jdmidwest

I bought this boat back in the spring for fishing and now its time to switch it over to its other purpose, duck blind. To date, I have hunted out of kayaks, canoes, the gimme boat at the conservation areas, a inflatable pontoon, and a vintage herters fiberglass boat. We have never had a good boat blind to hunt big water or rivers. I bought some 1/2" pvc and some fittings and went to work. I took out the seats and the rear trolling motor. I pieced the framework together and used 3/4" tees to make the hinged parts. I tied everything together with wire for camo support and strength. I think it turned out pretty good. An army half shell tent is used for rain and wind blockage on the back part. It all folds down for travel and hinges to get in and out. Its lightweight and it lifts out easy to convert it back to a fishing rig in the spring. Here are some pics, it all still has to be painted and the camo attached. I had a flock of snows give it a look today in the back yard.

Where is the boat located?

Browns in the Current, Meramec, and Niagua Rivers are stocked each spring as fingerlings. They are pretty small fish. Most don't survive very long due to predation and fishing mortality. The Current River trophy area used to be stocked with 8000 fish in an 8 mile stretch of the river. When this happens, there is more competition for food and the larger fish that are in the stream change their habits and feed more agressively. I used to fish this time of year and catch some nice browns, but would have to sift through all of the little ones. The trout parks raise rainbows and stock only rainbows thru the season. That is why you only see rainbows. Browns sometimes swim up into the parks from the trophy areas below. I believe the MDC even puts a size limit on them at Bennett within the park boundries.

Not knocking any of the locals and I don't know where you are located, Janns Netcraft is a good source of blanks and parts. Good prices and fast shipping. Jann's Netcraft

Most people have their favorite flies they go to all of the time. New patterns always require a material you don't already own so there will be little chance of having it along in the first place. Carry the essentials to restock your goto flies and buy materials if needed. You can take shortcuts with the traveling box like carry black and white thread and some permanent markers to color the white to match a pattern. Carry only essential tools, pluck different size hackle off the cape and keep in ziplock bags. Repackage material into smaller packs or containers. Or buy a big box and carry it all. I have carried a kit to Alaska twice and never opened it. The only time I end up tying is on longer vacations during down time and nights or when I travel with the family and have campsite time to kill. I always am short something for a pattern I need and end up making a trip to the shop for materials. My traveling kit is the shower kit bag in the previous post and it works well. Best of all, it was cheap!

Its the same thing that makes them rare in all of the trout parks in the state, people catching them out and MDC not tossing them right back in. Some will travel up out of the river, especially in the fall, but they are not stocked daily like the rainbows.

At least they had the sportsman like qualities to shake off all the game fish in the stream and not leave their carcasses at the dock to give us more fuel for the fire. What river was this?

I was just browsing the news and came across this article. The Ozark streams were originally stocked with trout from trains and natural fish from another stream far away. They still had the natural genetics from the stream born heritage. This article states that hatchery raised fish lose the ability to reproduce naturally after a few generations. It may explain why trout in streams don't reproduce. Interesting article. I read another version of this on another blog. Yahoo News Article GRANTS PASS, Ore. - Steelhead trout grown in hatcheries lose their ability to produce offspring in the wild, raising concerns about whether captive breeding programs can help save endangered fish, a new study concludes. Scientists at Oregon State University found that even when hatcheries breed fish captured in the wild, their offspring become less and less successful at reproducing in the wild than their cousins that never left the river. "The argument that hatchery fish and wild fish are functionally equivalent is basically dead," said Michael Blouin, a population geneticist and associate professor of zoology at Oregon State University. "If the idea is just to produce for harvest, hatcheries are really good at that. If the goal is to help wild populations, then you are in a completely different ball game." While the specific reason for the lack of success remains unknown, it is clearly genetic, Blouin said. "There must be really intense natural selection leading to strong domestication," in the hatcheries, Blouin added. "And it happens within two generations. That is what is so surprising." The study appears in the Friday issue of the journal Science. Steelhead are rainbow trout that, like salmon, spawn in rivers, but go to sea, where there is much more food, to grow to be adults. As logging, farming, dam construction and urban development destroyed their river habitat, hatcheries have been built to fill the gap. About 95 percent of the salmon and steelhead returning to rivers in the Northwest's Columbia Basin were born in plastic trays and reared in concrete pools in hatcheries. Federal, state and private spending on hatcheries amounts to more than $90 million a year in Puget Sound and the Columbia Basin, which cover the bulk of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. About half the salmon and steelhead populations in the West are protected by the Endangered Species Act, which limits destruction of habitat and overfishing. In hopes of getting some salmon and steelhead runs off the endangered species list, property rights advocates, development interests and farm groups have been trying to force federal agencies to count hatchery fish along with wild fish, but recent court rulings have held they don't have to. The study is based on 15 years of genetic samples collected from every steelhead, wild and hatchery, that passes over a dam on the Hood River, which flows off Mount Hood in Oregon into the Columbia River. Technicians take scales from every fish that goes through a trap. The scales reveal the age and DNA of each fish. So far about 15,000 fish have been examined. "The real problem right now is our wild fish are driven to such low numbers that any kind of effect, including hatchery effects, take on a greater importance," said Rob Jones, NOAA fisheries branch chief for hatcheries in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. "In many places we wouldn't have any fish at all if it wasn't for hatcheries."

