jdmidwest

My friends all wear Tiva Sandals and like them. I personally have been wearing a pair of River Guide Crocs for the last few years. They have a nylon upper with a cinch tye and are open like beach crocs. If rocks or gravel comes in, lift your foot and it shakes out in the water. Traction is good on rocks and they drain out to keep water out of a boat. Only downside is your foot slides around inside on land when wet and not much ankle support.

I guess nobody cares about the dredging of the Spring River?

I would assume they serve a purpose to preserve order in a campground. If you want to continue to get rid of things at a park, why not the Park Superintendent, what is their purpose? They run the park and manage it. But really, it is just some woods and a stream, what management do they have to do? Decide which trees to trim this year? How about the park maint. guys? All they do is mow the grass and empty the trash. Next time you go to a park, take your weedeater and carry out your trash when you leave and they will not have a job either. How about the camp host? Well they work for free and answer your questions for a free camp spot while they are there. They shovel your fire pit and make use of the fire wood you leave behind.

I never said it was not ethical to use a canoe to deer hunt, pursuing a deer with a canoe is what I meant. Paddling like hell down a river or a stream for a shot at a deer would not be a pretty, well aimed shot. If it was standing or swimming the water, both ethics and legality is involved. If you are drifting along and get a shot at a deer on a bank, then yes. Most float, get out and hunt. The regulation in question was regarding Motorized Conveyance, that part is cut and dry. They were road hunting and shooting out of a truck on a road. Regs say you have to be off a public roadway and be parked. There is no reg stating you can't sit in a parked truck with the heater running on the edge of a field and shoot a deer when it appears. It was a "pursuit" violation.

Thats an interesting article, I always wondered what the Narrows purpose was. I always assumed it was a campground of some sort long ago. I do remember a business of sorts on the south side of the road. I assume the ferry crossed it somewhere near 142? I have searched for history on the 11pt but never seem to come up with much. Would like to see a map with the old ghost towns of the 1800's on it and try to find them now. I have visited most of the old mills and springs, but not many of the caves yet. It is a wonderful place with a wonderful history.

I don't think it is legal to shoot a deer in the water, I think I have read that somewhere, but it may be another state. It is one of the fair chase things, shooting a deer swimming a lake or river is too easy and the danger of a bullet glancing off water. Floating in a canoe and shooting one off a bank would be a different story, its just not done much.

I feel you should not have to "chase" a deer with anything, you need to be in the right place at the right time to take it. I don't like drives either. Floating and hunting ducks on their habitat, taking a squirrel out of a tree along a bank are different. I think you are only legal to float and hunt if you don't anchor or get out on private land without permission. That would mean that you would have the duck or squirrel fall in the water to retrieve it.

We went to the Spring River this weekend for one of the 3 annual get togethers. Floated Sat from Dam 3 to Riverside and had a blast making a 3 hour float into 7. River traffic was light and we had the river to ourselves after 3. Fishing was excellent. First trip in the last 2 years that it was not up and muddy. It was normal and clear and fishing was hot. Fish were on small side as normal since the new 11 inch stock size, but did manage to dredge up a few in the 12-15 inch range. Early morning fly fishing produced 30 fish hours both Sat and Sun. I wade fished all day Sunday, starting out at Riverside till noon, then Lassiters, and ending up at Dam 3 below the island. What shocked me was all of the instream work done 2 holes down from the Island at Dam 3 along the swift run on the west side of that island. Heavy equipment had dredged and shaped the channel, added wing dikes, and tore up one of my favorite flyfishing holes. Stream bank had been cleared off all the way down from Dam 3 island to below this spot. Steel posts were sunk in concrete along the bank awaiting a chain fence I suppose. I took a few panoramic pics with the new Kodak Z915, it automatically stitches 3 pics together. When we started going to the Spring in the late 80's, it was mostly undeveloped in this stretch. In the past, the upper area had been dammed for Hydro Power, then most blown out. Timber was stripped off. When we found it, the area from Dam 3 to the Mammoth Spring Canoe pullout was undeveloped. There was camping at town, Cold Springs (gone now), primitive at the Bayou Access and at MSCR areas, Spring River Oaks, and Many Islands. You had to pay to fish Lassiters and screw with the gates and the cows. Now days, All the land is private and being sold for lots. Riverside Campground and lots appeared which I tend to enjoy as Sonny does a great job. River traffic is horrible on Saturday during the summer. It was a shame they did not adopt it into the Scenic Riverways with the rest of the Ozark Streams.

