Forsythian

Guys, thanks for the reply... I reckon we'll wind up at State Park. Great camping weather right now, I never understood them closing down Nov 1.

I remember in years past that Long Creek stayed open for camping year round... looking at the reserveusa website, it seems that's not the case this year? Anybody know? I guess State Park is open, but I plan to fish between Cricket and the bridge this weekend... thanks!

The canoe is sold already! Thanks all for your interest... I'm gonna really miss that boat, lots of memories, but the last trip was a good one! Hey, whilst I got some cash in my pocket, anybody got a 4 piece 5 wt for sale?

I had the good fortune to buy Brian's canoe... the Old Towne will be a much better fit for me on the smaller creeks and streams that I frequent. So the wife says the aluminum boat must go. It is 100% leak free and in good shape. It would be a great boat for bigger water, or if you have a small outboard. Here's a couple of pics... I'd like to get $200 for it, and could deliver in the Branson area. Thanks everybody

Hey guys... I'll be traveling for work this weekend, but I'm thinking about camping down there for C&R on the 17th... even if the weather is great I'm guessing there should be campsites open on a Saturday(?) thanks

Brian, it was very nice speaking with you last night... looking forward to meeting you in person this weekend, and looking forward to many years of floating in my soon-to-be new "disco". To Gavin and the rest of the WFT'ers... I guess you'll be spared the sound of crunching aluminum on the next trip.

I have lived here about 3 miles from the River Run boat ramp for 12 years now... and this part of the lake remains mysterious to me. Some years there is 10 ft of water in Shadow Rock park, and some years you can wade across the channel it's so low. Sometimes the water's running, sometimes not. Sometimes it's just started running, or maybe it's been running for days(?) Empire does not have the handy phone# or internet link to check flows like the Corps dams do. The fog will run you off, Swan will flood, and sometimes the first 5 miles of lake will be stagnant and slimey. What I'm getting at is that there are a ton more variables on this water than there is at Table Rock or even other sections of BS (Kdock and below). It is hard to give fishing advice from Powersite dam to Kdock, because it'll change the next day. I've learned patience, and the ability to fish for the sake of fishing w/o getting stressed or depressed about getting skunked. That said, I've had a good last couple of weeks with bass fishing between Barker and Beaver... but it seems you've gotta have either current or wind. Looking forward to some cold-weather walleye fishing...

Can anyone speak to the "substrate" issue? That is, the lower 1/2 of Taneycomo is primarily a muck bottom... I'm guessing this is not a preferred substrate for the zebras? May limit their spread, hopefully, maybe?

It's been a couple of weeks, but we usually do pretty well out of Empire Park using flatfish... chrome and bone are a good bet.

Brian, does your boat have the molded seats, or are they woven? thanks!

I'm kind of getting into night fishing from the boat under (over) a submersible light. What I don't like is having to cart minnows around on life support, especially in August! I'm okay catching shad with my casting net, but you can't always count on having something to throw at. So it's midnight and I'm looking down below the boat at hundreds of shad, and I know there's gotta be a way to get some kind of gill net down there to snatch a dozen or so shad at a time for bait. And while there's some value to figuring things out for yourself, I imagine somebody on this board has a system or a method they'd like to share? thanks a bunch.

We finally went last Saturday (8/11 it might have been). We set up in the mouth of a cut along sunset bluff. Fishing was not great, we caught nothing but gar, but it was a very cool experience. Nice breeze, new moon, the Perseid meteor shower, big snapping turtle, all combined for a real fun night. I'm ready to go again this coming Saturday...

Thanks... I've got some new rubber on order, I might tinker with it when I get to changing the tires.

Thanks Stone, I'll let you know how we do.

I've got a single axle Shorelander carrying a 19ft Viper fishnski. The right side wheel is obviously out of align, as it scrubs the outer tread of that tire bare in no time. My crude attempts to measure show it to be at least 1/2" inward. Is this something I can mess with? Or can anyone recommend a shop? thanks a bunch.

Heading to Elbow with the 12yrold this coming Saturday... the plan is to bass/ bait fish in the evening, set up some juglines, pick up some bait at Lead Hill, then drop down a light after dark. Stone et.al., if you're out there I'd appreciate a little advice. Would you recommend setting up off a point? bluff end? deep pocket? thanks!

No skin was broken... and all it cost us was a #4 treble! The boy also caught 2 keeper bass that morning, on a Banjo Minnow of all things... he's got the touch I guess.

That shutter delay with a digital camera can be frustrating some times... but occasionally it works to your advantage. I hit the button on this shot as the fish was laying still, on the surface, and in the brief time it took the camera's shutter to open it showed one more burst of energy!

Terry, it was kind of an "anything goes" atmosphere, prolly got 4 hours of sleep each night. I guess I'm an old fuddy anymore, but I don't want to listen to Kenny Chesney blaring at 2am. Come to think of it, I wouldn't have wanted to listen to Kenny Chesney blaring when I was in my 20s! The original plan was to camp on a gravel bar somewhere between Hales and Twin Bridges... I'm hoping there's enough water later this month for that.

Took my 12 year old boy and my wife's dog to the North Fork last weekend. 2 floats were made. River #1: Kind of a warm-water wilderness float... snakey and buggy and fishy. This was the 5 miles from Hebron to Twin Bridges on Friday (6/8). The water was a bit cloudy, and maybe a touch up. Only saw 3 other canoes. It took us a while to find a smallmouth pattern... they seemed to be in the faster water, and they wanted to chase fry. The deer flies also liked the faster water. Fishing was a bit slow, and the dog was not happy. Maybe 5 smallies, the biggest was maybe 14 inches. Lots of panfish. River #2: The Saturday float was from Blair to Dawt. I imagine most of you all know this float... lots of easy water, lots of bikinis. Wall-to-wall canoes. The dog was better, and the fishing was surprisingly good. I played a happy swivel-headed thirsty guide. The youngun and the fluffy dog were good conversation-starters. He caught 1 nice rainbow, 3 browns, and 3 or 4 smallmouth. Most all were caught by "trolling" a crankbait through the tail-outs. I caught and released several Budweisers. Final note: We camped at Dawt. Not my idea. Never again.

Global warming. or sucker gig. same thing.

I'm out of Pilsner Urquell, and I'm kind of grumpy.

hehe... you said weasel... Not sure what semi-soft weasels have to do with the discussion... stay on topic please!

YES! A "purist" on a tailwater bulletin board. Welcome riverrat!

I've got an Ocean Kayak SOT that is alot of fun to play in, but it doesn't track worth a darn. Nothing worse than spinning like a top while you're trying to fish. I've also got an Old Town Loon tandem, tracks well (almost too well for small streams), has storage, and with a little seating modification it can be pretty versatile. My main problem with trying to fish out of it is that it is harder to get in and out of than a canoe. And, while you're fishing out of it, you about have to hold your elbows above your head as you're sitting so close to the water.