timinmo

Joe, I like the picture where the fish hides your face. He is better looking than you. Good seeing you the other day. Hope you are enjoying your purchase.

It is OK if you call them "Garden Hackle". At least that is what I heard.

I don't have an opinion of any of the above guys. I do agree with Al that mounting a fish, real or replica, is totally different than mounting a deer or other animal that is covered by it's own fur. Of course Al doesn't need my approval. The reason I bring this up is we have had a couple deer mounted by a guy that I think does great work but I do not like the fish that I have seen at his shop. As a matter of fact he does not like to do fish and has told me that. So I would make sure I picked some one based on the fish they have mounted and not other work they have done. Good luck you caught a beautiful fish and did everything in your power to keep it alive. So saving a few dollars now is not a bargain if you have to look at a poor replica for the next twenty years.

Looks really neat. How do they paddle?

I know this is a little regional so some may not be interested but it is something that is going on all over the state. The Open Space Council of the St. Louis Region has been sponsoring Operation Clean Stream for 50 years. Teams from all over the region clean up trash at sites all over the Meramec River watershed. I don't have any numbers as to how many people participate, but it is a bunch. I have been honored to do my part for the past several years. I belong to the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance and members of that organization have been lending a hand with the effort for much longer than I have been a member. MSA had ten(?) people on the upper Bourbeuse this year and most of us met afterwards at the Beaufort Lions Club. The Beaufort Lions Club feeds volunteers both breakfast and dinner the day of the clean-up. They have been doing this for about 30 years. They have a raffle, limited edition Tshirts, free food and drinks and plenty of Stream Team give aways. DNR had a display this year as they have had for as long as I can remember. I did not make breakfast but did make dinner along with about 200 other people. There are about 80 feet of banquet tables loaded with food and no one went home hunger. The Lions Club is the collection point for what has been picked up and when you pull up with a load of trash the local Boy Scouts unload your truck and deposit it in waiting dump trucks. This is truly a community event and the people that do the coordinating do an absolutely wonderful job. It is also very much a family event. Just in my group we had people from 10 years old to 75, I am somewhere in the middle, I was please to be joined by my son and a friend from high school, which was a long time ago. If anyone is interested in doing this in the future, it is always the fourth Saturday in August. Next year I will try to remember to post something here in early August as a reminder and to help you plan. I think we are all saddened to see trash on our streams and lakes. This is something anyone can do to help, whether it is picking up at ramps and accesses or doing a short float and gathering trash along the way.

great stuff Jim thanks for posting.

Congrats Jim. That certainly is a keeper.

I have used the string deal on myself and a couple different fishing buddies, worked great. Sunk one in the ball of my thumb on Ten Mile Creek a couple years ago and neither I nor the guy I was fishing with could get it out. After a couple yanks each we ended up at the ER. Luckily we were within sight of car when it happened a hour or two later we were back on the creek.

I can't believe this is on the third page. Yes there are some youtube videos of drilling and adding epoxy and you can probably do that. Yes you can fit a handle from the rear/butt of the rod. Is it the best way? No. The taper, or increase in diameter is not that great and unless you point it out to someone they will never know you did it. I have replaced several handles where the handle was damaged or a person wanted a different handle, but did not want to take off and re-wrap all the guides. It ain't a perfect world. My take on split grips is that several years ago there was a series of forest fires in Portugal where to my knowledge most cork comes from. This increased the cost of cork greatly, hence rod manufacturers could save some money by building split grips. Good, not great, cork costs a rod builder over a dollar for a 1/2" ring. Obviously a large manufacturer would pay much less. So split grips became common, then they became popular. I really think that is why we see so many EVA grips. So rod manufacturers could save money and make something popular. Win, Win. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Well at least I will be able to sleep to night. Congrats.

Big difference between lake and river smallies. Have caught several in the 20 inch range in Mo. rivers and none of them weighted 4 pounds. Time of the year can make a big difference I guess. Northern smallies are a whole different story, not better or worst just different. You rarely see the footballs out of the rivers locally but that is still what I chase most of the time. I know most of those pictures in the link above are from a different time, and I killed and ate some good sized smallies in years past, but all those dead fish almost makes me sick.

