jdmidwest

A friend of mine brought dealership info back from a fly expo last year and was going to be a dealer for Native. He never did, too many other irons in the fire. Orvis is carrying one of their boats in the catalog. They are a new company, the boats are built more like solo canoes than traditional kayaks. They are made very stable. They were good looking boats but even at dealer cost they were out of my budget. For the money I would get a Tarpon 120 by Wilderness Systems at about half the price of a Native. Here is a link with a dealer locator. There are a few on Ebay also.. Native Watercraft on the web!

Update. 4 weeks to D-day. Just acquired a new Orvis 8wt 9' Zero Gravity 4pc rod and reel for the trip, new wading boots, and some waterproof fleece for the trip. This trip, I have better equipment than last time in 2000. You learn from experience. The minute I returned I started upgrading, buying fleece, gortex, GPS, lighter weight camping equip, etc. Alaska is a little more technical than a trip to Taney. Especially when you go "do it yourself" without a guide or camp outfitter. I can hardly wait to cast the rod, feels great. I have a 5wt 9' 4pc Zero Gravity and it is wonderful. Dam pretty rod for Orvis. I remember the days when they did not even sand the blanks and left a spiral on the rod all the way. Nice red finish, nickel silver reel seats. This one will probably punch thru the winds with ease. Been watching Turnagain Arm forcasts and the winds have been running 20 to 30 mph. I have noticed a lack of reports on Alaska here since Phil got back, I know others have gone too. Whats up?

I just read this on STL Todays website. MDC is handing over land aquired to DNR for a new State Park on the Current River. Have fun with this one....... New State Park, STL Today

John Hoskins is the current director of the MDC. Someone accused me of working for them so I might as well be the top guy. Has anyone called anyone at the MDC and requested a report?

Has anyone tired of beating this dead horse yet?? Oh yeah, my real name is JOHN HOSKINS, anybody know who I am????

Did it go under the knife or Ka-plunk back in the river???

Has anyone heard about an increase on the horsepower in the 11pt? I had heard it had went to 40 like the Current above Jacks Fork. Would not make much difference either way, most were running modified engines there anyway. With everything going on this summer, I have not been able to get there yet.

Just a little update on the vintage boat purchase. It was a little rough when I purchased it. The titles stated everything was made in 1974. A model number on the Johnson 9.5 revealed it was actually a 1964, a pure antique. With a little work and a few still readily available parts, the motor is running and only needs a little final tuning on the carb. I just waxed her down tonight while grilling a few burgers, got rid of the oxidized paint and brought out the "cream puff" finish on the old johnson. Armoralled the plastic emblems to bring out the color in the emblems. I replaced the tires and repacked the bearings. Made a mount for the spare tire. Went over both trolling motors and repainted and put new props on them. Changed out the rope on the winch and the anchor. Added a few cleats. Oiled up and greased every fitting. Replaced the fuel lines and fittings. Sanded and painted the fenders. Bought a service manual off Ebay that helped alot. Also found some good info from a outdoor book "Care and Repair of Outdoor Equip" by Monte Burch that I purchased a few years ago on outboards. As you can tell in my post last week, my fishing buddy approves. I still need to add some electronics, a bilge pump, aerator, and build a pop up duck blind for it. But that is what a project boat is for.

Did Bush or Congress change the term limit on Presidents? His term is over in 08 no matter what. I have a feeling he will leave the furniture when he leaves office too unlike the last one!

Drew, you hit the nail on the head. Everyone worships Wally as the one stop shop. It has killed alot of businesses. And it has its head so far up China's butt. Wally is one of the main importers of goods from China. I posted this to warn people when they shop at Wally. And the US's largest employer treats it's employees like crap. If I really need something, I look to Ebay first.

Renzetti Traveler Cam Pedestal would be a good choice. I upgraded from the original traveler last year and I love it. Spend a little extra money now and get the vise you want now as it will last for many years. I bought the old vise in 1991 and have tyed many flies on it, both for pleasure and for sale. Any of the better vises out on the market will probably last you forever. With the exception of the cheap India vises with the soft steel heads, any American vise has hardened heads. I have a collection of old Herter's vises that still tye today as good as they did in the fifty's. They did not make a good rotary back then and the steel tended to rust.

