ozark trout fisher

It's difficult to argue with that. Smallmouth fishing since about mid-March has been constantly fluctuating from out of this world great to just about impossible. Mostly depending on the weather, the warmer the better. Anytime I've caught a few smallmouth it's been enough for me to be happy.

Pretty fish

Nice report, I'm glad you had a good time. I really like the Meramec, but the fishing sure can be a lot more temperamental than just about any other Ozark stream I've fished. Not to say that's a bad thing at all, a good challenge is always fun, but the fishing can at times be tough to figure out, at least for those of us who haven't spent enough years fishing it to know all of its intracacies. It's a lot different from the Jacks Fork, Gasconade tributaries, or other streams like that where you can just about always show up on any summer day with a tackle box full of Rebel Craws and catch fish without any real thought being put into it. So basically what I'm trying to say is that any day where smallmouth are caught is a good one.

It's a nice little creek for sure. I need to get back down there soon myself.

The gauge says it's running about 500 CFS at Steelville. That is a touch high, but I would think it should be just fine. I know I've had plenty of decent days when it was higher than that. Good luck.

The question of Mizzou playing them aside, I too am just glad to see SLU having the success that they are. It took Majerus awhile, but he is really building something special in St. Louis. If he sticks around long enough, they'll soon be among the best mid-majors programs out there, and a team that is regularly capable of making deep runs in the tourney. I like the way they play...slow tempo, excellent defense, almost a Big 10 style. They'll have a good shot to win the A-10 next year, and that's a very good basketball league, one that compares favorably to some of the "major" conferences.

Let's just say we see this very differently and leave it at that. If you're a sports fan at all, I don't know how rivalries can NOT be part of what draws you to them, but that is just my opinion.

I agree with that. Anyway, both Missouri State and SLU might as well be Duke and North Carolina compared to some of the teams we scheduled this year including Binghamton (rated the worst team in college basketball this season), Kenessaw State (who was also RPI 300+), and Southeast. Year in and year out both Saint Louis and MSU are going to at least be quality, RPI top 100 opponents. I know Missouri State had a tough year this season and was a little bit below that, but most years they're right on the NCAA tournament bubble (and always seem to get left out for some reason.) Why not schedule those two schools instead of two more games against cupcakes that can only hurt your RPI and NCAA tournament seed, or chances for selection if we're on the bubble? And maybe it could start a couple of nice rivalries in the process.

You might end up being right, but I sure hope not. For anyone who cares even the slightest bit about tradition, rivalries, and regional ties that would be nothing short of a disaster. I know to some that just sounds cliche and outdated, but I don't care.

Okay, point taken...That wasn't exactly fair. No we're not responsible for KU, and it's not like we should have made our decision based on their well being. But if you are a coach at KU or any of the other schools in the Big 12, you're going to realize that Mizzou, Nebraska, Colorado, and A&M all really damaged the Big 12 Conference. If I were them I wouldn't want to have anything to do with the schools that left the Big 12 either. I don't think it's really accurate to blame the uneven playing field. The Big 12 stated that they were willing to take steps to fix that in order to keep us around, but we left before we gave them a chance.

No, I don't want Mizzou to join any conference besides the Big 12. I just said that I would prefer the ACC if we had to make a move, which we didn't. I would prefer either the ACC or the Big East to the SEC honestly for selfish reasons...I'm a basketball guy. But I don't think we should have moved at all. And no, travel costs are not minimal in the grand scheme of things. Sure, the travel costs for the football or basketball team aren't going to matter. But Mizzou does have 15 other sports, who are now going to be traveling to Gainesville and Tuscaloosa instead of Lawrence and Manhatten KS. And by the way, even though it sucks I think Bill Self is right in his stance about not playing Mizzou in the future. If that rivalry ends, and it will at least for awhile, it's our fault. Because if Kansas ends up getting left out in the cold without a competitive conference, it's gonna be partially our fault. But now I'm going fishing.

The Big 12 didn't collapse. And I don't think it's going to. Let's be honest, there was never any real risk of Mizzou having to go to a conference like the WAC. That was always just silly doomsday talk...Even if the Big 12 did dissolve, that just wasn't gonna happen. The worst case scenario is that we might have ended up in the Big East or the ACC, which wouldn't be great, but could hardly be considered a disaster. Honestly I'd prefer either one of those conferences (or at least the ACC) to the SEC. You talk a lot about how the extra revenue is going to be so beneficial to the other sports. But have you also figured in the travel costs, which are now going to be WAY higher? I bet that at least off-sets any extra funding these sports will get. It isn't rocket science, but the implications of this move are a hell of a lot more complicated than you're making them out to be. This isn't a no-brainer, one sided issue, and it's not going to be as easy to brush off all the negatives as you'd like. Goodness I keep getting drug back into this. I won't even say I'm done now, because, well.....

You win. I've said enough about college athletics, money, greed, the SEC, and the Big 12 to last me several lifetimes...There's no question I'll continue to be a Tigers fan, but goodness it ain't ever gonna be quite the same again.

