BredMan

I will say one thing on Cabela's behalf, if you watch the online Bargain Cave listing frequently you will often find new products as well regular products listed at some pretty ridiculous low prices. I seldom purchase anything at face value from Cabela's. I work their system with their coupons, customer appreciation discounts, free shipping offers, etc. I have saved a lot of $$$$ doing so and got what I wanted and not just something being discontinued. Customer service has always been very good as well. This past Fall they offered free shipping on anything for card holders up to Dec 31. Knowing that was a marketing strategy to energize card sales it was also one heck of a benefit for the card holders.

It appears that no one actually offered the father and sons a ride on their hike back to the lodge and now the County Sherriff is not certain of what the driver said. He could not remember the man’s name. Not that this changes the tradgedy of it all but I'm sure the family is haunted by what people are saying about the father knowing it was reported that he turned down a ride in a cold rain. Family members of Decareaux, however, say they have spoken to the owner of Brushy Creek Lodge, who claims she talked to the driver and that a ride was never offered. The owner, Jo Ann Becker, confirmed those details to the Post-Dispatch this week. Becker said she spoke to the man on Saturday evening. The driver had indeed met Decareaux at Sutton’s Bluff, but there was only a light rain at that point and there was no talk of a ride, Becker says. The driver grew more concerned after leaving and eventually circled back, but the hikers were already gone, according to Becker. The man later called the lodge to see if they made it back. Decareaux, Becker said, “never turned down a ride.” Volner, in an interview this week, said he spoke to the driver on Sunday night and thought he heard the driver say a ride was offered. But Volner acknowledged that there are now conflicting reports and that he is not certain of what the driver said. He could not remember the man’s name. http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/family-disputes-that-hikers-turned-down-potentially-life-saving-ride/article_5b4f4ae9-3b4d-518b-b2b6-689eb6b4f1a1.html

Thanks Phil. Good to know. I'll take a look at those pics you posted back when this work was being done if I can still find them. I seem to recall the boulders where placed pretty well in line but staggered out from the stream bank more toward the middle on each side. Which would make sense to have them in the water when it's 'low tide' and therefore seem more to the middle at 'high tide'.

Sounds like the right time to be tossing jigs. I love using PJ's jigs and they do work well with my 'Lilley's Trout Rod' setup I might add. Just curious, this past Fall when I was down I never ventured past Lookout and was wondering what it is like up towards the dam now that those boulders are in place. My boat drafts little water so I can get there most of the time but curious to know how much of the boulder surfaces are exposed during different levels of generation. Can they be detected easly when completely submerged? By detected I mean by the way the water would swirl/boil in their areas and not by the sound of a lower unit or the bottom of the boat hitting them!

This type of 'deforestation' may be directly linked to global warming as well and not just attributed to the eradication of those little creatures. It will also be the demise of some profitable companies! http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/hair-restoration/1251377/

Very tragic and heart-breaking. I cannot possibly imagine what it was like for that father and those two boys. The answer to many 'why' questions will never be known. My prayers go out to the family.

I saw you fighting that hog but didn't see how big it was from where I was fishing. I was on down the levee from you (middle) this AM. The guy with the full beard watching you had landed a good 5lb just before you hook into this one and it had some front end damaged as well. Very nice fish and great job landing it! Looked like fun from my view. Was a good AM on 28.

I was at L-28 late yesterday afternoon. There was a thin layer of ice on most of the lake yet although there is some open water to fish. Since the open area was taken I fished a few small open spots along the levee. Caught 5 and had some hits on a 1/8 oz marabou jig. You could see that the ice is melting pretty fast. With the rain and warm temps again today all or most of the ice should be gone. I didn't go by L-21 but I would assume it would be the same.

I have read so many forums, not just OA, where if you aren't using the latest and greatest you are wasting your time. So, with that thought in mind I am very curious as to what those great fisherman of the Ozarks are really using. How many are really sporting the likes of a $800 Sage or Orvis outfit? Is that the norm or are others using the lesser value equipment the likes of what I use. Just curious!

I figured the lakes would be iced over but I have been surprised in the past to see open water during a number of cold days, you never know. Watching the methods some use to etch out an opening to fish is great entertainment too and thats usually all it's worth. If it gets thick enough some will ice fish and then you have a select few that will attempt to ice fish when it's not thick enough. Always a few that go through the ice every year.

Anyone know if there is any open water? Lakes were getting ice covered last week and the temps haven't gotten any warmer.

Enjoyed watching your video. Gotta love those raw turnips too.

