ozark trout fisher

To me, the idea of brook and cutthroat trout in an Ozark tailwater is something that doesn't make sense. I know it's been done, some people like it, but you do wonder if those are the people that have never been out west before and want to cross a species off the bucket list. No offense intended-you just aren't going to be impressed by a White river cuttie if you've caught the real article in the mountain west. They barely even look like the same species. Those are fish that I like almost exclusively because they come in small, often high elevation streams in beautiful, remote parts of the world. Even though many of the places I enjoy catching brookies (out west) are far outside their native range, you are still talking about wild fish in rough and tumble mountain streams, or lakes tucked away in a picturesque little cirque somewhere above treeline. You try to translate that to Taneycomo or the White River, or even one of the freestone/spring-fed streams around here, and the effect is pretty much lost. Basically, I like fishing big midwestern tailwaters sometimes, and I really like cutties and brookies in places where they belong...but those are two completely different types of attractions and I'd be fine if they never came together. I mean, I like catching largemouth bass, and I'd also love to go fishing in Alaska, but I'd be kind of freaked out if I started catching bucketmouths in the Kenai River, right?

We'll see, hopefully both teams will have something to play for by then and it will be an exciting game. It doesn't surprise me that both fan-bases tend to have that one in the win-column preseason.

Honestly, I'm worried that if it is 34-7 instead of 79-0 that a bunch of Mo St fans are gonna claim moral victory and lord it around for awhile. In short, I guess I'm actually a little salty about a FCS opponent, which means this game is serving its purpose.

Oh, you didn't hear about the MDC's new stocking efforts? They're introducing these hybrid rainbow/cutthroat/chinook salmon/Northern Pike. No one knows how that works, and the scientists behind it aren't telling. They're not FDA approved for eating and have been known to eat dogs and small children, so I guess it's no longer safe to swim in the lake. And also they put in a few thousand of these guys. I guess they are called the Speckled Scarlet Trout (Oncorhynchus uglificus) and are only native to one watershed in Southeastern Narnia. But supposedly Taneycomo is the perfect environment for them.

Well, I'm ready for it to start already. About 10 days now until Dave Steckel & Co come back to Faurot Field. I'm more optimistic about this Mizzou team than I was before last season, which isn't saying a ton...but at least it's something. I think Drew Lock is about to set the SEC on fire, and with our RBs and receivers, along with an O-line that brings everyone back, no excuse for the offense not to be awesome. I'm pretty certain they'll do well against the Purdues and Missouri States and Vanderbilts of the world, but the test will be how they can move the ball against teams like Georgia and Florida. . I don't know what to think of the defense. I tend to believe they probably won't be worse than a year ago, because how could they, but they do lose some talented guys, and that secondary is real thin right now. It might be marginally better, but I don't expect any miracles. The key (it seems this is always the key) is to win all of the non-conference games. That should be more manageable than usual this year. Picks: Missouri State-W, 1-0 Sorry Bear fans. Probably not happening. South Carolina-W, 2-0 Biggest game of the year. Should be a pick 'em, maybe Missouri will be favored by a point or two. But this is a toss up, and could eventually determine bowl eligibility for both teams. Better win. Purdue-W, 3-0 Technically they are a Power 5 school. And they have the offense to put up some points on Missouri. But I doubt it's enough. Auburn-L, 3-1 You watch Missouri's run defense last year? This one isn't happening, barring a total Auburn melt-down. @Kentucky-L, 3-2 Another really big game, and another one where Mizzou's run defense had better be improved if they want a shot to win. @Georgia-L-3-3 We have a history of playing them surprisingly close. But it's probably not happening in Athens Idaho-W, 4-3 Better not lose this one. @UConn-W, 5-3 Better not lose this one, weird road game edition. Florida-L, 5-4 This one might be ugly and low scoring, because every Florida game is ugly and low scoring. I don't think Missouri wins that kind of game. Tennessee-W, 6-4 Their defense was really bad last year. It might be worse this year, and they don't have Josh Dobbs. I think this is where Mizzou clinches a bowl game. @Vandy-L, 6-5 That weird, quiet stadium is tough to win in. Vandy might not make a bowl, but I think they win this one. @Arkansas-W, 7-5 I really, honestly believe Eric Beisel is living rent free in their heads. Mizzou wins another crazy game in this series, this time in Fayetteville.

Hell, I stay on here even when I'm not in the Ozarks. When I had a question about salmon fishing...in Michigan....the other day, this was the first place I thought to post. I think that's kinda cool. This place has grown into a lot more than a place to ask for a river report on the Current or Eleven Point. There is someone on here that knows just about every good trout or smallmouth river in the United States and is more than likely willing to tell you about it.

I can attest that there are a few fish to be caught up that way. Spent a week in Quebec a few years back. Some of the best smallie fishing I've yet to experience.

Edit: wrong thread, too many threads about Michigan in too small a space got my tiny brain confused, lol.

We'll see what happens. It beats sitting at home, though.

Awesome, that's a bit of an earlier start than I was expecting. I was planning on heading up that way to chase regular old trout tomorrow/Sunday, but if I can get myself set up in time I may have to amend my plans.

I love smallie fishing up there. Can't say I've ever brought in a haul like that, though!

