BredMan

I was at c&r lake-31 a couple weeks ago fishing around the area by the jon boats with my fly rod. I stepped into one of the boats to make a few casts from back and a very large black snake was laying on the bottom in the open rear section. Got my attention immediately when it slithered past my legs on its way out the front and up into the weeds and grass. I think my heart skipped a couple beats too! BTW - Caught a few bass and bluegill on poppers and foam bugs. Bass were small but that is pretty normal there. Chiggars were biting pretty good!

Awesome post and pics. That had to be a great time.

Fished lake-31 for a couple hours last Sunday afternoon and still have red itchy polka dots all over my body compliments of those nasty little harvest mites (aka chiggers) that were secretly chewing on me. Didn't notice how bad they got to me until later in the evening when the itching started. Worse batch ever for me. The weeds are waist high in most places around the lake which makes it perfect for getting mugged by those nasty little invisible critters. Did catch several small bass but that wasn't worth that agony all week. It's that time of year when they are really active.

Wikipedia link has a good read on Tiger Muskie. I personally know of one person who claims to have caught a muskie out of lake-35 and that was unintentional. He was bass fishing with 10" plastic worms and had a muskie take one. I fish lake-35 occasionally and have never seen a muskie nor have I ever witnessed anyone catch a muskie. They are pretty elusive if still being stocked. http://en.wikipedia....ger_muskellunge

Holy Moly - that was very cool and amazing! Nice work.

Guess I am lucky because none of my 6 Shimano spinning reels have acted up that way. Although I do routinely clean them and keep them lubricated with 'Abu Silicote' reel oil.

Fished Lake-31 (C&R) this afternoon. Caught several small bass on 4" plastic worms. Tried some top water bugs with my fly rod but didn't do well at all. Water levels are still low which was no surprise and lots of moss as usual. Bass were setting in the open water.

Some days just happen like that but things usually work out OK in the end. Aquaseal is a common wader repair product. Good luck with the rod and also finding the leak in your waders.

Do you know for a fact that brood stock are not released in Taney? I would agree with you 100% if I know this to be true. Which raises a question on state record fish in general. Can a state record fish be acknowledged if caught from a stocked private body of water or stocked pay body of water? Trout parks in my opinion fall into that category. Just asking, not arguing.......

I saw the picture you posted on FB earlier today and was amazed at the size but I really enjoyed the videos here. You were more concerned about getting that fish back in the water than getting the pictures. Awesome fish for a great fisherman and sportsman. "You done good!"

I totally agree with this assessment as well. I get into both shops 3-4 times a year. Based on my experiences the guys at Hargroves have always been friendly and eager to help. At FC that's not the case anymore and FC has one individual that could really use some CR-101 (customer relations) which would help their atmosphere. Other guys I know that shop FC have mentioned this to me as well. In the past couple years I have definitely favored Hargroves. Not sure what's going on at FC but it sure isn't what it used to be and that has deminished my desire to shop there.

Thats awesome! Before this weather breaks there will be more things of this nature exposed in our streams and rivers.

Great video. My buddy and I fished the Meramec for many years with a 16' jon rigged with a homemade transom jack to lift that powerful 9.9hp Mercury up out of the rocks. That was as close to having a jet as we ever got but we fished it a lot and caught a lot. Finally gave it up because of all the floating drunks and not because we feared injurying anyone. Just too far to travel to have too many floating drunks ruin the whole day for us!

The series had the historical facts right although the portrayal of how things really happened had to be somewhat of a guess. I had to replay some parts just to understand what they were saying. Regardless, I thought it was very good especially from a historical view. The true events of that feud were unreal and the people were so vindictive on both sides. Seems hard to believe but then you have to realize we see this every day somewhere in our world.

