skeeter

Hey, no way ! Don't pin it on me. I'm as fed up with it as anyone. I'm wearing out the snow blade on the JD keeping our's and the neighbor's driveways cleared. Plus I put in a brand new deck and I'm freakin' out about all the snow, sleet and ice covering it. And, the Marina owners where I keep the boat have not been on the roof of my dock shoveling the weight off. Went down there yesterday and the dock I'm on has the styrofoam completely submerged which dropped the back end of my boat and jammed the trolling motor up under my rail mounted storage box ! They best get up there before the next one forecast for Tue./Wed. hits 'cause the nice melting we had yesterday is gone and didn't take enough weight off.

Ha ! That "nuisance snow" I was yapping about turned out to be at least four inches in the mid-lake area 'cause the Low Pressure center stalled. Started about Noon Friday and was still coming down at Midnight. More in the forecast tonight into Sunday and then more in the forecast for Wednesday. Darn that La Nina !

Hope you haven't left home yet. Baxter is packed with the snow over the top of the sleet over the light freezing rain we got early in the week. Then, we got at least four more inches beginning yesterday (Friday) noon and lasting past midnight and it's the type of snow that packs. You would probably need four wheel drive with locking transfer case and front and rear locking diffs plus chains and even then it would be questionable if you'd be able to stop your rig while backing down. You don't expect the Corps to maintain those ramps for the launch fee$ they charge do you ? [grin] Seriously, the salt or chemicals would really eat-up the concrete.

Not much, we lucked out, unlike Grand Lake in OK where docks are sinking. ( See RPS's thread "Sinking Marinas in Oklahoma" under the General Angling discussion ). TR area got about three-four inches of snow at most covering about an inch of packed sleet preceded by a very small amount of freezing rain. I heard of no or very limited power outages but we have three more snow events in the immediate and long range forecast and although the first two look like nuisance snows at most they are already concerned about the event next Wednesday. Thanks for your offer, someone will probably take you up on it when it get's hot as hades down here. ( Please let that be soon ) ! Right now we need rain as the lake is LOW and dropping daily. Some say that makes fishing easier but it means a lousy Fry survival during the spawn.

OK back to the subject of this thread...puleeeze ? Weather science is now pointing the finger for the Wild Winter Weather directly at the La Nina event in the Pacific. See multiple articles here: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=la+nina&fr=buzzlogsrp&gid=94267 Many predicted this last Fall and, for once, they were correct.

100% AGREE. The ONLY Dictator..er..President to directly ignore a Supreme Court decision. Should have been impeached and then flogged and jailed !

FDR was elected to FOUR terms and that led to the XXII Amendment installing term limits for the Executive Branch. Now, we need term limits (oh boy, do we ever !) for the Legislative Branch. Odd thing about the XXII was that it was begun by Truman and the Hoover commission he appointed in '47 and Truman was FDR's V-P who served his remaining term out after FDR's death in '45 and then Truman was elected in '48. Congress passed the Amendment in '47 and the necessary number of States ratified it in '51 making it law.

I've seen local Marina owners on their dock roofs shoveling snow and chipping ice and thought how dangerous that is, but these are the results if they don't get up there and keep up with the additional weight. A couple of those pictures, numbers 5 and 15 look like the docks were allowed to go aground due to low water conditions. Thanks for posting and glad this missed TR, although not by much.

The adddition of a three-way swivel is kind of a recent development. The original float n' fly kits came with a pear-shaped, clip-on style bobber that you clipped onto your line at the top and bottom of the bobber. Slip bobbers can be used but you won't get the same action when you jiggle the rod to give the jig some action, instead, the jig will move mainly up and down as you tug on the line. That "craft-hair" used on the float n' fly jigs is pretty stiff stuff and not at all like marabou. It's also difficult to get much sideways movement to change locations being fished with a slip bobber rig. When you move the fixed-line bobber the jig moves through the water in sort of a pendulum motion that, on some days, attracts a bite. A very subtle shaking action, like what the angler is using in the video Stump bumper posted, is what is recommended to imitate a crippled or distressed threadfin. Funny think is they are still selling the "fly-dope" that reminds you of a thick and scented vaseline product that is used to dress the craft hair on the jig. Even the little plastic tube it comes in is identical to 10 years ago.

Good for a laugh.... Let the slings and arrows commence !

Looking forward to reading all the weekend fishing/catching reports during next week's "Significant Winter Storm " event that NOAA SPGFLD.is now thinking will be hitting the area. Rain(which we badly need)changing to freezing rain(which we never need)and then snow in the Mon. thru Wed. time period. They are predicting the storm will be coming together in the Four Corners region which always spells trouble for us. Get out and enjoy the nice weather while it's here.

Local business owner's thoughts on the new By-Pass are that it's going to cost several of them their livelihood. There is a lot of fear and they fought like crazy to get a turn lane put into the road plans at the Southern end so folks could access the old road without having to go all the way to the Northern end first, then have to turn back South. http://www.modot.mo.gov/springfield/major_projects/Stone/Route13BWtoKC.html

Used to be 915 msl, lately, two different Marina owners have told me it's 916 msl. NOAA has the area colored in on it's National Drought Map as "Abnormally Dry" which is the prelude stage to official Drought. We need rain. http://www.drought.gov/portal/server.pt/community/drought_indicators/us_drought_monitor

Tried the "Float n' Fly" system (the "fly" is nothing more than a jig tied with "craft hair" like you used to see on those ugly little Troll dolls) years ago when the original guy who manufactured and sold the kits was still alive. Found out quickly on TR you had to have at least 10 to 12 feet of line out below the stationary float. A "slip-bobber" won't work to make casting the rig easier because you can't effectively "twitch" the jig with it due to line movement. Got my decades old 9wt, 9ft Eagle Claw fly rod out to cast this cumbersome thing with and even with a rod that long it was very difficult for me to cast it. I had to hear the bobber hit the water first on the backcast before bringing the rig forward and it quickly became a case of "chuck and duck" and it was a pain to throw it. Not recommended if another person is sharing the boat with you. There must be some renewed interest in the system as one of our local guys is inquiring about using the F n' F system too and he does very well in the cold weather with other methods.

