BredMan

Been thinking seriously of getting a canoe to float fish streams. I have looked at several web sites but really have no clue what would be the best size, manufacturer, material, layout, etc. Can anyone that has experience shed some light on this subject. Don't want buy something I will regret. Really like the the two models sold by Two Brothers Canoes.

Today I went over to lake-21 to see if there was a chance of some open water to fish. That was a mistake. The road is a sloppy, soupy, potholed mess and there were way too many anglers for the little exposed water. Some of those guys looked like they crawled out of a cave somewhere. Where do these people come from! Didn't see any action and didn't stay. Stopped by the hand spray carwash on the way home to blast the thick coat of limestone mud off my truck. Sure wasn't worth the trouble.

'Opening Day' is a tradition to many and always draws a large crowd. I have never had the desire to participate but I can't say anything negative since I haven't ever participated. Although I could never handle the elbow to elbow fishing. I like my space and like to move about. As for those people that act like they 'must' harvest a limit no matter what, I couldn't agree with you anymore. There are definitely some at Busch. I used to get aggravated by their antics but now I just pack up and leave. It's never going to change and just not worth the aggravation. For me there is always another day.

Hate to interrupt the "private boat on lake" discussion but has anyone been to Busch in the past couple days? Is there water or ice? Last pic posted by Eric was pretty dismal showing the 5-gal bucket brigade on the ice!

Just saw the lake-28 pic on eric1978 original post and was wondering which hole belongs to him! Been out of town for a few days and wondered how the "February Madness" was going at Busch. Looks pretty typical. I guess those guys with the 5-gal buckets use them to bail water if they fall through the ice!

I thought there just might be a small glimmer of hope to find some open water on lake-21 today. Not a chance. Lake-21 is iced up. Then as I drove by lake-28 on the way home I noticed only one very small patch of open water with one angler fishing that spot. By tomorrow that will be ice. Open fishing on Monday looks pretty doubtful. You polar guys with ice augers and ice fishing gear just might get another chance with the very cold temperatures the next few days. Oh yea, I forgot about those guys that have cannon balls attached to tow chains to break the ice. They will be out in full force Monday. Lake-21 today at 3:45PM

Seems that Busch is getting some "good press" now! Was at lake-21 this PM and there is a lot of open water. Fishing was good for me and one other guy who was using a short fly rod outfit. The few others there didn't last long in the cold and very windy conditions. Water temp is very cold, air temp was cold, and the wind made it very tough but the fish was hitting well. With the temps dropping again the next few days there may be a good coat of ice back on the lake, especially if the wind calms down.

That's funny. I see that all the time at Busch. In my 'guesstimate' the water closest to the parking lots is usually the starting and ending point for 50% or better of the people who fish at Busch. You see a vehicle pull up, person gets out with both hands loaded with rods, lawn chair, cooler, tackle box, 5-gal bucket, etc and walks directly to the closest water from the parking lot. Slings a cannon ball weight with a big glob of night crawlers into the lake. Repeats the routine for about 15-20 minutes, gets no bites, then loads everything up and leaves. It can be very entertaining to watch at times!

I would like to hear your results if you do go ice fishing at Busch. But I would rather hear them on this forum and not on the local TV news like the guy they pulled out of the ice break on Lake-24 last year! BTW - He was a loco local and not a seasoned ice fishing vet from the great white north. Good luck, looks like the weather is definitely going to cooperate and provide enough ice thickness. For myself, I dug out my old ice skates to participate with all my extended family for some old fashion ice skating - bonfire - hot dog eating - marshmallow burning - hot beverage drinking on my bro-in-law's lake! Been years waiting on some good ice and we finally have a great opportunity.

I figured things would be frozen but yesterday and today was good fishing. Lake was about 1/2 frozen but still fishable and that was a surprise. After today and for the next several days I would guess too much ice cover and not fishable. Three nice ones I caught the last two days.

One more time to lake-21 before the freeze today. Fished from 1:00 to 3:30 and had some good fishing. The lake is icing up but the levee side was still clear. Black wooly bugger was the treat they wanted and I caught several along the rock levee. Had a few on a white jig but that was all. Cold day but a little sun took the edge off. My guess is plenty of ice tomorrow so today may have been it for a while!

Was at lake-21 late this afternoon for an hour or so. Caught two on a jig-n-spoon and three on a 3/32 white marabou jig. Had some good hits too. Lake was pretty ice free with just a fringe of thin ice along some edges although with the cold temps tonight and into tomorrow more ice will develop but may be fishable.

Fished lake-21 and lake-22 yesterday. Caught a couple at lake-21 on a jig but couldn't get out of the cold and strong wind so I went over to lake-22. Wind wasn't too bad in the wooded corner but the levee side was still very windy and cold. Stayed about an hour and was skunked. Water was clear of ice on both lakes but I am sure they will start to ice up soon. Nobody on lake-28 as I drove past on my way home. Really wanted to get out today but just couldn't get motivated to cope with the wind again. Lakes may have iced up a bit too.

