Ex-Iowegian

I agree with a lot of what's been said here and thought I'd add my two cents worth. First off, I guess I'm part of the problem since I've only lived here about two years, but my kin have been in this area for over 70 years, so I'm claiming hereditary rights The older I get the less I like change. The native stone cabin my Dad, his Dad and brothers built on the Osage River back in the 1930's is now under Truman Lake. From what I read, the old timers around here lamented the loss of the Galena-Branson float trips and James River fishing when Table Rock came in. My first time on Table Rock was on my uncle's homemade tin houseboat in the 1960's. Things have changed a lot since then, but this is still a great place to live. I live half way between Bridgeport and the Cape Fair marina, and I have to chuckle on Friday evenings when I see a bunch of bass rockets roaring down lake from Bridgeport pass a bunch of bass rockets roaring up the lake from Cape Fair. They should exchange information and save gas! I get tired of these idiots rocking my dock or boat by coming so close, but no real harm is done, they're just fantasizing being KVD, Ike or whoever. I personally don't care for competitive, aggressive, contact sport fishing for pay and I think it sets a bad example, but I've only had two experiences on TR that really bothered me. The first was 15 years ago in a rental houseboat when two gray-haired couples in a big I/O decided to swerve in and rock us..knocked me off the helm seat and cokes and coffee off the table. The second was about 2 weeks ago when 2 boats of mutant young adults did the same thing to my pontoon...complete with giving us gang hand signals or whatever that is. Both events were DANGEROUS and both groups thought it was funny. We can't change the idiots, we can only change ourselves. Let's just try to be polite and enjoy this beautiful place.

Sam: We were in the little white Boston Whaler with the blue interior. After we were already good and wet, I put on a yellow poncho and the wife and dog were under a white plastic tarp. As far as the paddlefish, our tape measure only went to 40 inches so we stretched a rope from tip of paddle to tip of tail while we held him beside the boat, tied a knot in it (no stretching here, this guy was two big to fudge on)and and measured it when we got home. He is the only fish I ever caught worth bragging about! My wife took photos after we boated him. She had to take the photo in two shots, one top and one bottom, because our little Whaler is only 13' 6" and she couldn't get far enough away to get me and the fish in one frame. If I can figure out how to stitch the two photos together, I'll try to post it here. Hopefully he'll hide out till next year and somebody else can catch him again...maybe even me!!

Sam: I probably passed you at some point. My wife and I motored up from just North of Virgin Bluff past McCord Bend and got there just in time for the rain. Waited it out and got one Rock Bass, one bluegill, four smallish whites, one smallie, and one small crappie. You're right about Asher Cane Bottoms and paddlefish. My wife got a 30lb 6 oz on Monday (36" eye to fork of tail) and about a half hour later I boated one that was five ft, 6 inches paddle to tail. We kept hers but let mine go so I didn't get a weight. It was plenty big for me!!! Is that cement ramp just up from McCord's Bend Blunk's?

I've been lurking at this site for some time now and just want to say thanks. We moved to the Virgin Bluff area last July after 15 years of annual Spring and Fall trips to houseboat on TR and trout fish on Taneycomo. Never stayed at Lilley's only because we happened across the great folks at Blue Haven Resort on our first Taneycomo trip. This site is incredible and I'm learning alot. I especially think it's great that guides like Don House and Bill Babler will regularly share their professional expertise (for free even!) with all of us. No one could fault them if they didn't. And thanks to Phil for providing this fantastic forum to help out anyone interested in learning the lakes. Like most of the folks we've met down here in the Ozarks, you guys and this site are the best! THANKS A MILLION!

Dad and Harold were from Dike (near Cedar Falls/Waterloo)at that time...where I was born. I spent my last 35 years in Fort Dodge before moving down here.

Don Williams Lake - Boone county

Sam: I know what you mean about the spoonbills around Virgin Bluff. We just moved here last July and my wife was pursuing her new favorite pastime of reading a book while floating in a watersport tube tied to the dock. A big ol' spoonbill jumped about twenty feet from her and evidently disturbed her concentration. I guess she created quite a wake getting back to the dock. We didn't have anything that big on that little 125 acre lake we used to fish in Iowa!

Catfish?...Dad was a lifelong fisherman. He was born near Clinton, MO but married an Iowa girl and moved there after WWII. In the 1970's he and his buddy Harold started flyfishing on the trout streams of Northeast Iowa. On one of these trips they noticed an old, battle-worn, yellow tomcat stalking their movements along the stream. The cat was so intent on their actions they figured he was studying their form to pick up casting pointers. Sure enough, on one of Harold's backcasts the old tom leaped into the air and snatched the little chunk of cheesbait on the hook. The old cat screamed, lit out for safer ground, the line tightened, and Harold shouted to Dad, "Woody! What the @&## do I do now?" Laughing uncontrollably, but without missing a beat, Dad shot back "Set the hook!" Harold cut the line on that one!