FishinCricket

I am suprised that any of you even remember me being there, I got called away to work (GM is doing a 0% financing deal) about 15 times! Nice to meet you all, JJ reminds me of a long lost cousin or something and Jerry definitely reminds me of the father I never got to have.. Sheila was pretty pleasant (can't say the same for the fireman she brought with her, wonder when we get to meet her real husband? LOL) Thanks again for including me guys, I was worried that you got flooded out on sunday and ended up fishing in the parking lots! I will definitely be there for the next get together, and hopefully I actually get to be there... As for the catch.. The Kastmaster was a litle slow at first but I ended up with 6 fish (though I didn't keep any) by 9:30 am when I got called away to work (and the Charity Disc Golf tournament I sponsored this year).... Tell you what though, you had to basically let it drop and sit on the bottom beofre they would come and show any interest in it..

Yep, I will be there with bells on! And I sincerely hope your wife does outfish us all... It will make a great story for the next get-together!

Unfortunate.. I will hook a lunker just for you!

Definition: Gentleman's bet; A bet between two or more parties that is strictly for bragging rights.. i.e. no monetary exchange takes place. I will probably see JJ tonight, I will be giving him a call later in the day when I know what my evening's work schedule looks like... If you don't mind I will come down and visit with you guys at your campsite tonight...

Just thought I would post another thread reminding people to get their posteriors down to the spring tonight,tomorrow morning, and sunday morning if at all possible! The official meet up is at the Restaurant at High Noon with your best catch (or photo of) anybody want to have a gentleman's contest about who will catch the biggest, or land the most fish?

What a beautiful place to take your family! It was tremendously well kept down there, and man the fishing must be great! My wife and I had to take a trip to Steelville to bid a Truck for work, so we decided to head down there and check it out. I am afraid that by the time I got there the fish weren't willing to bite, but I saw some doozies! We went up and fed the lunkers in the spring (their hatchery is set up really neat, isn't it?) and walked all the trails just to check the place out.. I got one lunker teased into biting, but he spit the hook.. He was probably a good four pounds though! I definitely plan on taking a trip back but want to make it the best trip possible, so here's some questions for you locals.. I saw alot of people using stirke indicators and powerbait or doughbait, is that the best to use there? anybody got any secret baits that work well? I just used my Kastmaster, but didn't realy have much luck, as I mentioned before. How often do they stock the fishing area? And how is the fishing at the spillway (where the waters comes out of the springs into the river)? What, in your opinion, is the best day to go? And the best time? Any tips you guys can give me will be appreciated....

Anybody know anything more about it? Is it real money, or "reel" money? And does it cost anything to compete? I fish so much anyways, I might as well be competing, right?

If you don't mind I will try and meet up with you friday afternoon at the Guage House... My number is 417-718-8666 (it's in my signature as well)

Two responses.. 1.) Lets all cross our fingers or get out our mojo sticks or whatever and hope the rains subside.. The river itself is still up, as is the spring (though not as signifgantly) and the rains continue to threaten... We have a chance for showers all week... 2.) Sounds like friday night it's the guage house area for anyone who can make it... Saturday morning everyone is planning on meeting up at high noon at the resteraunt... Saturday evening I will come back down to the river access and meet up with a few of you... Sunday morning will bring me back down to Zone Two and maybe the open river a little (unless someone else makes a better plan) All this river stuff is put off though if the level gets much higher.. I kon't think it can get too high in the spring without a substantial flood though...

Yeah if you can get down the bank and find a spot not covered up with fly fisherman you can catch a mess really quick.. I have caught my limit in as many casts before on a good morning under that bank..

In case you are able to check your email from BSSP, I am planning on checking out the spring tonight and tommorrow night in preparation for the OAF meet this weekend... What zone will you be in? If you can make it down there tonight or tomorrow I usually fish the river below Zone three (I don't get off of work until 6 PM and paying 3 dollars for a trout tag at 7 pm isn't really worth the money....) I will be in my red Beer nuts hat with a set of old crusty hip waders on.. Draggin' fish in and releasing them by the dozen... Hopefully...

