Bill Babler

Pretty much as I stated, Fin, makes no difference in the income that the parks provide, none what so ever. That money goes into the general fund and is absorbed. Money thru an act of congress is appropriated for the recreational operation of the parks and that budget for our parks was reduced this year by 1/2 million. Another point he made is he is also in control of the Table Rock Power plant. That plant produces Government Income of 55 million dollars a year and the entire plant has to operate on a budget of 3 million dollars. Pretty good return on their money.

Neither is H hwy, but throwing up a gate and closing it down is the easiest deal for them and they are going to try and make that so. As I said, they answered each question with a question and were pretty intent on their plan. I just sent a letter to Rodney hoping but we'll see

Yes, Craig I prepossed that to them, but I think after you left there was talk about who would maintain the road, ramp and mow the grass. They answered almost every question with a question and I'm going to say had their minds made up before they got there. As for trashing the parks, they are always open thru the Winter months from October thru March without supervision, and they seem to be fine. Of course it is mainly just us fisherman types using them. I believe we as a nation are going to have to take responsibility for not destroying public property. If we had any kind of decency and would not ruin, clutter and leave trash, this would not even be an issue. Can the answer be as simple as to leave something better than you find it? There is an email address on the bottom of the form that Craig listed. If you would all take the time to send an email to rodney.a.raley@usace.army.mil Make sure you get all the friggin dots in there. One on both sides of the a I believe the only hope we have is to address the issue of keeping the ramps open. It is the only access that is paved and secure on about a 20 mile lake section on the South East Side of the lake. I am pretty sure the camp ground is a moot issue, but we may as Craig hoped be able to keep the back ramp open. If you would please address this issue in a courteous manor it could do nothing but help. Thanks.

Attended the meeting today at Viney Creek with about 30 others and listened to the Corps Brass speak on the subject. Learned a few things I should have known. 1st. is that the Corp of Engineers parks on Table Rock operate at a loss. and any and all revenue from the parks does not go into maintenance or any of the day to day operation, but goes into the General Fund. They operate the recreational parks on a yearly budget. That budget for the Table Rocks 14 parks dropped from 3.2 million in 2013 to 2.7 for this year of 2014. The way they determine who stays open and who closes are judged by the number of persons using the locations, and they say Viney and LongCreek have the lowest. LongCreek has some private interest wanting to rent the faculity, and I can only guess it is Johnny Morris and Bass Pro as they would have the most interest. My concern is the lack of any launching faculities on the North East side of the lake. They had some kind of a lame map of several ramps in the back of Owl Creek and at Emerald Beach, completely thru the subdivision, as public launches. A very nice lady commented that the entire Emerald Beach area was maintained by land owners and that the excess traffic thru that area would have a very detrimental effect on the roads and also on safety. Pretty much fell on deft ears, as they said that all these ramps that the subdivisions had were approved by the corps to be public and that is that. Said about the only way to change things was to write your congressman and get their appropriation upped enough to maintain the parks that we have. Asking to keep the ramps open also did not fly as they said the parks would be trashed and the roads would still need mowded. They pretty much had an answer for everything, weather it was to answer the question, or to just say why they could not. Really nothing on how they could, just why they couldn't. When asked if the park could be leased by a private entitity their answer was it would have to go thru the land purchase and sales department to see if it were profitable. and it would have to go out on bids. All of a sudden making a profit was important. The other guys that were there can add the way they heard it, but it deoes not look very good at this point to me.

Last information that Becky got and we love the place is it may no longer be open to the public. When the complex opens it may only be available to Big Cedar and Wilderness Club members, as everything else they have over there is full to the brim. I also do not think that it will open as the Top of the Rock. They are going to have several different restaurants at that complex. It has now been closed for 9 yrs.

Yes with another multitude of presentations and baits

WOW!!!!

I'll be there.

