FJ80

Features: Spool Rack for up to 36 spools Tool Caddy Bead Chain for drying flies White Flip-up back drop for contrast when tying Magnets and Trays for hooks and/or beads Also includes: 4 plastic cups for material storage that fit into existing holes on bench top. This is not your ordinary tying bench. These tying benches are custom built in the Ozarks and made to your specifications. These benches are unique to others you will find on the market having in-laid aquatic insects and a variety of finishes, you will have a functional tying area that is a pleasure to look at. I currently have two benches for sale. They are a smaller size (16X18) that can easily fit easy into an existing work area. PRICE $125 (including s&h). To place your order contact me at: matt@watershedcommittee.org

Tim, Has there been any caddis activity over there?? If so, any idea on size and color?? We'll probably be down saturday.

Brian, Fished the NFOW saturday. Great day to be out!!! What a nice little caddis hatch. Saw a few mayflies as well. Fished from Blair to Patrick and did pretty good for a maiden voyage. Fly of the day for us was trusty old bead head prince, but the two largest fish came on a wolly and a copper john. Thanks for your reports, they really helped us prepare for our new adventure. FJ80

Volunteers Needed Crane Creek Clean-Up! Saturday, March 18th, 2006 10:00am at Crane City Park Gazbo join us in keeping this section of the creek clean!!!! If you are interested in volunteering for this clean-up day, please contact: Collin Brannan @(417) 723-8305 or E-mail mayor@Crane-Mo.com

This reminds me of several stories I have heard regarding creatures we have seen very little and don't understand. Hey look what's that, Let's kill it. An example of this mentality playing out is the Hellbender. Part of the reason for the decline of the Hellbender in the Ozarks streams is simply lack of education. I would encourage people to understand the role of a oranism in the ecosystem before just killing it. Lampreys are native to the Ozark streams and have been part of the fish community since before white man arrived. Although they have become nuisance species in some places, it is unlikely that with the number of trout stocked each year compared to the number of lamprey, that there will be any noticable effect on the fishery.

MoCarp, You might check the law again regarding wading. As I understand it, you aren't trespassing if you are below the high water mark, but this "right of portage" applies to "navigable" waters. With Hickory only being a trickle right now, you would be hard pressed to say it is "navigable" if you had to defend yourself. Best thing to do would be go talk to the landowner, ask to fish, the worst they can do is say no.

This hot topic has been discussed countless times over the years and there has been a lot of time and energy put into the discussion. Shuffling is a symptom of the bigger and larger issue, that being the conservation ethic. True, one can't say, without scientific study, that shuffling is more detreimental the stream environment than the thousands of angler hours spent per year in the upper catch and release area. But lets get back to the heart of the issue, stewardship of the natural resource. With the population of man ever increasing, there will continue to be added stress to any ecosytem. Therefore, it is more and more important that all who use the resource use it so that the next person doesn't only get to enjoy the same resource, but maybe an even better one. There will always be the extreme environmentalist that don't want anyone to use/exploit the resources and there will be despots on the opposite spectrum that believe it is their right to do whatever they want. The trick is to land in the middle and find the balance. Wading is not analagous to shuffling the same way hiking is not analagous to mtn. bike riding or horse back riding. I would like to see this much attention and energy put towards water quality issues in general. There are other issues worthy of attention that affect the quality of fishing in the Ozarks as a whole. There are organizations "upstream" of Taney trying to protect water quality in the region. If you aren't involved, get involved. If your interested: http://www.jrbp.missouristate.edu/ www.trlwq.org http://www.whiteriverbasin.org/index.shtml

Brian, The sign has either been taken down, or is extemely hard to see. I passed through this weekend and figured I would take a picture, but no luck. What is all of the fuss about Crooked Creek?? Hasn't it seen its better days. Long way to drive to catch a bronze back when you don't have to go nearly as far to equal one right here close. Adventures are always fun though and if one really wants to learn about Crooked Creek, Duane Hada gives a nice little talk on the subject. The creek has seen a lot of abuse and with the increased poultry operations in the basin, it will be interesting to see what happens in the future. A very positive thing that has happened is the building of a conservation education center at Kelly's slab. A landowner donated 400+ acres to the AGFC to build this center along with hiking trails and outdoor classrooms for school groups. It is an awesome piece of property that you must go and visit. Kudos to the landowner for turning down loads of $$$ to donate the land for future conservation efforts.

