FishinCricket

So scoop up a few bigger crawdads and rig em carolina rig style? The spot I have in mind I should be able to stand at the top of the confluence of the two streams and drop the bait or lure right out in front of me and just wait for the hit.. Any certain depth for river browns at night? Someone topld me to fish close to the top, another said fish the crawdad on the dead bottom.. I am a little lost... Thanks again for all the suggestions, hope it yields me a lunker!

Definitely one of the two spots I was considering.. We are putting in pretty late on Saturday afternoon and hope to aviod the drunken floater by doing this and then getting up early and hitting it hard until around 9 am, then getting off the river before the party floats down that far... Hope it goes according to plan, I hate having to fish in a drunkfest... But it can be done, I have seen it... Basically if my guess is right we are just going to have to stop at the first gravel bar that isn't occupied by a bunch of raving idiots...

Yes, this is exactly my aim.... I have fished this Niangua river way to long to not have a picture of me holding a massive brown trout.. The biggest I ever caught was a 21 inch brown and my ex wife threw away the photo to spite me during our divorce... and I have a picture of a friend of mine holding the 5 lb rainbow I caught.. I have ben informed by other anglers that unless it is me in the photo then I can't claim the fish... I found a spot last week that two branches of the river converge on and make a 15 ft deep hole.. I stood there with a spinner and got 6 or 7 small rainbow to bite, but whatever the dark masses were on the bottom moving around I couldn't get them to come up.. Just almost dove in to inspect but didn't want to mess up the fishing... I have an ugly stick meduim duty bass rod with 8lb test, I figured I would take a jointed minnow or other diving bait and drop it in that hole and see what happened.. The head lamp is definitely a good idea, thanks for that one...

Just gonna put in after work at the public access at Bennett and float down a couple miles and set up a camp (hopefully well away from other campers) and try my hand at night fishing... I got the spot all staked out, but I have never even attempted fishing at night for anything but catfish and crappie.. Any suggestions? Like things I can do to help me see better without being eaten alive by insects? Or any particular type of bait I should use.. Any suggestions for nightfishing would be most appreciated.. My overall plan is to try and catch a lunker in one of two holes using bigger bait and a larger bass pole... But I am used to fishing with an open-bail ultralight and a spinner or spoon lure... any thoughts would be appreciated...

I agree with chief greybear.. It seems like we should definitely have the technology to do something different so that these fish can go right back into the water... Am I wrong? We can put a man on the moon, surely we can catch, weigh and release a fish in moments, not hours or days.... Maybe I am just naive...

I have always thought that the parks should limit the maximum number of tags they sell per day.... And try and keep it below 4 thousand! I definitely agree with JJ, life's too short to go around being mad about every little thing. I also appreciate fisheye's attitude (especially if he is able to keep his docile attitude with that 18 inch neck!).. I definitely have notivd that every time the river gets stirred up (wader, boat, kids splashing, whatever) upstream, the fish start attacking downstream.. It's actually a viable method in the park.. And to see the looks on waders faces when I am catching fish from the bank in their "slipstream" is priceless... Then again seeing me standing there on the bank for two hours in dry waders is kinda priceless as well... Sorry guys, I drift when I talk...

I had a buddy of mine tell me that he went from AD down to the 133 over the weekend (that's a long float, isn't it?) and said that on sunday he couldn't keep the bass and goggleye off of his pink lures! Nothing else was working at all, but you could have tied a pink napkin to a hook and caught a fish... He says he stopped counting at around 60 fish (including some of the biggest goggleye he's ever seen) Then on monday the pink shut off completely.. Fishing is a weird sport, isn't it? It is good to see that the recent flooding has left the fish populations intact (and hungry!)

A: The almighty $ But who am I to say anything, I drive a Geo Tracker! I don't think it even has air bags....

Is the lift a suspension or body lift? (suspension is better IMO) Have you been able to run a carfax on it? I have problems with military vehicles having branded titles from being overseas, and other misc. problems... I would say it's a good deal if it's what you need.. The fuel economy will be squat, but if you are wanting a lifted truck I say go for it.. But drive it first and have it checked over by an independant mechanic... And it never hurts to make an offer, but don't make it too low or you will be countered back.... Hope this advice helps...

Sorry I no understanded you (cricketese for I must be stupid) What is a thermacell?

this is my method, it seems to work fine.. (and is highly cost effective and readily available) Just wipe dry with a dry cloth, t-shirt, napkin, etc... I don't suggest RainX, however, because it's designed to make rain bead up and roll off with air movement... It doesn't mean it will help with a fog of tiny water particles on stationary glasses..... It'll make it bead up and roll off if you happen to be standing in a wind storm.. But I don't see how that will help your problem.... If I am not mistaken the fogging in your glasses is because of a sudden difference in temp between the lens and the surrounding air.. I would think a plausable solution would be to do as SoggyFeet suggests and seperate your glases from your face a little farther to equalize the temperature...

Just remember that not everyone has such a wonderful wife.. My wife has insisted that I take this coming monday off and go on an adventure with her (it's the only way I can truly get away from work) but there were two stipulations... 1. we do whatever she wants and go wherever she wants... 2. NO FISHING, FISHING POLES, TACKLE, BOATS, GUIDES, OR EARLY MORNING CRAP!! So... I'll trade you wives? I met your wife, she's nice.. And she would compliment my fishing well..

