skeeter

Wouldn't it be interesting to discover how many "requests" MDC has for their trapping services vs. how many "teams" of trappers with cages they have and how long it's taking for the response to requests ? After MDC "gave" $100,000.00 of our Sales Tax and Permit dollars to a Table Rock Commercial Marina operator as a "reward" for installing larger dock slips and pump-out facilities to encourage more "battleship in a bathtub" large boats on Table Rock, I am not viewing MDC policies very favorably.

Agreed. Write or email your State Rep. and Senator. MDC wasting our money like this must be stopped....Pronto !

sold

FYI, Representative Long recently purchased a Lake-front home down off of Hwy. "H" West of Lampe. Our problems with ACOE and lake use and abuse now affect him too. The dock issue needs to be addressed as does the duplicity and usual lies of the Tri-Lakes Board of Realtors and their B.S. website that suckered many of us into signing. Here's a suggestion...: 1.) Leave the Vegetative Modification Permit regulations stand as currently stated and quit messing with it. Changing it now screws every property owner that bought based on present conditions and you wouldn't want it happening at your home. 2.) All the unused and unsold empty slips we always see in existing "Community docks" must be filled before any more dock permits will be issued only to have those slips sit empty while the "dock speculators" search/wait for new suckers. There has to be some language in the Shoreline management Plan to forever stop these "Dock Speculators" from acquiring dock permits to place new docks and then re-selling slips in them at incredible prices. 3.) An immediate "length-limit" must be placed by the ACOE on new boats seeking to use Table Rock. If there are some "wake-height" and "Plowing" ( I guess that means deliberately creating massive wakes ? ) restrictions on boats on LOZ they need to be immediately implemented here and much stronger ( more Patrolmen) enforcement enacted. Same goes for engine decibel enforcement...sounds like a flight of WWII four engine Bombers now when these multi-engine monstrosities go zooming by. 4.) Your tax dollars and fishing permit dollars were recently spent awarding a Commercial Dock Owner $100,000 for building facilities for ginormous docking and pump-out of these "Battleships in a Bathtub" we are seeing. All that does is encourage more and more larger boats. No more tax money as awards for providing huge docking spaces....what is/are here now is the end of it. http://maricorpus.com/cmp-big-recipient/

There was an Aunts Creek resident recently on another local Board complaining about the noise and reckless water traffic in front of his place over the Labor Day weekend. Seems there was some nut-job with a very loud, heavily-modified and large outboard on some kind of performance style type of boat running up and down the same piece of Lake until 11 P.M. three nights in a row and the usual Wake-boat inconsiderates blasting their unwanted rap-crap music over their Gigawatt speaker systems until all hours as well as during daylight. I told him the next time that happened to call MSHP in Springfield and ask for the Water Division. He called them to check things out and they told him that they had no Officers on the Lake at the time !!!? I naively thought there was supposed to be a Patrolman available at each major reservoir at all times....not actually in his vessel and on the water but available. Guess I am mistaken. Anyone know ?

Yep, I've seen then several times. Had no idea they were rare. They aren't very large, maybe a inch or two if that but they move just like their salt water cousins.

After reading these thoughtful posts it reminded me of a recent conversation with my Bro-in-law. He's on BS, I'm on TR and the one comment about jumping off the pontoon and then trying to catch up with it in the wind really rang my bell. His thought was that in addition to wearing the auto-inflatable PFD and the regular use of the kill switch, he is strongly thinking about mounting the human hand-held end of one of those 30' retractable dog leashes somewhere in the center of his boat and attaching the Canine end or clip to the PFD. He thinks that will still allow him free movement around the boat and connect him to the boat in case of an unintended man-overboard situation if he's out alone. Neither he nor I are exactly in the Michael Phelps class of fast or strong swimmers and that idea might just allow a guy to catch-up to the boat on a windy day. You guys talking about age related balance problems I can relate to. Add in the three-years-old lingering peripheral neuropathy in hands and feet from Chemo to that and you'll know why my fishing days are now few and far between. At least 80% of my balance is now vision-based and that just ain't good enough on a wake-filled or windy day. Beats the hell out of the alternative though !

There's a new Tackle shop that just opened in Kimberling City behind the recently re-built and expanded Rapid Robert's. It's next door to Gordie's now-closed hardware store on the North end of the shopping mall and I think it's called Cletus tackle shop. They were closed Sunday evening so I couldn't go in an check them out and they are apparently so new there is no signage other than in the front window as yet.

