skeeter

Ha ha ! Yessir, you sure nailed that one. But it's the only job where you can be wrong 80% of the time and not get cannned ! [grin].

That is my understanding also. Unless the weather cools suddenly and dramatically this Month the spawn is going to be very early this year.

Where to start ? So much of what Agnew wrote did happen but the facts from the other side are totally lacking. The victors always write the history books so that's what people will believe and swallow but I, along with several other Bass fishermen in local clubs, was involved on the pro-Meramec Lake side and can tell you that you aren't getting even close to both sides of this long-dead issue. Contrary to what you are reading in other posts, there was a large amount of public support for the Lake in anticipation of a close-by, flat water resource becoming available to East Central Missourians. The problem was, there was no formal organization like the anti's had in the Sierra Club, to express their approval so those in favor of the Lake had no voice and that became evident with the MDC and MO Conservation Federation being overwhelmed with organized and well-funded numbers of letters and phone calls in opposition to the Lake and therefore, changing their minds believing they were representing actual public opinion. Remember, these phone calls were made back before caller I.D. so the recipients had no way of telling they were all coming from a "phone bank" with the same person making multiple calls. Agnew left out Gebhardt's support of killing the lake/dam in response to the Sierra Club's meddling in his town-hall meetings and "seeding" those same meetings with attendance by many dozens of Sierra Club supporters not residing in the 3rd District who were distributed around the gym at the Bishop DuBourg High School meeting in a well-orchestrated effort to make it appear that applause support came from everywhere in response to Gebhardt's negative speechifying against the project. I was personally in attendance at that meeting and watched, in amazement, the organization and direction present, pre-meeting, telling each group of anti's where to sit. I was one of many working stiffs who wanted a nearby Lake to take my then-young family to without enduring a three-four hour car ride and high priced overnight stays at LOZ. Rimbach was a complete amateur with no training or credentials to conduct his "subterranean mapping techniques" and tried to pass himself off as some kind of "professional" cave expert and bona fide Engineers, both private and Government employed, with Degrees from reputable Schools and years of experience, knew this but couldn't get the media to publish anything negative about the guy. Lester Dill's Meramec Caverns was located a few miles downstream of the dam site and would have been protected against the rapid and destructive Meramec River near-flash-floods. Symington's visit to Onondaga was orchestrated, in-part, by Rimbach and Dill, the former of who, it was later discovered and proven, had gone into the cave which was then under Dill's ownership, and re-located the high water survey marks to a much higher level than what the COE had placed throughout the cave system after a thorough and wholly professionally conducted survey. LOZ association (I can't recall their exact title) did write several five figure checks to the local Sierra Club headed up by the master of half-truths, Jerry Sugarman. LOZ association was scared to death of Meramec Lake and one check was revealed to have been in the amount of $50.000.00. Try fighting that kind of money while working for living, raising a family and attempting to defuse half-truths and outright lies about the project as spread by Rimbach and the Sierra Club. Many of the "anti" Dam forces didn't hold 9 to 5 jobs and could free themselves up at a moment's notice to go around to service clubs, Church based organizations, school groups during class time etc. etc. and relate their highly biased opinion of the project. And the "cost overruns" were caused, in large part, by the delaying tactics of the anti-dam movement. The really funny thing is today, the Meramec on weekends in the Summer is virtually unfishable from a jet-drive boat due to the bank-to-bank "aluminum hatch" floating downstream mixed freely with those out-of-control rubber rafts that bounce around overloaded with beer guzzling, inebriated partiers completely ruining the peace, beauty and serenity of that River. And lastly, had the Meramec Dam project been completed on time, the disastrous flood that took out Valley Park in Dec. 1982 could have been reduced to 1/3 of what it was as the Lake was scheduled to only just begin filling at that time and could have retained a high percentage of those flood waters. http://interact.stltoday.com/mds/news/html/1425 By the way, you should have seen the original 1950's plans for damming the Meramec. The dam site selected was just downstream of the Big and Meramec River's confluence and would have created a Lake completely taking out Pacific, MO and backing water up the Meramec as far as Sullivan, MO with branches reaching far up the Bourbeuse and Big Rivers both.