Well unless the Creeks rise and the snow and ice keep a commin, we all are going to have the opportunity to ask just about anything we want about fishing Bull Shoals. This is perhaps one of the rarest seminars that will ever be held just about anywhere in this area, and a lake discussed that there is frankly no discussion on when it comes to catching fish on a continuing basis. Buster Loving will be with us to present information of fishing Bull Shoals. Buster has fished and guided on Bull since the 80's and developed techniques that are now common practice. He has caught more walleye right now I'm guessing than anyone alive that has ever fished Bull, in his 30 year history on the lake. Please be present to ask questions concerning this more than secretive body of water. Buster will touch on crappie, white bass, and bass fishing also, and have equipment and baits present. He will talk on transition locations, and movement of fish along with presentations on how to use certain equipment in a timely and specific manner to enhance your chances for success. Audience participation is the backbone to any seminar like this. Please bring any baits or equipment that you would like to present and get his professional opinion on as well as to talk about your own success and things you would like to have his knowledge on. If you cannot be there in person, please put your name and a question here and we will get it asked for you the best we can. I do not in my life expect to hear another presentation on Bull Shoals like this, as frankly there never has been one up until now. Looking forward to seeing you at the Library this Friday night. Bill and Phil

Did they not just have a couple of huge crappie caught last year that were weighed in at Cape Fair? Seems I remember something about it. I have fished Table Rock, Lake O. Truman, and Toledo Bend for Crappie, and I have never seen an 18 incher, let along 20 inch. Two claims on the biggest White Crappie- One last year from Reed Springs Mo. in a private pond of 5.2 the other claim is 4.9 The Reed Spring fish was measured at 18.5 inches. All information is really vague.

You know it is really amazing how well the Northern Fisherman adapt to Table Rock and the White River chain. I think they do far better than the Southern and Eastern Fisherman that typically fish very shallow structure. Usually the good old deep water channel and structure fishermen from up North have a leg up. At times Table Rock is a bait lake and this also bodes well for the Northern Walleye guys as they usually are willing with no preconceived notions on how and how not to do things. They usually put it as Mano-e-mono against the fish, and have a great attitude of the patients it takes here at times. Great to have you and best wishes

Welcome

Plug, that's around 30 grand. Just don't believe as hard as she has to work, that it is enough. Especially for the revenue that office takes in. Another point does she get an insurance package with that? That would probably be worth an additional 10 to 12 grand. I sure hope she does. Very nice lady, working just about as hard as you can outside of digging ditches for a living. If I knew she was getting paid more, I don't think I would fuss near as much about the cost of the TWIC card.

I would bet my boat that you are correct, but what ya gonna do. Rock and a Hard Spot.

I have to have a lic on my ATV It renews ever 3 yrs and it has a sticker just exactly like the outboard motor only its red. That number on your sticker is registered to you. When I was on the Water Patrol, we used to have to run that number on every stop. It was a nightmare. About 10 in a hundred would be correct. At that time you also had to have a trolling motor registered. That cancelled that. Thank Goodness

This law on the TWIC deal is kind of like a lay-person trying to interpret the Bible. If you have 5 ministers read a passage all 5 will have a different interpretation of the words that are written. Wrench pointed out the memo, and I'm sure this is correct, but he read it to mean no lic. For some reason both the TWIC and the USCG regional office out of Saint Louie do not read it that way. This is where we have to get our Federal Lic, so until they say no I'm just gonna have to cave in. Appreciate the info however.

My concern, is where is all this Dough going?

What I'm going on is what they told me at the USCG Western Rivers Headquarters at St. Louis Missouri. Any and all Marne Mariners that carry any grade shall have on their person a TWIC card when they are caring persons for hire or operating commercial vessels on navigatable waters of the United States. Talked to them day before yesterday. When I went into the TWIC office I mentioned your argument to her. She said who scheduled your appointment with me to renew your card. I said the USCG out of St. Louis. She said. "There you go." Said she had heard nothing about not having the TWIC in place for 6 pack renewels. Phil just had his renewed in Alton Il. in September, so if we don't need it, someone better tell the USCG in St. Louis and also the TWIC persons.

