jdmidwest

I did not discuss the DNR, it is a separate Federal Entity that draws its money from the Federal Gov. I don't think you even get a chance to vote for their money. DNR's funding was cut by the last president and we pay more for it as a result. MDC is a state operation that draws off the 1/8 cent tax as its only funds other than license fees. Look at the CORP lands, you have to pay every time you pass near one of them. Does any one not have an air conditioned vehicle personally? I would rather see MDC have air conditioners than a prisoner have a TV. Or a deadbeat sponging off the government and my tax dollars driving around in an air conditioned new vehicle buying steaks with the food stamps. I think most of us would like to see how our hard earned money is spent. I already voted for where my dollars are to go. I personally use MDC lands and benefits and I am glad we have it. I use them several times a week. You can use almost all of their services for free. They are a pretty well managed organization but they are at the mercy of the Director. I think the one there now is doing a good job.

GF, I did not attack anyone person on here, just the ones that question the 1/8 cent sales tax. It is money well spent and the MDC is probably the only government agency that has operated within its budget with out asking for a raise or increase in funding other than permits which I feel is justified. The same 1/8 cent tax was approved again by voters, they did not ask for 1/4 cent or a bigger increase this time like other government entities would, just what they had been operating under. Individual land purchases have been slow lately. Elk in MO could have been a disaster to our farmers and our deer populations. They did not think twice about otters and bears and both look like they may be problems now after the fact. We have dodged the bullet so far with CWD in the deer population, and if they had brought in Elk, who knows. Working with landowners is a great thing because most of the land in MO is privately owned. Someone needs to help educate the landowners to preserve MO wildlife and water quality. And they will stock your fish pond if you need them. As far as enforcement goes, alot of game violations get by because of the lack of agents in the field. 1 agent per county does not cut it. And I would not feel bad if MHP increases the number of troopers either. There is never one around if you need it. I think we should respect the ones that help to preserve our outdoors.

Apparently the only MDC lands you use are the trout parks. I assume you do not hunt or hike or access a river with a boat or fish any of the public lakes. I assume you do not participate in the any of the winter trout fisheries. I know you are not a farmer or a landowner with stream access that requires assistance from the MDC to manage your own land. I know you are not a duck hunter and you do not use those areas to hunt waterfowl. I know you have not taken a lunch hour to hike thru an MDC natural area for a little healthy exercise instead of a greasy big mac. I assume you do not access a stream that was previously blocked off to you because a new city guy bought the land and by god its his and no one else's. Thank god MDC has the opportunity to solve this problem and I can attest to several locations I use. Whats the big deal with the trout limit any way, how many go to waste in the freezer? They taste like crap anyway compared to all of the other fish in MO they rank right up there with carp. If you are worried about the measly 1/8 percent sales tax, wake up and think about where the other 6 2/8 th's go to. Wizzed away on alot of worthless stuff like deadbeats that suck money away while the rest of us work to make them a living. I have long awaited a line on my tax form that states "Where would you like us to spend your money?" Outdoors and conservation would be my box.

Fished the Home Waters today, first time in quite a long while. I fished the Bear Creek in Wayne County, my truest Home Waters as the creek and its feeders run through all of the lands my family owns. I have fished them for 40 some years now. This section was my Grandfather on Mom's side. Lower down on the creek than where it cuts thru our farm. I had not been there since he passed in 2000. I first choose a section that I had always liked near the old iron bridge. Mom told me that they had posted the area and maybe I needed to see the owner to make sure it was alright. After a 30 minute talk with him, I left with no access. I went to school and run around with him and his sister, my dad hauled him to work one summer when they worked the same job, he owed my Grandpa a debt at the country store he used to run that was never collected. I asked nicely to cross his fence, talked about family, and did not press the issue. The answer was no, and I left to a different spot. I accessed the creek at the spot where I spent alot of the night Grandpa passed away, things had changed alot in the last 7 years, the lane had grown up and a gate had been put up to keep the shitbums out. A popular swimming hole had become meth alley like the other place I started. The creek has shrunk over the years, I barely got nut deep in the crossings. I remember when Grandpa used to carry me on his shoulders through the deeper parts. Of course, my legs are longer now. The fishing was poor, did not see many in the stream. The fine smallmouth stream has changed alot since the days of my youth. I remember one fine brown bass I watched one summer that lie under a leaning tree. I would lay on that tree and watch his bright red eyes and tried several lures to hook him to no avail. I did see a nice sized copperhead or cottonmouth swimming the river, at first I thought it was a regular water snake. Then I noticed the body floating high in the water, the tongue sensing the air, and a stripe thru his eye. The clencher was the cats eye pupil. It was either the darkest copperhead or the lightest colored cottonmouth I have seen. The stripe thru the eye leads me to think it may have been a cottonmouth that had just shed out.

