jdmidwest

Camping at Greer is not free, it is a NFS fee area. Camping along the river on gravel bars is free. McCormick Lake area may be free, they have a few sites and are on a loop of the Ozark Trail above Greer. You never know what the heat will be in late August, it may be in the 70's, but probably not. Vegetation should be dying down, but can't vouch for the trail. I have only used portions of it. Make arrangements with Brian to deliver the boats to ensure their security.

I thought the snapper looked pretty happy, he is smilin for the camera.

Now I find out that I have been breaking the law for a long time, all trout must be 15". I responded to this one and have not heard back. Poor guy probably wishes he never answered this email. His response It should be 4 at 15” at all trout parks. I’ve sent a message to Montauk inquiring about their signage on this. The Wildlife codes states 4 at 15” statewide for all trout. (Rainbows and Browns.) There are specific waters in the state that have different rules, but not for Brown trout in the Parks. You can reference this in section 10-6.535 of the Wildlife Code here: http://sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/3csr/3c10-6.pdf I hope this helps with the confusion, Andrew Branson Fisheries Programs Specialist Missouri Department of Conservation 2901 West Truman Blvd P.O. Box 180 Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180 tel: 573-522-4115, ext. 3501 fax: 573-526-0990

And then the second email to add to the confusion. Upon further review we determined brown trout follow the same daily limits as rainbows in the trout parks. That would be 4, but the length limit is 15" Sorry for the confusion, Andrew Branson Fisheries Programs Specialist Missouri Department of Conservation 2901 West Truman Blvd P.O. Box 180 Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180 tel: 573-522-4115, ext. 3501 fax: 573-526-0990

Per MDC today in response to an email I sent them. It is 1 Brown at 15" long in the trout parks. You can find detailed information in the Wildlife Code trout section (10-6.535) here: http://sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/3csr/3c10-6.pdf Or on page 18 of our Fishing Regulations Summary here: http://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2011/01/2011fishsummary.pdf I hope this helps, Andrew Branson Fisheries Programs Specialist Missouri Department of Conservation 2901 West Truman Blvd P.O. Box 180 Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180 tel: 573-522-4115, ext. 3501 fax: 573-526-0990

A short trip like that should not hurt anything. Air dry as much as possible and unpack as soon as you get home.

How much extra if he puts a bullseye on his forehead to make it easy? Gotta love the net.

All of my garden is bearing fruit now, I really can't go spraying pesticide all over the beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. Besides, I am one of the few that are starting to believe that widespread pesticide use is leading to the decline of the bee population, so I try not to use pesticide any more than needed. Phermones target specific insects and do not bother the good ones like bees, ladybugs, praying mantis, and dragonflies. Another thing I noticed, one of the bait stations seems to be more potent than the other. One is a catching fool, the other is just so/so. I have moved the traps away from the garden and up in the yard. I am noticing they seem to be eating on my Pin Oaks and not my garden as much.

A few years back, they changed the rule in the parks at Bennett, Meramec, and Montauk to match the Brown Trout Management of the Stream Area below the park to keep this kind of crap from happening. People were catching the illegal fish below the park and crossing back over claiming them as legal park trout. What you have there is a poacher that had his picture taken at Reed's Fly Shop. The brown trout regs are posted at the park near the streams as of last year. I can't vouch for that fact this year. I caught and released 2 nice browns from the handicap area in the campground last fall. Several looked at me funny for letting them go since I was keeping some rainbows to eat. I pointed out the brown trout reg at that time.

Technically, you can fish after you keep a limit of fish, other than the trout park rule. When you are fishing a lake or a stream, there are many species of fish that you can keep a limit of so you really don't have to stop and go home. You can't possess a limit of fish, keep fishing, catch one that you like better of the same species as the limit in possession and trade it for one in possession. Unless you are in a tournament, then you are special and have your own set of rules. In the trout parks of MO, once you have 4 fish in possession for your daily limit, you are done, period. You can't go to the catch and release section and fish some more. You can't drop your fish off at the camp, then go fish catch and release. According to park rules, you are done. Since the area is managed for one species, you can't attempt to target other species and be legal fishing after you have reached your daily possession limit. You can't catch a bigger fish and drop a smaller one off of your stringer either. Once you "keep" a fish, it can't be culled.

Bantam roosters make great hackle for woolies. I used to pluck the ones at the farm from time to time. Now all we have is white roosters. The old ones were a nice furnace color, brown with black roots. Funny thing though, they never seemed to like it. But they survived, unlike the commercial ones.

This is true, but it is the first season that I have seen them in my garden here. Neighbor over the hill has started a grape vineyard, probably where they are coming from.

I bought the whole trap for $7.50 at the local Tru Value, bait is good for 6-8 weeks. Lowes, Wally, and other farm/home places did not sell this one locally. Emptied out another sack of bugs today. It emits a smell like citronella but not exactly. I could smell it carry in the wind, and so did the bugs. When you dump the bag, wash it out or the ziplock does not work well. The bugs are smelly after they spend time as a group in there defecating.

