jdmidwest

Yep. Most of mine is rural, lots of deer, turkey, ducks, and farm animals.

Is a 27 mile one way commute a long way? I do 30, hop in a company and do another 100 on a normal day, come back and drive home.

Go gettum Ness. I sure am glad the indians are being quiet on this one or it would have been canned by now. The Government should be compared to a business. Going into each year, they have an expectation of what kind of income they should expect based on tax history. A business would call that a business plan. They should then create a budget to deal with that amount and expect to have some surplus at the end of the year. They should monitor and adjust throughout the year to achieve that goal, ie, the budget. They should not give to charity, ie foreign countries, if they are not on budget. They should not spend excessively on things that are not essential, luxury vacations, grand balls, un-essential travel, etc if they are not on budget. If they did not make the last budget, they should cut back and get back in the black the next year. Or they should figure out how to grow the economy and the country, ie their business, to the point that it can generate more income. If a business went to a bank and asked for more money without any regards to the above, they would be denied. But the Federal Government keeps borrowing without any recourse. The Congress and the President of the USA have failed at creating budgets the past few years. The lack of leadership is what is driving the country into what we have today. Someone needs to take charge.

I still make the last day of the season if it is on a weekday. More peaceful then.

I have a friend that raises elk, maybe I can borrow one to tie out for bait.

I just buy plants at the local produce shop. I don't have a good spot to start plants from seed. Normally by this time I have lettuce and radishes out in the raised beds, but I have not gotten that far this year. It snowed all day yesterday. Next weekend looks nice, might have to take a float.

It does not look crowded at all. Lets go next year. Looks like you have the river to yourself.

When I see an article like this, I just have to scratch my head. What they cut is what will affect the general population the most and help them to increase their funding so we can get it back. They hold our services hostage until we give up some more. Meanwhile, millions leak out of our coffers into foreign countries in the form of "aid" without any control. They never attempt to cut back on any of that. Its my hard earned tax dollar, I want to see it spent wisely at home first. If there is any left over, we can donate it to charities abroad. Obviously, with 16 trillion dollars in debt, we run out of surplus a long time ago.

Since all trout in MO are non-native fish, ie, introduced species for the enjoyment of game fishers, what does the term "wild" really mean? When I think of wild, I think of something that has originated in the habitat and is maintained by natural means. What we have is introduced species that have spawned and reproduced in several streams and are considered naturally reproducing. But they are not really native wild species.

The Sequester. Government spending having to return to 2011 budgets. Let me see, I think that was the year before last, if I recall. Who would have thought there should have been much difference, but they seem to make a big deal of it. I am currently making what I did in 1996 and my budget is based on that income. Many costs have increased, gas, utilities, housing, food, clothing, transportation. But I still adjust my budget to my income and manage to show a small profit above my costs. This poor economy has forced me to adapt. But now we should be upset that the Ozark Scenic Riverways will cut out Heritage Day, Alley Spring Independence Day Celebration, Ozark Dinner Theater, and Haunting in the Hills just to make ends meet. Boo HOO. Some people seem to have a different set of values when they are spending someone else's monies. I say, where can we start trimming some more and get it back to a 2000 budget figure. http://rhtrav.com/wordpress/shutdowns-planned-on-riverways-due-to-federal-budget-austerity/#more-12306

They toss baby browns in the Current, North Fork, and Meramec. MDC states they do not breed in the wild, but I have seen them on the redds. There are reasons to believe that some may succeed. No Browns in the 11pt. NFS restricts stocking to rainbows only.

Since I am of an age where cougars are younger than me, I don't think I have to worry. But always appreciate the younger tail. Looks like the King or the James would be a good float, but my buddy wants to bring a boat. And it is a prop job, not a jet, so that means a lake.

Dogs are a mans best friend, but I would never have one in the house. Cats seem to be better adapted to it. All men should have a little pussy (cat) in their life at some time. And they are good for dubbing in a pinch too. Sorry for your loss.

Yeah. Lets set one up for next year. Since it opens on a Saturday the crowds will be lighter...... It used to be fun when I was in my 20's. You could even get a campsite back then without a reservation. I remember one opener sitting up the tent in a 3" snow and waking up the next morning to a freezing rain that had glued my zipper shut. But I had a truck load of slabs and had a nice fire that weekend the whole time. I think there were only 3k people for that one. We drove in the night before and slept in the truck at Tan Vat till about 3am and went to the lodge when it opened. Bought the tag and waded out to shoulder up to the herd. By the time the horn blowed, they were 2 deep behind me and my red ball waders were freezing me. But I caught some fish.

Don't they have a camera installed on the river. If not, ask Oneshot.

Thanks. I am thinking if we go that far in a boat we may end up on the ramp at Taney and try for some trout. But I may humor him and go smallie hunting instead.

Nice. How many squirrel brains did you have to consume in one setting to get that one?

Maybe we will give it a spin then. Although, I really don't know when I am going to pull it off before August. Seems like something going one every weekend till then.

A buddy of mine called today and wanted me to start thinking about a smallmouth trip this spring or summer and he wants Table Rock. I have not really paid much attention to that part of the state, is there any good smallmouth fishing in Table Rock? Not being a big lake fisherman, I always think of streams for smallies. The only lake I have fished for smallmouth is Pickwick in TN. It was ok, but pretty boring for the most part. Few fish and a couple of nice ones in the 3 lbs range. But, I would rather float or wade a nice stream for them.

One of the guys at work said I looked like a big marshmellow.

When wade fishing, I normally do that alone. If there is someone else, we never fish the same hole together, so essentially we are alone. In a boat or floating I tend to pair up with someone. In a boat, it just seems to work better with 2. Floating in kayaks allows one to go down one side of the river and the other cover the opposite side. The better half does not fish. But the kids do. With them, I have to stay close.

More boxes of bee goodies arrived today. One from a supplier was full of foundation, hive tool, and bee feeders. The other was my new bee jacket and veil. I had been using my bug head net from my Alaska adventures and a bug out camo hunting jacket. I am now in style and ready for the full fledge apiary experience I am about to embark on.

Wow, several months later, he is sentenced to 38 years. The Norway killer that the Sandy Hook turd worshiped only received 22 years for 77 murders that everyone saw him do. Look at the face on the pic, I think he is proud to be from Illinois. http://news.yahoo.com/drew-peterson-sentenced-38-years-murder-214735862.html

Maybe this is why I tend to forget. Winter is back with fury today.

I think they are heading north. I was at Mingo last Friday. They finally got the water to flood the refuge with the rains of the last month. Shovelers were everywhere. They are an early south fliers following the teal normally. Lots of mallard and few pintails. Main pool on lake at Duck Creek was bluebills and a mess of snows rafted in the middle.