A few years back, MDC spent a summer in the trout parks running surveys for the trout management. The problem is, X amount of Hatchery space can produce X amount of trout, no more, no less. The X amount had been maxed out. The options for more hatcheries are not possible to very slim. The Y factor in the equation was You, there are more of You fishing for trout than the hatcheries produce. They had a problem, and they spoke with trout fishers to find the answers. Close parks one day a week, Catch and Release one or two days, lower the amount of trout kept, size limits were all some of the options. Catch and release looked to be a favorable option till I asked, "Will you stock the park on the C&R days?". Who would fish a fished out trout park on an OFF day? DNR would lose revenue on the campers and MDC would lose tag revenue. So they made the colored management areas, Red, Blue, and White and cut the possession to 4. Shortly thereafter Ark dropped from 6 to 5. Those of you that complain must not remember the days at Meramec where possession was only 2 fish. They have purchased alot of land, only when someone offers to sell it to them. Their management for the most part is excellent. Some of their actions are a little hard to understand but the end product is usually good. I would like them to double the enforcement part of the system, protect what we have instead of making more critters for the poachers.

On a spinning rod, if the keeper is anywhere but the back side opposite of the reel seat, it will catch the line as it is spinning out on a cast. The distance from the reel seat matters too for the same reason. The same should apply to any rod, but the first guide on a spinning rod is larger and the loops coming off the reel spool are wider. Bait casters and closed face reels have a more concentrated point leaving the reel. I have on that is mounted on a side instead and it snags the line every once in a while. Most fishing shops have a plastic one that mounts to your rod with small O rings and they work fine. If you have a problem with them, go to a hardware store and get different O rings. They don't require anything to tie on or finish out the wraps. They are removable and will not harm the rod or change its original design. I have one on my Orvis 1 ounce rod that I have used for years. It did not come with a keeper, the extra weight would have exceeded the 1 ounce. It is my favorite rod for dry fly fishing 7' 4wt.

You are right, the hook enters their mouth and if they spit the bead, you hook them. The right amount of spacing prevents from hooking too deep and hurting the fish. So effective that some streams have regs on them. Amazingly, the damage was minimal to the fish, I did not kill any or have any gill hooked. The only foul hooked fish were the salmon that were on the redds. Then, you would just pull the hook off with some rotting fish flesh attached to it. We were there just as the reds were starting to die, they would beach themselves or drift down into pools. I have never tried them locally, never had the opportunity of fishing a shoal with hundreds of spawning reds in MO or ARK. In AK, the rainbows and the dollies fatten up well on the eggs and the carcasses during the spawn. In Sept, their bellies look like they are going to pop. You catch a fish and they puke eggs up on you. The other post has the pics, this one happened by accident on my slow dialup.

The famous Alaska Trout bead. The ultimate lure for trout and dollies. Designed to imitate a single egg, a single fertilized egg that has started turning white. To fish it, you can peg it on the line above the hook. Depending on the stream or area you fish, where you peg it is important, the distance that is legal varies. Some parts it is not legal at all. It can be as deadly as bait. The trips to Alaska are strictly catch and release for any species other than salmon and pike for us. Last time we caught and released several trout in the Kenai that had been released several times. 30" to 36" fish were on every hour. The dollies were good sized and very colorful. The fish move into the rivers to feed on the eggs and the rotting flesh of the salmon. Like the bears, they gorge themselves to make it through the harsh winters. The beads are craft store beads in 6mm and 8mm, pink, red, or orange. They are then painted with nail polish to give them the white color. Everyone of the native alaskans have their own theories and formulas on the paint scheme. This one worked well last time. Heres mine. - Faceted craft beads, orange, 6mm or 8mm - Love My Nails Platinum nail polish The pics are of the production area and the veteran of the last time. Several hundred of these will be produced for the trip in different colors and sizes. Other flies will follow soon.