Thom, Lake-32....smaller of the two catch-n-release lakes located in the same area just off Hwy-D. I take my old waders or knee boots to wade the shore line about 10 yards past where the grassy area ends and the brush and woods begin (as you walk in it's the flat grassy area on the right). Usually wade out to where it gets about 3 feet deep and fish all around that area. I don't fish past that huge tree in the water. Beyond that tree it's just to shallow unless you wade around to the other side and continue to fish the shore line from there. Pretty mucky bottom if you wade but there are two boats on that lake you can rent as well. I was out again tonight for 2 hours and it was non-stop big bluegill and a few small crappie too. 1/100 yellow/black marabou jig no more than 12 inches under a float. Most hits come as you start stripping right after the jig enters the water. Had a great time.

Want some fun with a flyrod, Busch lakes have some nice bluegill hitting right now. Surprisingly you can pick up a few 1-2lb bass and some crappie too. As we all know Busch gets a lot of fishing pressure but this time of year it's not a bad option for a close fishing fix. In a few weeks when the trees and brush are full of leaves the mosquitoes and ticks will be in full swing so walking the perimeter of the lakes will get you ate up. Right now it's not too bad. Yellow/black 1/64 to 1/100 marabou jig have done very well and thats about all I have needed to catch fish out there.

Kind of late on this subject but I was approached by a gentleman in the BPS parking lot 3-4 weeks ago who asked me to sign a petition to have the MDC add a concrete ramp on Prairie Lake for small boat access. Honestly I had forgotten about Prairie Lake and haven't fished there for many years. He said the lake is fishable but very over populated with small crappie. Occasionally you catch something of some size. I thought about giving it a try this spring with a fly rod (small jigs and poppers). I haven't been out there yet to see what things are like now. One thing for sure, if it is overgrown the ticks will be extremely bad and not worthy to me.

May have to give back some points next quarter! They are very nice!

I use barbless (pinched down or ground off) for catch-n-release. Just so much easier all the way around and offers more of a challenge for me too. I do use barbed hooks otherwise although I am finding myself using more barbless these days. When fishing jigs I don't have the barbed and barbless separated so many times I will be fishing a barbless without even knowing.

I was fishing a small local lake this past summer and I ran into a guy using one of these rods. He told me all about the history of tenkara fishing and showed me how it's used. Interesting concept but limited to small streams as it was designed or maybe used as a bluegill/crappie rod as he was using it. His rod was telescopic which made it easy to pack and carry. Not on my list of fly rods to own but I think it would be fun to use in the right places.

Quite apparent that the trout in the c&r lakes have become acclimated to their surroundings and aren't hitting on anything that flashes or the variety of colored plastics tossed their way. I noticed a decrease in the numbers caught the past couple weeks and many other regulars agree as well. You actually have to fish for them now and figure out what they are hitting on. I prefer marabou jigs but that's been a hit and miss. Natural colored nymphs seem to be doing well now. So for all those who think these lakes are like the trout tubs at the BPS for kids, try your luck now before they are open for the bait season. It's actually become a challenge.

I fished lake-28 Friday afternoon until dark. Caught a good number on marabou jigs and tossing a daredevil spoon. Noticed many popping the surface late afternoon but I didn't bring my fly rod along this time. Also noticed many hits were closer to the banks so I assume the colder water temps have allowed them to move out of the deeper water and into many of the shallower areas now.

No different at Busch than most other fisheries in the state. Just not enough warm bodies to go around but an agent will make a surprise visit at times. I fish the Busch c&r lakes often during the winter trout season and this year I have seen less anglers ignore the rules or play dumb to the rules than I have in previous years. Most just don't read the posted regulations. Another individual who fishes there often made that very same comment to me last week. As a courtesy many of the regular anglers will say something to anyone not following the rules. I think that has helped keep things in check somewhat but of course there is always a percentage of idiots that just take advantage of the situation.

Spend a few extra bucks on a decent air rifle (Benjamin-Gamo) that shoots 1000fps or better. They are proven tree rat eliminators! Don't go for the 'Wally World' $100 models. They are priced cheap because they are built cheap and junk!

I have the Lamson Konic-1.5 on my 9' 4wt. There is absolutely nothing negative to be said about it. Its a great quality reel and the price is definitely right. Buy it, you won't regret it!