As a part of a new annual thing, we floated the Jacks Fork on Tuesday. I had my cousin in from Texas and several of his friends from STL. The river was up 6" and running good, but clear. We floated from Eminence to 2 Rivers. The river was in good shape with the only problem areas near the end of the float. A few trees across the channel at head height caused a few problems but our group made it through. 4 canoes and 2 kayaks in our bunch. Traffic was light on the river due to the goofy holiday in the middle of the week. We only saw 6 other groups on the float. Fishing was okay for falling water. Tube baits and soft plastics worked good. I picked up several on Rapalas and Shad Raps. Nothing large except for a few nice goggle eyes in the 10" range. Float Camps were floating people out of Bay Creek all the way down due to the better flows. They had a good rain Sunday and had the river shut down til Monday morning. The group had floated Monday from Alley to Eminence and had done pretty well. I left them to float Current on the 4th, did not hear how they did.

We fished the Lake Girardeau, a fine MDC lake near Jackson, on my birthday July 4. I had my 12 y/o daughter this year and she wanted to go fishing. I bought the new boat for her (and me) on her birthday in May and we have been using it alot. I just fixed the motor on it and restored it to full repair. We bought the tube of crickets and headed out. We only had a few hours to fish and the gills were still in the usual places. She out fished me 5 to 4. We caught bluegill and 2 redears. CC, if you read this, this is why I went vintage on the boat. I grew up fishing with a great uncle that had a 14' jon and an old johnson outboard. We watched several other nicer boats at the time go by, but I was happy just getting out to fish the day. My uncle would envy my boat, 2 trolling motors, a livewell, padded seats, and a motor that starts on the first pull. We never had that luxury, but my daughter will not have the bacon and egg sandwichs and fried apple pies that my aunt made for us. As she matures, I will teach her to flyfish. That is something I had to learn myself.

MDC is the fault for the weeds in Current River???? Sewage is a problem that created the weeds??? Fish waste polluting the stream??? DEPT OF NATURAL RESOURCES manages the State Park, MDC manages the hatchery and the fishery. DNR is responsible for the water quality in the state and the outflow from the ponds should be clean. The low flows for the last ten years on the Current River have resulted in the stream re-vegitating itself. If you would take the time to sample the vegetation in the stream you would notice alot of trout food in the vegetation, ie, scuds, mayflies, caddis, etc. I would think that there is the same amount of fish crap and carcasses in the water as in the past. How would they filter the fish waste from the hatchery runs? Actually, the vegetation helps, look at some of the other posts to attest to the fishery quality. What is the cause of all of the negative posts for the Missouri Department of Conservation lately????????????

The vintage 73 9.5 Johnson returned to running form today. I rebuilt the carb on Friday and took it out this morning and it run like a champ. The float was all soaked up and sunk and that was my prob. I have a nice old boat now from the days of my youth.

Drum, out of freshwater or a clear lake, are good to eat depending on the size. Cut the red meat out and fry or make fish cakes like GF said. Cut the rocks out of their head and you will have a couple of Lady Luck charms!

And a happy birthday to Todd, Don, and me. 3 Great guys that were "born on the 4th of July".

Trout spawn in the Spring River? I have never seen that. I thought the water conditions down there would not be right. What time of the year do they spawn down there and where? I have always wondered why they have not made a catch and release area from Lassiters to Dam 3. I guess there are 2 many bait fishers.

The Conservancy and MDC are 2 separate things I believe. The Conservancy is similar to the Sierra Club.

Al, you know how the smaller counties in Mo work. Short handed and crippled by the good buddy network. Their monies are spent on the weekends patrolling the 2 main lakes in the county. You have an access close to you at the gravel pit that has a similar problem. I kiss the ground when I return to the truck parked there and see all the windows in it.