Stone County did turn off the old sirens which we couldn't hear anyway and you probably couldn't either down Big Indian unless the wind direction was just right. Midland makes a nice S.A.M.E. weather alert radio with the NOAA logo on it that is able to be programmed for the types of weather alerts and the Counties you want to be alerted to. Also has battery back-up if the power goes out and can receive AM/FM + alarm clock and time/date display. I found the best price on it on Amazon. Programming feature is nice as it excludes the alerts you aren't interested in. In your area I would suggest programming in Stone, Carroll in AR, and Barry Counties in MO with the last two being sort of early warning alerts as those two Counties are "upstream" of your area and generally where the weather comes from. There is a web link in the owners manual that tells you County codes. Ours went off numerous times Tuesday night and Wednesday morning during the local tornado outbreak and the new "Dual Polarization" radar just installed at the Springfield NWS office paid dividends as it enables the radar to scan vertically as well as horizontally and actually detect the debris (sometimes) that the twister sucks up into the air. I think the NWS then knows when the tornado is actually on-the-ground instead of just detecting rotation in the clouds rather than have to rely on local reports.

Tim , "Superior knowledge card " ? Hardly....all I was stating was my previous experience with one when a kid and reported incidents in the Western U.S. If that's your definition of "superior knowledge" so be it. F & F, Couldn't agree more. You've obviously spent time in their territory too and know you have to be aware. Just trying to comment on what changes are going to occur soon in the Ozarks as the population of cats seems to be on the increase. Trout Commander.....knew there would be a "keyboard jockey" out there...I was right. Smalliebigs, Noticed your posting about "running" being a factor in the documented attack on the youngster in CO. That dovetails with reports of the activity of a lot of folks that seems to have triggered the aggressive lion behavior. Yep, hot dogs suck . Got your drift. Hope things are going well for you guys.

Thanks fellas for posting your feelings and opinions on these oversized, far-too-numerous, Commercial Bass tournaments. Well written and I'm sure there are many others who are tired of this Commercial abuse of the public's natural resources to make a buck. Fun-type or Charity fund-raiser Bass Club derbies ? No problemo ! Best one I've heard of is the TR club that measures and maybe photographs the catch at boat-side and releases them. That avoids the Bass mortality those of us who live here and fish regularly observe after the weekends. Classic example is what Babler witnessed and posted about last Fall at some big money tournament weigh-in at Kimberling City where the few Bass caught were being held out of the water for far too long while the media talking-heads prattled on about nothing to fill their alloted time slot. The anglers should have known better but were required to hold those Bass out of the water as long as instructed to. Those promoters could care less about those fish and they were considered as simply a means to generate income. Just my two cents and I'm betting there are many others who feel the same but won't post. People are really getting fed up and the complaints and backlash are growing.

"They do attack sometimes, especially children." ? Better do a few searches on adult attacks by Mountain Lions out West! It ain't just limited to children like this traumatized little guy. There are recorded adult fatalities and it's an admitted growing problem as they expand their range and population and humans enter their territory more often. Since they are no longer regularly hunted, they have lost or are losing their fear of man if they ever had any at all. All the whining on here about not shooting these apex predators reveals Midwesterners' unfamiliarity with the true nature of these big cats. Admire them from a distance all you wish but if they decide to come after you, you will never know they are there until it's too late. No, I'm not foolishly advocating shooting them on sight like some keyboard jockey is undoubtedly going to reply, but their presence is going to change the way we use our outdoors resources. They are opportunistic predators and, yeah, I had an encounter with one about 150 years ago when I was 8 and living in Ojai, CA. You have no idea how being stalked will change your opinion.

Any information on which Legislator introduced that bill ? If they can be identified, concerned MO citizens should flood his email with appropriate comments.

Drive South on 13 thru Blue Eye and keep to the right on the South side of town towards Oak Grove, AR. You'll drive past a place just before you enter the main part of Oak Grove on the left side of the Highway out in the front yard of a house that looks like an outdoor flea market and junkyard combined. They always have the Confederate Stars and Bars flag flying out front. Most of the time, the people are selling pretty decent burn barrels there.

Anyone wanting to check one of the Supreme boats out, but on a lake, not a stream, can rent one of several they have at Baxter Boat Dock on Table Rock.

Surprisingly, recent DNA testing has proven that not all Black Bears in MO have AR origins. read: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1737623.html?response=no Could the same thing have happened with Cougars ? Maybe, but probably not according to MDC DNA testing, but one thing is for sure...with the abundant food supply in the State, there will eventually be breeding populations here. Then there was the Wolf shot by a hunter thinking, at first, it was a big Coyote : http://freshare.net/article/dna_tests_shed_light_on_mo_cougar_wolf_sightings/ Turned out to be another traveler.

Man, that is one pissed-off Cougar. See the way his ears are laid back ? That is any cat's body language for " I am mad as Hell and you better watch out ". He sure seems to be in great shape from a bountiful supply of yummy deer. Probably a good thing too that the trapper was a County Commissioner or MDC might have charged him with something illegal. Next one they catch they should release in Town & Country to help out with the deer overpopulation.