The famous Alaska Trout bead. The ultimate lure for trout and dollies. Designed to imitate a single egg, a single fertilized egg that has started turning white. To fish it, you can peg it on the line above the hook. Depending on the stream or area you fish, where you peg it is important, the distance that is legal varies. Some parts it is not legal at all. It can be as deadly as bait. The trips to Alaska are strictly catch and release for any species other than salmon and pike for us. Last time we caught and released several trout in the Kenai that had been released several times. 30" to 36" fish were on every hour. The dollies were good sized and very colorful. The fish move into the rivers to feed on the eggs and the rotting flesh of the salmon. Like the bears, they gorge themselves to make it through the harsh winters. The beads are craft store beads in 6mm and 8mm, pink, red, or orange. They are then painted with nail polish to give them the white color. Everyone of the native alaskans have their own theories and formulas on the paint scheme. This one worked well last time. Heres mine. - Faceted craft beads, orange, 6mm or 8mm - Love My Nails Platinum nail polish

Yep, doesn't sound like he was too happy. I hope the press did not see that article, the deadly grills will be outlawed. Who remembers the band "Boston"? Me. Dam I am getting old.

Rainbows taste better!

Or getting a trip cancelled is a frustration. Any day fishing is better than a day of work!

I have not floated the upper part this year either, was going to Sunday, but due to the weather coming in, we did the other float. I suspect the cattle operation above the gravel pits may be running cattle in the river or some runoff. By the way Al, nice carvings, I saw a yard full of them...

The only thing sprinkled on the charcoal is barley and hops to keep down the flames.

Historically, most Ozark streams have floated barges of logs. 2 logs tied together makes a old time barge. They still float barges created tying 2 canoes together to make a barge to sit on top with their lawn chairs. I have seen it and watched them get trashed by a sweeper on a riffle. I can float a kayak in 6 inches of water so most streams are navigable to me. And, historically, the stream flows of all Mo stream are lower than they are now, so all of the previous could have occurred in the past by others.

As I sit here typing on my laptop, smoking a few wings on the charcoal grill and reading the posts, I contemplate, WILL ALL THE SMOKE KILL ME EARLY? I ponder at the any hours of hickory smoke I have inhaled and wonder if it is hazardous? I worked as a manager of a BBQ place in college that smoked everything over a hickory fire. Man, I made a few good bbq's in my time. In reflection, life is good. I am going to Alaska again on a wonderful trip. I am getting ready to eat the great foods my garden has produced, lettuce, cucumbers, squash, green beans, and sweet corn. The neighbors purple martins are eating bugs. Rain clouds are on the horizon for later on tonight. The moisture is well needed. My forest has grown from the pasture that was this subdivision when I first bought this ground 10 years ago. I can pee in my yard and the neighbors can't see me! So, whats the verdict, do you think charcoal smoke is harmful? I am a non smoker except for the occaisional cigar on a good fishing trip. Will the smoke get me or should I just keep enjoying? Or maybe I should stay away from the barley and hops!

Rainbows put up the better fight, aerobatics. Browns tend to bulldog like an old catfish and are usually just too much wearing down. I vote the bow!

Wasn't that the boat parked in the channel at fall creek the other day?

My interpretations is that if you enter a stream on public land or county road and you stay in the water you are ok. I have notice some new signs along state highway bridges that state "state property, no trespassing" ??? Is state property private or public? Is it not the property of all in the state? MO has the navigable stream rule, if you can float it, you are not trespassing. The land around it is owned by someone and I would not trespass on it. Ark residents can lay claim to the stream bed under a navigable stream and I think you can be counted as trespassing if you are wading. I have seen a few county bridges in MO lately that have been "taken over" by landowners and are no longer public property. It is my understanding that you can not even launch a canoe from the bridge w/o trespassing according to the signs. When in doubt, stay out is a good practice.

