Kyle

No Quillback, not on public land. In the past we have hit a few public spots especially when there is a lot of snow on the ground because they usually contain thicker cover than many surrounding areas. Be sure to check though because many of the public ground up there is steel only. Birds can also be found in many road ditches, as they are open to public hunting in Iowa and with a gravel road every mile it make for a lot of ditches. Pat, great story. That many birds will put anyone in awe. Kyle

We go pheasant hunting to Iowa the weekend after Thanksgiving every year and some are good and some not so good, but this year was both all in one. We leave late Wednesday night and begin our hunt thursday morning. We walk a couple draws throught the day and wind up with 2 birds, could have had a couple of more, but you know how that goes. Friday has to be the best day I personally have ever had pheasant hunting. I killed 5 roosters (as far as I have read out of the Iowa DNR handbook party hunting is allowed). Had some really great dog work and good points as well as some good shooting. It is truly a day I will never forget. We hunted one spot that is an old pond that now has grown up trees and grasses and must have flushed 75-100 birds out and probably 30-40 of those were roosters. I have never seen so many birds in one place in my life. Saturday got very cold and windy so we did not hunt that hard. We did manage to get 3, one of which had a 23 inch tail feather. The longest I have ever seen. Over all it was a great trip and I am already looking forward to next year. K

Anybody make it out and shoot any duckies this weekend?

I have had lot of luck just past the bridge in the faster water in zone 2 fishing a combonation of 2 of the following: san juan (brown, pink, or red), scud (gray, tan, olive, or pink), midge (prefferably the rusty or zebra), glow ball (white, or off-white w/ red dot), or any sunken dry fly. Bounce them off of the bottom and hang on. If a fish hits them in that fast water they hit hard, and they all feel like they weigh 5 pounds in the swift current. Good luck Kyle

I was in the park on Friday and Saturday. The trico hatch on Saturday morning was unreal. Little white mayflies (maybe size 28-30) with green butts. BKB was right, there were a lot of people because of the kids fishing derby but you could find spots to be all to yourself. On Sat. morning it was just me and my buddy in the bolder hole. I caught quite a few fish out of there including one that went almost 2 pounds. Most fish came on scuds (olive or grey) and a few on midges (various colors with rusty being the most productive.) Also managed to catch a few on dry flies, 3-4 on a small white one and 2 on a hopper pattern. Caught my first fish out of the Catch and Release area on Friday on a copper John which went about 2-1/2 pounds. What a beautiful weekend to be on the river fishing reguardless of the crowd. By the way we got the last non reserved camping spot on friday at about 2. Kyle

well, I made a few of my own with some 4 oz egg weights and it seems like they are going to work pretty well. Don't know how tangle free they are going to be when you get a dozen all together, but it seems like if they do get wraped around one another if you just drop the dekes one at a time when the weight slides down they are going to pull the line out. I guess we will see, planning on doing 2-3 dozen this way. Also pretty excited I found an old enclosed 6'x4'x4' trailer I am going to turn in to a duck trailer for all of my dekes and layout blind and whatever else I find to fill it. Is going to need some work, but the price was right....FREE! Any suggestions on things that fellow hunters like or dislike about their trailers or anything they wish was in theirs? Was thinking about putting some of those wader hangers that bolt into the wall and a strap to haul them in it. Kyle

I think the way they work is that the anchors slide up by the decoy itself whey they are hanging on the clip for transportation and storage and slide down to the end with the loop on it when you throw them out. wraping up decoy lines is by far the worst thing about duck hunting because you have to do that when you are done and trying to get home.

Found this product in my new Mack's catalog and thought it was interestring. Wanted to see what any of you other duck hunters thought before I go out spending a bunch of money. I might make the same thing myself. http://www.rigemright.com/catalog/product_...;products_id=30

Hank My father and I floated Taney about 8 years ago. If you put in as long as they are running at least one unit it is not a big deal. It was later in the summer when we went and there were plenty of gravel bars then. The lower lake can get pretty slow at times so you may want to think about getting picked up further up stream than the bridge. good luck Kyle

I was down on friday afternoon and thought the river to only be up about a foot and thought that the water was just a little off color. Then again I only fished zones one and two. Fly fished the whole time and did pretty well caught about 15 in about 5 hours. Took me awhile to figure them out and wound up hitting them on san juans with rusty midge droppers in the faster water below the dam and below the rock dam in zone one. Some of the best fighting fish I have caught out of there in a long time.

