skeeter

OK, I have a witness so I'm not making this up......last night we were watching the usual parade of boats returning from the Kimberling City fireworks pass by the place. Actually there weren't as many as in previous years this time. So the water traffic was passing from our right to our left straight out in front of us which means we saw a red (portside) nav. light followed by a white anchor light...right ? Around the point comes a boat also moving right to left and all we could see was a green light (should be starboard, right-side or driver's side) followed by the white anchor light. We sat there trying to figure out what in the heck was going on and all we could come up with is somebody had removed the two-color, bow-mounted light fixture to replace a light bulb and then re-installed it bass-ackwards !! If that wasn't bad enough, the driver makes a 180 degree turn and heads back down-lake in the opposite direction as the returning multitudes and THEN we saw the red light showing on the right side of the boat !! Guess there's a first time for everything !

Yessir, we idled away from Baxter launch ramp that morning and fished the shallows close-in to the side of the campground point. As the fog began to lift we had one of those LMAO moments when we discovered some guys in a "camera boat" taping us with one of those big shoulder-held video cameras thru the slowly clearing fog. I told my Son "watch this" and turned the boat sideways with the troller so the big letters SKEETER on our boat were plainly visible to the cameraman and we about fell overboard laughing while he cursed ! I think the Germans have a word for that, something like Schadenfreude....shame on little old me ! (wink)

Remember Ron White's (comedian) altruistic statement ? ....... "YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID" ! Enough said. Regarding boating in the thick fog: remember a few years back when the idiot organizers of the Ranger Owners Tournament turned about 250 boats loose in the 7 A.M. fog ? Amazing and just dumb luck that no one was killed that morning.

Saw a boat with those rubrail lights glowing brightly plus a suction cup light on the gunwale. All that was missing was a Dixieland/Ragtime band and a Stage Show and you had a Showboat !

Maybe we can get these wake-nuts to go here instead: http://www.ky3.com/news/local/missouris-only-wakeboard-cable-park-makes-waves-in-springfield/21048998_26580384

What happened to the idea that these dang Wakeboard Boats that can pump 1800 lbs. of ballast-water into them were going to be banned ? Besides swamping smaller boats they provide a very viable transport system for invasive species. And the COE desperately needs to enact and enforce a length limit on TR, like NOW.....instead of worrying about shoreline vegetation and issuing more and more permits for the proliferation of empty Docks so they can sit vacant while the dock-speculators try to cash in on them . Anyone else see the 75 ft. long + houseboat that was parked on the Lake side of Harter House's lot last week ? Next it will be Cabin Cruisers and offshore racing Cigarette boats that big, just like what happened at LOZ.

Wow ! You're in Bella Vista and I'm in Lampe, MO and have recorded 2.14 inches of rain here in the last two days.

Please keep us informed regarding your experience with Progressive's Claims service. I have them too and would be very interested. Sorry you have to deal with this. A friend who recently lost his GF to Cancer recently had the same item swiped. Don't trolling motors come with serial numbers inscribed on them ? The thieves are going to have to acquire the correct mounting bracket to mount or re-sell the motor. Maybe the word could be spread thru Water Patrol to trolling motor dealers/re-sellers to get that motor's serial number before selling bare mounting brackets and compare buyer's I.D. to the manufacturer's warranty registration records ? Just a thought.....

If you night-fish the Baxter area prepare to be blinded ! A new large dock ( is there any other kind ? ) installed on the pea-gravel flats directly across the White River from the mouth of Big/Little Indian Creek now is lighted at night beginning last night.......! It's lighted up so well you can about read a newspaper all the way across the Lake. Someone installed what appears to be two full-sized "dusk-to-dawn" lights in that new orange color out on the very ends of the new dock. Instead of tucking them up under the rafters and roof like normal, these glaring, gazillion-lumen "beacons" are now out there in the open completely wiping out any passing boater's night vision. For two months this empty, 20 slip dock sat there with no lighting at all and while no one wants to hit a dock in the dark this situation has just gone too far and gotten unacceptable. Not sure who to ask about this overdone dock-light thing but pack your sunglasses gents if you night fish the area 'cause you're gonna' need 'em ! And oh yeah, the bow-fishing boats are back operating in the same area running around at 40-50 mph with their nuclear-reactor powered lights full on and if you encounter one of them, you're going to need a welding helmet !

