Project Healing Waters

Phil, the Mississippi is flooding now from the combination of snow melt in the northern drainage and heavy rainfall in the heartland. The STL riverfront closed last week. We all know that the lower White River agricultural plains are flooded and the ag industry is bitching about late planting...or even no planting. That means MASSIVE crop insurance claims underwritten by the USDA along with soaring commodity prices. I read yesterday that American brewers are really feeling the pinch of higher ingredient costs (ie. BEER is going to get really expensive, too). A-B is the #1 customer of the rice growers in the lower White River drainage and upper Mississippi Delta, and Purina is #2. (so pet food will also go up...but that's not as serious of a political nightmare as BEER inflation!) The bottom line: all of this water in the lakes is going NOWHERE until mid-summer at the earliest. And every time it rains 1" or more in 24 hours with these lakes at or above flood pool, everyone who lives near them is in for a rough ride. Combine that with rapid inflation of fuel and food prices just to make your summer even more "interesting." It's gonna be a tough year for the tourism/recreation industry of the Ozarks. The saving grace will be the fishing in the lakes (proper)...which generally improves with prolonged high water conditions (and we see that happening already). The tailwaters will be hit/miss depending on flood gates with excellent fishing in between flood releases. But folks really don't have a lot of play money right now. So better fishing MAY not translate into MORE fishing as well as it typically would. So...good luck and best wishes to ALL of the folks who make their living from tourism in the Ozarks. I'm sure the diehards will be sure and toss y'all every dollar we can spare. And I hope that's enough to keep everyone's doors open. Now if we can just remember to NEVER, EVER, EVER elect neo-conservative multi-national corporate bigshots to run every branch of the US government at the same time again...

Oh man, Brian, those pics suck! I can't see a darned thing due to all the glare and poor contrast. You should be ashamed of posting those. You normally do much better work than this. You got a chainsaw? Know anyone with an explosives permit? You could take a step ladder and get out there and cut that stump up to open up that ramp. A step ladder...I slay me! Seriously, I'm pretty darned busy. But Christina Taylor emailed me today and asked me to come down and help them cull the onslaught of stripers, white bass, and walleye coming over the dam to eat our precious wild rainbows. I may have to make room for a short trip down there to do my part for wild trout conservation here in the next few days.

The stream inside the park is fine. A few things have changed and there is TONS of sandy bottom vs. gravel bottom now. But it's a trout park. So that doesn't really matter. They toss a bunch of fish in at 11pm and they're mostly all caught by the following afternoon. Habitat doesn't really matter. The park is a mess because everything ELSE is also covered in sand. Eagles Park is a good choice. Camping inside Montauk was like camping on a sandbar with 1,000 other people, electricity, ice, a store, and a restaurant. But if you wade upstream from Tan Vat the wading isn't tough and the fishing is excellent without having to go very far. There's a lot of "dead" water in that stretch and the fish are congregated along bank structure. Wade the light colored stuff and cast to the dark colored stuff and you should do fine.

It was definitely the most crowded I've ever seen it on the river. And the campground in the park was full. The Current seems to recover faster than most of the other rivers after heavy rains. And I suspect a lot of people headed there due to frustration at not being able to get out much this Spring due to all of the flooding in the Ozarks. Almost everyone we talked to was from STL...a few from KC. I'm sure that as soon as the gauge went below 200 cfs, everybody packed their gear and headed for Montauk. Add the outrageous cost of gas and groceries to the mix and I suspect we're going to see more "close to home" fishing this year than usual. Most working folks' family vacations this year will probably be close to home and fried bologna sandwiches type of ordeals. That's precisely why I am heading to the Rockies after runoff! LOL

Fished all day Saturday and Sunday morning on the upper Current from about 1/2 mile below Baptist to about 1/4 mile below the edge of Montauk SP. The Montauk gage was at 175 cfs and about 2 feet when we left Springfield Friday morning...before the rain. Friday afternoon I brought to hand 2 dozen trout on red SJ worms in the park...from the Spring down about 1/3 mile. Saturday and Sunday we fished the river. Saturday was the day of the Pine Squirrel Sculpin. I brought to hand 15 Rainbows between 12 and 17". The longer fish were extremely FAT! 17" fish would have weighed close to 3 lbs. That's a pig. But huge trout were few and far between. My partner bumped one out of a hole while retrieving a snagged fly that was a monster on Saturday above Tan Vat. And he had another one jump nearby just before sunset below Baptist that he swore was the biggest Rainbow he had ever seen in the wild. But I didn't see anything bigger than about 18" the whole trip...and NO Browns. Reports from other anglers suggested the Browns were concentrated just above Akers. Brought another 10 Rainbows to hand on Sunday morning on pink egg patterns below Tan Vat. Mohair leeches were not productive. The water is still off color and there is quite a bit of debris floating along, but far less than I was prepared to have to contend with. Montauk is still a mess.

