joeD

Suggestion: Fish them in something other than a tank. Like a a stream. Or a river. Or a lake. Get results. Repeat. Often. Your plastic looks great. Just like everyone else's. Instead of molds and colors and processes, find out if your creations catch fish. That's what you made them for? Right?

A 20 year old one year removed from college dealt aspirin tablets to Pittsburgh. Incredible pitching performance by Wacha. Bully for Matheny for choosing him.

All you have to do is look at Mizzou's record versus top 25 teams in football under Gary Pinkel. This year will be no different. I will no doubt cheer them on, but, truthfully, they will get their butts kicked by the SEC elite. Maybe now, Miissouri will start scheduling better teams in the first four games of the season.

Or, go to Vegas. Go to to NewYork City. Go to London. Go to Branson. Tahiti. Go someplace else where large amounts of "family: are gathering. Ha ha ha, Just kidding. Just like you're kidding about getting 50 plus people getting together at the same time.

How about dropping the word(s) "livery" or "liveries" from our present day usage and lexicon? It is antiquated and useless at best. Though I am a language and grammar snob, and love words from times past, for some reason I feel the the word "livery" should be put unceremoniously to rest when it comes to referring to canoe and campground "outfitters" and the like. Trivial sentiment I realize, still, time for that word to go. It just doesn't work anymore. Sorry for the interruption.

Great fish. Nice hat. Is that the "normal" water color for that area Seth? (looking at the water in the background of your picture)

When it's all said and done, everything will be said, and nothing will be done. There are only two conservation agents per county, and they can't be everywhere. Our smallmouth battles are but a blip on the MDC radar. They have bigger fish to fry, so to speak. And smallmouth bass issues don't pay the bills, like deer and land management and public education and other things a government agency needs to do to keep an ungrateful and needy public happy. So, basically, I don't care anymore. I'll go fishing when I can, and hope for the best. No one likes a know-it-all or a scold ("Hell no I won't get no shot of penicillin from sum guvment flunky!"). But know this: Smallmouth fishing in Missouri is NOT GETTING BETTER. And that is a shame and disappointment, given the absolute beauty and uniqueness of our Ozark streams.

Postscript (PS): 1. Yes, I'm drinking. 2. No, I won't edit my posts 3. Get over it. PSS: My "avatar" is simply a delicious looking Manhattan. Which consists, in this case,of a nice rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, a dash of bitters, lovingly stirred with ice in a nice container, strained into a period coupe glass, with a cherry plopped in at the last moment. Then gulped by me without the aforementioned ceremony. Then repeated.

This thread is a perfect example of why the MDC does nothing about fishing regulations, as it pertains to smallmouth, and trout, in our public streams. They cannot be seen as favoring one "side" or the other. Therefore, hamstrung with indecision, they do nothing, passing responsibility on to future Conservation "regimes", while keeping the guise of impartiality. They know what is right for fishing in Missouri, but lack the political and social will to act upon it, for fear of alienating a marginalized and wrongly revered subset of the Missouri fishing population. But, as we all know, if we would leave our hoosier fishing brothers and sisters alone, letting them do what they want, where they want, when they want, without fear of reprisal, I'm quite sure fishing in Missouri Ozark streams would improve exponentially. C'mon. They deserve a break. I feel ashamed about my lack respect for their "traditions." You should too. The very idea of being intelligent and moving civilization forwARD IS JUST PLAIN WRONG.

Thanks Mitch! Let me take a shower and splash on some Brut and we can talk summore! Just kidding. I don't use Brut.

"Heritage" and "dynamite" don't go together. Like Kim Kardashian and Caucasian dick. There is no letting go.