Great job Nick. We all want to document our big fish but at the same time I don't think any of us would risk the well being of a wonderful fish just to quantify our catch. Hey whether it was 19 or 19 and 1/4 does not diminish the fish. You caught a beauty and congrats.

Aaron I just talked to Gary the other day. He spoke highly of you.

The truth of the matter is I could care less about any trout, but I enjoy your videos. You always do a fine job whatever fish you are pursuing. Good stuff.

Devan I think my sons mind set was the same as yours. They camped every night. Their cousins were the ground crew and met them with camp set up. Other than the first night when they got off the water around 10:00PM, they were in camp early enough to enjoy themselves. What was your number? My sons were in a black Bell canoe #6623.

Good for you GloryDaze. Haven't seen your posts as much lately, hope all is well. Yeah the boys are already plotting for next year. One funny thing, my wife has been posting all this on facebook. One of my old college roommates, 40 years ago, replies "that sounds like fun, I haven't been on a float trip since I left Missouri". I could not think of any reply.

Jim, Moguy, we have them. Stop by.

I am interested in all three. Pm me.

I think you posted in the wrong place but be that as it may, I would be interested in all three. PM me.

If anyone is interested there is a MR340 page on facebook. Also I think I mentioned before you can see results at "raceowl.com". Quite an experience.

They finished about 2:30 PM. Tried and dirty but none the worst for wear. It is pretty impressive to see how diverse a group participates in the race. Everything from young men and women, to people in their seventies, I have no idea of the break down, you look around and the old saying "that it takes all kinds" gains new meaning. That goes for the water craft also, everything from purpose built racers to old aluminum canoes and cheap Walmart kayaks. I think this epitomizes the mind over matter deal. It is certainly not about equipment and maybe not about training, nearly as much as shear determination to finish. I admire the mental toughness of all the people who took part.

Everyone has suffered with me this far, so here is the latest update. My wife and I went to Hermann yesterday and met the sons. They got there about 4:00, we arrived about 4:30. Had supper with the paddlers and the support crew. They had paddled through some light rain where as in the St. Louis area we had some real downpours. The weather for the entire race has been spectacular. Anyway they were in good spirits and seemed to be past most of the soreness. Plan to be on the St. Charles river front when they arrive around 4:00 today. The overview of the race is that as of last night something like 100 paddlers had already finished. On the opposite end, of the over 500 people that had entered it appears that well over 100 never started. I don't know when they have to be registered by, I think January or February, but I think some people register and then find out they can not participate for whatever reason. It is a grueling event and my hat is off to anyone that participates. A breakdown of my sons distances in round numbers is 100+ miles the first day, 90+ the second day, 70 something yesterday and about the same amount today.

Sorry to interrupt the history lesson. My sons are at Cooper's Landing which is mile 170. About 140 miles to go. Some teams have already finished. Winning time was just over 33 hours for a five man team a solo guy finished in about 36:30. You can follow the race on RaceOwl.com.

There were something over 500 entries. Several different classes, solo, tandem, team, etc. This is the first year, I think, that they had a class for pedal craft, like the pedal kayaks. For the vast majority of the racers the goal is to finish, kind of like people running a marathon where really on a few people have a chance of winning. In the past only about 2/3 finished, so finishing is a big deal, at least in my view. If anyone is in the area and interested we will be in Hermann tomorrow evening, look for a red Dodge Ram with a camper shell and canoe racks, dah.

Well they passed Glasgow around 10:30 AM. That is about 40 miles from where they spent the night. They had planned on spending tonight at Cooper's Landing which is about 40 miles from where they are now. If anyone is interested they can track racers on "Race Owl" My son's boat number is 6623. I hope I am not upsetting people with this but it is a way for me to burn some nervous energy. I think all you parents understand, even though they are adults you never stop worrying.