skeeter

Hunter, you are far from being alone in this. Reduction in the numbers of "Regatta Permits" issued by the Water Division of the Highway Patrol for TR during a short, crowded time period and the apparently money-driven MDC resistance to installing "catch, measure, photograph and release at boatside" regulations during the Spawning Season for ALL anglers on ALL Lakes (same as they have on State streams) needs some serious re-thinking. There, I said it, let the slings and arrows commence. Don't care anymore, it needs saying. Glad you had a good time otherwise on your trip.

You're very welcome and it was my pleasure to meet you folks. I have to confess for selfish reasons I was calling all around trying to find out if the water in the gas that you had narrowed it down to was the source of your problem and finally Bob at your Lodge told me Curt Pollard (right down the road from me and a longtime friend and great mechanic) at Baxter Marine had worked on your boat. Turns out the recent fuel delivery via tanker-truck to the Marina was the culprit and I don't envy the new Marina owners having to deal with that although Curt said it was entirely the Gasoline Company's responsibility and they have protocols in place to deal with that. Hope you got back out, trouble-free, and are having a good and successful remainder to your trip.

So many boats were seen early Saturday morning going up the two Indians at Baxter that a guy out bank fishing could have probably walked to the other side and not gotten his feet wet. MDC needs to install catch and release regs. (at boat-side) during spawning season on Lakes just like they have on Streams.

Taneycomo and Casaletto mentioned prominently in the article. http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/regulators-environmentalists-and-scientists-split-how-keep-missouris-lakes-clean

FYI to all the usual and new snarky commenters...the individual who recognized the problem and knew where to turn off the supply valves is one of our wonderful Volunteer First Responders with the local F.D. He immediately called the main and Emergency phone number(s) for the Marina after shutting off the supply valves on THURSDAY !! I know him, as do most in the area, and he left messages on all the recorders because no one answered their phones. When the weather warmed up more on Friday and more people ventured out they called the same number(s), 24 hours later, when they noticed the gas slick floating on the water, the split-open metal supply pipe and the strong gasoline odor. The neighborhood was legitimately worried about a potential fire. Good to hear there was a response from the Marina personnel on Friday because only someone well equipped and knowledgeable about the dock and valve layout could have remedied this situation. Any other helpful comments ? Wise or otherwise ?

Not many private individuals are equipped or trained to remove a gasoline-filled 20' long section of 2" metal pipe located over the Lake water, catch all the gasoline that comes pouring out of the gas line it feeds from gas pumps located about 700' away and do so before it further pollutes Table Rock and do so safely without generating any sort of a spark or ignition source, and do all that when its not their Property. Maybe another "Classic" negative comment will help out with that.

Still no resolution as of Saturday. Walking out the ramp, the immediate area reeks of gasoline. Someone said the owner is reportedly out of the Country. Time for MO DNR and The Corps to step in ? Oh wait...forgot about the Fed. shutdown.

Big gasoline leak there Thursday spilling into the Lake down by the ramp. Someone shut off the valves from the storage tanks leading out onto the dock but the metal supply line is split open alongside the ramp and any of the remaining gas from the ramp all the way out to the gas-dock pumps spills out of the split pipe whenever anyone walks on the ramp. Owner was called 1-18 and informed but as of late yesterday, 1-19, nothing had been done.

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42 is what I always heard as the lower limit of the Threadfin survival temp. Not sure about the Gizzard shad. It's gotta' be below that in the shallower Coves by now.

IMHO, after the last two years of VERY mild Winters and the resulting explosion in the Threadfin Shad population a good old nasty Winter (cold only, no heavy snow and ice storms please) that results in a thinning-out of the Threadfin population would be good for angling. After previous Winters similar to this one, so far, it resulted in a great crankbait bite once it warms enough for the Crawdads to come out of their Winter hidey-holes. When going down on the dock to keep batteries charged, I have to remember to look down in the water that has cleared up from the Plankton die-off and see if there are any dead Shad visible on the bottom. That's usually a good indicator of what's going on. I know the seagulls would sure appreciate it.

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Warning, if you're out fishing and needing gas, don't count on getting it at Baxter Marina....the place is never open and it's been that way since just after Labor Day. The new Marina ownership is receiving numbers of critical reviews on Google and the new owners are getting richly deserved criticism for many things. It really makes you appreciate the many years of the Pollards owning the Marina when you could always count on being able to gas up there through the last weekend in Oct. and sometimes well beyond.

After seeing the size of the ugly Billboard, I'd have to guess yes.

Thanks a lot Johhny-you-know-who for erecting the large, ugly Billboard facing Southbound 160/13 Highway just North of the Stone County limits that touts your damnable Wake/Surf boats with a huge illustration of some selfish Dude "surfing" (boy, is that a misnomer) behind the enormous, boat-swamping wake of one of your blasted, annoying Wake Boats you peddle. Kinda' counterproductive and hypocritical isn't it since it so seriously, negatively and even dangerously impacts those of us trying to enjoy a little fishing without taking water over the bow's, gunwale's and stern's of our boats from this self-centered activity so just one person can get their "kicks". After all, Johhny-boy, it was the Anglers who put your little Empire on its way to what it has grown into to begin with...or have you forgotten that already in your never-ending greedy need for more and more money ?

Thank you Gentlemen. My views exactly. What has always ticked me off is that some "organization" (proven, established and independently audited Charities are the exception) is making a handy profit by using a public resource and negatively impacting the public's fishery ! "Negatively impacting" ? Yes, absolutely and definitely. If you're off on a Monday and can get out on the Lake, go visit a weigh-in site a day later and take note of all the "floaters" that, in order to line someone's pockets, were released there after being transported in a livewell to some weigh-in Circus-event like what they stage say at BP In Branson. And if there is a "release boat" be sure and notice all the highly unusual number of dead, bloated floaters that are feeding the Turtle and Buzzard populations back in the Coves. I've fished and now lived-on this reservoir for a long time (1974) and this money-making nonsense has to be controlled and limited in some way soon by the blind-eyed MDC. I will only support any Derby or Tournament when strict rules are in place and enforced like what a local, exemplary Bass Club does where they measure and photograph the catch at boat-side and then release the fish at the site of the catch. Of course that would eliminate the profitable Carnival that occurs at the weigh-in sites...duh !

Hot diggity ! A bunch of Basses (sic) is gonna' get free rides in a hydro-blaster away from home and turned loose at the weigh-in sites or plopped into strange waters from the release boat(s) (if there are any). Sign up here for free transport ......