The report??? Lilley posted some pics of your fish but we are all waiting for your side of the story....

Lots of great info, I am starting to do research on them as we speak. Looking for campsites that are open after 10/1. Found one that is $22 per night for a tent, Yuk! Will check out the other places. I still have not confirmed that I have a way out yet, may have to wait till next year.

Time to pick some brains and see if anyone on here has been to the Gunnison River or the Arkansas River in Colorado. I have some friends that hunt in the area around Salida each year and have access to a trip to that location. I have read articles about the Gunnison in the fall and I know that the Arkansas is a world class river, but I would like some personal feedback on the matter from locals to compare to what we have around here. I would either be going for a drop off and camp for a week from a certain location or rent a car and fish the area while everyone else hunts for the elk.

Fall is here and the weekend was wonderful. I met up with another couple on Friday at Sam A Baker Park for a weekend of R&R. First weekend to relax since Alaska. The weather was perfect, cool nights for camping and sitting around the fire, and warm days for floating and wet wading for the kayaks. We floated Sat. from the park to Bounds Creek. The river was still dropping from a rise last week. I was not aware of that much rain falling on that drainage, we only had 3/4 inch, but the river had come up and was still muddy. Fishing was not worth a crap, but the float was good and well needed relaxation. We saw a bald eagle feeding on a catfish carcass, interesting for the rest of the bunch, just another eagle for me. Made me want to be in Alaska. The campground was pretty empty and camping was great. Its the best time of the year.

Looks like the fun is still going on up there. Great fish, I may have to book a trip over there. Lilley, the rainbows hang in the trees for protection. Eagles can bust them out in the open. The sockeyes will knock them off the redds too if they get close. Sockeye are guarding the redds. There are still plenty of eggs floating in the trees. The dollies on the Quartz were the same way. You could drag one thru the sockeye and watch the salmon nail the dolly in defense of the redd. Have you seen the salmon eating wolf yet? ADN online reported today about a salmon catching wolf at Brooks.

Sounds great. The trouble with fly gear is that it usually only lasts one season till the next generation comes out and the stuff is replaced. Newer, better, faster if you like to keep up on that sort of thing, its the way of retail. I have always just trusted a company to stand behind what they sell and take back the stuff that don't work. As an Orvis guide, past Orvis dealer, and current customer, I trust them to sell only top notch stuff. If I have a problem with something they exchange or replace it with no questions asked. Most of the retail businesses is like that and I am not suggesting just one company to trust. Opinions on here could be biased and you have to take them with a grain of salt. I enjoy the traditional stuff and buy alot on Ebay. If you like something and it seems like a good deal, go for it.

I had a 138 Predator that was more like a canoe than a kayak. I have 2 12' yaks, a sit in and a sit on top. The sit on top is better for fishing, higher up on the water for better casting. It is easier to get in and out of too.

As I watch the MSNBC footage of 6 years ago of a day that changed our world, I noticed that there had been no mention of it on here. Although we were far away from it all here in the Midwest, I am sure we all remember the events of the day locally and it has affected us all. I was watching FOX News that morning while getting ready for work as always that morning as the events unfolded. When the second tower was hit, I called in and said I was going to be late. When I arrived later, we were watching FOX news most of the morning. The things I remember the most was the eerie silence that morning when I got to town and thru the day. There was almost no vehicle traffic. There were no planes or noise in the skies. Everyone was keeping track of events on TV. Then there was the gas gouging later on in the day. Everyone realized early that it was terrorism and we needed retaliation. Then the Flags started flying and we United to right the wrong of that day. Now, 6 years later, many want to stop short of finishing the JOB, while the mastermind still mocks us.

Lucky Dog. I am planning for next years trip in September. Going with a few more guys and going to rent a Class C RV this time and save on the driving.

Nothing beats a good ole roll top dry bag. Just be sure that they have quality buckles that work. I use them all of the time in boats, kayaks, and duck blinds and have several different sizes. NRS watersport equipment has some nice ones.

