Trav

I am still gripping on my guns and lack of religion.

You can regulate the color of socks a fisherman has to wear. If there isn't any law to enforce it, the whole idea is moot!

Ignorance is no excuse to break the law. We need enforcement. Jail time and heavy fines will educate!

Elephonkey anyone? I hear it tastes great. A little red wine suace with some olive oil and basil. It does sound yummy. Maybe a squirt of lemon and some pepper. There has to be a way to stomach it all. In the end, none of them fish. Wait a minute. Palin's hubby is a commercial fisherman. Does that count with us Sport Anglers? I think it does! We have a weiner! I mean winner. I have never voted anything other than republican in my life. I am a registered money giving republican. I am all for legal immigrants. Our nation is nothing but a bunch of immigrants. My family hit the shores right after the first world war. Plus I don't want to pay five dollars for an apple. I am for freedom of religion and speech even though I am an Athiast and think that the media is too liberal. I think that the muslim and Islamic people of this country walk on egg shells needlessly because of pre-existing forthought. I think african americans have been our biggest assets for way too long. I also think they are, like any race, under estimated. I also think that our asian population could possibly be the best fisherman of all. After all, if you think of it. Other than racist red neck white boys, only they will eat drum and carp. Will someone please tell me what this has to do with fishing in the Ozarks? Politics aside. What are we trying to prove? None of us are right, and none of us are wrong. It is like saying that if your catholic, you hate all prodastants. When you believe in the same guy? I am an Athiast. So excuse me. I just don't get a quarrel when you ideoligize the same thing.

Did a little bass fishing this evening. The water is still pretty murky up the coves and creeks. Not sure if it had anything to do with how tough the fishing was today. I thought for awhile that the "First Cast" Jinx had my number. After catching one little sport right away, I went almost three hours before picking up another. By then it was starting to get dark so I hung it up. So you can say I caught one on the first and last cast of the day. Anyway you look at it, they had some serious lock jaw today. Hopefully it picks up a bit tomorrow.

As one of those "Lunker Hunters" you mentioned, I can say that I haven't kept a Brown yet. And I have caught a dozen or so that went 10+. If I catch a state record, I would let that go as well. It is not like a lottery ticket. No money in it. Maybe 15 minutes of fame. But I have my own scale and a digital camera. If the "Officials" don't take my word for it, "Up theirs" is my philosophy. As far as barbless.......I think it should be a personal choice. I use barbs and only have problems with them when they get caught up in my clothes, or the carpet. If you are having problems, here is some advice, "Needle Nose Pliers."

I support the 24" limit. I am afraid that our boys enforcing the limit is under staffed. What is the point of making new regulations when they can't manage the rules we have now? Just my two cents.

Says I am 38, How funny, I am 38!

Exactly why I started the Elephonkey campaign. Seems that was ignored as well.

Great speech by John! There is no better reward than to serve your country! To help others has the greatest reward! That is what this site is about. Fisherman helping each other other out. Same concept! Be a teacher, a mentor. He advocates the same beliefs we have here on OAF!

Anyway you look at it, the lower Taney will get the crappy deal. This crap does nothing but kill the lower lake. The fish down here just dont move behind structure, they get washed out or they move upstream. Everytime it happens, its like starting all over again. The fish that move upstream tend to stay there. Hurting the fishing in the lower. I will be glad when this cycle passes. This whole year has been a waste of time due to the weather. I am almost welcoming winter. And I despise cold weather. I prefer 90 degrees and high humidity. 70 percent of my big brownies come between september and march. I can bet it will be at least 3 years before I start catching the 40 fish over 5 pounds in a year that I am accustomed to. I bitch, but I can't complain a whole bunch. Those people that own land and docks on bull shoals deal with this crap alot more than most of us. It just irritates me so much because my dock is on the channel side of a river system, below bull creek, and I have to push logs, trash, whole trees sometimes, not to mention all the chunks of docks that fail under the pressure of this type of flow. I realize this is a funky year, but darn! Everytime I walk down to my dock it is backed up with debris. I have lived here for 3 decades. There has always been the debris to a certain extent, but this year it has been like a never ending gauntlet. Normally it is not this bad. I am as close to an expert as you will get on the lower. When I say the fishing is bad you know it is true. I am almost to the point that I will pull my boat out of the water and wait and see what next year will bring. It is obvious that this winter the fishing for browns is almost gone. I will try, but my gut tells me the fishery is busted by tall water. Since I don't fish the waters above Branson, this area might as well be dead. I have vented my opinion. When it comes to the lower I am never wrong. I hope my fantasy football team will play out better than this year of fishing has. With that said, Good luck boys.

