skeeter

Hey Troutbum...ever by chance run into a Scott Sindelar at one of the local watering holes out there ? He tends bar or is the assistant manager and was at one of the ski resorts but then moved back into town. Can't recall the name of the place but since he's my Nephew just thought I'd ask.

If you haven't made your move yet here's what I can contribute after a couple of purchases: LCD, dim room better to view in and no glare off screen also more pricey than Plasma. Plasma, recently increased their display life expectancy to equal that of LCD, better in a brightly lit room, screens are subject to glare or reflections and less expensive for equal sized display compared to LCD. Samsung is a brand to be avoided unless you are buying their very top end model. Olevia ditto for all. Vizio, jury is still out. A Gentleman who has been in the TV sales and repair business for the last 45 years in SW St. Louis County, A-1 Antenna, told me whatever you do when making your purchase get the longest extended warranty you can afford. Repair parts on these things can be unobtanium and he admitted his customers bringing in sets to be repaired had better luck than he did in acquiring the parts. In many cases they are waiting for parts for 90 days + and finally getting action only after the irate customer/owner gets on the phone with the Manufacturer. He also spoke highly of Hitachi, Sony, Panasonic. Old story, you get what you pay for...... Personally I have a 50" Sony LCD projection HDTV that has to have the projector bulb replaced at a cost of $200 and it takes 5 minutes or less and no tools, been a good set over the past four years. Just added a 42" Hitachi plasma and been very happy with that. Reached the point where I will not buy an analog TV for any price as that technology goes bye-bye Feb. 2009. Almost forgot, if you are looking for highest quality picture, be sure and insist on 1080 display. Good luck.

Kinda' depends on where the ants are gaining access from...I had them climbing up a one story high deck post to get to a feeder hung underneath an overhanging soffit. Put a stop to them by spreading Ortho's dry granular lawn insecticide heavily around the perimeter of the post where it contacted the ground and they croaked trying to cross the insecticide. Suggest you backtrack where the little buggers are coming from and attack them where they're coming off the ground. My problem this year has been the House Finches. Smart little devils figured out the nectar was good stuff when I used to leave one bee-guard out so the Baltimore Orioles could get to it. Had to replace the bee-guard due to first one and now six House finches slurping at the hummingbird feeder. Darn finches are notoriously aggressive at feeders and don't want them running off the hummers ( if they ever return from wherever ! ). Next thing they'll learn how to yank out the bee-guard and then it's gonna' be BB gun time !

Ha ! Saw one in front of Harter House in Kimberling City about four weeks ago. Neat bird ! Almost looked tropical with that long tail and swooping flight pattern. According to the map in my bird I.D book we are at the extreme Eastern limit of their range. Now if we could just persuade the danged Coyotes that Armadillers taste good !! Anybody else feed the Hummingbirds ? My neighbors and I have been trying to figure out where they all went suddenly. No one has seen a bird at their feeders in about two weeks and they aren't on the garden flowers either ????

Suggest you check first wherever you decide to go and see if they have necessary equipment and training to work on Optimax. Not every Merc shop has the capability.

Thanks for the replies folks. Guess they are making it through the gates/generators at Beaver. Don't know what effect they would have on TR if MDC stocked them since they're mules and can't reproduce but according to my Son they can really put a bend in your pole and that ain't all bad !

Ummm.... I think in the case of those Texas towns there was a pretty easy way around them, in STL they will be somewhat trapped between Missouri and Mississippi Rivers which methinks are far larger than the Rivers they have crossed so far. So they will kind of be squeezed into the Metropolitan area and it's traffic patterns, SPLAT...CRUNCH. So when the little buggers start digging up my lawn like they do at the lake house I'll leave the Mastiff outside at night like I do at the lake, he loves to chase them. I think he likes them because they remind him of the soccer balls he loves to play with with the Grandkids. You never saw a more hilarious sight than this 185 lb. pooch batting an Armadiller around with his paws. Keeps him amused for a long time and gives me a chance to get the .22 out.