Making fly rods in the US? Get used to eating Ramen noodles and sitting in the dark. LOL

It's hard to argue with the documented scientific results of many surveys and studies over about the past decade where this management strategy has been employed and measured. Your results are right in line with everything I've read/heard. This is why we give the C&R awards to folks who return trout over 20" to Taneycomo, etc. It's all about the limited amount of food available for a certain # of fish. It's called "carrying capacity," and is based on biomass metrics. If there is a lot of food and a few fish, the fish grow faster. The more fish you add, the slower they grow. It's easy to toss fish into a fishery. It's not easy to grow the biomass. It tends to have a very sharp law of diminishing returns and quite often simply cannot be increased. So what you are saying is especially true of waters that are stocked to beyond the carrying capacity. This is where you will notice the most dramatic results of this management approach.

YOU are also from Springfield. And you apparently didn't know much about him either. Bass pros around here are as common as electricians in most towns. We don't really take notice until they come out with their own brand of fishing gear or have a high-end boat model named after them...stuff like that.

Since that ole boy from Three Dog Night has held the record for 27 years, I suspect it really wasn't such an "easy feat." There are hundreds of thousands of highly skilled amateur and professional anglers actively pursuing IGFA records. By the time you can get an official IGFA weigh-in around here fish lose a LOT of weight. When talking about pre-spawn female White Bass, that weight loss is quite pronounced. To cross all the T's and dot all the I's quickly enough to get a world record fish properly entered is a rare accomplishment unless the record happens to be open or it's a species of fish very few people fish for with the type of tackle used. But a 1.5 kg tippet class record for a White Bass (the most prolific and widely dispersed sub-species of Bass in North America) is NOT uncommonly sought after. That is a typical tippet strength among fly anglers fishing for White Bass. Where I come from, diminishing the accomplishments of a fellow local area angling professional would be considered unsportsman-like and unprofessional. Congratulations, Michael. You're bringing notoriety to Ozarks fisheries. That's good for business for everyone around here. Thanks.

Al works with Project Healing Waters quite a bit and that's how I know him. He is TIRELESS about fly casting and fly fishing education/outreach. He is the VP of Education of the Southern Council of FFF. And he is pretty much spearheading the adaptive fly casting efforts of the FFF, mostly through Project Healing Waters. It's one thing to teach a healthy person to cast a fly rod. It's entirely something else to teach someone with only one arm or a serious neck/back injury...or someone who is blind. I've worked with Al on these types of issues and he is brilliant. But the thing that impresses me the most about Al Crise is his willingness to give, help, teach, and give some more.

The emergency alert system just went off a little while ago and said it was activated at the request of Taney County Emergency Management. The USACE had informed them that they were going to have to open the flood gates further, adding about another 4' of water on upper Taneycomo and at least another 10,000 cfs. They advised everyone living along the shoreline above downtown Branson to shut off gas valves and cut main power to their houses and evacuate. TCEM has opened a shelter at the UMC on Hwy 76. In the 10 years since we moved to Branson, I've never heard of anything like this. And we've seen other serious high water events. But Norfork is what is really amazing. I heard something like 66k cfs just a bit ago! Down that narrow river? OUCH! I saw a pick on the noon news of a seriously smashed boat dock. I hope the ones on upper Taney fare better than that.

