Don

Great idea junkie. Wish I could go. My favorite hole from Del to Shel is the stretch below the nice house on the river right after it makes a sharp right. Good luck.

As a federal employee, I was told that the Chinese hacked our personal identifiable information. My friend, a rival Cub fan, said it wasn't the Chinese. It was Belechek and Mozeliak.

I thing flood stage is 4 ft at the Akers gauge. We had a trip planed from Cedargrove to Akers today but cancelled because we wanted a slow leisurely float with gravel bars, not a fast float. Gauge at Akers was around 2.5 ft while ago and still floatable. Good thing about that stretch of river is that it has a small watershed and recovers from high water relatively quickly.

First time I ever fished Blunks was Sunday evening. I was there for about 2 hours. Caught a couple of dinks. Catching seemed pretty slow with everybody else down there. Roger, It was a pleasure to meet you and Teddy. I hope you had better luck the next day.

Great magazine!

Was great to visit with friends that I haven't seen in a few years. Didn't fish. Was worried about the rain freezing up so we busted out early. Hope to keep in touch and fling a few flies with you all this year.

I'll try to get down there this year. I'll think of something to grill up.

I enjoy using a primrose and pearl soft hackle at Taney. Can either swing it or strip it depending on what the fish want that day. Once in awhile the hookset can be challenging. I have improved my odds at times by using the line set method. Since you are stripping you already have the line in one hand. Focus hard and when the strike occurs, give a moderate tug on your line as you lift your rod.

I tried infusing cigars a few months ago. I put a few cheap cigars in a sealed Tupperware container with a shot glass of Cognac and left it there for 3-4 weeks. When I recovered them I did not want to waste the Cognac so I drank it. Big mistake. The cigars resulted somewhat infused but not that much. On the other hand, the Cognac was heavily infused with cheap cigar tobacco. LOL

Sometimes Reid has abandoned using Charles and Kelce. Example, 49ers game and Titans game. I hope he uses his big playmakers a little more often.

I'm sold on diversification but I followed my father's cue during the stock market correction in late 2008. It was the first individual stock purchase I ever made. Return was over 6 times what I paid. I sold out in 2011. I will be looking at Ford again after the next correction.

Glad you had the opportunity to go bud. Sounds a lot like the last time we fished down there.

I won a chili cookoff last month with this one. GOOD OLD DONNY BOYS PORK CHILI 3 lbs pork roast , pork steak, (I prefer trimmed pork tenderloin) 2 tablespoons cooking oil or 2 tablespoons lard or 2 tablespoons ,bacon grease (My pecking order is bacon grease, butter, olive oil) 1 large chopped onion 1 head minced garlic (taste great, but also helps prevent heart burn) 6 tablespoons flour 1 (15 ounce) can Tomatoes, drained (My favorite is diced fire-roasted tomatoes) 2 cups diced green chilies (Im too lazy to chop those fresh chilies so I use three small cans of diced green chilies ) 3 large tomatillos, husks removed and coarsely chopped (optional) ( I havent stepped this far. Instead I start with a tbsp. of Hyvee roasted salsa verde sauce and add more if needed) 2 -4 teaspoons jalapenos (Im sure fresh peppers are the best but I start with a tbsp. Of diced canned jalapenos and add more until desired heat is reached) 5 cups water (broth is not traditional, but I like the flavor better) or 5 cups chicken broth) I have always use chicken broth instead of water. I start with one can and add as I go along to reach desired consistency) 2 tablespoons ground cumin (or to taste) To my tastebuds, cumin is a very powerful spice and I only use 1 tbsp.) 2 tablespoons ground chili powder (or to taste) I only use 100% pure chili powder and end up using 2 to 3 tbsp.) 1 teaspoon salt Directions: 1 Simmer roast in a large pan until meat is tender and removes from the bone easily. (You can also use diced pork, or pork cube steaks (cut to bite size pieces), browned in the pot with the onion and garlic before adding the rest of the ingredients). Instead, I prefer grilling the meat until medium. 2 Cool meat enough to handle. 3 Cube cooked pork into bite size pieces. 4 In a large pan, melt the lard or bacon grease (or heat oil). 5 Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender but not brown. 6 Stir flour into the onion, garlic and fat until flour absorbs the oil or fat. 7 Add broth or water. I start with one can of broth and add more later as it gets too thick. 8 Cook and stir until mixture comes to boil and is slightly thickened. 9 Add cubed meat, drained tomatoes, chopped tomatillos, all of the green chilies and jalapeños if desired (taste first). 10 Add the spices a little at a time until you get the taste you like, bringing to a simmer before each addition. Simmer for at least 1 hour (longer if you can afford the time), stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking.