Great tip. Thanks much.

What he said. + It's time to get on the phone and the email and contact your elected, so-called "Representatives" about this denial of use of public lands/water.

Criminy ! Some mercenary ding-a-ling comes to TR once in a blue moon and starts spouting off about species and length limits ? How typical ! Those of us old farts that remember the sad state TR was becoming pre the late 1970's 15" limit probably recall how lengthy and maligned studies by MDC fisheries biologists changed for the good what this fishery was becoming. Many of the Resort and Marina owners we knew were predicting bankruptcy and, instead, the 15" limit not only benefitted their business as more and more fish survived fishing pressure long enough to successfully spawn, but the entire idea kind of led to the early recognition and adoption of the whole "catch and release" concept. If anyone recalls, this "Elite" character's whining about different length limits for Spots was discussed, at length, in the 70's and discarded due to anticipated difficulty of the general public in identifying K's vs. LM.

Having owned two AWD vehicles I can tell you that AWD generally uses more fuel than a 4WD vehicle with an electronically or manually shifted transfer case that allows true lock-out of the front axle(s). Please notice I said "generally" as there are now some much-improved AWD-equipped vehicles that have far better systems in them that only engage power to the front end when it's truly needed. No, I don't know which ones they are but just that they are available, at a price of course. Also please realize that "true" 4WD is only possible with locking front and rear differentials. There are many stories of drivers of what they thought were 4WD vehicles that got stuck because both the front and rear wheels were on patches of slick ice or in deep mud on the same side of both axles and their non-locking differentials at both ends of the vehicle put the power to the wheels with least grip and there they sat. We used to openly laugh at the bozo's working at Jeep dealers who didn't order locking rear diffs on their stock units and told potential customers they were 4WD. I'm not aware if Ram has their V-6 diesel pick-up built with 4WD or not but their first batch of that truck completely sold out in 48 hours....mostly to fleet sales I think. It's tough to beat a diesel's torque production for towing but their extra cost to buy and the cost of fuel for them is another story. Also thoroughly agree with what J-Doc wrote about Nissan....beware !

Went to the heavily attended meeting. MoDOT promises to keep one lane open during nine month construction period. Attendees persuaded them not to begin work during height of tourist season so will most probably begin total deck replacement on the Tuesday following Labor day 2015 and require Contractor to re-open both lanes the Thursday prior to Memorial Day weekend 2016. Expect long delays crossing bridge during construction and VERY narrow lanes. They will use traffic lights at both ends of bridge with vehicle sensors. Engineer says driving deck is worn out and in bad shape so they are trying to move this re-construction up to next year but no guarantees. Trying to persuade them to utilize RF control boxes on traffic lights and emergency vehicles to over-ride vehicle sensors when Ambulance,Sheriff,Fire vehicles are approaching bridge crossing. These have been around for several years in large Cities to control traffic lights and MoDOT said they could install receivers/activators on their two lights but it would be up to Mercy Ambulance Service, SSCFD and Stone County Sheriff's Dept. to equip their vehicles with the transmitting units.

"B" or "D" get my vote...like the colors and fish silhouettes. "C" is a definite no..we got "enuff" OAFS around here ! What are the measurements please ?

FYI for those of you located or operating a business South of the Bridge or just trailering your boat over the Bridge, you might want to attend this meeting. https://www.ozarkssentinel.com/public-invited-to-discussion-on-plans-for-kimberling-city-bridge/#sthash.ZXMe8Sij.dpbs MoDOT is now saying they are planning to start work on the bridge in 2015 and they are seeking public input. As usual, there are all kinds of rumors circulating about anything from complete closure of the bridge for six months to one-lane traffic for 12 months (like they did on the 86 bridge over Long creek maybe ? ).

eyedabassman, If you're re-locating to Blue Eye MO from WI, we have Personal Property Taxes in MO ( don't know if WI does) so before you waste a trip to the DMV, you'll have to procure a Personal Property Tax waiver from Stone County Assessor's office (maybe call them first @ (417) 357-6141 ) to take with you to the DMV office in order to get your boat registration. Then, Stone County will send you a declaration form on which you are required to list all your Personal Property as defined on the form and pay Personal Property tax they assess on all your declared vehicles and other property by Dec. 31st each and every year. You'll get a paid receipt back to be kept somewhere safe as you'll have to take first the waiver, and then next year the receipt, along with proof of Insurance, into the Dept. of Revenue office ( DMV) for boat and vehicle licensing. Welcome to the area. Maybe we'll see you on the Lake someday.