The truth be said! I drove 30 miles for their Fall special event and thought I had the wrong date when I arrived. What a joke and the few things I needed were out of stock which has been all too typical there anymore. So I stopped off at Hargroves on the way home. Just a regular Saturday for them but the atmosphere was completely the opposite to FC. Just the smell of the wood stove burning was more appealing than FC. You definitely went to the right place. Stick with them for all your needs. Great place, good people, and good advise.

Hey thats fishing! The Bourbuese was a favorite spot for me and my fishing buddy but we haven't been there for some years now. Made many long floats and had good success catching LM, SM, and Goggle Eye. Although there were some times it was darn disappointing like any other place. I actually caught an 18" walleye once that was a surprise to everyone including myself. Very nice river to float and fish. Late summer the moss gets pretty bad and a pain to deal with at times.

My old vest is long gone and I have used a chest pack since but want to get another vest. Any suggestions on a good practical vest? Not sure I need a $200+ SIMMS or Fishpond vest. Just want a good quality vest that is very practical for some wade fishing, bank fishing, and fishing from a boat. Quality is key for me so maybe I will have to spend the $$$ but would like to hear some thoughts from others.

Sure is good to see that honest people are not yet extinct from this earth. Very nice of you to make the attempt to locate the owner. Although I am sure the person who lost this rod figures it is long gone.

Yeah, I have 3 fly boxes on order and presently in limbo via the online status. Hard to have any compassion for the big hitters when they get tossed a screwball! Probably got bamboozled into some new network technology that guaranteed 100% uptime and 100% data security.

Cabelas is taking a big $$$$$ hit today. Online service has been out all day up to now. That has to be hitting their pockets a bit. May be deep, but to take an outage during peak hours is not good for anyone that does hugh online sales!

Now that this has opened up some real good discussion and information on canoes, I have kicked around the idea of getting a canoe for sometime now myself. I have researched many via the internet, reviews, and such. Never owned a canoe before either. Advise given here was to 'try-out' different canoes first before buying left me wondering how one does that and where. It's not like going to a car dealer to test drive different model cars. How would someone go about trying out a canoe? Hope this doesn't sound too stupid.

Yea, the moss is a problem on most of the lakes plus there are lots of sunken Christmas trees and cut cedar trees to get snagged on. Fish have plenty of cover in many of the lakes. This summer's drought provided a good view with the water being so low. I walked around lake-32 back in late August and the shallow end was completely dry. Exposed lots of old stumps and root wads where I have lost many lures over time and yes I scavenged around for lures. Mostly old line and weights without anything attached of any value.

Busch is a tough place to fish in general but a quick fix when you don't want to drive hours to fish somewhere else. I never expect too much and enjoy the few hours of fishing I usually get in. Although there are times that it can be very rewarding. One bad thing would be the seasonal biting critters (ticks, chiggers, and mosquitos). Seems to be an abundance of them.

Was that Bill or Levi Strauss? As you stated in your report, last week I fished a tan #14 scud 8"-12" under a float all along the bluff below Lookout and really did well. Trout were feeding in the rocks right at the shallow edges. You could see them rippling the water all along the edges

I watched a YouTube video on how to make a simple furled leader and since I have used them most of the time. Very simple to make and only one knot in the leader other than a knot at the end loop where I tie on tippet material for the last segment. Basic concept of this leader is like that of a regular leader that has been shorten to the point where you start adding tippet material. Butt section has a loop (no knot) to attach to main line and four twisted strands down to the mid-section (knot at this point) where it continues as two twisted strands with a loop at the end (no knot). Tippet is then added to the end loop. Favorite is made from 15lb Cajun Red Advantage co-polymer, 4' to 5' in length. I then add whatever size and length of tippet material for the remaining section. Sounds beefy and maybe barbaric but it works real well and very flexible. Fished Taney with this leader on a 9' 4wt last week for four days.

Taney isn't the widest body of water to navigate so I know it's impossible not to put out a wake with your boat, but why can't some individuals figure out what speed to run that limits the size of wake their boat puts out. Last week the same boat would make a run up to and back from the trophy area plowing water much like a snow plow going through Donner Pass in late December. Finding a decent speed to run that doesn't dump a 3' wake isn't that hard to figure out. I know they annoyed the heck out of the other boaters each day. They either didn't notice or just didn't care about anyone else. I'm guessing the later.

Considering there are so invasive species in both plants and creatures, those from Asia top my list. I despise Japanese beetles and those stinky Asian beetles that find their way into every crack of my home. Asian carp is next on my list. It's a shame there are way too many to name.