jdmidwest

Years ago when we used to float in the 17' Alum canoes all day, my friend and I thought that the adult diaper was a good solution to the problem of having to get out all of the time and the secondary relief of the dreaded condition of "canoe butt". We figured the padding would make us more comfy during the float. Then we figured we would be waterlogged the first time we got out to wade fish and go waist deep. As old age fast approaches, I assume one of us will end up testing it eventually.....

Pontoons are nice, at one time I thought they may be the perfect craft. I purchased an ODC 816 by Creek Co. It works great on water with good currents and rivers that are wide. They are comfy and stable, easy to get in and out of, you can pack some gear on it, and you can anchor it without problems. Downsides were, pumping it up and putting it together, rowing thru still water, snagging on every buckle, hook, foot platform, etc when playing a fish, being wet all of the time, and they un-nerving possibility of puncturing a float during the float. I was never comfortable floating alone for fear that I was going to pop a gasket and have to walk in to the ramp. I eliminated all of this with the kayaks. I have never tried a solo canoe, it would probably work as well as a kayak. I just love my yaks. The Nucanoe looks pretty good, seems like a hybrid between a canoe and a yak. Any one have any experience with them? I am looking to replace my main yak this summer, I have just about wore it out, hull is getting pretty roughed up and has been patched once.

The SIG's are top of the line, one of these days I will own a P220 also. You can't beat a SIG for quality and accuracy. I missed out on one at the last gun show, slightly used with 4 mags and box for $625. I have never experienced a KABOOM, just duds and squib loads. Lucky you still have all of your fingers BnB. The steel in the lower part of the gun probably helped with that problem. If you had been shooting any polymer frame pistol like the Glock, M&P, Kahr, or even the new SIG P250 series it may have been different.

OTTERS

Which model of the Glock did you shoot? I have a model 21 Glock full size and it shoots pretty good. It is a little large for my hands and the split trigger made my trigger finger numb after a few 14 round clips in cold weather. I then purchased a S&W M&P 4.5 inch model and loved it. This summer when they came out with the 45 compact, I bought one of them too. I also own a 1911 and a S&W 4516 and they shoot well too. I have owned several 1911's in the past by Colt, AMT, Springfield, and others. The 1911's are a little finicky when it comes to ammo and cleaning. But I like the S&W M&P 45c the best, shoots good, lightweight enough for everyday carry, interchangeable grip inserts to fit my hands, easily controlled to get back on target for followup shots, field strips easy, and has fine Novak sights. www.mp-pistol.com is a great site for the M&P products. I am jdmidwest there also.

Somebody fished a "keeper" out of the port a potty.

Eleven Point River has to be the best. Wild and beautiful. Hard fighting trout. Plenty of room to let them grow big.

If there were a miracle liquid like fix a flat, it would stop up the orifices of most gas systems. If you can smell it under the house, I think you can eliminate the tank to the house!

Were you in the Red Truck? I was in the Red Blazer. I never even made it to Dam 3, sounds like that is where the big fish were this weekend.

Last fall I run across a neat little system called the Flytedeck. It has a single Okuma fly box, small pouch for leaders, rod holder, zingers, and 2 bottle holders. I downsized for quick get out of the car trips. It is great for hitting different accesses, or during hot weather. I have included a few pics of it. Flytedeck system But seriously, I have to pack a bunch of flies in case something comes up. My normal chest pack from Watermark is a full blown system. I can pack the kitchen sink and a toilet if I need it. The extra weight gives me better traction when I wade past my waist in the current.... Normal boxes I carry are an egg box, terrestrial box, dry fly box with caddis and mayflies, bead head box, scud box, big fly box with various big flies, woolly box, and a streamer box. And I will still run across something I need. I have pics of them too. The dry fly part I answered in another thread. Alot of the time it is not about matching a hatch, it is catching the fish looking up instead of down. Dry flies and emergers are important parts to fly fishing.

There is a trail and a parking lot off HWY 19 to the spring itself. The area below the spring to the river is private and no trespassing. It is marked well. The old trail used to come down the hill by the old mill at the top of the hill from the river. It was steep and a pretty tough walk and went thru the private land. The new trail is longer, but is not as steep and has bridges and benches to sit and rest and is on the forestry service land.

Well, you were trying to call me jdtroutbum the other day....

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I think they all open up to bait fishing on Feb. 1. Until then, it is catch and release with approved lures only. Check the regulations on this link. MDC Winter Trout

I usually carry a box of Mayflies and Caddis, and a box with Terrestrials and Stimulators. While trout normally feed subsurface, there are times when they are taking flies in the film or on the surface. I have noticed alot of flyfisherman using scuds and nymphs while fish are feeding actively on the surface or in the film. Friday at Montauk, the air was filled with midges and a few caddis. But, they were not falling in the water, so the trout were not feeding on them. I used a midge nymph and caught fish. They did pick off a caddis or two when they dropped in close. The midges in the air were size 24 or smaller, and like Dano, I can't fish what I can't see. You will not see a fly in my boxes smaller than 18. Most warm days, there will be a group of insects that complete their lifecycle by either dying and falling back to water or getting picked off while depositing eggs. If you notice dimples or fish rising to the surface of the water and taking something off the top, look at the water and see what is floating by and imitate it. If it is flying by, catch it and look to see if you have something to match it. Another good time to go to drys is anytime you see fish near the top of the water column. They may just be looking for a meal to drop in. This is the time for a beetle, ant, Stimulator pattern, or a hopper depending on the season. The Stimulator patterns like the Crackleback, Royal Coachman, Dry Woolys, and others can make this kind of trout strike. I carry a variety of flies, both hackles and CDC. I use foam also for my beetles and as a float on some of my emergers. I took one Friday in the catch and release area on an emerger that used a foam back for a floating life vest to keep it just under the waters surface. I normally end up using some kind of a dry fly or emerger during the day except on days like today. It was windy, I was fishing rough water, and there were no fish near the surface. The main objective of flyfishing is to feed them what they are eating. You have to pay attention to the water, turn over a few rocks, and wave your hat around to see what is on the menu.