BilletHead, Do you mind sharing your general location with us ? Like tho1mas, who is about 45 miles North of me, we are not seeing the usual numbers of Hummers at our feeders this year. We would normally have four 44oz. feeders ready to go about now and are lucky to see two birds at a time. Kinda' disappointing and wondering what's the deal ? Thanks.

Those "Wake Boats" we anglers love so much with the onboard bladders and tanks that they pump water into in order to throw those huge wakes that come over your bow, gunwales and transoms, are the "Prime Movers" of the Zebra Mussel. Those tanks and bladders never fully dry out and can support the mussel(s) for weeks until the boat is launched again, the ballast tanks and bladders re-filled and then pumped out again taking the hitchhikers into new bodies of water.

Worked with a woman 20+ years ago who would go up to Minnesota every Spring with her Hubby for the early fishing season. She informed me that Minnesota had a catch & release policy during spawning season on Black Bass. If you were caught in illegal possession of a Bass during the closed season you forfeited your boat, the trailer your boat was hauled-on and the tow-vehicle. Maybe Missouri should increase the penalties for Wildlife Code violations to similar levels ?

The posts about balance coupled with age are right on the money. Try combining that with the long-term neuropathy that hits the extremities post-chemo. I'm just now, three years later, getting confident enough to venture out alone, but not on a windy day or this weekend. It's surprising how much of your balance depends on sensation/nerves in your feet and when that goes numb you have to kind of re-learn your balance based on your Vision. Some smart person needs to invent some kind of ladder that can be reached by a person in the water after falling out of a Bass Boat where the person can actually climb back into the boat unassisted.

OK, after reading this I'm starting to believe our visiting Daughter's story about her BIG dog jumping over the deck railing and chasing one down the shoreline last night about 02:30. Baxter area.

The South end is sm-o-o-o-o-thed out now and no worries. Bridge opened Thurs. afternoon and seems a little wider than before. Can't tell yet if they removed the "No Wake" buoys ( that many of the play-boats ignored ) under the Bridge.

Yep, they are hustling to sweep it and make final preparations. Supposed to open sometime tomorrow Thursday 5-26. Until they do something more gradual and permanent I'd suggest a little caution at the South end approaching and departing from those new slabs they poured just beyond the ends of the bridge on Hwy 13.

We have our shade tree staked out, some comfortable lawn chairs and cold beverages all ready for the weekend "launching entertainment" at Baxter If we see a feller with a Bass Boat trying to launch just holler and we'll figure out some way to save you a parking space. Bring lot's of cotton balls for earplugs if you object to some pretty rough language.

When TR gets high enough you can use the trolling motor and get almost up to the Hwy. 86 bridge and see Dogwood. Those trout can come from Roaring River or from the very upper end of TR too. Nice fish !

Best slow down when you reach the South end of the Bridge. The Contractor poured a new slab of concrete on 13 Highway where it joins the Bridge deck. That slab is about 5 inches or so higher than the surface of Hwy. 13 and they have a temporary (hopefully) asphalt ramp taking you down from the elevated slab to the existing Highway surface. You hit that sucker at speed and you're going to get a little bit of a surprise ! The wakeboarders call it " getting air " ;-) !

Is this the first report of Zebras in TR or have I missed others ? Thanks.

Don't know if the scents stay on the bait very long but they do remove or replace the human smell we all leave behind when handling baits. Great tip Champ 188...thanks.

ha ha....understatement of the year (, ) "wind was terrible".

Yep, amazed that I've never heard anyone speak of catching a Drum while fishing at TR while a lot of guys catch them often at LOZ.

If they have, there is no one else to blame but the current Administration and his "caving in" to the Commercial Barge lobby. There were plans to construct a physical barrier instead of relying on the questionable electric fence but the Barge Lobby objected and now the Great Lakes Fishery is in danger. Great Lakes Fishery Biologists agree that the Asian Carp pose a bigger problem than the Lamprey Eels and the Zebra Mussels combined.

Contrary to rumors floating around the bars and grocery stores yesterday afternoon that had folks in a near panic....: http://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/modot-plans-to-keep-kimberling-city-bridge-open Notice the "under-bridge" debris-catchment construction is submerged and that will probably delay bridge re-construction timing if the wave action damages it.

Correct, Table Rock authorized by Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1941. Navigation not a factor. See fourth paragraph under "Additional Information" heading/section, last sentence in the paragraph. http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lakes/TableRockLake/DamandLakeInformation.aspx