jdmidwest

Sorry there Tim, did not know what you were fishing for exactly on the other thread. A quick search of the MDC website brings up the seasons for snagging, bow fishing, and atlatls methods of fishing. Since I have not pursued rough fish in 30 some years other than pole and line, I was not up on the regs. Here is a link. MO Non Game Fishing Regs

Gar are a "rough fish" so anything goes with them. The only one that has some protection is the Alligator Gar in some areas. You can snag them, gig them, bow fish for them, and use hook and line. I don't think, in MO, there is a limited method or closed season for them. I target them in the summer on streams when bass fishing slows down on a hot day, they have invaded some of my clear smallmouth streams over the past decade. They are fun to shoot with a bow also, but they usually die from the encounter.

Snagging for gar is a method of snagging their teeth with a fly or lure. When I fly fish for them on a local stream, I use a streamer pattern that invokes a strike. The streamer material tangles their teeth long enough for the hook to be set. I usually sight fish for them in hot weather when they spend most of their time "porpoising" to the surface. The strike is usually a sideways bite/slash at the minnow streamer imitation. I use synthetic materials on the streamer that make it durable and enhances the tangling of the fly. As a bonus, it works good on smallies and largemouth, so I catch some "non target" fish in the process. Many use a rope fly or lure, I have a spool of brightly colored twine that I have tied on hooks also. The twine tends to tangle the teeth, the hook never sinks in. Years ago, I used a minnow with a "stinger". Most of the gar were caught on the stinger, they would hit the minnow and release it when they felt the pressure of the line, the trailing stinger treble would snag the jaw. Gar are not for eating in my case, but they put up a good fight. They are plentiful and grow to 36 to 48 inches in many of the streams around here.

The Pioneer Spirit is alive, carry a gun and shoot them...

Apple Creek looked really good yesterday. May try to squeeze in a float Sat. if it is not raining. Otherwise, it is still lake fishing. Went to Duck Creek for the first time on Sun. on way back from turkey hunting. Water has been over all of the roads on the place. Main pool is bank full and crystal clear. Small pads are still covering about a third of the pool and everything is covered from the bridge up. I was in the bass boat by myself and fished for 3 hours without a strike on a jig, worm, or crankbait. I was having a tough time controlling the boat and fishing in the wind and could not get good coverage. Small ponds are great now for bass and bluegill. Gills are starting to bed.

I caught my first fish on a fly rod of a cousin I found in a shed full of his stuff as a kid years 30 some years ago, it was a green sunfish on a popper. I have caught tons of them since. Inch for inch, they will outfight any trout.

Current is definitely the issue for the most part. If there is any generation going on, it would be tough near the dam. Maybe further downstream, in a cove or backwater. Same issue with the pontoons, they go downstream great, paddling back against the current is hard to impossible.

Funny you mention this, that is where I have been getting the old fishing fix too lately. Last weekend, after chasing turkeys, I hit the pond on the farm and caught over a dozen nice bluegill and 9 bass on a white woolie. This week, city lake and a bead head nymph have been producing bluegill out of the chocolate waters. Hopefully the creek at the farm will be down this weekend and I will get some stream fishing in. Duck Creek on Sunday, wind and weather permitting.

Normally, that is probably not an issue, except maybe in Carter County where the Sheriff just got arrested for Meth. Most druggie don't get the local law involved.

You forgot each post, even mine that was deleted, started with the phrase "I believe" from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. That gave it all the creditability it needed in his neck of the woods. Next petition should start "Hold my beer and watch this" to seal the deal of legal precedence.

Do you not have any ponds or small lakes in your area? Bluegill are moving up on bedding areas here.

Ain't it nice to see more of the real picture?

Upon closer inspection, the blood looks a little fake. Good thing I kept the originals of Leon and the goat, and a signed confession from the goat stating after the 4th or 5th hazing incident, the goat actually enjoyed it.

From the angle of attack, it looks as if he is leaning to the left, so it could be considered the left eye. It really depends on which story you want to go with lately. He used a human shield, no, he had a bomb vest. Nope, he was unarmed, but wait a minute, there were guns at arms reach. He does look surprised we found him though. I put this in General Angling Discussion as something is fishy.......

Being the one not to believe anything the Government tells me and half of what I see them do, I just had to see the final pic of bin Laden. I called a friend in the CIA and called in a favor. I had to trade Leon a photo I took at a frat party with him and a goat getting friendly, but he finally emailed me a pic. I feel closure now. Why would I have ever doubted the reports. Looks like he was shot in the library, and he was armed. I was half expecting something photoshop altered, but it looks real to me.

If someone has aroused the landowner to the point that he feels like he needs to confront all floaters passing thru, then the bad publicity may lead to a new court hearing causing a new decision as to what "rights" the public has on "private lands" surrounding Missouri streams. Still waiting for the rest of the story.

Kinda why I thought there might have been "the rest of the story".

No, it was the blacktop one lane bridge off V. The shooting did not even have anything to do with fishing, but it made the landowners of the area think about the insurance liability of the area so I was told. It is legal to float a boat thru, wade thru, but banks of the area are private property. No road easements or right of way easements on county roads in Madison County, so it is private when you leave pavement.

A real man does not worry about what people think about them in those depts., they think about what they can do with some of the women there.

Well, the first report was kinda vague, some posts were deleted, some threads were locked. Then, JD, had to deal with a tornado at the farm, being trapped by flash floods for 5 days with no phones or internet, and playing catchup with the real world when I got out. So, Crickets explanation was welcome. As far as the private land problem goes, I have to deal with it here at several locations. One access has been closed on the Castor River at a county bridge, MDC and Madison County Sheriff Dept. have both stated that stepping out on dry land will result in a trespassing charge. It stemmed from a shooting/murder that occurred on the bridge a few years ago.

Yep. We cut out some silver maples last summer that may have ended up on the house had they still been there. Lucky us. A cherry tree clipped the corner of the house as it came down but no damage. The roof was damaged by the wind.

The decision to blow has been issued, it starts tonight and runs thru tomorrow morning in a series of 3 levee breaches. The first on the upper end floods the horseshoe shaped area creating a lake, the next two creates the outlet downstream near New Madrid. The thing is not really about saving Cairo after all, the reference to the Cairo River Gauge has caused some confusion. When the river hit 61 at the Cairo Gauge, the floodway has to be activated to relieve stress all along the levee system. The levee is already overtopped in the first blast area. Upstream, levee's gave way today at Fayville and Dog Tooth Bend flooding towns near Olive Branch today causing more flooding. There is water every where you go around here if it is flat, hill country is in better shape.

They have issued voluntary evac below the dam in the St Francois River floodway as the tailwater is on the rise. With the topping of the spillway, they plan to release additional water thru the normal gated spillway. Till now, they have been trying to control the downstream flooding somewhat. The dam is still functioning as designed. Two levees breached today across the river in Ill., one at Fayville near Olive Branch and the other at Dogtooth Bend flooding a farm of some friends and several towns over there. The Corps of Engineers are set to blow the Birds Point Floodway system starting at 9 pm tonight and running thru noon tomorrow.

It was pretty twisted and busted up. Might be able to build a whitewater yak out of it. Thinking about cutting the stump off level and preserving it some way. Here is another pic from a different angle. All of the trees around it have come up from the main one and are all catalpa's.

Why did they have to pollute the ocean with his carcass? Some poor shark has a belly ache right now. Good Riddance.