skeeter

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.

Heard back quickly from the Stren folks. They were quick to point out they were no longer affiliated with the FLW tournaments and directed me to the current Everstart sponsors. After watching the weigh-in on Friday I could see why. To date, have not heard a peep from the FLW people....!

Bill, thanks for the "heads-up" on the disgusting fish handling/abuse at the weigh-in. I see the weigh-in is at 3:00 P.M. at Port of Kimberling City Marina today. I'm planning on going there and getting a little vocal if this nonsense continues. Yet another sad case of tournament officials/organizers putting on a show for the cameras and sponsors to rake in yet more $$$$ and to heck with the health of the fish. This isn't the first, nor probably the last time the FLW has been a bunch of jerks at TR. Stren is one of the sponsors ? It's the "Everstart" series which is Wally World's battery line. If you're ticked-off about this suggest you send an email to their Corporate Headquarters complaining about it. www.stren.com and www.flwoutdoors.com Use the contact us menu at the bottom of the screen. Follow the money ! Tell them what is wrong and that you aren't purchasing their products anymore because of this and you're spreading the word (true) via the Internet.

Billfo, Almost positive those are both "Long Pincered" crawfish in your pic and we trap them and pretty much no other species in the Baxter area. You might be interested in reading http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2005/05/table-rock-crawdads which is kind of a locally famous MDC Conservationist article about these crawfish in the Lampe/Baxter area published in the May 2005 issue. You mention using hot dogs for trap bait. We find the best success in our traps with any remains left over after fish cleaning. (No, I'm not talking about Bass...relax you guys) Many of the traps we used to find for sale in the area included little "bait cages" in them where the bait could be placed sort of suspended and protected from the crawfish. You'll find that if you toss a whole dead fish carcass in the trap these little scavengers will clean it off right down to the bones in an amazingly short time.

Ha-Bob's in Lampe at Hwy 13 and "H". Rapid Robert's in Kimberling City. Phillips66/Conoco at old Hwy 13 and 76 in Branson West among others. Most smart station owners advertize the lack of dreaded Ethanol on their marquee or on the Premium pump. ALSO, all the gas sold at "on-the-water" Marinas is Ethanol free, even the 89 octane stuff....if you can afford their prices.... They are exempt from having to add Ethanol to their deliveries since it is not meant to be used on Highways. Keep in mind that the out-of-control E.P.A. just this year approved 15% alcohol content in gasoline supposedly for cars/truck built after model year 2001.

Smallie, Are you ditching that nice aluminum rig and giving up on the Rivers ? I'm thinking you could find Phoenix' website and then locate a dealer with one in stock to see firsthand what the big deal is about "taking waves" and just tried it myself but they want your phone number and email address for some reason. Lord only knows with the plethora of Wake Boats down here you need something like that if you're out when they are.