This program has to be a complete bell cow for the Government. I'm guessing several hundred million per year nation wide. Spoke to Denny a minute ago and I bet trying to trace this money would be like trying to trace a Columbian Drug Lord laundered cocaine money. I bet it would be impossible to even get close into knowing where this goes thru this fund and that fund and this hand and that hand. Just Unreal

As of 3 yrs. ago all of us Merchant Mariners along with any DOT or Commercial hauler or any person that has a commercial transportation business had to get a TWIC Transportation Workers Identification Card. This card is very much like a passport. To receive it you have to have a background check done. Need a birth certificate, SS card and a photo ID. You then have to go to one of the centers to have your paper work gone over and be Photoed and finger printed. Our centers are in Tulsa, Little Rock, Alton Illinois and Memphis. After the first visit you have to return and when you pick up your card you will be photo ided. again and also fingerprinted again. The card is now $169.27 Plus the travel expense for both trips. Here is the deal. This is US Governent. There was only 1 person working in Tulsa. I visited with her a bit while she tried to keep the 3 yr. old equipment working as she said it was complete worn out and her superiors said there was no budget to replace worn out computers, photo equipment, phones, and fingerprint machine. When the office first opened 3 yrs. ago, there were 4 government employees working the office. A reception person that did the scheduling and helped facilitate the paper work and 3 TWIC officers that did the reviews and client interviews and did all the fingerprinting and computer work. Thru attrition she is the only one left and must run the entire office as there is no funds to hire any more employees. She is on the last of the 3 original fingerprint machines as 2 as to are broken and she has just been able to cabbage stuff together from the empty offices of her former mates that are no longer there. She said she has had to learn to fix phones, computers and any machinery or to blend parts of broken machinery to make something that will work as the government has no money for replacement or repair. Here is the deal. This office does between 40 and 60 TWIC appointments per day everyday that the government works. She said a normal day is between 7 and 10 thousand in TWIC, Folks, that is 25 to 40 thousand dollars a week coming into this small office in Tulsa that one employee is doing. Where in the FRIG is that kind of money going??? I told her she was making to much money and she said if I was closer she would slap me. We are having trouble keeping a park open and one little small office in Tulsa is grossing 1.25 super large per year. Kind of hard to understand.

Duck is there somewhere to sign this petition. If so we need to get a group together and get some John Hancock's on it. This is a complete shame on us.

That would be a MONSTER BLOW to that end of the lake. Absolutely one of the nicest parks on Table Rock, as a matter of fact, I don't really see its equal. There are 2 separate working ramps in this park that service the area. I use them at least 3 to sometimes 5 days a week in the Spring and Summer. This is heartbreaking news. The location is just a beautiful serene setting resting on a White River Bluff with wonderful walk down to camp sites along Viney Creek. The camp managers have been there for several years and are great people. They have recently rebuilt this park to magnificent condition. New dock and sea wall rip rapping. completely redone the entire camp ground, restroom and bath house, Complete new Asphalt parking lot on the White River side that will afford parking to at least 2 dozen trucks and trailers New play ground equipment and sand and gravel in all the swim and play areas. New access and electricity to all the camp sites. Have spent thousands of tax payer dollars here. Is this happening all over the US or are we just special here on the White River? This is a complete shame. Really ruins my evening.

Phil in a private email to me said that I praised Pete and failed to praise Eric. That was the problem, and for this I apologize. I however did not view either video, as I did not think that was the question. Again I must have misinterpreted what Phil meant by posting the video's to begin with. I view all fishing videos for the most part made and posted by guides to be advertisement for their guide business and treat them as such. This I stated. If by extremely poor writing style I was taken to mean that either of the videos were giving false information, for this I also apologize, as again I did not watch either. As far as Eric is concerned we have a very good working relationship. In the past 10 yrs. or so I have called Eric usually an average of 5 plus times per year to offer him guide trips. Believe me if he did not do a good job I would not call. He has worked for me on loads of trips during that time and has done a very good job. I realize I should have pointed this out as I mentioned Pete's name as being good on the video deal and not Eric. I should have even if I had not seen it I guess. But, did not think that either Pete or Eric was the question or the reason for Phil Posting those video's. I'm pretty much done with this. Pretty easy to get into trouble if your not a professional journalist.

Yes, I believe that Phil was just using these as a common thread for all type of how to reports or video blogs weather it be general fishing or for that matter any type of advertising. He did not mean it nor did I as a critique of any individual that does this type of advertising. As I have reiterated time and time in my posts on this blog. I believe the question is do you like video Fishing Reports and do they have value. I like them, but mostly for entertainment value and that alone. Good Luck