Looks like the hubby is going to owe you a chicken dinner... I have never caught a Trout on the Jack's Fork, it's just too warm I think.. My guess is that if there are any trout in that stream it will be down very close to where it merges with the current.. good news is that if you do catch any trout on the fork they will probably be monstrous! Lot's of smallies though...

For me the best part about fishing a river after a flood is that it's back to an adventure in finding the right holes.. They still hit on the same lures, just have changed to different holes that you have to find.. Makes the day a little longer, but the adventure is worth it, isn't it? Thanks for the update... 60 fish? You must be one heck of an angler....

Awesome story and and amazing fish... One question though for those of you that are experienced... Are any of the fish over seas edible? None of those fish look like something I want to fillet and eat....

I agree 100%... Any bite is an entertainment, some more tahn others.. but the best is when you are skittering a lure across the top of the water and you see the rush of water behind the plug and for a split second the entire world falls away.. It's just you and your lure and a mass in the water... Or when you don't expect it at all and a 10 pounder hits the top right next to the boat like a bucket.. Water splashes all over your face and when the dust settles you have something huge tugging your line right under the boat and into the prop... I don't even care that I lost a 5 dollar topwater popper.. It was worth it for that one upclose look at jaws, with a mouth the size of a 10 gallon hat! That's my favorite bite...

The deep seated feeling of adventure when setting off on an uncharted (or uncharted by me) course... The rush of adrenaline when one strikes just where you thought it would, or even better.. Those days when you are soooo zoned in that you can't miss.. Every cast you make gets a hit, every hole is an untapped opportunity for entertainment. Not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog... The look in a childs eyes when they realize what you meant by "true conservation" as you release that 6 lb largemouth you just caught and explain to them that you do this, not only for you, but mainly for them and their children and grandchildren... The cool, crisp morning air flowing off of the spring causeing a deep fog as it makes contact with the cold spring water while trout swim among the algae at your feet.. Litle crawdads zip out from under your waders and little water bugs skitter accross the top, weary of the dark shadows beneath.. It's not just the moment, it's the perfect moment that I know will still be there years from now.. As I write this little goose bumps are crawling across my arm and a smile spreads across my face, no doubt due to the specific moments I am recalling.. Here's an example of a perfect moment for me.. I hiked the Niangua from Ho-Humm to Prosperine all alone one year... The morning was wonderful, I remember catching fish till I was blue in the face.. But here's what I remember most about that day... It was later in the afternoon when I sat down just upstream from Prosperine. The sun was at the perfect angle behind me and the water was crystal clear. As I sat contemplating the river and surrounding nature, I became aware of a dark mass moving in the still water in front of me.. I turn to see a 6-10 lb brown trout swimming along lazily between the rocks and boulders in about 6 feet of water.. Just as I went to go stand up and fish for this monster, something he did struck me... He floated up to a boulder and puffed under it.. Just then three or four crawdads came out from under it.. He raced around to the other side of the boulder and grabbed one.. Then proceeded on to the next rock and repeated the process.. This one vision took my by such suprise that I didn't even toss a hook into the water and attempt to catch him.. He was magnificent! I followed him downstream (feebly attempting to tie on an imitation crawdad while watching his every move) until he saw me and ran for deep water.. As long as I live I will never forget how neat it was to watch a Monster Brownie forage for crawdads... This is what keeps me fishing... This and a million other stories like it...

Sorry if I sound stupid, but is this Johnson's Shut-ins? Also, Are you a teacher or student at SIU? Many people don't know what Saluki is, but I do.. Very interesting story behind saluki's... Do you like them, or is it just your name because the Saluki is your school's mascot?

An amazing story, congrats Michael!!! Don't suppose you took any pictures?

This right here is fine tuned fishing boys... When you know a stretch of water so well that you can fine tune your tackle and technique specifically for catching the monsters... Well done Cotterboy! Personally I have only taken one trip to your White river, but it was one I won't soon forget! I used an older fella named Dale as a guide, and he knew just what to do to put me on the fish.. The biggest fish I hooked was already dead though.. Dale still owes me a picture of me holding that fish.... Don't suppose you know dale do you?

It's a picture like that that will stay with this girl forever and help shape how she feels about the world around her, and how she acts towards her environment... Thank you Timsfly, for what you do.. And thanks not just from me to you, but from every angler out there who wants their predecessors to walk the same banks, wade the same streams, and enjoy a beautiful place...

Are roaring river's requirements and zones different than Bennett? In the Fly zone at Bennett you just have to put on a single hook, the feather isn't necessary (though in all honesty a feather would work well with the action of these spoon lures).... So I know the feather isn't necessary in the fly zone at Bennett, but I am not sure about roaring river...

As with the comments above (but with a little less politeness): If someone seriously has an attitude about me using another type of rod in the fly area I always go back to my tracker and get out my cane pole with fishing line tied on it and fish with that! You should see the looks on their faces... I have called down fly fisherman for telling an angler that zone one was for Fly Rod's only (he even said"And NO fishing from the bank, either!") Shame on you for being so high faluting in a sport meant for relaxation and enjoyment! That's why they are called State Parks! But I would be happy to debate it with less venom in my tone if someone wishes I suppose... I am also an advocate of catch and release that does eat fish on occasion.. So does that mean I am confused?

Those Little Cleo's and other spoons (like the Kastmaster I have grown to love) seem to do a great job, don't they? were you working yours across the stream, jiggin' it on the bottom, or a combo of the two? congrats either way, hope that this is the worst fishing trip you will have this year, eh?

I agree with you, I suppose, but what if I have a really dirty minded grandmother?