Yep. NWS Springfield as of now says 3.5-4.0 inches of rain between this evening and midnight tomorrow over most of the upper White River basin, and not a whole lot less to the East to Mountain Home. We've already had about 3/4 of an inch. And the heaviest rains are still supposed to be tomorrow afternoon/evening. And you are correct...once the lakes are all full there is no control over what happens from there. These lakes were designed to hold back a certain amount of flood water from the upper Mississippi Delta. And we're getting very close to that amount. The USACE will not allow the structural integrity of the dams to be threatened. They will release whatever they have to to keep the water below the top of flood pool. This could cause the river below BSD to consume every bit of lowland from there to the Mississippi. We're talking about a LOT of water. And Spring is just really getting going.

It's been raining cats and dogs here for the past two hours. I'd imagine we've already gotten about 1/3-1/2 inch. And it's only Wednesday night. This is supposed to continue through tomorrow. I suspect there will be a lot more water coming down the James again. Best wishes to everyone.

I like giggers and bow-fishers. They take a LOT of rough fish out of the fisheries, and that is good for the game fish populations. The ocassional game fish that gets taken by a gigger or bow-fisher doesn't concern me much. I mean...of course they shouldn't do it, but I'll bet the positives far outweigh the negatives. After all, giggers and bow-fishermen are an EXTREMELY small minority. Our declining game fish problem is far more the result of land use and water pollution problems...and yes, otters...than any sportsman group. Sportsmen need to get TOGETHER and pressure developers and corporate ag interests. We don't need to be battling one another. NONE of us are the problem with the exception of the 2-stroke outboard motors we use. Believe it or not, game regulations are set with the poaching and illegal fishing/hunting activity factored into the equation. Obviously, less is better. And we need to continue to police our own community in this regard to keep it in check and even reduce it. BUT the big limiting factors are pollution and storm water runoff. And these things are domain of real estate developers and farmers. Interestingly enough, most folks in the development/construction industry and in the ag industry in the Ozarks also hunt and fish. So the door is at least open for constructive dialogue. Electing conservation-minded outdoorsmen and women to the local HBA boards, REALTOR associations, planning and zoning boards, and so forth would be a huge step in the right direction. But it would take a concerted political activism on the part of the sporting community to get it done. So I say elect those giggers to the county commission and positions of leadership within the real estate and ag industries instead of banning their sport. After all, if they don't have clean water they're screwed too.

Is that a quote from Hitler, Mao, or Stalin? I can't remember which.

Apparently, Barack Obama's people have been reading this thread. But I don't think their strategy to woo "Joe Six-Pack" (their phrase) is working.

39,999,999...cuz I'll be fishing instead.

Well, there was that ONE fella...

Actually, that's a good point. I don't keep females full of eggs of ANY species, nor do I intentionally shoot hen ducks. But that's my personal choice. It is perfectly legal and ethical NOT to use voluntary restraint with regard to bag and possession limits. But I am far from a C&R purist. I've probably kept and eaten as many fish as anybody reading this. I don't keep smallmouth at all. I will keep small white bass males if I'm getting into a bunch of them. I don't keep largemouth bass at all. I never keep a wild trout. And I don't keep female pan fish if they're full of eggs. Why? In the hopes that Y'ALL get to have more of the same fun I'm having "next time." And...as I said before...I'll defend EVERYONE'S right to fish legally and never denigrate any angler/hunter for a legal harvest. And NOBODY upsets me when I'm fishing. I'll move before I allow that to happen. But that doesn't mean I won't walk up and confront someone for game violations. I just won't get upset about it. There's a right way and a wrong way to deal with such things. Side Note: How any literate person could read that and come up with "...you sound like you think nobody should ever keep any fish..." is baffling to me. I guess we went to different kinds of schools. And, yes, Phil...even releasing ONE pre-spawn female per day of fishing would be a step in the right direction and no skin off of anyone's nose. But good luck getting the participation you mentioned: everyone. And I agree with you that the FIRST order of business for the responsible angler is to help the game wardens by dropping a dime on the worst offenders of the LAWS regarding creel and possession limits. That's why I have them programmed into my phone, as I know many others do too. And I'm glad guys like you are out there keeping a similar eye on what's going on around you.

Not that it's much good right now with all the high water, but walk-in anglers should be aware that Gary Flippin & Co. (Rim Shoals Resort) have also cut a darned good trail and a series of accesses into Rim Shoals downstream of his resort below the railroad track grade. He has maps of all of this and more in the shop. Rim Shoals is my favorite place to fish on the White River nowadays. I was never fond of hiking about a mile down a narrow railroad track with no real way to get out of the way of trains in order to fish. But thanks to Gary, nobody has to do that anymore.