Kitty has good taste in neighborhoods . There was another "eco-nut" on here who wanted to see large, predatory cats return. Hope (but doubt) this is his/her backyard. If it were, the NIMBY complex would be in full swing. Betchya' !

Yep, I recall that too. It takes a lot of water to fill 'er back up from that level and affects wells, marinas, docks, launch ramps and so on. Most docks were high and dry up on the bank and many launch ramps ended way before the water line. Numerous boat owners put in off the end of old Hwy "H" at Baxter where the old blacktop road continued out into the lake but that won't be available because during the $1.3 million re-hab of the Baxter campground the Corps' contractor removed the old concrete ramp down at the end of "H", removed the old asphalt and moved the swim beach right where the end of the road runs into the Lake. There were a couple of enterprising guys who took a video camera out and made tapes of the exposed banks and sold them to anyone interested. Amazing what showed up. Some of the Marina owners have told me the Corps is "required" to keep the Lake no lower than 890msl.

Until the area get's appreciable rainfall or the demands for electricity generation decrease, the Lake will keep dropping. Those two heavy, but brief, rains that moved through with the tornadoes Dec. 30 & 31 helped a little but not enough and there has only been .002" since then. Good time to get out and scout exposed structure if you've never seen the water level down before. It can and has gone much lower and with nothing but snow in the forecast, it probably will continue to drop.

The Baxter dock and Marina is closed until about April 1 but Baxter also has a Marine service center right up the hill from the Marina. Curt operates a "service van" in which he will come out to your location and perform requested service. The Marine service center is open all year. This time of year, they are open Mon. thru Fri. and Curt is a trained Mercury tech. They also service boats while on the lifts at the dock and, since you are located in Trace Hollow, can probably get over there via water too. I would suggest calling them @ 417-779-4244 for a quicker response.

From "Billfo's" previous postings and pictures I think he has one of Tom Blake's "Econo-Lifts" ?? I've never noticed an Econo-Lift, so far, that has a chain on it that limits the depth of the lift. Maybe one can be added ? Tom installed "guides" for my neighbor's tri-toon, maybe he can help you since your time here is limited ? 417-464-2111 cell.

Actually I was thinking more about the possibility of small children being jumped. Cougars supposedly won't mess with a "larger" person and I've got that covered. We thankfully don't have the population density CA does here but old or injured predators will pick on the easiest available prey. They also like to steal trout from wading fishermen....yum....smell that fishy kitty kat ? I would have bet $1K on some kind of sarcastic reply like yours with an attitude rather than an intelligent discussion. It happens on every board and I win. Again !

Agreed, I wouldn't either. Our OPEC "pals" seem to be making sure that the economy will remain in the septic tank. We get a little bit of a rebound and "boom", they stick it to us on oil prices again.

Roger has been trying to sell the beautiful Downtown Lampe "Corner Drive-In" for a while. He's been closed for several Months now and won't re-open until April or May. The Baxter Country store has also been up for sale for some time and we will miss the owners when they leave/sell if anyone can ever pry any money out of the danged banks these days. They did wonders with that old place but want to move on. This economy has not been good for Mom & Pop businesses and once the new Hwy 13 bypass is completed between "OO" and just South of "DD", probably more economic stress will visit business owners along that stretch of road. If your pipes in the crawlspace survived last Winter this one, so far, will not be a problem. As far as the Merc lower unit, IMHO it's good to change the lower unit lube in the Fall and note the color and condition of the old lube. Good time to make sure no water has gotten in from discarded fishing line wrapping around the hub or just old age of the shaft seals. I got a nasty surprise on my Yammy this Fall and had to have the seals updated.

Sure thing, all you gotta' do is show up. Lake is getting so low now ( 908.6 ) that I'm concerned about getting the boat off the lift when this Arctic stuff leaves us alone. 5 Degrees this morning with 8 - 10 mph winds and -8 wind chill. Know what you mean about cabin fever.

Freely admit I don't know much about Cougars but I'm trying to figure out why some folks on here seem to want a breeding population re-established in Missouri ? Going to play the devil's advocate here....having read the stories about attacks by Cougars on humans in areas of California over the past few years with a couple of resulting fatalities and severe injuries to survivors I'm thinking do we really want them here again ? If memory serves, the Cougars positively identified through carcass recovery or hair exams in Missouri have all been males supposedly seeking new territory. Do females do the same thing ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_cougar_attacks_in_North_America http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/lion_attacks_ca.html

'Bout an inch or less. Some melted yesterday then it started again later in the day..very lightly. Blowing at 17 - 20 mph right now from the WNW. Temp about 14 and indicated wind chill is -3 degrees. Lake area lucked out again on snowfall. More forecast for the coming weekend beginning Sat. night if you can trust long-range prognostications.