ness

Andy -- you got me interested in these Neosho smallmouth, so I did a little reading. Interesting stuff -- kinda sounds like the cutthroat/rainbow situation. Anyhoo -- don't want to get this wonderfully productive thread off topic, but could you tell me (and the world) where a Kansan might fish for some of these in his home state?

I've got the Simms Freestones -- Gavin's right. They're especially good if you need ankle support, because they're a thicker vinyl rather than fabric.

Please don't clutter up the Crane Creek forum with trout fishing nonsense. The forum is for bit%^&*g about smallmouth. Seriously -- nice report. Love seeing those little rainbows -- they show the stream is in great shape.

Kicknbass -- we discussed this about 50 posts back. You're not just skipping to the end are you?

Whaddya think Eric? I say we give him a pass on this one, even thought it was dayum close!

If I recall correctly, you're a newlywed. Just give it time...just give it time.

Chief: I'm only dogging you to try and keep things a little more positive overall. Your comments on MSA have tended to dismiss the work they're doing, or make it sound like they've got to prove something. Like I tell my babies: there's always more than one way to say something. As an example: 1) I've looked at MSA's website, and I don't see anything to make me want to join, or 2) Can somebody from MSA tell me a little more about what you're doing -- I might want to join. And, sometimes it's just best to not say anything at all. Anyhow -- lecture over. We've still got a fishing date for this spring, right?

I think it's British for Dickweed.

So you all know I ain't all blow and no show, I'm giving the MSA a bit of my dough.

Hey man, when I don't follow Chief, I conquer evil, whatever name it goes by.

Gary: Just curious -- will you kick non-dues-paying members out of your meetings, or refuse their help if they offer it? Are we required to pony up $20, up front? Guys: why is it that the BEST non-government ally the Missouri smallmouth has (MSA), who just petitioned the MDC on our behalf, is getting beat up? Didn't your mommas ever tell you that 'if you don't have something good to say, don't say anything at all'? Chief: Did you ever notice how you're often on here saying people have twisted what you've said? That you're an ally, not a foe? You wouldn't feel the need to explain that so often if you'd just tone it down a bit. All along the way you've beat up MSA. You poke them in the eye and say they're not doing anything important, that they're just a bass club, etc. So, it's natural that people get riled up. How can someone consider you an ally when you're always coming at them with something negative? Trav: you made your point. Cutting and pasting from the dictionary pretty much insures people will scroll right on past your post. Just like you should have done when you saw a few too many posts from Gary. I usually try to just let this stuff roll off my back, but when I see a guy step up and try to get something going, only to be kicked in nuts on a public forum, I get to typing.

I've done a crapload of volunteer work over the years. One thing you always encounter are naysayers, complainers and people who want others to do the work. I found a number of creative ways of offloading the problem members, on numerous occasions. And things always got better without them -- ALWAYS. Believe me, you're in a much better position than if they show up at a meeting and poison the atmosphere. Gary -- PM me and I'll send you my dues, even though I rarely fish for smallmouth and don't live in SWMO. I admire your can-do attitude, and I can see past my monitor. This is a GOOD thing, and I wish you the best with it.

What you click on here is up to you -- can't nobody shove nothing down your throat on a forum.

Nice reaction fellers. Describing others posts as 'stupid', 'BS', or 'spam' is bad form. Gary -- I applaud you for getting off your can and keyboard and trying to get something going. I'd give these negative posts zero weight. Zero. While I was looking for the exact wording of another quote, I came across this one from RFK: "Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality of those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change."

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?"

Oh, come on Eric. I think it makes sense to be able to settle disagreements, quickly and cleanly, without having to resort to reasoned discussion. Now that I think of it, I wish they would have passed a law requiring all congressmen to pack heat in the chamber.

This forum member seems to know a lot about the company http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showuser=9947

I'm pretty sure most just want folks to follow the rules. If you're taking fish legally on your rare fishing trips, you won't find too many folks that have a problem with that. Who's looking down on you? If you wanna 'look down' on somebody who practices C&R within the rules, go ahead. But that's a dead end. If you wanna argue C&R, feel free.

Where's all the $%^&? I heard that place was a $%^&hole (Sorry -- this place has been a little tame lately)

Hey Ken -- sorry I missed you too. This is the closest we've come in all these years. Dallas pointed out your car in the lot at Baptist, so it was a near miss. Dang! To clarify -- the red Old Town was trapped pretty bad. I ran into the owners above Parker and they were going to hike in and try to get it out. We didn't mess with it -- just took some pics. The Wenonah belongs to some knucklehead who can't drive a canoe. Gavin helped rescue it, and the wet and dejected skipper, and he's thinking it may end up on Craigslist. And he may just be right

You may have already heard, but Dallas, Hoffmeyer and I ran into the owner of the red one just above Parker. They had lost it a couple weeks before, and had hiked down the trail Saturday to try and retrieve it. They refused Hoff's chain saw, saying they had ropes and pulleys, and got some directions from Dallas to where we saw it.

I've checked out several of the books mentioned --lots of interesting stuff. Fishgypsy: I'm gonna put "Inventing Montana- Dispatches from the Madison Valley" on the wish list. I've never read Leeson, that I remember. He's also got another one called "Jerusalem Creek" that sounds good too.

I'm gonna weigh the fly in the decision -- a little. I'm gonna take pretty darn good care of the fish first though. There's not too many flies I can't live without. Alright, somebody mentioned pictures. You really gonna take a picture of a snagged fish? Are you gonna attach a disclaimer to it wherever it goes? Tim: I've used your 'holding your breath' analogy before -- I think it's a good rule of thumb. It chaps my arse when I see folks kill, or darn-near kill, a fish by fumbling around for the picture, just to feed their ego. (Pot stirred?)

I've purchased a lot of old and out-of-print books on Amazon through their used-book dealer network. Finished up "Trinity" by Leon Uris a few weeks ago -- it's a historical novel about Ireland from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, covering a lot of older history along the way. Amazing what the native, mostly Catholic, Irish have dealt with over the centuries. Kinda puts some perspective on where they're coming from. Whizzed through "Pheasants of the Mind" by Datus Proper after that. Pretty good read, but a little too deep and difficult at spots. Just started "The Virginian" by Owen Wister. It's considered the grandaddy of Western and cowboy literature, and the TV series and movie were loosly based on it. Wister was a friend of Teddy Roosevelt and dedicated the book to him. It was written in 1902, so the language is a bit different. Also, he uses a lot of very long sentences, and the writing isn't very fluid at times. But, I think I'm gonna like it, just won't fly through it. So, that's what ness is reading this winter. How about you?

Way to make it personal, Chief. It's one thing to knock a stream, but you have, again, turned it into a personal attack. Like when you called me dick weed because you didn't like something I said. Time to act like an adult.