Regarding the river and the party that seems to be hindering the weekend fishing... You will all be glad to know that the river resorts have started an active campaign to bring the river back to it's former glory, even if they pocket less cash annually for their efforts... I think they are starting to realize that if the party goes on long enough sales will decline and no one will want to float the river any more.. I think it's hilarious to go to a campground on sunday and see just how many people are walking around complaining about the fishooks in their feet or how they lost their 200 dolar stereo (and two coolers of beer) when their canoe tipped... I know I shouldn't laugh, but come on... If you piss in the same spot long enough it stains.. Parden the expression, but it's perfectly fitting here.. I wouldn't mind if all of these gorgeous waterways were declared part of Missouri's Ozark Scenic Riverways and treated similar to caves (only diving in suits, take only pictures, leave only footprints, catch and release or Trophies only, special permits required...) After all, if they wanted to party they are only an hour away from Party Cove and the whole Lake thing.. Why not go there? Seems to be a better time than sweating to death in the hot sun on the river getting heat stroke from an overload of beer.. Rant off....

If you don't mind me asking, who is your dad? My boss, Neil Twenter, used to provide one of the coaches of MU a new car every year (or so I am told..) was that your dad?

Sorry I didn't see this yesterday... I went the opposite direction this weekend to visit some friends and fish their pond (cleaned out about 80 bite sized crappie and transfered them to another pond) but a fellow employee here went to the niangua and swamped his Blazer! He said he went in on Sunday morning and crossed a low water.. By yesterday evening (because of saturday's rains) the river rose a full two feet to hem his blazer in on a rock outcropping.. So he attempted to drive it out! Now it's in the back and they are trying to clean out all the mud in the intake... Not smart on his part, but either way... So the river is back up and muddy as of right now... Hopefully it will calm down by this weekend as I was looking forward to taking a crew of OAF's to the public access to see what we can't catch... You are welcome to come down then if you can..

So the list is back to three....

So add JJ to the list? That's a good quartet for starters... Any more?

I have never before even considered fishing for anything at night (except catfish and crappie)... I have been reading some of Phil's old posts and have noticed that alot of trout fisherman fish for the bigger ones at night, si I might consider trying it... I would just be afraid of falling into the river and not being able to find my way back to the surface... Do you wanna try some night fishing on the river friday night? As long as the weather holds out the river should be back down to normal by then....

My email gets clogged with so much work stuff that it's hard to filter things out and remember them later.. Plus you have to click on buttons to add each topic that you are involved in and then remove it when you are done.. If you don't have a busy email or don't involve yourself in too many topics your email notification is just fine.. But for those of us that are involved in a billion different forums and work and play stuff it's easier to click on one button to see the most recent topics being discussed and a seperate button for my most recent topics.. Other forums built in this same format have them available, why not Phil and his friends? A list of "my recent topics" is a great application for users..

This is a novel idea.. I can't tell you how many times I have wished there was someone in the front of the boat when I hit the Gasconade! Worth considering.. Your right though Phil, it'd be like a dating site, just with fish.. And a few of us would be lying to our wifes about where we are going... lol Seriously though.. I know this is kind of a tangent thought... But here's a weird Cricket fact.. I have never lied to my wife about a woman (and of course have never cheated) but I have lied to her about being on the river! My cell reception is great at bennett so sometimes she will call when I am supposed to be mowing the lawn and I will just allow her to believe that I am... Sorry, I told you it was a tangent..

As a suggestion for the forum... Other forums solve this problem by offering a "My Recent Topics" button for users.. Next to the view new post button.. Very helpful and quick, doesn't require all the add to delete from stuff... Just a suggestion...

If anyone matching this description even exists.... lol

Excellent maps, I will be printing them off as soon as I get home and adding them to the collection of fishing maps I have... I am constructing a very similar map for Bennett and can already see a few good ideas from this map that I hadn't thought about... Nice touch adding the types of baits that work in each section.... Any chance Phil (or someone of similar power) could make this a sticky in this section so it doesn't get lost?

I just did the math on your Jeep and it looks like a good deal... I am not buying or anything, but if I get a customer looking for it I will let you know... FYI to al buyers.. Loan values are based upon individual credit with most banks, but with average credit the the loan value is more than rsbcon is asking on this Jeep... Am I allowed to offer financing options for people on this Jeep? I would be happy to offer my assistance to the seller or buyer...

So we got John "Kansas Fly Fisher" and you, patfish (sorry I don't know your first name), and me, Cricket (which is my first name for those who need it)... Anybody else for friday evening? I guess we should compile a list of who will meet when and where.. You are all more than welcome to call me on my cell, it's in my signature...

Glad to see that you could make it by to check out the forum trout dawg! I live a few miles from Bennett and am looking forward to meeting you the next time you get around to it... FYI we are having an OAF get together at Bennett on the 28th and 29th of this month if you would like to attend.. We have it marked on the calendar here and also have a thread dedicated to it... It would be a good time to meet some new faces and make a few friends...