Last weekend my Son caught this monster of ( what he thought was ) a white on a spook over in Red Barn and brought it into the dock in the livewell for admiration, pictures and weighing. He pulled the fish out of the well thinking he had some sort of MO State record and darned if it wasn't a wiper or hybrid that weighed 6 pounds and was a really beautiful fish. Now I have never heard of or read about MDC stocking hybrids in TR but am wondering if this fish could have come through the dam at Beaver by some magic ? I know AR stocks Beaver with Stripers, do they stock hybrids too ? Any of you Arkansas residents know ? We set her/him free and it's swimming in the Baxter area.

Dead Armadillers spotted on Hwy 109 in Eureka MO and on Hwy 141 in Manchester MO. so they've made it to the Big City ! Prediction....crossing major Interstates in and around metropolitan areas will prove much tougher than swimming across little old Rivers...... SPLAT !!!

TR and other lakes on the White River chain is the one place ( according to MO conservationist magazine )in the U. S. that you will find the "long-pincered" crayfish and yes, some of the really big ones look like little lobsters. Local bait shops and Wally World(sometimes)carry the vinyl-coated wire crawfish traps and they work pretty good. Try the bait shop just North of Kimberling City on Hwy. 13, which used to be and maybe still is called Tri-Lakes. We use cheap chicken parts, backs, necks etc. and like to get the traps that have a hanging "bait-cage" if you can find them. Remainders of cleaned fish like catfish, perch etc. work great too. The bait cage keeps freeloaders from reaching in without entering the trap and feeding on your bait without being caught. We like to drop the traps under the boat dock in about 15-25 feet of water on the bottom and the roof and shade from the dock helps a lot as most crawfish don't like to come out in the open in direct sun. Like others have posted, good Cajun spice, red potatoes and corn make a great "boil". Many folks like to leave the "dads" in a bucket of water for 24 hours before cooking as they "purge" themselves this way and you don't have the dark vein (alimentary canal) to deal with when shelling them.

After taking a ride in a friend's river jon on the Mississippi and Missouri just above St. Louis I can tell you that these guys were very brave sitting with their backs to the front of the boat. MDC has installed protective gear in front of steering location in their river boats due to flying 30+ lb. carp. When they hit you or jump into your boat they leave this unbelievable slime behind, if you are going fast enough and hit one they can actually knock you out of the boat or break noses etc. Not joking ! Archers were incredible shots but next time I would suggest hand grenades, dynamite or maybe shotguns would be fun. Anything to get rid of these darn things. Illinois installed some sort of electric fence on the upper Illinois River to try and prevent these critters from entering the Great Lakes. Biologists claim they will really do just fine in cold water. Kind of surprised guides floating the White below Bull Shoals have not seen them in trout waters yet.

This whole thing smells like that pig does. The report I read said the eleven year old boy shot the hog several times with a .50 cal. handgun. It also said the boy was backed up by two guys with rifles in case the pig charged the kid. They better have been there as I'll bet the kid, although appearing to be a Bubba Jr. size wise, would have been picking himself up off the ground each time he let that .50 cal go

I'd suggest Sanibel Island FL. Excellent shelling while strolling on the beach, wildlife refuge on back half of island, beach access limited to those staying there, no high rise condos allowed, outstanding tarpon fishing May and June and fishing for other salt water species with local guides using light tackle and open boats. Lot's and lot's of beach front condos for weekly rent and this is the "off-season". Just be sure and check the pool before jumping in first thing in the morning !

[quote name='Kansas Fly Fisher' date='May 25 2007, 07:41 AM' post='3845 One question though, why does this little gal have to pay for the drive-off out of her check? She didn't have anything to do with it and couldn't stop it if she wanted to. Just curious. I think it's great that your footing the bill, but I still wonder why an employee is responsible for this theft. John Completely agree with KS fly-fisher. Not trying to pick a fight but this policy of the clerk paying for drive-offs sucks !! What are they supposed to do? Confront the thief or chase them down ? Ridiculous rule but kudos to you for stepping up to the plate for her. Corporations and their asinine policies

Baxter's gas hit $4/gal. last weekend for 89 octane so hope you're not filling up on the water. $175.00 sounds about right for 91 octane for the twin 25 gal. tanks on my rig filling it up on land. Wonder if the boat traffic will be so heavy this coming weekend with ga$ price$ and wet forecast ?