I was down Friday and Saturday. Limited out on Friday, released everything under 10 1/2 inches. Caught most of them in about 10 foot of water about 5-10 foot from the shore on, believe it or not, countdown crank baits. Had a good mess of fish so I decided to get out the flyrod and strip a wollybugger. That also produced. It seemed to me that they are spread out and want to chase. The guy I was fishing with did not do so well, but he was trying crappie jigs with little or no movement. Don't stay in one place too long, two or three fish out of each hole is all your are likely to get. Kept 6 on Saturday as we only fished untill 12 because of rain. Had one fish that was 13 inches. Good crappie. All arround the 14 mile marker. Kyle

I am going to be down there on Saturday afternoon/evening and maybe into night. Is is still possible to wade fish? Also, is a flyrod feasable or is the water too high to allow enough room for a back cast? If anyone else is there I will be the guy in the STL Cardinals hat. Come say hi and I am open to tips or suggestions since this is only my seccond time on Taney. Kyle

I think the best way I have found is to skin them, cut in half and put in a glass dish with a lot of butter and lemon pepper and bake them untill they are flakey. Also dosen't hurt to eat them with a lot of tarter sauce. K

Was thinking about making a trip down this weekend, but really don't want to fish in the stained water. Will it be cleared up by the weekend, or is would Montauk be a better option? I have a couple of buddies that are new to fly and trout fishing and I am trying to put them in the best possible situation. I am fairly certian I can catch a few, but if I can put them on some fish I feel like I will have a better chance of them wanting to go again. Also heard thery are calling for rain in STL wed and thurs and didn't know if there was supposed to be any there. Thanks for the help Kyle

Go as much as I can, which is never enough. We hunt about 5 different farms in Missouri and managed to get into a few covies and got one pheasant. I have an english setter who is very good, but birds are becomming increasingly hard to find. Also, we try not to shoot more than about 3-4 birds out of each covey. If anyone wants to hunt next year and has a place to hunt let me know, I will bring the dog!!

Hey guys, thanks for the imput. I'll let you know how it turns out. Kyle

This is the first year I have duck hunted and experienced limited success. We hunted Shanks and BK but most of the ducks there seem to be extremely pressured. We have a mojo and 3 dozen dekes and my buddy is a good caller, but I think the real key is getting camoflaged. I am an avid bird hunter so, I have to say that shooting teal is my favorite. Man those birds come on quick and dart, what fun. I went goose hunting a couple of times, but to no avail. Field hunting seems like a lot of fun for them and I really enjoyed using the laydowm blind I borrowed from a neighbor. As for your question, I am from Wentzville and I blow a Echo Diamonwood Timber call for ducks and a Pit Boss for geese. Thanks for listening and this is definetly a sport that can really get to a guy. Kyle

Hey guys, thanks for all of the imput. I will defiently give some of the suggestions you made a try. I think that as long as the fish are biting I will be able to find a place to throw a fly, and I am really looking forward to a big fish tearing up my takle. I have caught some decent whites on slab hunters (white mostly) but thought I might try something different. This is the closest thing I can get to tarpon fishing in the keys. Also, is there anything to specific to be on the lookout for to tell if they are going to be hitting topwater? I use my flyrod quite often to pond fish and there is nothing like catching a bass on the top. Would there be more oppertunity to fly fish if I were to breing a boat? Kyle

I have fished the tailwater a few times so I know a little about it, but when should expect the whites and especially the hybrids to start running. I am assuming in the spring and I know that the fishing is usually better when they are running water. Is much of the run based on the flow of water, therefore the spring rains? Also, I have decided that I am going to try to catch some on a fly rod, does anyone know if there is some good spots to try a fly and is a 7 weight rod strong enough? Kyle