The law states "Motorized". Human powered is different. You can row away or peddle away after a deer if you so desire as far as my interpretation of the law as I read it. Is it Ethical, no. Does anyone shoot deer off a bike, probably not. Per the AP... Mo. to appeal ruling on deer hunting regulations Friday, August 20, 2010 The Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri plans to appeal a court ruling striking down regulations against the use of dogs and vehicles in hunting deer. The Missouri Conservation Commission voted Friday to proceed with an appeal of the ruling made earlier this month by a Ripley County judge. At issue are state regulations that prohibit "motor-driven air, land or water conveyances" while deer hunting, and which say deer cannot be "hunted, pursued, taken or killed with the aid of dogs." The judge ruled the regulations were unconstitutional because they are vague and overly broad. The laws in question were regarding using dogs to hunt deer and shooting them from a truck. But were clear violations, not much gray area there.

11pt has a nice population of stoneflies if you get bored and want to try a new pattern. Golden stone patterns work well this time of year.

The scenic parts are on the upper river. All the big bluffs, caves, and wilderness are on the stretch from Cane Bluff to Riverton. Around Halls Bay, the river starts running thru fields more and becomes more open. But if you are bass fishing, you are on one of the hottest spots right now. I stopped at the Narrows yesterday on the way back from Spring River and the lot was full of trucks with trailers.

You would be better off floating the St Francois this time of year. I took a short float last Sunday, Sam A Baker to 34 Bridge in about 3 hours. You could float the section above the park for a longer float or go past 34 to Bounds Creek access near Greenville for a full day. The river is in good shape, fish were biting good for a hot summer day, its going to be cooler this weekend. Big Creek is good for a wade unless you want to drag thru the riffles and shutins.

I think it was pretty cut and dried, they were using dogs to pursue deer and shooting them when they run by. I would think a motorized wheel chair would have to be stopped before you shoot for it to be legal. I don't think it is illegal to be sitting in a parked truck or atv, off the highway, and shoot a deer. You are not pursuing the deer if the vehicle is not in motion. You can't keep their attention with headlights and be legal. It is about fair chase and ethics. Pursuing a deer with a motorized vehicle or boat is an ethical violation and not a fair chase. You can paddle a boat after game, run after game, and probably peddle a bike because you are using your own power, not a mechanical device to propel you. When you use a tractor to plow a field or a pickup to load a deer, you are not pursuing the deer itself.

I have a new problem in the garden and have to try to figure out how to trap armadillo's. They have invaded my space this summer. If so, I may need some of those lazy Mexican flies to eat the dillo.

Lane Springs used to be a pretty good place, I have not been there in a few years.

How many do you need, I have some brewing in a possum carcass in the back 40.

Here is a link to taneycomotrout.com by Jeremy Hunt. How to tye Nymphs.

I was sitting out grilling some ribs 2 days ago, sipping a brew and playing with the new Kodak, and this arrives at the feeder. Not an albino, it has a little color and regular eyes. It was larger than the normal birds on the feeder. I went back in and grabbed the Pentax with a good lens and never saw him again.

I said I was going to experiment, and it works. Looks like the Praying Mantis will eat Hornworms. It did not take long for him to pounce on the subject, it was all over by the time I came back out with the camera. From the looks of it, it was a bloody battle. Now I have a new business venture, raise praying mantis's in bulk to sell to gardeners for pest control. I still have to work on the genetic alteration to increase their size so they will hunt bunnies too. Anybody have a source of nuclear material?

I was wondering what that was hanging there for. Seen several run up to the chute and turn back down stream.

FYI, attempts made to correct this situation with the cows and the stream damage have hit the same dead end as it did a few years back on the Big River below HWY 8, DNR is the one to call. It would have to result in a documented fish kill to get any response out of them. MDC is well aware of the Eleven Point Ranch and its practices. It is not their jurisdiction. It is a shame the landowner does not take pride in the piece of land he owns and try to protect it. But instead, he does as his Pawpaw's Pa did and rape the stream and the stream bank, destroying the riparian corridor and polluting the river with his cow waste.

There are plenty of deer in those parts, just the size is smaller due to the lack of crops. They do well considering all of the poaching and other illegal methods that go on over there.

Notice the grin on his face, I think he was playing possum.

Here is a link to a hornworm problem. Almanac guide to Hornworm control.

I did not post Obima to rile anyone up. It is one of my pet peeves when someone posts a sign that is misspelled. I really hate the restaurant letter signs that are changed daily by the fine products of public education and have spelling errors or letters reversed like dyslexia. There is a billboard outside of Marble Hill that is advertising a $21 Oile Change. They really need to concentrate more on the basics in school like learning how to read and write, then math, then science, then history. Instead, they spend time taking performance tests, teach life skills, and sports.