I like fresh squash from the garden coated in olive oil and seasoned with Cavender's Seasoning on the grill. Some new red potatoes chunked with the skin on, broccoli, vidalia onion, Mrs. Dash and butter wrapped in foil and cooked over the coals is always nice. Fresh corn on the cob, silk removed but the shuck retained, buttered then cooked over charcoal is nice.

Saddle hackles come from the same chickens as better grade neck hackles, just farther down the chicken on the back. Saddle hackles are generally longer, webbier, and softer in normal birds. It is the feathers that trail down the back and curl under the wings. Genetic breeding like the Whiting farms has created high grade saddle hackles that are good for tying dry flies in 10-16 range and rate a premium price. Prime dry fly hackle used to come from the neck area of the chicken. Strung hackle does fine in the larger sizes, cheap India or Chinese hackle does the same too. Smaller buggers can be tyed with nicer hackle or cheap hackle of bigger size and trimmed to fit. Both usually create the same effect for fishing.

Was visiting with a friend in town Friday and he showed me his new purchase. It was a Japanese Beetle Trap made by the RESCUE! company. Neat little device with a funnel and a phermone type bait station. Beetles show up and hit the trap and fall in what looks like a big ziplock bag that you can dump and reuse. The bait is supposed to last several weeks. Having seen something eating on my okra and beans, I bought one for $7.50 to see what I could catch. I set it out and walked down to the garden about 10 minutes later to see them already swarming the bag. This morning I dumped the trap into a walmart bag, tied it off, and sit it the sun to bake. I went out and bought another. I have another 2 bags full this evening. These things really work. Resue Beetle Trap.

Put that lipoma on a big treble hook and catch a nice big catfish with it....

Living within your means always helps when it comes to paying the bills.

Whoops, got into this one late. How about "survival of the fittest" and cut off all public aid to welfare? I personally write on my tax forms each year that my dollars I pay in are only for conservation use only....do not send any to welfare. Either pull your own weight or go somewhere else.

C'mon Al, nobody likes a good looking corpse... I just sharpened a pocket knife, maybe Gavin can donate the Scotch, and we can work on that Lipoma. I was pre med in college and I don't think I have killed all of those brain cells yet. Good to hear all is good.

Interesting. I use mine every day for something or other. Fishing, I have used the scale to measure a fish from time to time. I get a better grip to debarb a hook than I can with hemostats. The saw blade has cut limbs and gotten lures out of trees. The screwdrivers have fixed reels and other stuff. File to sharpen hooks.

Alot depends on the fly you will be using. Typically 4x or 5x would do just fine. The water is probably still off color and fish will not be tippet shy. You will probably fishing streamers or big nymphs.

Interesting thought about the break in period and the Leatherman's. The old tools did require a lot of action to make them smooth as silk like a butterfly knife. But then they changed the design with the current production tools that roughed up the jaw mechanism and you really can't break them in. The pliers are sticky even after some dremel work. But the new blades lock. The Gerber design always pinched my fingers when closing them down close like on a hook to debarb them. The butterfly design leaves a wider gap between the grips.

I have used multipliers for years starting out with a Leatherman PST back in the late 80's. For my wedding, I bought my groomsmen Gerber Multipliers for their services and they still use them to this day. After a while, I have become a collector of multitools. I have amassed a collection of most of the retired Leathermans, several Gerber's, Buck, Stanley, and misc others that have caught my eye due to their construction. While fishing, I carried the PST. Then the PST II came out with scissors and a diamond hook sharpener. Then the Wave with more goodies, but it was heavy, it became my EDC tool. I bought a Sideclip for fishing, it was minimal and had a pocket clip. But it lacked a file, and it became discontinued so its value increased. I carry a Blast everyday now, I like its rounded handles and its good selection of blades. I have a Skeletool in the fishing box and a Kick with a pocket clip on the vest. I just purchased a new/used PST II for fishing with the diamond hook sharpener and plan to modify it with a pocket clip for fishing. Sitting around bored tonight and was wondering what everyone else used for pliers while fishing.

Checking the net tonight and reading the MDC News. New article titled "Public invited to fish MDC's Duck Creek CA ponds before drained for renovations". The old heart skipped a few beats whilst the slow butt internet proceeded to load. Digging into the article and following the link to the Duck Creek Blog site revealed the Ponds to be drained. Thankfully, it is not Main Pool 1 where the good fishing is, it is the private lake fishery they acquired a few years back out by the road. Probably some good fish in there, I fished it a couple of times for catfish when I was a kid. Anyone looking for a good fish fry should show up and take the spoils before they spill out into the fields. Free For All Fish at Duck Creek Lakes.