laker67

As more and more anglers are joining the ranks of trout fishing, a lot of first timers are hitting the creeks and tailwaters on any given weekend. Normally, a new angler will keep the first 4 to 5 lunker trout that they catch. After that they may adopt more of a C&R attitude. So to answer your question, lots of trout, and especially browns, over the minimum limit ,are leaving our waters every week. The exact numbers would probably scare us.

This is sad and I'm sorry for the cattleman's loss. It sounds to me like the thieves are on both ends of the transaction. One stealing and one or more buying stolen cattle. I rank a thief right in there with a terrorist, and do hereby challenge either or to a "duel".

It certainly won't make them grow any faster than normal, if that's what you were indicating. What it will do is help get them through childhood. Childhood being less than 30 inches.

Everytime I look at Timsfly's avatar, I wonder, how much did that huge rainbow weigh? So, I thought this would make a good topic for all of the OAF members to get a chance to show off and tell about some large fish that they have caught. A picture would be nice, but just telling the story would be great. Rainbow and Brown trout, caught in Mo. & Ark., are the subject. Also, any limits of lunkers, and blue ribbon stringers. And I hope that Timsfly weighs in on this also. I gotta know how big that fish was. I'm looking forward to hearing about some "big" trout.

A healthy male will weigh 4 to 5 pounds, add 2 pounds for a healthy female brown. These are river fish. In the trout parks, not so much the case. I once caught a 24.5 inch female at bssp that weighed 9.5 pounds.

I was not brave enough to ask about the ears on the hat. In "ozarkipedia", I posted a slang term, "Troutchaser". That would be any "sound or object" that you could not identify while night fishing. This would certainly qualify.

So, there it is! The true definition of "trout bum". Duane & Randy.

You and brother Dave are a brave lot. Glad you caught fish and made it through the night without problems. Tell Dave I said hey!

Fishaholic= Those hit in the head, one to many times, by their own backcast.

I made mention of the same story in post #31. Google "missouri conservationist archives", then go to Jan 2000.

Sounds like a great day of fishing to me!! Way to go!!

jd, Sometimes it takes me awhile to sort things out. I understand your point of view now, and you are right. It would not be fair to penalize the other fishermen wanting to target "other" than trout.

A brown weighing 26 pounds 13 ounces was caught below Powersite in 1997. It would qualify as a hellbender predator.

jd, My point was this. If you required a trout stamp, then you would either be legal or illegal. I have always bought a stamp also, and rarely keep a fish. It might discourage someone from trying to do something illegal, after the fact.

Jd, This issue always came up on Taney prior to the mandatory requirement of the trout stamp. My question would be," at what point do you intend to possess"?Let's say you have always done C&R up to the day you catch a record fish, or fish of a lifetime, or a very large fish dies in an effort to revive it. On the dead fish, you can let it float downstream, attempt to find someone "with stamp" who even wants to fool with it. On the record fish, you can't even submit it for a record because that would be possession. Do you run to town, buy a stamp, and swear you caught it after the fact. I think some probably would. I think, if trout exist in the water you are fishing, and there is a daily limit, it should be mandatory to have a stamp.

It was started way back thirty some years ago when it was five and never changed. You can send Quinten after me if you want.

Lunker===Any Missouri trout weighing 3 pounds and more. Limit of Lunkers===Five lunkers, caught in one day of fishing. Double Digit===A missouri trout weighing 10 pounds or more. Blue Ribbon Stringer===Five lunkers, caught the same day, that weigh a total of 50 pounds or more.

Google "Hellbender" and then click on "photo". It sounds to me that this may be what you caught. They used to be fairly common on the Niaugua.

tgard27, I will have to backtrack on Crane Creek. I went to the missouri conservationist archives. Jan 2000 featured an article on Crane Creek. According to Chris Vitello, the last known stocking of Crane Creek was around 1920. Originally stocked by railcar in 1890. I read somewhere else that the Federal hatchery at Neosho raised the original McClouds. Does anyone recall the elderly lady who owned the property that the spring was located on? It was just north of wire road. She had a hatchery of sorts and raised trout. She was more than happy to give you a guided tour. Several rainbows in her rearing pool would go 6 to 7 pounds. Back in the mid to late 80's I fished Crane several times. On the upper end, near wire road, it was common to see lunker sized rainbows. Charlie Reading caught one about 4 pounds and I think he still has the picture in his shop. The stream ran under ground for a ways, then resurfaced near the railroad bridge above the city park. I imagine it is possible for trout to migrate from RR through Tablerock, because during that same time period I caught about an 18 inch brown right at the tressel bridge. Mike Hedrick and Kerry Daniels were witness to it. Unless MDC is secretly stocking, then I would have to say that Crane is self substaining.

Well then that settles it. You know what? I wish you had landed that 20 inch fish. That would truly be a trophy from the waters that you describe. But, successfully landing a fish is not always the most important part of the fishing trip. Hopefully you can hook up with him on the return trip. Lets us know.

The Little Piney has a White Ribbon section that is stocked on a routine basis. Lane Spring, which is above Vida Bridge, has been stocked for years. The local radio stations would broadcast the stocking days. My original argument was, that not all of the fish in the Little Piney are wild. I'm not sure where the White Ribbon section is now, but a trout's natural instinct is to migrate upstream. If there truly is wild trout, they will be intermixed with hatchery trout. You referred to it as a wild stream.

I would have to challenge that also. Only 10,000 are stocked in Taney. 3 to 500 would be more accurate. Sounds like Weaver's are posting a "come on down" report. The park must have acquired some fish from SOH.

Silver Bullitt ===8 to 10 inch rainbows Wild Trout ===Any rainbow less than 8 inch. State Record ===Observed every fall cruising the rebar. World Record ===Found dead every year on the lower lake. Federallies ===Trout from the Neosho hatchery, also known as silver bullitts. Troutchaser ===Anything unidentified while night fishing. Brown Boulevard ===The north bank between #2 and #3 outlets. Park Fishermen ===Anyone still wearing their daily tag.

PTERODACTYL ===Blue Heron

Yes sir, you are correct. The 5 management areas receive no additional stockings as far as the rainbows are concerned. The areas such as the Little Piney were being discussed, and my reference was concerning those areas. I stand corrected on the trout management areas. Thank you.