I know it's legal and that's your right, but I just cringe when I read things like "...the females we cleaned were still full of eggs..." I've got nothing against keeping white bass. I've done it all my life. But I won't keep a female pre-spawn. And I just WISH more folks would do the same. A little delayed gratification can really pay off in the near future with fish like white bass. And...as of yet...none of us are starving to death. But thanks for the informative report. I do appreciate it and I'm all for anyone who is out having a good time legally. So please don't take this the wrong way. Just food for thought...one man's opinion. And I'll defend your RIGHT to do what you did until the laws change. So I am NOT saying you were WRONG.

I still say folks should have to take a test to get a fishing, hunting, or boating license the same way we do for a driver's license. Then again, I think there should be a parent license, too. So I realize my views are not mainstream.

Alltel's strategy has been to fill in the gaps in the big 3's coverages. Thus, in extremely rural areas they usually have better coverage. But everywhere else they pretty much suck. Billing problems, dropped calls, service outages, etc. are all more common with Alltel among the folks we have known that have it than with any other service. This has always been a MAJOR topic of comparison and discussion among real estate agents. A few years ago in SWMO you had Alltel or nothing. Nobody else had decent coverage areas. But that's different now and the real estate agents have been dropping them like hot potatoes for the past couple of years. The ONLY place I have found in the past 3 years where Alltel phones work and our AT&T/Cingular phones don't is out near Crane. Nothing works inside the park at Montauk. But you don't have to drive up the road far to get a signal. Personally, we wouldn't have anything but AT&T nowadays. I can live without the phone in Crane. But almost everywhere else we go people are amazed that we have full service when they have none in the boondocks. And their customer service and tech support can't be beaten. But the best part is that if we go to California, Colorado, Maine, or Florida, our network is still the same. In fact, we could go to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Munich, or Jerusalem and still get the same service. Our plan costs us $70/month for 2 phones unlimited nationwide w/700 anytime minutes and unlimited rollover, nights and weekends, and mobile-to-mobile calling. But we've had that for about a decade. FYI, we were Cingular fans vs. AT&T fans. We had dropped AT&T wireless in favor of Cingular several years ago. Then AT&T bought them a couple years ago.

Amazing! I caught and released that fish THREE TIMES on Monday! Glad Michael found it, too. Seriously, I'm not a night fisherman...and I know Michael has a thing about hooking outdoor writers he fishes with..., but I'd go with y'all in a heartbeat for the White Bass right now. You'll knocking them out of the park. Being a land-lubber, I've had to work H-A-R-D for the ones I've caught so far this Spring. My personal best is a 4.5 lb White Bass I took out of the Pothole back in 1999. And I thought that one was huge. But I've seen some filleted out carcasses along the banks in the past couple of years that would have gone well over 6 lbs. I'm pretty sure they were Wipers, though. There's just no way a few of the ones I've seen were typical White Bass. I know an 8 lb bass when I see one, and at least one of these was that big. If we get the rain they're forecasting and the next couple of days of cooler weather, it's going to be a whole new ballgame. Don't you just love the adventure!

I took the water temp in a few spots to get an average at Swan yesterday afternoon about 4pm. The temps ranged from 57 to 60 degrees. Fishing from shore was worthless until almost dark. But then the fish came shallow to the warmer water. I didn't see much success during the afternoon from the boats, either. They were all fishing the emergent tree lines like a bunch of crappie fishermen. I'd be fishing deep jigs and/or Texas rigged rubber worms along the bottom during the daytime if I wanted to catch white bass...especially with all the pressure. I was worn out by dark and packed it in just as the bite was turning on. I caught nothing but small males, but I personally don't care. It's all fun. Gray/white Clouser Minnow fished with a serious jigging action through the bottom half of the water column did the trick. Gotta count them down to get to the fish...takes patience. I don't know what the temp was further upstream, but all of the boats we knew were up there came out at dark. I talked to 2 guys in a canoe who came downstream after being up there all day. They caught nothing. Whites hold on gravel humps/submerged islands most of the time. But none of the bass boats seem to be searching for them that way using electronics. They're fishing the shorelines and emergent vegetation like they're after largemouth.