For all the bad press Busch gets from some folks it isn't all that bad, especially when there aren't too many other options! What lake was you fishing? Looks like it could be lake-28 or 22 in the pic.

I like new stuff.......we will figure out things. Looked different of course but thats pretty cool to me.

All the above is so true of lake 35 and many other lakes at Busch in general. To be successful does take some skill and it can be a tough place to fish too. But it's a rewarding challenge to catch some of the big fish that lay in the depths there. The dam/levee side of lake 35 is stuffed full of sunken cedars and Christmas trees that provide excellent cover for smaller fish but also attracts the bigger fish. Boat and trolling motor is the best way to fish on lake 35 and the results may be surprising. Worth a try!

Welcome Tim. I am not from that area of the state but have heard nothing but good things about Backcountry Outfitters in the past. I do plan to drop in some time when going that way to check things out. Best of luck with the new business. There are many guys here that already know about your place so that's a plus. Post your website if you have one up.

Fished 22 and 21.......both extremely slow. Whopping 2 crappie and 1 bluegill on 21. Did not see a single trout taken during the 2 1/2 hours on 22. I then spent about an hour or so on 21. Did manage to get 1 trout on a olive leech. Had a couple hits on a spoon with my spin but that was it. I left around 12:30 when a few truck loads of people showed up with their lawn chairs and nightcrawlers. Good enough indicator for me to leave. May have seen you but I wouldn't have known.

They have definitely stocked twice.......last was about 8-10 days ago. Of course all 3 three lakes have been hit pretty heavy since. You really have to fish them hard and it's been pretty tough getting any hits unless you go to the C&R lakes but even those 2 lakes have been kind of tough too. Last Saturday I did manage to hook into one of the few big lunkers they put in which was a thrill for about 5-6 minutes. Pulled line off my reel like he owned it. Eventually wound up in a weed bed where I thought I might be able to grab him somehow (never carry a net). Made another run through the weeds and chucked the hook. The guy across from me was more upset than me! He couldn't believe how big it was and that it got away. Good luck......if the weather stays warm you will have plenty of fishing buddies!

Not sure if this fits into the subject matter of "The making of the Pheasant Tail" but I have a BOXER that went through the ACL repair......after 6-12 months you would never know she had a problem. Dogs are amazing when healing from injuries but having a good vet surgeon is a big plus as well. Our only problem was with me, I am paranoid it will happen again. But I am a worrier by nature. Hope all goes well!

I watched those videos several times now and they keep getting better! No matter the method (except dynamite) that was a great feat and has to be an incredible feeling for Scott. Yet again, it doesn't take a high $$$$ outfit and special tackle to catch a monster trout. (Please don't tell my wife that though!) "Where there is smoke there is fire!".......really makes you wonder how many other big fatties like that may be lurking in the waters of Taney!

Looking at a few G3 boats.......does anyone have anything good or bad to say about them? My preferences are the new Gator Tough 1860 CC DLX 90hp and 1756 CC DLX 60hp. The other would be the new Eagle 176 model with 60HP. I don't pay too much attention to the marketing hype from boat manufacturers since they are all "better than the other". People that own and use them are a better resource for information! Would appreciate any feedback from anyone that has some knowledge of G3 products.

Me knowing absolutely nothing about what I am about to suggest but maybe someone would. Any possibility that a person or persons could be legally deputized as an MDC Agent with all the legal power to enforce an area only? There are so many of you guys that are on Taney everyday and having such legal power would definitely put a stop to all the illegal nonsense going on there. Knowing the area is being routinely observed and enforced would stop most of the scum from their illegal habits knowing it's going to cost them $$$$$. Word of mouth travels very fast among those scum bags too. I could see that funding would be an issue so it would definitely have to be on a volunteer basis. But then too, there are good fishing organizations down there that could help with that too. Just a thought....may be crazy. BUT IF.............

"Yep" to all the above........thats a fact and I have heard this same story from other sources including former employees. Too bad, at one time they had great knowledgeable people working there. When they let them all go that's when it all went downhill. I could see it coming for several months. About the same time they were doing the crazy 'red dot' 80% off (get rid of Dunn's inventory) thing I bought a new Motor Guide 54lb Digit trolling motor at a rediculous low price. I knew right then they were not going to be in business long. Their loss has definitely been my gain but I sure will miss going there. I never minded paying the extra buck when it was a real sporting goods store with knowledgeable people that knew what they were selling, could always give sound advise, and always very helpful.

I wanted to keep my mouth shut on this subject but I agree with everything stated by mhall02. I live close to BWL as well and have fished the winter trout lakes for many of the years it has been in effect. Yes, there are times you would like to tell some anglers to "get a life" but most anglers are polite and follow the rules. My joy is seeing seniors get a chance to trout fish when they no longer can wade and fish streams etc. Always enjoy gabbing to them as well. One day my fishing will be limited to my health as well and I hope there are places such as BWL to enjoy. The stocking is done well and I have yet to witness any fish kill due to water temps or stress. IMO it is not a wasted use of tax money.