Nice improvement. I agree with the others that the text gets lost in the background of the page. Where are the links to the Forum?? Did somebody say Lilley was heading back to Alaska?

We flew NW Airlines out of Memphis. The counter girl had problems with the Bazooka rod holder we pack rods in. Then she really had a problem with the firearms I declared when I stepped up to the counter. Apparently she had never had a handgun issue while she was working. TSA came to her rescue and the pistols made it. They were rechecked by TSA after I turned them over and they left the TSA approved locks unlocked on the case. Anchorage was a breeze, they see firearms all the time there. Memphis was a pain, strip off belts and shoes, remove laptop and cameras from bags. I ended up with 3 bins full for the security check. My fishing buddy forgot the shampoo in his carry on on the way out of Anchorage and was almost subject to a cavity check for other liquids. Next trip, I need to carry less stuff. I did not need a fly tying kit, even the limited one I took. We could buy flies pretty cheap at all locations if needed and did not need any extras. I still have most of the flies I left with, I lost one salmon fly and 10 beads and gave some away. I took 2 backup rain tops and goretex pants, waders and a rain jacket were all that was needed. I took a sleeping bag that I only used one night and did not really need it. Dry bags were a must, I took 3 of differing sizes and used all on the floats and portages to the cabin. GPS was nice. High end digital camera could have been left at home, the Minolta Dimage did well. Pistols and shoulder holsters were good comfort, we were in some pretty thick stuff. The Bear country that Lilley showed in the video was very open compared to what we had. Grass and brush that you could barely see over, visibility in brush along creek banks 10 to 20' at best. Vegetation was very lush in the areas we fished. As far as the airlines go, planes were on time, luggage made the trip without problems. The travel gods were with us. We even had an upgrade with Avis to an Impala, which has a lower ground clearance than should be allowed by a couple of fisherman in AK. We left a few marks crossing a low cut at the cabin in Portage. At least the tides did not rinse out the undercarriage...

Great article on exposure. I have been playing with my Pentax ist DS since April trying to figure out all of the features. The exposure settings are more complicated than old film SLR that I owned. I did a shoot at a local airshow and found that the black planes were way underexposed. I did a little research and found the light was being metered in the center and not on the whole scene. The Alaska trip was rain and clouds the first 5 days, most of the mountains and glaciers were really grainy. I was able to get a few good shots out of a moving car and the plane. The nice thing about digital is you can see the shot after it takes and can make adjustments, something you could not do with film. And Photoshop will correct some mistakes later if you don't catch them in the field. And, you can always delete the bad shots without paying for the print.

The older Superfines were a better deal than the new Superfines that came out a few years ago. Slower, simpler graphite actions. The new ones are great to look at and are nice rods, just a little pricey. I have all Orvis rods, I did purchase a Cabela's 4wt 5 pc rod a few years back and it did alright. But it was the first rod that I have ever closed up in a car window and broke the tip off. And it is the only rod that does not carry the 25 year, no questions asked guarantee that Orvis offers on most rods.

Great river, it should be added to the Forum as a destination river. I guess I missed this post while out of town. I usually fish it a few times each year.

It is what it is! Every topic has a title like a TV has channels. If you open up something that looks like something other than a fishing report, then that is probably what you will get. And if it is a Sority House, lets have a PANTY RAIDDDD!!!!!!! I agree, I Love America too and thank a Soldier for this lovely Freedom of Speech we all have on here today.... And Thank Lilley too, he puts alot into this. By the way, I am not skeered to admit that I am Joe Ward.

HLS 7' 4wt One Ounce rod. Great little small stream rod and a wonderful dry fly rod. SWEET ROD. HLS 8'6" 4wt Adams rod. Best all around trout rod for MO. Was overpowered by the Montana Creek Rainbows in Alaska though. Superfine 7'9" 5wt Far and Fine. Excellent small stream Smallmouth Rod and for heavier trout flies. Zero Gravity 9' 5wt 4pc Mid flex. Beautiful big stream trout travel rod, my tailwater special. Beat down the 5 lb dollies and the odd spawned out red salmon in Alaska. TLS Power Matrix 10' 7wt. Acquired by accident, broke a 9' 8wt Power Matrix and they came back with this one in exchange. Turns out to be a great rod on the Kenai and will handle a silver salmon with ease. I have 3 more that I have not fished enough to give a good report on, Zero Gravity 9' 8wt 4 pc, Clearwater Classic 9'6" 7wt 4pc that just came in this week, and a Superfine 8'6" 5wt Henry's Fork that the X wife gave me that I don't really fish anymore.