So I'm back in northern Indiana for a bit, and anticipate having some free time this fall. I plan on filling out some of that free time chasing salmon (and maybe steelhead later on) in northern Michigan. Pere Marquette/Big/Little Manistee mostly. Right now my heaviest functioning set-up us a 6-weight. Obviously that has to change, but how heavy should I go? And any specific recommendations? I'm not trying to look like the fanciest guy on the river, but I anticipate getting a lot of use out of the rod/reel so I'm not looking to go too cheap either. And if at all possible I'd like one set-up that splits the difference between kings/silvers/steelies/any other large lake run salmonids.

That's awesome. I once had my hands on a tool that would take tree diameters, heights, distances, and pretty much all the other data we needed from distances of up to 100 feet. That was nice, but I did question whether the measurements were as accurate as the ones I get by hand...and much more importantly, in my current job I don't have anywhere near the budget to go out and buy one. Also, I learned that when we had that fancy technology some folks have been known to use it to cut corners....and do things like trying to measure a fire-scar on a tree from 50 feet away instead of walking up to it and actually having the closer look you need to see what's really going on. Being naturally technically impaired and also having a tendency to pay attention to detail, I don't mind having stone-age equipment but hopefully getting better data with it. Of course I only say this because my job blessedly doesn't tend to put me under too much time pressure and I can afford to take my time. Not everyone and especially those working for government agencies have that privilege.

I've had jobs where you are quite literally measuring individual blades of grass, shrubs, anything that is green. That includes poison ivy. I have gotten to the point on some days where I'm so darn tired of plants that in that moment I'd be okay turning the entire Ozark plateau into a huge parking lot. Thankfully this job is much more interesting. I get to analyze the data, and figure out the story it tells, instead of just mindlessly measuring plants/trees. That brings a whole new perspective that I really enjoy.

Yeah, pretty much. We do 15 randomly placed 1/5th acre plots in each site, or a radius of 50ish feet from plot center. Every tree over 10 inches in diameter within that radius gets measured.

Happy to hopefully inspire a trip or two!

A few things...most important tool is a "loggers tape" a two-sided flexible steel measuring tape that measures both diameter of the tree (the most important tree measurement is diameter measured ar 4.5 feet above the ground) with regular length/distance on the other side that I use to measure the dimensions of damage caused to the tree from fire. Weirdly, all forestry measurements are in feet and tenths. No inches, definitely no metric system. Then there is a clinometer, a small eye-piece thay uses angles/distance to measure tree height. They are also used to calculate the % slope of the hillside, which can be important for a number of reasons, but for me, mainly because fire behaves very differently on steep side-slopes than in a flat mountain-top glade. Beyond that, nothing fancy. A hammer or hatchet to hit the tree with to see if it's hollow/rotten, a compass, which serves too many purposes to list, and, if you're lucky, a GPS that works consistently.

Well, I greatly enjoyed my time back in the Ozarks, hopefully I'll be back soon. For now my research is complete (it's hard to type "my research is complete" while not envisioning it being said in a sinister, sci-fi villain's voice) , and it's back to Indiana and the office for me...before likely getting sent out to Wayne NF (Ohio) or Monongahela NF (WV) to do the same kind of work. Whichever it is, I'll be sure to burden you guys with a whole bunch of river pics.

Bluegill fishing on those late spring/summer evenings when they are hitting any surface fly with reckless abandon is great fun. It's not all that different from fishing a great hatch on a stillwater trout pond, except your odds of getting embarrassed by a pod of selective fish are pretty much non-existent. In fact, you can generally get away with whatever fly fits your mood on a given evening. My favorite is an Ausable Wulff, if for no other reason than the consternation it would cause some to see this all-caps Proper Eastern Dry Fly get used on bluegill in a weedy Missouri pond. Unless I'm in the mood for a fish fry, though (which certainly can happen) I don't much care to chase them with any fly that doesn't float. Although most all of my bass flies catch big bluegills on occasion, and when that happens the fight is always ferocious enough for a few seconds that I think I've got a good bass on before it suddenly decides to give up. The weird, all-then-nothing fight you get from big bluegill is certainly one of their more unique characteristics as a fly rod target, though I have yet to decide if its a positive or a negative.

For me that would be hard to separate out if I tried. I spend most of my time living and working these days in "remote" (by the definitions of the midwest) areas and stop to fish when I get the chance. That's either not often enough (to me) or far too often (if my boss knew the totality my work habits) but either way it's hard even in the moment to really know if that gas money went towards going to work or going to a smallmouth stream. The answer could be yes either way.

My primary takeaway is I am apparently a darn cheapskate in comparison to you all. If I spend $500 a year on fly fishing tackle it means I broke two or three rods that year. And I fly fish a lot. I'm a woodland researcher, not a doctor or lawyer or some other respectable profession. Not sure about you but I ain't swimming in money. I primarily still use the same flies my brother and I bought in a failed "buy whole-sale to sell to other people for a little bit more" operation from three or so years ago. I will run out of them eventually and have to buy some more, but that won't be for a hot second. Now, if you include the money I spend getting to the places I fly-fish, okay. We're certainly way over that number at that point. But mercifully that's something I try not to track.

Related, but unrelated,: longnose gar are a perfectly cromulent fly rod target and I fish for them often and shamelessly when the opportunity presents itself. As if that weren't enough, I've been known to call them pretty and release them as gently as an Adirondack brookie. This has yet to tear apart the fabric of the universe, although I've had some tell me they suspect otherwise.

A few more: A shockingly large percentage of the Missouri elk herd made itself known to me, including a calf actively nursing.

Stegall Mt. Fire Tower: The upper Jacks Fork is small and very pretty. One more sunset