Don't know about the rest of this Gent's post but when I read THIS part above I just started thinking " hmmmm....the Bourbon, MO so-called "PD" shot a treed bear....sounds about normal" !

OK, gotta' admit I was stirring the pot kind of chuckling at the comment about "fat stores" becoming exhausted and killing fish. Yeah, we know predators put on the feed bag in late Fall and "stock up" but it's not like they don't eat over the Winter. Cold water Shad die-off always occurs and that's a good thing, within limits. Makes the seagulls very happy :-) The "die-off" in harsh Winters more commonly occurs in ponds/lakes that become completely iced over and then have heavy snowfall on top of the ice which blocks any sunlight from reaching the oxygen-producing aquatic vegetation which then dies and decomposes, using up yet more oxygen which does eventually kill fish. I've seen MDC refuse to stock private farm ponds if they were less than eight feet deep as those are more subject to oxygen deprivation and fish kill. The way the article was posted on that source I posted the link to read like fish were similar to hibernating mammals that do rely on stores of fat to fuel their lowered wintertime metabolisms. The same news release was printed in other publications but with more complete explanations.

http://www.hometowndailynews.com/19474/harsh_winter_affecting_missouri_fish.html Particularly the last paragraph.....??

I recall reading recently on one of the Springfield news sources that Arkansas DOT personnel were meeting with MoDOT to learn how to better remove snow and ice from their roads. They admitted there was a lack of knowledge on their part and after reading some, not all, of the above comments it sounds like a lack of funding and equipment too. At least they were forthcoming about it ! Also saw videos on the National News media of the huge traffic nightmares on AR I-55 and AR I-40 thanks to this recent storm. Great picture, thanks for posting....

Very true, just ask the City of Santa Monica, CA about that where MTBE leaked into the ground and polluted their wells. One teaspoonful pollutes the contents of the proverbial "Olympic sized" swimming pool. Both additives are bad news.

Not true. It was claimed to be all about about lowering imports of foreign oil. Ethanol has its' own pollutants and was "sold" to U.S. Legislatures at both State and Federal level by the powerful Ethanol/Corn Lobby as a "renewable" fuel source to supposedly lessen dependence on foreign oil imports. So far, Federally mandated 10% Ethanol gasoline content has made thousands of corn belt farmers fabulously wealthy, raised food prices beyond belief, including meats, and has cost the U.S. citizenry untold billions of dollars in mechanical repair bills. At least, in 2012, Congress finally put an end to the ethanol subsidy.

Different specific gravity between Ethanol and Gasoline causes Ethanol to separate from gasoline in a fuel container that is not in constant motion with the Ethanol falling to the bottom of the container. Ethanol's natural affinity for water causes water to accumulate in the Ethanol causing interior rusting problems of Internal Combustion engines. Equal amounts of gasoline vs. Ethanol yields approx. 30% lesser fuel economy for the Ethanol in spite of Ethanol's octane boosting properties. We need to discover the reason 87 Octane or 89 Octane Ethanol-free gasoline is not available in Missouri and change that. Sounds to me like someone's palm is getting greased...as usual !

And a big "AMEN" to that. Almost as soon as the boat dock moratorium was lifted, there was another 20 slip monstrosity placed almost directly across the White from the mouth of Big and Little Indian creeks ( Baxter area) on a shallow, very gradually sloping pea gravel bank !! ( Have fun moving that one ! ) While I don't know about that being a "good fishing area" , there are scads of newer docks around the Lake placed directly on/over good fishing areas with large numbers of unused, empty slips owned by the "dock-slip speculators" who attempt to double their money buying up these new slips and then re-selling at ridiculous profits to unsuspecting newcomers. If the COE truly wants to accomplish something positive for a change, they should put an immediate and permanent stop to this practice or there will be no natural shoreline left. This issue is far more important than the contrived 50' vegetative boundary nonsense but since money is changing hands, it's obvious why it's not being addressed !