Yup, sucks for them, but it sure is great for football, so it must be what is right for everyone. After all, nobody really gives a darn about wrestling or track or anything like that. Why should they? They're boring as hell to watch and they don't haul in the cash. I'm not sure I've ever heard anything quite so narrow minded, but the thing that worries me is that most people actually seem to agree with those sentiments. This is a university, not a professional sports franchise. I know I've said that like eight times now, but still no one seems to hear that. These decisions should be made to be in the best interest of ALL ATHLETES, and the university as a whole. It's not okay, for example, to be leaving our wrestling team high and dry without a conference because we think it would be sort of neat to get Alabama at Faurot field. I'm sorry. I don't mean to go off. I just have sort of lost my patience with no one caring about the ramifications of this move beyond football. I don't understand it.

Agree to disagree. I've said all I can say about it.

It's worth noting that most all university athletic departments actually lose money. So it's not like athletics are going to do much of anything to keep the university afloat whether we're in the SEC or the Big 12. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/collegesports/2010103078_ncaa21.html

So Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Texas are not "big boys" in football? And Kansas, K-State, and Baylor are not any good at basketball either? Huh? You might like being in Florida or Georgia or other places in the south more than here, but the fact is, Missouri is part of the Midwest. We don't belong in the "South East Conference" because, well, when did we become part of the southeast? I like the midwest. I wouldn't live here if I didn't. And I sure as heck like the Big 12 better than SEC. Anyway, none of the pro-SEC folks are willing to address the impact this has on the "non revenue" sports. Guess no one gives a darn about wrestling (who as I said earlier, doesn't even have a conference now), track, cross country, or anything else, because they don't make money and they aren't that much fun to watch. Pretty sad. Mizzou is a university, not a professional football (or basketball) franchise. Why doesn't anyone understand that?

But who's to say it won't be the SEC that's unstable a couple years down the road? With constant realignment, it's not even close to a guarantee that any conference will be stable for the foreseeable future. This is still a risk, make no mistake about it. We're just placing our bets with a different conference that appears more stable at the moment.

There are some streams in the Columbia area that have decent fishing, a few that even have a couple smallmouth. I really enjoy fishing some of them. But they aren't Ozark streams by any stretch, and if you're wanting to introduce someone to a beautiful Ozark creek they will disappoint. Not to be blunt, but the reality is that it's pretty bare cupboard as far as stream fishing goes in this area, unless you're willing to fish fairly polluted streams. You would really need to go further south, probably to the Osage drainage I'm afraid.

Exactly. I don't understand it when people say we're going to instantly be big rivals with Arkansas or Kentucky. Maybe we will be in 25 or 30 years, but even then there won't be half the history behind it that we have with KU and other Big 12 rivals. I'm not willing to give up all of our tradition just so we can play football in warmer climes...LOL And what about sports not named football, because that is all that is being considered here. Consider wrestling for example....Mizzou has an elite program, but the SEC doesn't even compete in that sport, so they are likely going to have to join some small conference as a wrestling only member. Do you think this move is best for them? What about athletes in "non-revenue" sports like track, cross country, tennis, golf, etc? They are just having to travel further (missing more class) and in many of those cases, the SEC is a clear downgrade from the Big 12. Conference alignment should be in the best interest of ALL sports, and the university as a whole. I don't see how the move to the SEC fits the bill. It's just a football move plain and simple, and to heck with tradition, non-revenue sports, and everything else.

I know what you're saying, but didn't Columbia erupt when we beat Oklahoma awhile back? Or Kansas this year in basketball? I sure thought it did.. But I'll concede I might be the only one who would rather go to Ames Iowa than Athens Georgia in November:)

I dunno...In the minority, but even with distance aside I'd rather go to Ames, Stillwater, or Lawrence than Alabama or Mississippi, because we have actually rivalries and ties to those schools...We're you all there at the KU game this year, or when our football team beat Oklahoma a few years back? It won't be anywhere near the same next year. Money ruins everything good doesn't it?

Funny stuff. I thought I was cantankerous by sometimes tying on a great big popper and working it right around someone's boat who's invading my territory, but I like that one even better!

My favorite is when I'm fishing off the bank and some dude comes by in a bass boat and starts fishing right where I'm at... I always think, you've got the whole lake (or river) and you really have to set up shop right there, don't you? But such is life, and I try not to let it get under my skin so much anymore. I usually just go somewhere else, because I don't actually enjoy fishing very much when I'm pissed off.

9-3 would be a great finish indeed. I'm still guessing that we'll drop at least one game that we're "supposed" to win (hard not to against quality competition), and I don't see us winning at Florida. My guess based on their schedule is 7-5, or 8-4 if we're able to steal a win against one of the elite teams (Georgia, SC, or Alabama.) You never know with Mizzou football. They have a history of occasionally winning games they shouldn't, and then losing to teams you couldn't imagine them having any trouble with. We'll see how it shakes out this year.