jdmidwest

I never really meant it as a conspiracy theory, because they are obviously here. Was this just a bad year on the old home range and a group of males decide to head to Missouri and see if they could scare up a little tail? There must be a breeder in the woods around here somewhere. Do they travel to MO based on the instinct that cats used to live here, so maybe they can find a female. Can't they smell a female in heat? Why walk for days without a whiff? I think they are here from some other reason. Not long ago, an exotic breeder let several loose in Ark., I think most were never found. Did anyone entertain the fact that someone may have dumped some here? Where do you think the feral hogs came from? MDC never stocked them and they did not wander in here, they were let loose illegally when game ranches went under. There are alot of exotic animals raised every year in several states. Not all track them like Missouri does. As far as dealing with it. 30 years ago or more there were a few sightings of black bears, then one every now and then till a few years ago. Then all of the sudden, lots of sightings, a few killed. But their stance on the issue was that it was just young males traveling up from Ark. Don't worry, no alarms. Last year, MDC had a program to trap/study them and documented a resident population. But when was the last time you heard of anyone killing a bear lately? Maybe MDC needs to realize that maybe the cats are here to stay and study them which in the long run may actually protect them.

You surely do need to keep politics out of the wildlife conservation system. If politics gets involved, you could end up with more liberal views in conservation management leading to loss of hunting ground and hunters rights due to the nature of that groups views on anti-hunting and anti-gun. You could get a member of PETA on a board making decisions. You could lose a MDC area because some politician is pressured to develop the real estate for some other reason. What would surely happen is competition of one populous area getting more than another less populated area. None of the names on the bill are from my area. I am betting the ones generating the bill are coming from an area around ST Louis or Kansas City. While the current system has a few gripes, it has worked well for the last 75 years and is the envy of many other states because they do such a good job and are funded solely with a small percentage of a sales tax. Many other states operate their systems out of the general revenue of the state and get squeezed on lean years.

What I am trying to say in a round about way is, someone must be planting them here. I don't buy the story that they are just wondering over here from the Rockies or South Dakota. I could somewhat buy the fact that the bears were moving in from Arkansas, but not this one. At $36,000 an elk, what is an mountain lion pelt worth? And, at no time did I ever infer that Indians were L D students. Nor did I state that the MDC said there are NO mountain lions in the state. I was rehashing the current stance that there is not a breeding population of mountain lions in Missouri, just a few males passing thru for some reason. Past biology course's have not shown any mammal to reproduce asexually. MDC constantly adheres to the story that there is no breeding population present and all the lions killed and trapped are males. They have to be coming from somewhere. Come on, just admit it, MDC let them go to control the otter population. Sierra Club report

I have worried the same about my SX2, been meaning to get a spare to throw in the go box. Thanks for the reminder. The gun is great, but the friction fit of the bolt handle has always bothered me as a weak spot.

Looks like Mr. Henson is credited with the first live trapping of a Missouri Cougar. He caught him in an area not far where I spend a good portion of time hunting, hiking, mushrooming, and fishing. But no worries, there are no cougars in MO, just males wandering thru looking for a female. OK, my mental capacity exceeds the size of a normal flea. There must be a resident population of females here in order to draw all of the South Dakota bachelors looking for some tail down here. C'mon MDC, admit it, there are big cats in Missouri and lets deal with them. Don't keep it under your coat tails like you did the bears all of these years. River Hills Traveler Article on the Mountain Lion.

Not to be mean, but why was Fido roaming free on the neighbor's land? Around here that could result in charges against you of animal abuse by letting your animal run out of your control. I doubt if the landowner will be liable for any damages.

That is a slick idea. The pvc pontoons are the extra we needed. They say those sleds float, but I thought they would need something extra. On lakes here, we take a motor boat and pull the yaks out behind us. Sit the dekes and stuff the big boat in the trees. Paddle back out in the yaks and layout in them to kill the ducks.

Great looking rig. I would like to see a pick of the sled you are using to tow the gear. My buddy is looking for a system to drag more dekes behind his motorized layout boat. What about sub zero days, does it freeze up inside also? I would love to have it, just don't have a place to run it. I don't think the impellor would do well in brackish flooded timber swamp water or muddy fields. If I had a big lake blind, it would be great to run out to it in the mornings. Cripples would have a hard time getting away from me also...

