jdmidwest

Having fished out of all 3, a kayak is always my first choice in any kind of weather on a river of floating caliber. I have only used tandem, 16' or longer kayaks, so a solo canoe maybe a close second. My yaks are the most comfortable, quietest, most stealthy way to fish any stream. I fish alot of streams that I could not wade the banks without a lot of hassles and catch more fish using the kayak. If fishing with someone else in kayaks, we can split up and fish separate sides of the river and cover it better. The sit on top rides higher giving me better casting angles and control than a sit inside. Jet boats are great when you have a shorter time to fish and want to cover water, you can pick and choose fishing spots, but they are in no means stealthy. Canoes of the kind I am used to tie you to a partner and spook fish more than a yak. As far as game fish go, if there is a season, a limit on a fish, and you can catch them on a hook with bait or lure, I would consider it to be a game fish. I have caught suckers, carp, and buffalo on a rod and reel, 2 of the 3 on fly rods. If you can hunt it, fish for it, or catch it in any way, then it is a sporting game. Bullfrogs are game, I gig them, and I need a fishing license to do it, and I do it from a yak or a boat. I don't think they are game fish.

I second the matter about the used waders, you are looking at a cold miserable damp day. I can't think of any reason to sell a pair of waders used that were still waterproof. Same goes for buying at Walmart, always check and make sure they are factory originals and not a pair previously wore for an outing and returned.

By yard carp, are you referring to Snow Geese? I live on the other side of the state, but will chase a local Canada Goose if it is bothering some yard or pond. If the geese are in the campgrounds, there would probably be a rule where you can not shoot them there. Same goes for swimming beaches and other developed areas in a public place. If it is private, and we can get the owners permission, I can assure they will not return after they realize there are things that go boom there.

That is probably what we will do now that it is freezing up. I noticed the Canadas working the goose pits on Duck Creek pretty good Wed.

Saved my time off for my best time of the year, Duck Season. Wed. 12/8, reservation at Duck Creek. In and out of the headquarters in record time, 15 minutes. Cold morning, sheet ice about 3/4" thick, found our pool with some open water and lots of ducks that had kept it that way overnight. We busted a boat lane with the big boat and took the yaks into the tree line for the ducks. Few birds early when they flew off the roost, main force at 10:30 to 1:00 when they returned. One of our party was bored and had to see the blind, it was a sunken pit full of water. We blew the average out of the water that day with one limit of 6, one with 5, and 3 for me. Few mallards, ringneck, and lots of shovelers. Sat. 12/11, poor line at Duck Creek. Rain all day in the forecast, crappy pill. Drew 33 with only 23 spots. In and out of the headquarters in 35 minutes, bigger crowd. Hunted the Dark Cypress section with a 1/2 mile hike to a water puddle. Took a few dekes and a Robo, set up in the cockle burs. Showers turned into steady rain. Buddy nailed the Robo on a fly by from a Hoodie merganser that had landed in front of me in the dekes. He missed the Hoodie. I took a mallard drake and a shoveler before the rain gear failed and I started to drown and get cold. Brought the wrong clothes for that day, went home early. Had water running down both sleeves into my gloves, running in both shoulders and starting down my back into waders. Time to buy new hunting coat. Buddy stuck it out and had Gadwall, Teal, and Shovelers till noon. Picked cockle burs out of clothing, decoy bag, waders, and other stuff for an hour after I got home. I could have filled a coffee can with them. Mon. 12/13, pill 7 in the Quick Draw at Otter Slough. Negative number in temps, cold, 1-2 inch ice on whole place. Quick draw is a misnomer, still a cluster, have to wait for poor line to draw all hunters in party and watch some of them get in front of you with the way things work. 8 out of 25 internet quick draw parties showed up for the morning draw today, don't really know what the average is for the year. Listened to pretty speech, one guy even commented that we should have held a collection plate. Something that was to speed things up still took us over 1 hour to get out of the place and to our boat dock. Busted ice to the blind and opened up a hole and barely made it before shooting hour. Set out a few dekes and a Robo or 7 and did not get much action, cooked a big breakfast and huddled the propane heater. Till 11, then things picked up. Had 4 ducks on the water at closing time from the last shooting frenzy. Mostly pairs and singles drawn to the open hole we made. Ended the day with 12 ducks between the 3 of us, 4 mallards and rest shovelers. Seems to be a bumper crop on the corn scoops this year. Good crop of cockle burs too. Gotta love it, still 3 weeks to go.

If it is for a garden, you can buy kits and do the test yourself. For larger plots, County Extension office is where to go. Around 10 to 15 bucks for a sample tested. Larger plots you will want to test a few samples to see what you really need.

Interesting link, pretty well sums it up. Younger generations are more involved in facebook than the outdoors. Parents have less time to take kids out and enjoy the great outdoors. Too many sporting events to knock off and take the kids hunting and fishing, just soccer, little league, football, and others. Hunting Traditions sag as land, desire disappear.

Maybe you should ask him for some sort of commission for using your site.

The urban trout program is subsidized by the city that sponsors it and local supporters. MDC just handles the transport and signs on what is their managed lakes anyway. And it is not just taxpayer dollars. The local urban trout program is sponsored by several local businesses, Walmart is one, City Park monies, and the local TU was purchasing the lunkers last time I talked to people that know. MDC kicks in something I believe, but I don't know how much. And from all of the bluegill that I caught after the stocking this time, they may have dumped some in too while they were there, but I doubt as they would have come from a different hatchery. This year has been the first year the trout program here has been good. First few years, the lake was silted by runoff from construction in a local subdivision. Last year, disease hit them early and killed them off. They were restocked, but the lake froze soon after and you could not fish for them. I did hit some at the Feb 1 catch and keep. This year was nice, lake was clear, weather was good, and we fished it several times after work till the DST change.