Thank you all for this info. It is good to know that there is more wadeable water other than the area up close to the dam in low water. The only time I was down your way, it was a cluster resembling a trout park on the upper river. I like my solitude and will look for the area around fall creek next time down. Or I will trip over to Roaring River for a different experience. By the way, I thought it was dangerous to "anchor off" in a tailwater area. I thought it was frowned upon by the water patrol?

Are you running an antivirus? Maybe your machine is infected.

We took the Kayaks out to the Big River near Bonne Terre yesterday. Fished from the gravel pit on Highway 8 to Terre Du Lac. Upper float was poor, water was cloudy and nasty. Had to wait for 2 groups of cattle to cross about a 1/2 mile below the bridge. The water cleared up below the cattle and the fishing picked up. Lots of green sunfish and bluegills, a few smallies and large mouth. No Kentuckies. Largest smallmouth around 18".

From the Anchorage Daily News... Color coding for problem bears suffers fatal error BRIGHT DYE: Tranquilizer dart misses rump, strikes female grizzly in the liver. The Associated Press (Published: June 21, 2007) A grizzly bear tranquilized so it could be painted with pink dots has died. Biologists said the tranquilizer dart hit the Kenai Peninsula bear in the liver. The female yearling was darted June 13 as part of a program by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game plan to mark bears with dye if they had become habituated to humans. Department officials hope that marking bears with bright colors will help identify them and head off problems between humans and bears looking for easy meals from backpacks or fish caught by anglers and kept along riverbanks. Biologist Jeff Selinger, who heads up the program, said the bear death will not change the program focus. Anytime a bear is shot with a dart, there is a risk of death, he said. The bear's death was unfortunate, he said, but the program will move ahead. Selinger and his team tranquilized the 2-year-old female last week after reports it was frequenting the Russian River area. Five spots on the bear's hide were bleached and dyed in bright pink. The bear was tagged and fitted with a radio collar. "The color codes will allow us to positively identify individual bears and to get reports from the public and other officials in the area of specific bear activity," Selinger said. The bear was released, but when Selinger tracked it Monday with the radio collar, he found it had died. A necropsy indicated the tranquilizer dart hit the bear's liver. "I was confident that I had the aim in the right spot on the rump, in the heavy meat section of the rump. The dart just traveled a little higher and got up behind the first rib," Selinger said. Animal protection groups have said it's a bad idea to mark bears with bright colors. They said colored bears will socialize differently, a claim bear researchers said likely will not happen. "Bears cannot see colors, or if they do it's just minor shades," Selinger said. "Most of what they see is in black and white, so color coding would not have an effect." John Toppenberg of Alaska Wildlife Alliance said tourists visiting Alaska will be put off by the markings. "Certainly, very few people would come up here to see bears colored like clowns," Toppenberg said. Selinger said the bear coloring program was designed around four bears that frequented the Russian and Kenai River areas last year. If an opportunity comes up to mark them, Selinger said, his team is ready to do so. There are no plans to mark a sow and two cubs spotted lately along the Russian River. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge closed off wooded areas near the ferry Tuesday because of those bears and others. Sounds like the plan works, we don't have to worry about that bear!

The Hummingbirds always disappear for a few weeks in the month of June, I assume to raise their young. Only a few males will use the feeders. After the fourth of July, things should pick back up. Smear vasoline thick around the stem of the hanger or pole to keep ants out of the feeders. The ants won't go thru it.

As far as flies go, poppers, nymphs, san juan worms, small streamers, and terrestrials for the blue gills. Smallies are pretty well the same but on a larger scale. Later in the summer, Smallies hit poppers and terrestrials better than early on. You will fish the same cover and fast water as you would spin fishing. A good pair of polarized glasses helps with the sight fishing. Depending on the fly, you will strip it accordingly to entice a strike. 4 to 6 wt rods and lengths to suit the stream type you fish. An 8' to 8'6" rod being the norm.