I've been catering for a few years lately and I will share one of my specialties: GOOD OLD DONNY BOY’S SMOKED MEATCAKE RECIPE 1 ½ LBS LEAN GROUND BEEF ½ LB GROUND PORK / I SUBSTITUTE MILD PORK SAUSAGE AT TIMES 2 EGGS ¼ CUP OR MORE DICED JALAPENOS / I USE JALAPENOS FROM A JAR 1 TBS WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE 1 TSP BLACK PEPPER / I PREFER FRESH GROUND OR COARSE GROUND 2 TSP SALT / I PREFER KOSHER SALT OR SEA SALT ¾ CUP CUBED CHEDDAR CHEESE / ONE PKG CUBED CHEDDAR 1 CUP CHOPPED ONION ½ LB CHOPPED BACON / I USE 1 PKG PRECOOKED BACON IF I FEEL LAZY ½ CUP BREAD CRUMBS ½ CUP MILK 1 SMALL CAN CHOPPED MUSHROOMS (OPTIONAL) MIX ALL INGREDIENTS THOROUGHLY IN A LARGE BOWL. USE A BREAD BAKING PAN AND LINE IT WITH PLASTIC WRAP. MASH THE MIXTURE DOWN INTO THE PAN AND REFRIGERATE FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS TO FIRM THE MEATLOAF. PLACE THE MEATLOAF ON INDIRECT HEAT ON YOUR SMOKER AT YOUR DESIRED TEMPERATURE. 300 DEGREES GIVE OR TAKE 50 DEGREES SEEMS TO WORK WELL. THE PLASTIC WRAP ENSURES THAT THE MEATLOAF WILL COME OUT OF THE PAN EASILY. DISCLAIMER: THE PLASTIC WRAP IN THE BREAD PAN IS NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION AND IS TO BE REMOVED FROM THE MEATLOAF AFTER IT HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE GRILL. THE OWNER OF THIS RECIPE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ILLNESSES OR COMPLICATIONS TO THOSE WHO HAVE INGESTED SMOKED MELTED PLASTIC WRAP. SMOKE UNTIL INTERNAL TEMPERATURE IS 160 DEGREES. YOU CAN GLAZE THE MEATLOAF NEAR THE END OF COOKING WITH THE FOLLOWING: ½ CUP KETCHUP ½ CUP BROWN SUGAR 1 TBSP MUSTARD HOWEVER, I HAVE NEVER USED THE GLAZE BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT THIS RECIPE IS BEST SERVED WITH YOUR FAVORITE BBQ SAUCE. I HAVE ALWAYS DOUBLED THIS RECIPE (EXCEPT MUSHROOMS) AND SMOKED TWO AT A TIME. IT IS THE BEST MEATLOAF I HAVE EVER TASTED.

Awesome job with kids! Now that's what I call a fishing report. My best fishing trips ever were all the ones with my daughters when they were younger.

I've been more of a collector than a player lately. I have a Jackson Soloist from the 80's, made in USA, the thing practically plays itself, a couple of decent Takamine electric acoustics, an Ovation 12-string electric/acoustic, an old Gibson classical acoustic, and one of my faves...a Fender Catalina acoustic. I also play a Musicman Bass and just picked up a Tama Imperialstar drum set. I've only played the drums about 6 times but I have so much fun with them.

I know some of those Gibsons carry a little weight. However, I own a couple of Peavey T-60's. Those who know these axes call them 'backbreakers'. Very heavy bud good sound. They were the first guitars with the crossover 'coil tap' features. Look them up. They are sweet machines.

I have raised beds and several ground plots. Everybody is late this year. I never do "under the lights" stuff. Early stuff is getting planted Tuesday.....'bout time eh?

Good report. Yeah, the lights at night and all that... never ceases to amaze me. LOL Question is...How come the vehicle that always arrives the latest, approx. 130 AM, is always a loud diesel pickup truck? never fails. LOL We are staying at Jadwin for 4 nights in early May. We will float one day and probably fish Montauk one day just to gather enough for a fish fry. Love that Current River.

Waded up from Baptist to Tan Vat then back. Several good holes filled with people. Fishing was slow. I only had a handful of strikes and landed only one. It was a small brown that came up and took my crackleback. Good weekend to get out for awhile.

Louisville over Michigan State.

They taste just like spotted owl if you cook them real slow.

Ironically, I posted one today for the first time in a month of Sundays. Busy one here, demanding job, kids, parents, maintaining my property. I'm starting to force a few trips in the mix. Camping at the Current next weekend. I'll have one for y'all when I get back.

I have never fly fished the Niangua before and needed to start curing some cabin fever. We camped at Bennett between catch and release season and opening day. We fished Barclay for about 3 hours one Saturday with overcast skies and temps struggling to hit the 50 degree mark. I picked up three bows during the first ten minutes and ended up with eight total to the net that day on slump busters. My friend picked up a nice 17 inch brown. Man, it felt good to get out there.

When I Fished the San Juan years ago I was explaining to an employee at Abe's that when I stood in the middle of the river facing downstream I would cast and work 180 degrees of stream, left to right, right to left, and whatever. He stated that I should not cast directly downstream because that was shuffling and the game wardens had no problem writing you a ticket if they saw you doing it. I explained that I do not shuffle and fish downstream seemed fair game as any others. He replied regardless if I was moving my feet or not, it would boil down to the opinion of the game warden. He simply stated that if I didn't do it at all I would avoid any subjective circumstances.