Trav

I have an old Shimano 4500 that I used for swimbaits back when I was doing alot of salt water fishing. Real nice equipment. The tuna and amber jacks tore up the swimbaits. Not a huge fan of them in freshwater either. Never fished any Cali lakes though. I still remember going through 100 to 150 dollars a day in swimbaits in them days. Salt water fish are pretty hard on them. Was lucky to catch 6 fish before they were trashed. Trust me, I bought the cheapest non brand ones I could get. Of course, Quality didnt really matter when they were schooling by the hundreds.

If the species spawns and maintains its own popoulation without continued stocking, to me, that is natural. I really dont care if the species is indigenous or not. Lets not stray from my original statement about "self sustaining" . And lets not get too defensive about the real definition of an aquarium stock and a procreating stock. I really dont have issues with catching fish out of a barrel. Just means they are easier to catch. My only qualm is that I believe the money and resources spent on restocking could be of better use in finding species that can adapt naturally in the lake instead of just existing. Stock a well rounded species base that wont overtake other species, share the lakes resources, and establish offspring to leave behind. I like to pull out those monster Brownies just as much as I do catching Bass or any other big fish, doesnt mean that I cant believe in a more perfect fishing utopia. Or that we cant strive for one either. As contradicting as it sounds, it is honost. Everyone would like to have there cake and eat it too. I also believe that the human species is an infestation on the planet. Is that contradicting since I am one? Its just the truth as it is. Somethings in life cant be just right or just wrong. They are what they are. Thats it. So pick apart and cipher what you want from my posts. I love to argue over the shades of grey. Heck, We can debate the smell of my farts if you like. A fart is mostly just methane gas. Isnt it? Wether it smells like eggs or doritos? Haha, Just to warn you though, This subject could be dangerous, so, no smoking, please. (I would give you a "wink" on that comment but Thom has given me a complex about me winking too much. I went and bought some visine for the dry eye...Haha)

Thanks, She is trained to protect. Killing is a by product of her zeal. She loves her job. So you tell me, is it for fun? I dont care, at least I dont have animals tearing up my property.

Fear is a Factor to me. haha

Welcome!

I am not against it, just feel it isnt natural. When in Rome though.

I like #4.

Was a bit breezy but used it to my advantage for a few hours. Drifted the flats up Bull and caught 4 sport bass before heading further up to hit the shoreline a little. Got 4 more sports and one that went 3-3 on the digital. I was throwing a lil jenny most the time but did flip a chomper some wich got me the bigger one. Felt good to get on the water today. Has been a few days.

Haha, I dont knock the luxury I have, to fish anythime I want. I worked and earned my place in life and where I live. As could anyone else. No god "blessed" me with anything. As far as my opinions, they are mine to have. You are free to have yours as well. But, let me put something in perspective for you. If Barry Bonds did use Roids, does his record mean any less? Since we are talking about records and all. I dont think so. He hit them, he earned them. Its his record. Roids or not. Same goes for record sized fish. Just because they are farm raised and full of antibiotics shouldnt change the fact that it is a record. Just because I would like see a fishery that would survive without stocking doesnt mean I think any less of the fish that are. I for one am in the hunt for the record brownie and am convinced it will come from Taney. If you have read any of my reports you would know that I am very zealous seeker of large Brown Trout. Even if I am catching them out of a giant fish bowl. By the way, Matt from MDC did call me back but I was on the lake fishing and missed his call. I guess it is phone tag now, and I am it.

If you look at the pic of her on my blog you will see she is pure muscle. Not an ounce of fat on her. Her last vet visit put her at 68 pounds.

Welcome!

Well, As far as the walleye, or any fish for that matter. if it has no chance to be a viable self sustaining population then stocking should cease. It just a waste of money. There are lots of other species to pick from that can and will manage without being milked and coddled. I took the advice and Called the MDC on the vegetation issue. After 5 different numbers (including 2 misdirected numbers) I ended up with nothing but a voice mail for a guy named Matt Mauch. We will see if he even returns my call. And for the record, the only assumption I have made is that Rockaway Beach officials are trying to adress the problem. That assumption was made with the evidence that they are attempting to circulate water with fountains to slow the growth down. And that is failing. Something tells me that if they have put in that bit of money to thier concerns then surely someone has spoke to MDC before now.

I had cedar trees that looked like they were trying to grow back into the ground. Must be the ostrich species. Haha Maybe they saw something that scared them.

I get my 6 hours a day, dont everyone? Haha

Welcome!