I don't know who those E-15 "proponents" are for sure but I can rationalize they are connected to or are the direct representatives of the Ethanol Lobby. We pour tax money into the Corn Farmer's pockets at an alarming rate and it needs to stop...now ! Two years ago, the Ethanol Lobbyists had the MO State Senate about convinced to start selling and requiring E-15 at MO gas stations. Thankfully, it got derailed when three State Senators who are cattlemen from the West side of the State got up and stated how their feed bills had tripled since Ethanol came about and that they had the increased corn prices resulting from Ethanol production to thank for that. That stopped the crap in the State but wouldn't you know it, the Feds pushed the E-15 through behind everyone's backs and with little to no advanced warning. That is the inherent danger with the EPA, there is next to no oversight of that Agency (only thru Congress and we know what a joke they are) and no direct citizen control of their actions. We have a part-time neighbor who is a nice guy and a Corn Farmer from West Central Iowa that is free to come down to TR between planting and harvest time, so he is here very often during the warmer Months. He is rolling in money right now, despite a recent messy divorce, and has recently purchased 2 new Combines, a 24ft. Chapparal ski boat, a new SS Camaro and some kind of new JD 4WD, eight wheel tractor. He contract-grows seed for the Corn Agri-business Companies and also custom harvests corn for his local area. He's been telling us how this Corn price bonanza has set neighbor against neighbor in his neck of the woods. It seems the land in the Corn-belt is now so valuable, thanks in large part to the Ethanol subsidy, that everyone is trying to buy everyone else's land. He went on to say while the financial situation is very good it has set neighbor against neighbor and created very hard feelings.

Here's some information direct from the out-of-voter-control EPA Nazi's. http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/additive/e15/#use Scroll down to the section about what vehicles can and cannot use E-15 and it specifically excludes boats. My previous posts about the Gosh-awful,costly Ethanol debacle that has been rammed down the throats of Americans are numerous and I won't bore members with repetition. All I can suggest is write and re-write your elected Representatives in the House and the Senate and express your concern and outrage at this well funded Ethanol Lobby that continues to cost consumers Billion$ in engine repairs, increased food costs and fills the Corn Farmer's pockets with your tax money via the asinine and unwarranted Ethanol $ub$idy.

Very neat you were able to witness/hear this battle AND get some pics. We see deer over at Shannon's all the time and there are two big Tom Turkeys that repeatedly go into full display there every Spring right outside her back windows. If you get a chance, email me the vid of the battle. Hope all is as well as can be.

The daytime as well as the nightime flocks were definitely Snows. Very high, maybe 1000 feet + as a guesstimate and in their usual huge flocks taking up acres of space in the sky. They always sound like a party flying over and you almost always hear them before you see them. One of nature's wonders being able to exert all that energy to fly and still yapping away to beat the band. Thoroughly enjoy seeing their display and their numbers every year both in the Spring and the Fall.

We heard/saw flock after flock of Snow Geese migrating South the past few days with incredible numbers of huge flocks going over the house yesterday. I'd guesstimate upwards of 500-600 birds in some flocks that were flying together and spread over a large part of the sky. The Boss decided we had to do some early evening Christmas shopping just after dark and while on the parking lot, more large flocks were flying over so low that the parking lot lights were enough to see them by. In view of next week's weather forecast for the Ozarks, I'd say these guys are doing the right thing at the right time.

The negative opinions in response to this gentleman's proposal, especially the comments about financial impact on surrounding businesses, remind me of the exact, identical thing that happened back in the 70's when MDC installed the 15" black Bass limit on TR and other Missouri lakes. The Resort and Marina owners almost unanimously put thumbs down on the 15" limit and were worried that it would put them out of business or badly impact them. And you know what happened ? Just the opposite. And THAT is a proven fact! As the World is learning, a fishery is not an infinite resource. True, we don't have "factory ships" trawling for sport fish on TR but the Lake does experience incredible commercial tournament pressure every week-in and week-out. That pressure can only be sustained for just so long....then lookout. The one post read "First off it is the goal of tournament anglers to bring the fish to the scale alive or face penalties that in the pro-level can be worth 10’s of thousands of dollars. Hence now we have better live well systems and additives to help insure fish survival" and that is certainly true, but, many of us are concerned about what happens AFTER the weigh-in with the cameras rolling and the endlessly yapping commentators carrying on while Joe Pro holds his fish up for all to see and after all that sponsor-financed hoopla is over we are fed up with finding the water around release sites with numbers of dead, floating, quality Bass after large, commercial tournaments. If nothing else, my thoughts are to place a well-defined area of the lake into a so-called "Trophy Fishing only" area similar to what MDC has done on several streams and Rivers for Smallmouth and Trout. Like the gentleman who started this thread, I've been around a while too and am concerned about the future of the Lake and whether the same fishing opportunities will be available to my Grandchildren. My two cents.