Ummm.... Assuming you meant to type "AARP" cards ?? AAA is the Auto club, but they give discounts for membership too. SOME....AARP aged people have had chances to "build nest eggs" while others have this on-going thing called "KIDS". These days they aren't out the door at 18 or 21, plus they have this habit of moving back. It's called the boomerang generation.

Looks like a sure case of " Trout Obesity " to me. How close is the nearest McDonald's ? Only half kidding here, for a ginamous trout that fish had some weird proportions. Darn shame no one could have tied into it and them told the story of hooking the HMS Queen Elizabeth II as it swam away and spooled you !

Further bad news re: gas prices. Hugo Chavez just announced about an hour ago that Venezuela has stripped the international oil Companies of control over the massive Orinoco Belt oil projects. And you know what today is ? May 1...happy May Day comrade Chavez...hope you and your buddy Fidel enjoy yourselves today. Lousy Commies ! Wait and see what this does to crude prices, have no idea what to expect.

Terry that's an excellent point. I don't believe the oaks will re-flower when they sprout new leaves, thus no acorns. Turkey deer and squirrel are facing a tough winter. Last Fall the White Oaks had a bumper crop of acorns and I heard a lot of hunters grousing that the deer weren't moving much because they didn't have to go far to find food. In the Ozarks hill country, where not much in the way of food crops are farmed, this is gonna' be a tough year.

WOW !! 22 1/2 inch Smallie ! Congrats. Any pictures by chance that you could post ? I'll bet that was a beeyootiful fish !

It sure killed those blasted gum balls on my sweet gum tree YIPPEE !!! Won't have to clean them up all year long like usual... Yep, oaks look brown and not the brown they develop when they flower. Some other trees seem unaffected but unless trees had enough sap up in them to split open due to hard freeze, they are not dead, just under stress.

Ham, Read your post with great interest and respect for your opinion and your interest in how other fish and game departments manage Kentucky Bass. I and probably several others on this board can tell you what happened at Table Rock at the time of the implementation of the 15 inch limit in the late 70's. Prior to the 15 inch limit and prior to the ethics of "catch and release" when a bass was caught at Table Rock it was gone from the lake. It was becoming more and more difficult to catch anything for the average angler as proven by a three year intensive " creel census " study by MDC. You could not believe the moaning and groaning of the local resort owners and others when the 15 inch limit was installed. They all swore they were going to be run out of business. But, you know what happened ? All of a sudden, within about a year or so if memory serves, the average guy was catching fish and catching more fish than pre 15inch limit. He was having to release them, true, but he was getting that satisfying tug on the end of his line more frequently and instead of coming back to the dock or ramp "skunked" he had that wonderful smell of Bass on his hands and some pleasant memories. Are there Kentuckies on off shore structure that never see a bait ? Heck yes, but it takes a better fisherman than me to catch them with any regularity. As Bill posted previously, the Kentuckies are NOT in competition with the LM for forage fish as they definitely frequent differing habitats in the water. Anyone who is concerned about lack of forage fish in Table Rock doesn't pay much attention to their electronics or doesn't have the sensitivity set high enough.

Bill, Regarding your unfortunate sighting of 50+ bass carcasses under a dock in Big Indian, I would like to urge you to identify the specific location of the dock. Those of us from the Baxter area that are disgusted by sightings like this would love to have this information and possibly "have a word" with the individual or put the "word" out about them. Two things are going to happen if this irresponsible behaviour continues. 1.) Bass tournaments are going to be outlawed, either completely or during the months of March/April/May. 2.) Fishing season for Bass will be closed on impoundments as currently happens on MO streams March 1 thru Memorial Day.

Let's hope the cattle egrets don't turn out to be major pests like other imports such as starlings. Running past Goat Island Saturday morning spotted three lonely white pelicans huddled on the North tip of the island. A little late for this species to be migrating through and was surprised to see only three. Usually they are in a flock of about a dozen or so birds. Also saw a mature Osprey flying around in the Baxter area Sunday afternoon.