Left Jackson this morning at 5 am and the weather was misty and 61. 3 Hours later, arrived at Wood's Riverbend for breakfast and stepped out into a 42 degree morning with a brisk wind. Filled our guts with a fine breakfast and down to Lasseter Access we went. Geared up and headed out, strong wind blowing from the North about 15 mph or more. Started picking up fish right off the bat on the snail pattern. We fished till noon and we probably caught 30 fish all averaging about 12 inches, no biguns. And we had the place to ourselves. Back to the truck to warm up, went to the Federal Hatchery and looked at the aquarium fish for a while. We assumed body temp again and drove down to the Bayou Access the back way. Arrived at Bayou to find 2 guys cleaning fish and packing up. I fished for about 2 hours and only picked up 2 fish, my buddy was skunked. We fished all the way down to the first waterfall above Riverside. My buddy had switched over to spin gear and a little cleo, but was not having any luck. Back to Lasseters to finish out the day. I worked my way from the Island down to the ramp with no luck. A couple of others were fishing around the ramp and not doing much either. The front had moved thru and the fish had lockjaw. Left out at 3 and was in the driveway at 6:30. 6 hours of drive time, 378 miles on the truck, 6 hours of fishing. 34 degree downturn in temp.

No Dry Flies? Does any on here fish with dry flies any more?

That used to be my life before kids and family got in the way. Toss a tent and cooler in the rig and head out on the days off if they were going to be nice. High gas prices would have hindered that trip yesterday. We had planned a 2 day on the Spring River this weekend, but with the weather and my cold, I changed it to a day trip. We are still looking at 26 mile wind gusts and temps in the 30's.

Driving home last night around the hills of Bunker Mo., I started noticing a new cluster of lights on top of a hill toward the East. At first I thought it was one of the lead mine complexes around Bixby but it was too far south. Between Centerville and Lesterville I realized it is the Taum Sauk upper lake project on Proffitt Mountain being rebuilt. On one stretch of road, you can see it well. There were a lot of Halogen job lights on top of the mountain lighting it up like a stadium. I assume they are working 24/7 rebuilding the damage caused by the breach 2 years ago. It really lights up the sky, last night it was bouncing off the cloud cover rolling in and you could see it up the valleys when you crossed the Black River and the road to the facility near Glover. I was wondering why Ameren was spending so much money on that project then I realized the reason on Election Day. We passed the bill where utility companies will have to produce X amount of electricity from renewable resources by a certain year, I don't remember which one. The pumped storage facility will be a part of it. The only other means would be wind or hydro power. The flood damaged the Johnson Shutins Park. They have spent the last 2 years rebuilding it. The new park is scheduled to open at the end of April 09 with new shower houses, maint. buildings, store, and gate houses. Most of the fill dirt that washed in will be cleared up. Trees will be replanted. Just last week the Army Corps of Engineers announced a lawsuit against Ameren for filling up the upper portion of Clearwater Lake and diminishing the storage capacity of the lake. It is amazing the power of a few billion gallons of water in a few minutes can do.

I have for the last week been suffering from a sinus infection. Head stops up of a night and I fell like half baked crap during the day. I had a day off Friday so I decided to take a little road trip. Gas is down to $1.36 so it was a pretty cheap trip. I awoke with one ear killing me and feeling pretty bad, so I downed a few aspirin and a sinus pill and started out. I arrived at the park around noon, weather was fine and nice and had warmed up 20 degrees to a balmy 48. The crowds were pretty slim, maybe around 50 people. River was a little off color and cloudy but still had visibility to 2 feet. They had a .5 foot rise in the park Sunday from the 1.5 inches of rain, so the river was still clearing out. Springs were discharging off color too. Midges were swarming everywhere and a few caddis were skipping along the top. I hooked up on an 18" rainbow on about the fifth cast. I fished for 3 1/2 hours, caught several fish, and had a good time. Best producer was a size 18 black tunghead midge. Then off to the 3 1/2 hour drive home. Total for the day, 365 miles, 8 1/2 hours on the road including a few gun shop stops, 3 1/2 hours fishing. All by my little self. And I did not shake the nasties yet, maybe at Spring River tomorrow!

I spoke with Tom at the Montauk hatchery today, he states the same thing as Brian did. MDC does not have much to do with 11 pt except for the fisheries management in conjunction with the Feds. The land is Scenic Riverways and controlled by the Federal Forestry Service. The spring branch is a pretty fragile ecosystem that has been kept pretty pristine over the years. I would not like to see it trampled to death.

I know they were scheduled to take ownership in 2010 or later. I still don't think they will open it up completely as there is still a private cabin there. Brian may know.

Thanks. Looks like it is only good in the Catch and Release area around Rim Shoals. Plenty of good water. And they keep in contact with a radio.

What? No report. How was the water taxi?