Come on people, wake up! Do you actually think the MDC cares about smallmouth bass, or people yanking fish from a public access? That is so far down their priorty pole it's not funny. Let me repeat: The Missouri Department of Conservation could care less about "our" smallmouth bass fishing "issues." Smallmouth bass don't pay the bills my brothers. Deer do. Does. Even though there are deer in every nook and cranny and crevice and field in every county and city and town and backyard in Missouri, the MDC treats deer as a rare and special animal worthy of a majority of the agencys' money and manpower. Turkey and waterfowl and other gamebirds follow in relevance. Fish are fish and live in water. And to be generally ignored. Why do you think nothing has changed for years and years regarding smallmouth bass regulations? Again. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Pay attention to what they DO, not what they SAY. And they have done.... NOTHING.

"If you don't like the way I'm livin, then just leave this long haired country boy alone..." Charlie Daniels Fly the rebel flag, too. Good grief. At some point, Missouri has to join the ranks of the living, and say goodbye to Ozark "tradition." Just because it's old, doesn't make it worth saving. In fact, this slavish devotion to the "Ozark" past is absolutely crippling individuals, families, towns, and regions. Time to grow up and embrace the present and future. We are getting left behind in most economic and social and educational parameters. Don't even ask about fishing. As I've said before, our state animal is the mule for a reason.

Fall smallmouth expectations? Absolutely! I'll fish, I'll enjoy. I'll hope. Hope for more. More fish. More size. More tangible results from years of MDC studies. More education. More studies. More talking. More internet information. More studies. More surveys. More print media spotlighting. More studies. After all is said and done, I believe we are no better off than we were 10 years ago. Just OK. Nothing has changed, fishwise, really.

Obviously, we are pussies. Because we have no balls. We hem and haw and kvetch to each other on this forum on the deplorable state of smallmouth fishing in Missouri. Yet we refuse to confront the reality of our situation for fear of offending a certain subset of our fishing brothers. We would rather be polite, than be seen as an insensitive jerks, regardless of beliefs. Not me. Smallmouth fishing sucks on most streams because of the LOCAL asshole hoosier fishermen who catch and keep fish in and out of season without regard to rules or regulations. We do nothing because we are afraid. We are afraid of being perceived as "unsympathetic" or "unenlightened" when it comes to dealing with our "country" citizens, who, we mistakenly think, have a "right" to "their" streams. We make every excuse for them. Poverty. Lack of education. Lack of economic opportunities, Hey, "that's all they know," Nonsense. You can talk about farming practices, erosion, floods, droughts, heavy raft usage, whatever. None of those things take fish out of the river. But local assholes do. Every week. Every year. Every stream I'm quite sure this opinion is offensive to some. I apologize for nothing.

Youth is wasted on the young.

I never got into that sitcom. Eddie Van Halen certainly did though. But you are correct M. Bird Watcher. Getting my panties in a twist over things out of my control that really add up to nothing. Par for the course for me. I'll enjoy CC while I am still able.

As I've stated before: Fly-fishing is about "fly fishing." It's about the process and the equipment. If one is honest, when you catch a fish, it's not the fact that you caught a fish, it's the fact that you caught a fish "fly fishing!" I'm no different. Just a way to do things. Like the carpenter who eschews power tools for old, human powered "period" tools for his work. Some people like to suffer. Martyr complex. Side note: Remember when Bjorn Borg tried to make a comeback using his old, wooden tennis rackets? Exactly. Got his butt kicked. The past wasn't better, nor was it simpler. Get over your nostalgia fetish. Addendum: Fly fishing is fun. Period. Why else do it?

Here's a stupid question, but I have to ask, since I don't know. These creeks that you fish, they obviously have to have year round water and flow to them, right? In other words, no drying up to bedrock in dry times? Just wondering. and another. Apparently I'm not done. Do these creeks have public access? Not necessarily where you go, but, access to those who venture. If not, please say your smallmouth adventures are not available to the public.

I've slowly watched dead armadillos creep up Hwy 44 in the last 10 years. Saw one on Hwy 141 in Fenton a week ago. Your sting by a scorpion and armadillos in STL County are 100% related. The "new normal?" Our now mild winters are palatable for roaming creatures from the south. Get ready for more mountain lion encounters too.