Here, call them, this is all of your local contacts. Someone will probably be more than happy to help you. Contacts for Jackson County Resource Forester Danny Hartwig 1401 NW Park Rd. Blue Springs, MO 64015 Phone: (816) 228-3766 Urban Forester Helene Miller 4750 Troost Ave. Kansas City, MO 64110 Phone: (816) 759-7300 Chuck Conner 3424 NW Duncan Rd Blue Springs, MO 64015 Phone: (816) 655-6250 Conservation Education Consultant Mike Fraser 4750 Troost Ave. Kansas City, MO 64110 Phone: (816) 759-7305 ext. 2236 Email: mike.fraser@mdc.mo.gov Outdoor Skills Specialist David Wyatt 3424 NW Duncan Road Blue Springs, MO 64015 Phone: (816) 655-6254 ext. 225 Email: david.wyatt@mdc.mo.gov Conservation Education Consultant Claudine Lamb Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery C 4750 Troost Ave. Kansas City, MO 64110 Phone: (816) 759-7305 ext. 2233 Email: claudine.lamb@mdc.mo.gov Private Land Conservationist Nick Prough USDA - NRCS 1000 W Wall Harrisonville, MO 64701-1629 Phone: (816) 884-3391 Fax: (816) 887-5772 Email: nick.prough@mdc.mo.gov Urban Watershed Conservationist (local government contact for land use planning issues) Stephen Van Rhein MDC Office 1 Victory Dr Suite 100 Liberty, MO 64068-3813 Phone: (816) 792-8662 Fax: (816) 792-8662 Administrative Office P.O. Box 180 (zip 65102) 2901 W. Truman Blvd. Jefferson City, MO 65109 (573) 751-4115 Fax: (573) 751-4467 Northwest Regional Office 701 James McCarthy Drive St. Joseph, MO 64507 (816) 271-3100 Ozark Regional Office 551 Joe Jones Blvd. West Plains, MO 65775 (417) 256-7161 Kansas City Regional Office 3424 N.W. Duncan Road Blue Springs, MO 64015 (816) 655-6250 Northeast Regional Office 3500 S. Baltimore Kirksville, MO 63501 (660) 785-2424 Southwest Regional Office 2630 N. Mayfair Springfield, MO 65803 (417) 895-6880 St. Louis Regional Office 2360 Highway D St. Charles, MO 63304 (636) 441-4554 Central Regional Office 1907 Hillcrest Drive Columbia, MO 65201 (573) 884-6861 Southeast Regional Office 2302 County Park Drive Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 (573) 290-5730 Email: stephen.vanrhein@mdc.mo.gov Natural History Biologist Larry Rizzo MDC - Kansas City Regional Office 3424 NW Duncan Road Blue Springs, MO 64015 Phone: (816) 655-6250 Email: WILDLIFEDIVISION@mdc.mo.gov Emily Horner MDC - Clinton Office 2010 South Second St Clinton, MO 64735 Phone: (816) 655-6250 Email: WILDLIFEDIVISION@mdc.mo.gov Conservation Agent Ryan Wood Kansas City Regional Office 3424 NW Duncan Rd. Blue Springs, MO 64015 Phone: 816-847-2631 Derek Cole Kansas City Regional Office 3424 NW Duncan Rd. Blue Springs, MO 64015 Phone: 816-763-2075 James Taylor Kansas City Regional Office 3424 NW Duncan Rd. Blue Springs, MO 64015 Phone: 816-690-8446

No I don't work for them! I am just concerned enough about my favorite pastime to get to know the ones that manage it. I know alot of the people that manage the fisheries, forests, and enforcement in MO and Ark depts. They are a great bunch of guys and a wealth of info if you ask the right questions. And your opinions and ideas will go a great way if you share it with them. Why would they be afraid to talk to you in a civil manner, unless you are wild eyed and crazy! I really don't know what you are getting at or what more detail you need. They have a website, regional offices, and various other ways to contact them. If you are mad at them because they idled their truck with the A/C on while they wrote a ticket or investigated a probable game violation, call the local district and vent on them. It would be nice to see someone riled up about all of the fuel taxes we pay for roads but have one of the worst highway systems in the US. How about accounting for all of the rest of the sales tax? What about federal and state income tax?

If you want a detailed report, here it is. MDC is a public state entity that has to account for every dime. Annual report 2006

Good analogy there, and the ratio of income left over to spend is about right, 50 percent take home pay to spend after the gov takes their part..... That should make it clear and simple and illustrate why we have license fees also to supplement the tax revenue. As far as land goes, the MDC waits for someone to offer property to them, they don't attend sales to buy property. They don't want to give the impression that they can come in a buy up stuff with their great buying power. I do know they have made several purchases to compliment the lands they already have.

The tax is one eight of a penny on the dollar. Mo state tax is 4.225 cents per dollar total. Then add County and local taxes which total 6.725 cents per dollar here. The 1/8 cent tax is barely noticed.