Maybe the next model will have a small digital display for time or something like that.

Pack your slicker, big storm coming in on Friday.

West Plains would be great if you want something in that area. Big enough town to do something or get something at for a reasonable price. Pretty good hub to go any direction, Mtn Home, Eminence, Current River, Spring River, North Fork, Eleven Pt., or Springfield for that matter.

At least he responded and did not just do a drive by.... BTW, I really only need light in the direction my eyes are pointing, hence the headlamp. I would probably blind myself picking my nose....

I have a friend that fished it a couple of times this year on the Triton Tour. He said it was a nice lake with some nice bass. He wants us to spend a weekend or more up there this summer and fish it for fun. According to him, big lake, you spend alot of time and gas driving the boat to find the good spots. Lots of coves with good trees for cover. I take it that it is a fairly young lake, although I have not looked into it yet.

That was one vise that I never could get the hang of, Norvise. I tried one years ago when they first hit the market, but could not get the hang of it. It was alot slower mounting a hook and no real advantages over other rotary vises I had used. I have friends that use them and like them though. The bobbins were pretty nice.

As you probably know, there may be programs that will compensate an employer for a portion of all of his salary thru a local sheltered workshop or other state agency. I don't know where you are located but surely the Voc Rehab will be able to place him somewhere. As an employer, we hired several disabled to do grounds work and other odd jobs and had good success. They were sent to the jobsite with trainer that worked with them till they were able to do the job alone. But this was back in the 90's, I don't know if those programs were still an option.

Not quite sure what you would use a wrist light for except to illuminate your hands while working on something. I am a big fan of head lights, and with the advent and improvement of the led, they are getting light and useful.

They are closed to give the fish some rest. And I am sure they have extra staff for the fishing days.

I have tied alot of flies on a Renzetti Traveller, both the old screw type and the cam. I don't know how big of a hook you were having trouble with, but I have never had a problem in the size 4 to 18 range. You just have to play with the front screw a little and it locks down fine. The trick is to adjust the vise, use your finger to apply down pressure on the hook to see if it is adjusted tight enough. If it is right, you will bend or break a hook before it slips. Once it is adjusted for a hook size, it is pretty automatic.

I learned on an old Winchester pump, then a Remington TD Speedmaster that were my Uncle's. On my 10th Bday, I was presented a Ruger 10-22 that I still use today. Many thousands of rounds have went thru the barrel and still shoots well in the last 37 years of use. Alot depends on his size, what fits him and what he can steadily support and carry. There were not many youth models back in that time. Today there is the Chipmunk, which becomes useless as the child ages and outgrows it. My opinion, get him something he will use and keep for a long time. But even a youth model could be passed along to his kids or your other kids if you have them. If you decide on an auto, you should single feed it till he gets the hang of it, then turn him loose with a full mag. Same goes with any 22 till he gets safe with it, single feed/single shots. And do teach him how to use open sights, it will help with future shooting skills with other guns, don't just start him out with a scoped rifle.

Yes, and like the hogs, they were let loose instead of paying to feed them. Could have bought a pair for $5 at a local farm swap a few years back. Of course, MDC may be experimenting with some sort of "super turkey" to trade for something more worthless in another state!

I think that looks like a bat freaked out with the "white nose" problem. Did they have cocaine back then?

One just passed thru the other day near Greenville according to neighbors who saw it cross the road. Looks like we traded off some more turkeys.

Stocked trout will take on natural looking colors after being in a stream for an amount of time. Take a hatchery worn trout that was raised in a monochrome gray concrete run and put him in a colorful light colored stream and he will change. They seem to take on the colors of their surroundings. Best colors are from lighter colored gravel and clear water, deep silver and green from stained water and dark bottoms. Fins regrow unless burned off by some marking attempt from the hatchery, then it is usually the smaller fins that are not really noticeable. Natural foods will make a better orange or pink colored flesh as opposed to the gray/white of the hatchery food. As far as size, I have caught a few on the upper Current that were sub-5 inch, but not many, and all were rainbows, no browns. They are more common on the 11pt River, but I think everyone agrees that there is successful spawning there. Hatchery officials have tried eggs in a spawning box on the upper Current and have not had any luck getting any to hatch to my knowledge. I have seen both Brown and Rainbow trout on Redds on the Current as far down as Cedargrove. There may be more of a range, I just don't float the river that much, just wade the accesses. Whether any are successful, I don't know, but it should be possible from time to time. I think it is a flow or O2 problem on the Current which has a lower flow than the 11pt. But then there is Mill Creek and Crane Creek with less volume than Current. Who knows. Something happened thousands of years ago to remove them naturally from this range, Man has worked hard for over a 100 years trying to get them to take hold here again.

MDC Agents operate with more search and seizure authority than any other law enforcement agents and it is probably the same in other states. They can investigate without any "probable cause" because the nature of their crimes and the way they are chartered. Most other LE require some reason to investigate or get a warrant to search private property. Looks like it would be a good show, Conservation Agents have a rougher job than most other branches of LE. During hunting season, they are always confronted armed citizens, something most LE don't have to deal with daily.