Great pictures tjulianc (well that's hard to spell). About those campers, though. You're kidding right? All those river miles and all those gravel bars, and you go 0 for 2 on the isolation bit? That sucks. It's easy for me to say "I woulda said sompthin.." But, that's just talk. Still, that bothers me for some reason. Then again, confrontation can have unexpectedly poor results, as we all know. Regardless, you were out there doing it . Good for you.

A friend and I had two great days Sunday and Monday of last week. Another friend went with his son this past Saturday and Sunday. Two great days also. The one thing both trips had in common was the ferocity of the hits. We talked about it after. CC smallies just hit harder, more often, and with more "elan" than their Missouri counterparts. This is not an isolated incident either. I've been going down to CC for years, at different times of the year, and at different river gauge heights and CFSs. It is a conclusion I stand by (please do not misinterpret- I'm not saying CC is the "best" or the most "productive" or any other superlative describing a smallmouth stream). I'm like a football coach- I just like the way they hit. I'm not alone either, in this opinion. Let's take Al Agnew's comment from June of last year (as my reputation and opinion are, at best, questionable): "So I'm not sure whether CC deserves it's shining reputation. It's a great creek, but I don't think it's head and shoulders above a lot of other streams of comparable size in the Ozarks. One thing was certain, though...those CC fish are powerful. I was continually amazed at how strong the 14 inch plus fish were. I hooked several fish in the 16 inch class that would have broken my eight pound test line had I not had the drag set properly." Maybe not head and shoulders...but, how about this: No rafters. No canoe flotillas. One jet boat seen once, one day, years ago. Plus, it's not easy to get to. Nor does it lend itself to the casual fisherman. You must work to be successful. The rewards can be great however. I know some of you are cringing and cursing me for these so-called "revelations." (SSHHH. Keep quiet!). Don't fret though, this information is a matter of public record, because, after all, it is a NATIONAL Blue Ribbon Stream and is a jewel in the Arkansas Game and Fish Department's purview. However, that's not where I'm going with this. Where I'm going is: There are large amounts of private property for sale on CC, river frontage property. One of them is 500 acres on a prime stretch of the creek. Asking price is over a million dollars. Yeh, we laugh and say "wouldn't it be nice?" Well, for a lot of folks we don't know, a million dollars is no big deal. Anyone from anywhere could snap it up. I guarantee the land won't be used for farming. Most likely, nothing will happen, still...landowners have a chance to make money, small towns have a chance to stay financially viable, schools stay open, governments, especially governments, see tax revenue and cash flow. Yes, I get it, it's a cynical and conspiratorial way to look at things. But, in the end, doesn't money always win, eventually? I assume CC is protected, but, still, I'm somewhat uneasy for the future, and our ability to enjoy this stream in a natural and public way. You never know when people and money get together. "He said I don't know man ah she kinda funny, you know I said I know, everybody funny, now you funny too" George Thorogood.

: Has it ever occurred to (you) that some people with the monetary wherewithal to purchase and use "expensive" or "elite" stuff are actually nice people who actually know how to use it? If you take the lumber off your shoulder, many vistas can be seen, and understood.

Oy. Then again, we had feathered hair, Olds Cutlass's, girls with feathered hair, 74 Mustang Fastbacks, greasy skin, the pleasure of drinking stolen beer, making out to Bob Seger's "Main Street" in Carol B...s basement, walking with your friends on the railroad tracks to Cor Jesu's picnic, french kissing with random girls, girls wearing cut-off Levis in an un-ironic manner, Foghat "Slow Ride," walking, walking, walking everywhere....

Gawd, Middle School was a perverts dream! We took showers ALL the time. Especially before swimming. And after swimming. Play mat ball in the gym for 5 minutes, "SHOWER!" Uh. Never mind.