Welcome!

Welcome!

If you had a pet Elephonkey, What would you name it? Mine would be called Leroy!

It is funny how many people say Taney is thier home waters. I thought the thread was based on where people grew up. Thats why there is so many that said "other waters" and why there is so many selections. Is it really true that this site is nothing but a majority of Taney Homeland fisherman? If that is so, then why is the lower Taney forumn comprised of just a few individuals? When I was 10 or so my gramps bought me a boat. A little one but he said go at it. Granted at that age, myself and my brothers just wanted to goof and swim, but bull creek was our playground. My dad was the first one to put a rope up the bull creek for us. Since then, that rope has been replaced for decades. Used by so many kids. Replaced by whom? I dont know. Fishing Taney has always been a steady cause. Even when I moved away and become a guide in the tropics for peacock bass or it be tuna in the bay of panama. I even played a little in the Bass tourney stuff. Home was always Taney. I followed jobs from Iowa to South Carolina. The catfishing is the best in both places. Taney don't have that action. Pike and walleye in Iowa was outstanding!. The bass in South Carolina beats Taney without a doubt. But I am always driven home. Taney is a tough bird. Escpecially the lower. I get on my boat and have one goal. To catch one fish. Once I do that, I can relax, and enjoy my day. For everything else is a bonus. Even with that mindset, I catch more fish in a year than anyone I know. Is it time in grade? Hell yeah! Nobody knows the lower better than me! But this lake is a fickle monster. Never forget that. I have fished mexico, honduras, costa rica, and was a guide for four years for peacock bass in Panama. Catching 300 plus fish a day. So many I had muscle failure and raw thumbs from lipping fish. I still get a bunch of gratitude if I catch more than one fish here on the lower taney. I am known for catching huge brownies. Bass is just a segment when it comes to this lake. Until the floods I could go out and pick up a 5 pounder without a thought. Now a days, it is struggle to find a single brownie, yet alone one of size. I live on the lake. Sooner or later it will get back to normal. I am guessing the ladder will be very small pickings this year! I am also guessing that with this poll of home waters, the results are more of what people wish more than reality. I am 4 generations Taneycomo. Going back before table rock dam was built. Old school rockaway beach when it was the queen of the ozarks.

Cough! Cough! HUH! I lost my train of thought.

BRAVO! Great speech! I honostley believe she can walk the talk. Screw the skeptics! This lady is all business. Heck, if she didn't have so many kids I might run away with her. By the way, if I was going to raise Elephonkeys, do you think I could make any money? Is there a market out there?

Was thinking a mix between pork and beef for some reason. Make all the Dolphin jokes you want! After last year, I have heard them all!

I wonder what an Elephonkey burger would taste like?

Will an Elephonkey make a good pet?

What kind of sound would an elephonkey make? Would it sound more like an elephant since it kicks like a mule? I stay up late wondering things like that. What if two elephonkeys mated, would one gene take over and give its offspring the butt of the elephant and the head of the an donkey instead? If that was to happen would it then sound like "hee haw"? Wouldn't the elephant have a bigger kick? Maybe its because elephants have longer memories and bigger brains that they have the head? But a donkey brain is more set in thier ways and are harder to train? Elephant trainer is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Is that why it has the head? Donkeys can get awful stubborn though. Elephants have more rage. I am so confused! Can an elephant and a donkey even mate? They must be able too, There are elephonkeys! If it did have the head of a donkey instead, wouldn't it make it a donkaphant? Would that make the republicrats into demopublicans? So many questions. So little answers. One thing for sure though, I have seen a elephonkey. I haven't seen a donkaphant! So there is more hope for a republicrat than a demopublican! I still can't figure out if there would actually be a difference between the two? Other than one would obviously say "Hee Haw"!

The Elephonkey! The official mascot of the Repbulicrats!

The Elephonkey! Mascot to the Republicrats!

I almost forgot, You get taxed again when you die! Have any of you seen that AARP commercial where they morph an elephant and a donkey? That might be a good way to settle all this bickering among us. We can start our own party. We can call it The Republicrats. We can call our mascot an Elephonkey! We just argee on the good stuff from each party, trash out the bad stuff and stencil an agenda for the country using thier ideas!