Part of the solution to this mess would be to vote out Doofus Dooley, the incapable County Executive/Supervisor. His hiring of his political cronies, without interviews nor experience in their fields, cost County taxpayers over $170,000.00 annually in salaries and that excludes the cost of their benefits packages. How many seasonal County Park workers could be hired for that amount of money seeing as how they only earn $9.72/hour ? STL County voters may recall the last election for County Executive when Dooley was being soundly defeated but remained confident and happy at his election headquarters despite the vote count. The reason was, as well reported on local electronic media, the North County vote was late ( I wonder why ? ) and that's where his support comes from in the form of block voting. A recent Post Dsispatch article detailed the split in the Democratic party in STL County: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/democratic-unity-fractures-in-st-louis-county/article_544623c2-0de9-5891-b4c3-2a33f5842389.html#ixzz1czhvhRtw Apparently, Mr. Stenger would make a far more effective leader of the County if one insists on voting Democrat. Remember, Doofus Dooley also advocated the re-unification of ST. Louis County and St. Louis City and long-time residents know where that would lead. County Parks are a jewel to be treasured and enjoyed, not made a political football to extort more taxes. If you tow your boat with an SUV or a Pick-up, you are already a victim of higher Personal Property taxes due to the Dooley's assessor insisting that these vehicles are worth more than normal.

Bill, Three years ago this Month we were fishing the flats across the White from Baxter and watched the MDC pontoon boat dump load after load of brush in Flint Cove which is where the picture on page 16 of this Month's Conservationist magazine was taken. That's the first cove on the right headed downlake after you exit Baxter Marina. I can't speak for the other brush piles but can't figure out why MDC only shows two locations of brush in Flint. Granted, the two marked on their map are in deeper water but they added, and never marked, about 10 additional piles along the right hand bank going into Flint in very shallow water and they are easily visible at normal lake levels. Why they saw fit to dump the quantities of brush in the shallow water I can only guess would be to create spawn or fry habitat maybe ??? No one I know of has caught anything off the shallow brushpiles even during Bluegill bedding season. It would seem beneficial if there were some shore marker system developed to allow anglers who don't have GPS to more easily locate the brushpiles. It's a good program, certainly can't hurt, and I hope it continues.

http://newmdcgis.mdc.mo.gov/tablerock/

The "Devil's Backbone" is an old name for that long rocky point or formation that extends out underwater that the warning buoy is in place for across Big Indian from Kanakuk and pt. 18. My reference to Chamber of Commerce was in admiration of the cinematic quality of the video you posted. It means the Chamber of Commerce could use that in a promotional ad for TR. Baxter dock typically closes (gas and office) Oct. 31 and re-opens April 1. However, their Marine shop 417-779-4244 is open year round and is just up the hill from the Marina. Sometimes if you call 417-779-4301 ahead of time they will come down and sell you gas if they have the personnel available.

Did you shoot that video of the Devil's Backbone area for the Chamber of Commerce ? Nice job and perfect weather for it on a calm evening just before sunset. Wouldn't want to be out there today ! Also noticed you pointing out the direction of the Baxter Marina....assume you know they are now closed for the Winter ?

I'm with you guys on the excessive numbers of tournaments on TR. Coupled with the "rough handling" of the fish it makes me glad the patterns are tough to figure out right now. Saw a couple of small club weigh-ins taking place on Saturday afternoon at two different launch ramps and "dumping the fish" was the norm at both only they did it from shore in about 6" of water about as far out as their arms could reach without getting their precious "tootsies" wet ! Bags were upended at waist height and the fish plopped into the skinny water and surely hit the bottom on the way down. Are these people stupid or just ignorant of how to properly handle, respect and release fish or do they even give a dam(n) ?

You're welcome. After I found out about STREN not being involved I tried to get a handle on how to contact EVERSTART and since it's a Wally World brand you have to contact them via the Wal Mart website. That's kind of like peeing in the Ocean and expecting to see the water level rise. If you guys that follow these tournaments closely could alert the rest of us the next time FLW is coming to TR, I'm thinking there are a few of us locals who would like to observe and comment, in person, on their fish handling at the weigh-in. If the FLW "officials" were approached politely at the actual site by more than one concerned angler I think it would go further than just one old curmudgeon like yours truly . I was able to contact Dan Akin from MDC Friday morning about this issue but didn't see him there Friday afternoon....not saying he didn't get over there, just didn't notice him.