Fly_Guy

I prefer Six Sigma wine in my Fruit-of-the-Looms.

These threads on crawdads end up in the strangest places: upper taney and stream team. If anything, this is undeniable proof that however well you think you can contain a crawdad, some will escape.

And there was me with a bowl of popcorn watching the crawdad thread... a little heads up about this gem would have been appreciated guys.

As long as there's no canine in the pot, stir away. But can you wait a couple of minutes - just put the popcorn in! Anyone figured out why this is in the upper taney section?

So back to crawdads... my greatest concern would be with the possibility of novel parasites that our native crawdads have no resistance to (how did the native Americans fare against smallpox? ). Would variation in a separated population yield individuals that could potentially survive a mild winter (or migrate south over time), sure. Anything is possible, but parasites would be my strongest objection.

Big +1.

How deep is it above powersite, and what is Taneycomos max depth at high flow?

Exactly - it's better than nothing. In a perfect world, every child would get the river-run-through-it experience, but if nothing else they can get the basics and a love for it this way. IMO parents play a critical role in whether a child loves the outdoors. In rural communities, this is relatively easy to achieve, but if we want to develop a new generation of (voting) outdoorsmen and women who see the value in things like conservation funding, get em fishing early, and target the cities. On be of my favorite experiences growing up was catching a trout at Shawnee Mission Lake with my dad. I had never seen one before, and for a kid, that is seriously cool! And Phil - I suppose we could say more bang for the buck as well as buck for the bang? Either way, I see it as a win. There are several things that rural kids miss out on compared to urban kids, but hardly any of them are worth anything. having been a child in both settings, give me the country any day!

Yep. I imagine it pays for itself when people buy a trout stamp who would not otherwise. Or if not, it's at least a better use of tax dollars than 75% of the other things our states seem to blow money on.

+1 Phil; it just irked me that the whole point of this thread was to ridicule a program that gives urban people and particularly kids a chance to meet a trout. I witnessed it first hand a week ago and as a parent, it was great to see.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner.

But then again, I guess calling the urban trout program lame, the trout stubby finned and ugly, the lakes they're stocked in drainage ditches, and making implications about the sort of people who fish for them is all good here at OA. What is the expression : "y'all can dish it out but you can't take it in" I know of several parents and kids that are glad for this program. .. fish baskets and all.

My position clearly is that I don't care whether fish are wild or stocked. I just don't like people thinking their experience of fishing is somehow better than that of others. I could care less whether you fish with Orvis or Berkeley, just know that if you think yourself better than other vile 'bait fishermen' there are people fishing the sweet water river in Wyoming that would roll their eyes at your 'trout experience' (they would be wrong to do so, but they would). The reminders of the nature of the trout swimming in all Missouri waters is an attempt (which has largely fallen on deaf ears and blind eyes) to keep some people from looking down their noses at others. Specifically in this thread, those in large urban areas that don't have the luxury of living on the banks of a high quality trout stream. Perhaps this will clarify my position.

Honestly, I'm happy whether I be catching wild trout in the Appalachians (as I have done the last 2.5 years, getting skunked at Crane, fishing at Taneycomo, Roaring River, or local ponds. I've been lucky in this regard.

Does it hurt when someone criticizes your brand of trout fishing?

Not at all. . Just laughing at the hypocrisy.

With 1 exception every trout you catch in swmo will have started out with its fins rubbed off. Shepard of the Hills hatchery is located right next to taneycomo for goodness sake. But it gives many people the chance to prance around in $600 worth of Orvis gear to get a "wild trout experience". I wonder what Someone from Colorado would say about your fishing experience? When I went last week, there were several parents and kids who were havinga blast catching trout. .. but I guess that people who don't have the luxury of living close to a "wild" (ALSO STOCKED) trout stream don't deserve any experience with such a sacred (introduced non native) fish. Come on people. ...

I want them stocking lakes with yummy trout that are large, and 10 minutes from my house. Cheers, haters!

If a parking attendant catches you, sure. But would you expect a resident to call the police, or shrug it off with a eye roll and an "eh... tourists"? I wonder how many fly fishermen catch big fish and play them to exhaustion on too-small tippet? I'm guessing many of the fish that are played for 15 minutes, hoisted out of the water for measurements and pictures, and then are released die. No stats to back that up, just a hunch.

I don't recall saying it was ok... it's just not something (at Taneycomo) I would choose to get worked up enough to call the police about. When I lived in SWMO, I fished at Crane creek once, and it kicked my tail. zero trout. However, if I saw someone using powerbait and keeping trout at Crane Creek, I would call the game warden, and if that didn't work quickly, I would have no problem calling the police. If I was fishing the James and I saw someone with a stringer of 12 inch smallmouth bass, I'm calling the police. If I see someone at Taneycomo fishing with powerbait, I'm walking over to them and informing them politely about the rules. If they don't comply, I'll give MDC a call if I feel like it, depending on their attitude. If it's a father and son from Iowa just trying to catch a few fish, I'll probably shrug it off and move on. I'm far more protective of the small Ozark streams than Taneycomo. Like someone said earlier - keeps all the idiots who break the rules in one place.

You're so short a Hmong fisherman tossed you back.

When I fished down there often, I ended up talking to people twice - and both times they listened. The trick is not to seem like a jerk about it. I am relatively certain most people (not all) who break regs are tourists, who are just there to enjoy Branson and the novelty of catching a trout. Informing them about the regulations under the guise of concern for them not getting fined worked both times for me. "Hey, I noticed you're using soft plastics - wardens keep a watch on this area and I wouldn't want you to get a ticket". If they refuse or get rude, inform them you will be contacting the wardens and walk away. Taneycomo is fun to fish in, but lets not kid ourselves - it is a put-and-take fishery. It receives a lot of fishing pressure form tourists, and I would rather them be using powerbait there than on trout or keeping smallmouth out of a small Ozark stream. If rule breakers are going to exist, let them exist at Taneycomo. Again - I love to fish at Taneycomo, but lets be real about this. Is the fishery going to be ruined if a few people use powerbait now and again? No. Just for the record, I've kept fish under 12" in the trophy area, but never have broken regs. I knew I'd get reamed for this post, so nothing you say will offend me - it's just how I feel.

Yes... someone uses powerbait too close to the dam, and they may end up gut hooking a trout and killing it. Much worse than playing a fish to death with spider Web tippet (but at least looking like a sportsman in the process). Scum like that may even keep fish. .., and that would wreck havoc on the natural spawning that occurs...um... never in Lake Taneycomo. MDC would have to do something drastic like... dump more fish in? I've talked to people about obeying the regs in the trophy section of Taney, and have been well received. Talk to people, and maybe a warden, but the police?? Over people using powerbait? Seems extreme for a put and take fishery that is also a major tourist destination. Let's not take ourselves too seriously, "purists"

If you come to Kansas, ask me about Hillsdale lake!

Haha - I hadn't been trolling in a while Al - couldn't get a bite though