Walleye is a natural species to the white river. There shouldnt have ever been a need to stock them in Taney. In fact there were plenty of them before the introduction of Brown trout. Not that is the cause, just a timeline coincidence. (of sorts) They dont stock bass, crappie or bluegill. And there are healthy thriving populations of those. I read an article on this very forum that the main reason for the lack of walleye was probably because of the construction of dams and the interference of migration routes and spawn cycles. The last thing Taneycomo needs is more stocked fish. It needs self sustaining populations that dont require maintenance. Sure, a two or three year stock plan for a new species such as Channel cat could be viable. Give them time to establish. But to stock a fish that the lake cant support without a goal to let the species support themselves is to me alot like welfare. It is like the fish tank in my living room. No spawn, just aging fish. When one dies I buy a new one. There is nothing natural about that. But it is pretty to look at though. Exactly why so much money is spent to keep trout in the lake. Because it is a trophy project to emphisize the tourist attraction. Because they are pretty to look at. As far as vegetation, it is a fact that foriegn species can conjest and make a lake sterile. As a bass fisherman, I like to see healthy weed patches, but without something to keep them in check, a natural consumer of the product, so to speak, It will cause more ill effect than good. Just ask anyone who has to motor in and out of it from a Rockaway Beach dock. Ask anyone trying to get up bull creek in late september when they arent running any water out of the dam. Those are issues that have only raised thier ugly heads in the past decade or so. There is no natural cycle to what we are seeing down here. Just unchecked neglect to approach the problem with even the smallest fraction of concern. I will grant you that the guys at MDC have a solution to the problem but if they wont listen to governing municipalities like Rockaway Beach, what is the chance of joe blow citizen like myself to ever get a rise out of them. Its all about money. You can bet your life that if The Branson Lakefront had the same problem, thier wallets would get some attention.

Wenonah Ryder or Wenonah Judd. Hmmm.... some choice haha

Thom, You almost sound like a democrat? Please say it aint so man! And you said the words snat@# and Hillary in the same sentence. EWWWWW! Haha Its all good. I stand firm when I say that there will be a black man as president before there will be a woman. And Obama just dont have the experiance. Dem or Rep, McCain is the clear choice in todays time of war.

Welcome!

Dave, thats my opinion also. Time will tell

No drop adds here.

What a nasty subject. If we poison it with herbicide we will pollute the water. If we cut it out, it will rob o2 from the waters with its dying roots and decomposing artifacts. It is obvious that Rockaways attempt to curb it is failing with thier little fountain system. So what should be done? As usual, man developed this problem the minute they built a dam in the early 1900s with the construction of powersite dam. Forty years of sediment on top of the roackaway area before it was turned into a cold water lake in the fiftys didnt help much. The growth of the area and phospherus from all the septic sytems compounded with the obvious introduction of the species to start with can also be the blame. Did you know the last time that a sediment test or any sonar graphing on a major scale of the lake was back in the 30s. When they were entertaining the thought of table rock dam? Every other lake in missouri has been tested a minimal 2 times since development. But not Taneycomo. I discovered all this from a geology study from a Little Rock Army corp of Engineers surveyer back in april of last year when I tried to see if I could get a topo map of the lake made. Wich to this date hasnt been done. Anyway, long story short, to get rid of the hydrilla to a managable status we will have to scrape and barge out 6 feet of sediment from the original 1920s era delta to restore and modify the effects that are currently occuring. Now I dont know what strings to pull to make that happen, but if it dont, every cove and warm water area of the lake with eventually be so choked with vegetataion that it will be the end to the majority of our warm water species in Taney. From what I have observed in the last 3 decades tells me that the past 10 years has accelerated faster than the earlier 20. Obviously, scraping 6 feet of sediment from a 2 mile section of lake would be costly. In the hundreds of millions. But the same surveyer I talked with also said that by removing powersite dam altogether and making Taneycomo obsolete would be of the best interest of both the trout and the land owners of the area. Granted it is just hypothetical in conversation purposes but what of the thought? It would dry up the hydrilla and make Taneycomo a virtual headwater of bull shoals. Twenty miles of river on top of the 18 miles of actual river of bull shoals? As a fisherman I can see the advantages. Walleye and other species can migrate all the way to table rock dam from bull shoals, and the hydrilla will have no choice but to die on the gravel bars. The only loser will be empire electric who really dont make that much money off powersite dam anyway. Sure it might even give the branson lakfront 6 feet of extra coastal area and give rockaway closer to twenty feet, but really what harm will it do? Long beach residents have to put thier docks out another 30 feet but in the sake of the envirement is it worth it? I am all about improving our waters, and the status quo is going to isolate Taneycomo as a weed choked trout tank. It is inevitable. I for one want something done before it is a forgotten nemisis that will be to late to handle. As a property owner of the Lower lake I can see the changes in the diversity and can see the causes. Not that any of our thoughts really matter or ever will be recognized by the governing factors that need to make decisions, but we need a decision to made here on the Lower Taney or our habitat will be overgrown with neglect.

I often use sandpaper to wear off color from alot of my baits. I guess that defeats the purpose of getting them custum painted though huh. I also grind down the lips of my deep divers to get more frustration out of them. I have also put larger hooks on my jerkbaits to get less surface rip. Try adding a split shot 1inch in front of a spook. Makes that butt wave in the air. Also will add irritable action to the walk. Experimentation is the key to being unique.

Frosty lawns and popsicle vehicles here as well. Havnt ventured off property but hear traffic is moving right along.

This pic is on my blog but since we are all sharing. My Son and Daughter back when they were spring chickens. This was taken at a camping trip at Pomme. They were very proud of thier bounty.