Carry and gun and be aware of your surroundings and you really shouldn't have to worry about much. Stumble thru life not paying attention to your surroundings will get you in to trouble no matter what the threat. You can wear orange during hunting season and prevent accidental shootings. You wear protective clothing for poison ivy and avoid it, you spray for ticks. You watch where you step and put your hands to keep from getting snake bit. You wear a bell to signal hungry bears that it is dinner time. And you pack heat for the rest.

There are no Mountain Lions in Missouri, so it will pass back thru to wherever it was going to.....

Slingshots and marbles are good for grebes, as well as beaver and coots. I keep one in the blind to fend off annoying peckers like that. Works good to pick on your duck hunting buddy when he is out screwing with the dekes. An RC boat does good too, but my prop always gets tangled in the moss.

Sitting around last night and realized that I had not wet a hook since Oct. 31. This hunting season has put a cramp on the fishing along with all of the rains. Went to the office and did some work this morning then off to the local Rotary Lake in Jackson for some winter C&R trout fishing. Wind was blowing a fair pace and started on the quiet side. Tyed on a size 14 bead head about 18" under a pinch on palsa float and cast out about 20 feet from the bank. I just twitched it some and let the waves jig it up and down. Wham, I was into the fish. Kept it up for about an hour and landed 6 trout and a dozen mini bluegills. Best fish was 14", rest were around 8 to 12 inches. Had a little conversation with a fellow that identified the man on the fishing dock as the one that was caught last year with 24 trout in his truck and some on a stringer. I was amazed that the guy still has a license to fish, but there he was, plugging away. Off to the duck ponds this weekend to close out the middle zone. Looks like teal weather tomorrow....

I noticed that too a few months back. I guess the family closed the site.

Debris ball? I am still using the extra rad's given off from the reactor meltdown to recharge my tritium night sights.

I use an Eagle portable on mine. Unit runs off of 8 AA batteries and transducer suction cups or dangles from rope. Runs all day on a set of batteries and then I recharge them.

Cell Phones are great, but most lakes I fish they lack good cell coverage which is needed for them to work properly. I have used Magellan units all of my life and have always had good luck with them. The new Explorist series is good. Delorme makes a good handheld too that integrates with their Topo Usa software. It includes a download capability of lake maps, one thing others seem to lack.

If you are going to surf and post, a laptop or netbook with an actual keyboard would be best. If you are going to surf and read without alot of typing, I would go with an android 3 or later tablet or I Pad. If you are going to read books on it only, a kindle or nook is best, they excel in reading. I too had the same dilemna about this time last year, I bought a Cruz reader that I surf, read mags, and view pics and movies on in the truck. I bought a cheap Acer laptop at Staples for about 50 dollars more than a netbook for the rest. I needed something that could connect to GPS and transfer maps and geocaches, run topo programs, and the others did not offer that.

You don't have to hang up the felts, just glue them shut (the porus material). MDC released a video on how to do it, but I have been busted down to dialup again due to a satellite problem and could not watch it.

We have had too much of the blessed rain on this side of the state. It has came with southerly winds that have forced the birds down the west side of the state this year. Too much sheet water and backwater, what birds that are here are scattered. Getting ready for the final run here, hunting Thurs and Monday, then all weekend of New Years. Seriously considering coming west again and shooting some of your birds.

The best of both worlds. My 14' jon is setup with a drop down blind. Many times we sit and hunt teal in the morning, drop the blind and bass fish the rest of the morning. Of course, while fishing, you are posing as a fisherman and an unsuspecting duck may pass by.

Orvis stands behind their rods, they have a pretty good idea of the time frame that the rod is made by the way they switch models each year or so. The Battenkill Bar Stock in size III would be a good fit, nice little reel for the price.

Maybe we could trade them back for the Cardinals.

Interesting whale tail. I wonder if it really works since the lower unit does not sit much lower than the hull of the boat.

I think the Country Inn is the old Tarry Inn I was talking about and it is only about 15 to 20 min away from Montauk at the Junction of 63 and something. Licking has a good grocery store, a bar, several good places to eat, and they are all good and cheap. The rooms at the park are a little pricey for my blood, but it is an option. Reeds cabins are more for groups than for a single traveler wanting to catch a fish. If I was in a group of 4 guys, Reeds cabins or one of the cabins at the park or the condos on the hill would be a better solution.

Crap, now it will be booked solid the next time I need to go... I came to that conclusion years ago when the now x better half complained about having to squat on a pit toilet in 20 degree blast. Now, the bones feel better in the morning after a warm bed and a hot shower before I face a day of brutal cold temps. Call them up, I am sure they will love the business. There is the Ranch Motel in Salem also. There are better class motels in both Salem and Licking if you need higher star lodging.