I fished Hickory Monday eve. for a couple of hours. I noticed two gentlement spin fishing, so I approached to see how they were doing. They said that had been catching some, no big ones. I asked what they were using. POWER BAIT. I politely informed them that it was catch and release/atificial flies and lures only from NOV till the end of FEB. They acted like they didn't know, I bid them farewell and saw the leaving shortly after. Funny thing is, they parked righ next to the sign that has all of the regulations posted. They talked to my brother in law on the way out. They said that the hispanic residents had bee "cleaning them out." Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!! Hickory creek needs more water, more enforcement, and a local stream team to get the word out about the little resource they have there. THere is a ton of trash lining the banks from HWY 60 to the confluence.

Roaring River Veteran, Your reply is welcomed and you do make good observations. The fact is, you and others that do practice these suggestions are not the problem. There are many times, as you described, fish are drug out of the water onto the bank, dropped, and kicked back in. And the suggestions are only just suggestions, but it would seem to me that if the wildlife code (which does tell us the right and wrong way to practice our sportsmanship) intended for anything other than immediate release, it would use different terminology. The point is, the less one handles a fish (especially a trout) the better chance of survival the fish will have upon release. And that is the ultimate goal of catch and release fishing, to release the fish unharmed for future survival. We all have and want to take pictures of nice fish, and following a little common sense and care, will most likely release the fish for another day. Undoubtedly this conversation has been had many times over and in many circles, so I will not belabor it any longer. Thanks for your comments and we will see what others have to say. As far as the "rangers" at roaring river letting a lot of things slide, thats a whole other issue

I was just curious to see how many people practice the following suggestions (the full list can be found at http://www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/sport/trout/troutethics.html) : Proper catch and release techniques are essential for released fish to survive. Practicing the following tips will help you release fish in good shape. Minimize the time that you play a fish. Playing a fish to the point of exhaustion severely stresses it and often leads to the fish's death. Trout should be handled gently and released immediately. Avoid handling the fish more than needed. Excessive handling may damage the mucous covering on the fish's body and reduce survival. Keep the fish in the water. You can hold it in the water by the lower jaw. If necessary, grasp the fish firmly across the gill covers and support its stomach. Never put your fingers in the gills or eye sockets. A trout dropped on the ground has a poor chance for recovery. Anglers should also minimize their impact to the environment. Our individual impact may seem small, but when multiplied by the thousands of other resource users, it is substantial. Good environmental ethics are one way to protect and enhance our limited resources. Try to make these guidelines a regular part of your fishing trips. Don't crowd. Give other anglers room to move and cast. When standing behind another angler, remember to allow room for a backcast. Does this ever happen at a trout park?? Don't cut people off! Wading in front of other anglers interferes with their fishing. Walk behind anglers when moving to another spot. Sound familiar, maybe like Taney?? It has been my experience that in todays hussle and bussle, many people don't give any thought to others around them. There was a day when people had manners and looked out for others instead of self. Oh yeah, releasing a fish immediately during catch and release season is not just a suggestion, it is in the wildlife code. Immediately doesn't allow time to position for a picture with a 7lb. fish, or did I just misunderstand the meaning of the word??

fish hunter, they hypolimnion is the bottom layer of water in a stratified lake. Cold water is more dense and sinks, warmer water sits on top. In the spring, when the temperatures begin to heat the surface water, the lake will stop mixing and the warmer water will sit on top of the denser, colder water.

Phil, lake stratification breaks down (mixing/turnover) when the weather cools the surface temperature to approximately the same as the bottom temeratures. The temperature of the hypolimnion (bottom) will be about the same as it was when the lake stratified in the spring/early summer. With the extremely cold nights we have had and are now experiencing, I would imagine that mixing is well underway. I read another post where James Civelo was referenced for stating that silt was showing up in the water coming through the dam also indicating mixing. All of this only means one thing -- better fishing on Taney. As for shad kills, bring them on!!!!!!!!!!! Great Forum