BilletHead

I think we did Daryk. Not exactually sure if it was this one. Either way it is nice to revisit the pattern.

Explore the Bates county drainage ditch from above rich hill. Conservation access and boat ramp there. Can fish the riffles below there and the deeper water below that. Crappie, walleye,whites and hybrids are there. Next place down stream from there north east of rich hill on a country road is another bridge. Same scenario below the bridge and down stream. One more place. Low water crossing farther down stream. We used to call it the pappensville riffles. Long straight shale riffles pools and eddies. Fish above and below the low water bridge. Used to fish it a bunch. I don't do River banks very well anymore. Use google maps and look straight above Rich Hill. Start looking there. Then follow the ditch and you will see all Three places. I'm not sure when the latest google photos were taken and what the map shows. Depending on water conditions in the spring where to fish. Start looking in February for walleye and they will be there through March. Whites March through April, hybrids and crappie through April into early May. Needless to say some of those fish roam in and out that river year around. Then the drainage ditch runs into the Osage which becomes Truman lake proper not far from Shell City. That's many miles of exploring and can keep you busy. Locals know it well, just watch them for info. Good luck on your search.

And camouflage up and use camouflage shelters so no one can find the hot spot.

Hey Rick @Terrierman, Do you remember the gas station on the South West corner of Austin and South Oak? The old fellow that ran its name? He had a brother that worked as a plumber. His brother always had chewing tobacco in his mouth. He would talk with a mouth full and say hey there rectric man🤣. We would fill up our line trucks there and the brother that ran the station knew I shot a few fish. He asked me if I would bring him some buffalo. I did and the old guy actually teared up when I brought them. He was happy and I was happy. Our Old friend Raymond Hughes would load up my pickup with watermelons and pat would sit up on the corner and sell them for two bucks a piece. Man this brings up so many memories.

Jeff their meat is snow white. You still have to deal with a few extra bones but no different than frying a bluegill whole. Bigger bones in bigger fish also. Worth it IMO. I would do the trip if I could shoot a conventional bow still. The bad shoulder took that away. If that bounty is a real deal those fish will not last long!

All of the species and I mean all of them. when the river came out, they would go out with it and when the river went back into its banks some of the fish would return. Some would stay in the back waters. On the levy roads there were deeper spots as water crossed the roads. I would stand in awe watching the fish pass. Smaller fish all you could see were back fins, bigger fish backs and the largest fish would actually pass over on their sides. I think you could have walked across those fish. If I was bow fishing that day my target was grass carp because they were the best eating.

I have watched buffalo spawn on the Schell Osage wildlife area. It was pretty neat. Lots of them in the remaining lake there. Plans are the drained lake is still going to be rebuilt and restocked. Larger with a bigger dam that might, and I say might keep the Osage from flooding allowing the common carp to trash it up. Like most of you here it's fine with me to control the take of the native buffalo. As @Ham said he thought I was condoning bowfishing. I do to a point. I bow fished a lot many moons ago. I did shoot buffalo, but I ate them, did not massacre them. Canned and fried those fish and did the same with some carp. When the river came up and out of its banks it literally spewed common carp into the flooded fields this brought us out to shoot them and also locals that did not gig or bow fish. they came with coolers and tubs asking for some fish. I am telling you some needed these fish. We always shared and they were grateful. Here is another thing to think about. When pictures of bad habits are posted everyone remembers this and it sticks in our memories. Not everyone does this. While common carp are here to stay and are (naturalized) it doesn't mean it's OK. We will never stay ahead of this mistake. Kill at your will but haul them off for fertilizer and proper disposal or eat them. I don't know what MDC thinks about overharvest of native buffalo, but I can tell you at Schell Osage Wildlife area they don't care. Each year floods spew out these fish and carp and gar and game fish into the "duck pools" and each year these pools during the summer dry up. All the fish begin to suffocate and dye until nothing is left but wriggling gar and they die. You have a wasteland of fish bones. Many years ago, there was a salvage deal, and it was advertised. Seining was allowed. MDC watched and took all the remaining gamefish to the lake. Carp and buffalo were fair game, and they went to good use. That doesn't happen anymore.

I agree but the jiggyness is enhanced with the jig hook don't you think? Instead of strip, strip, strip it will be strip jiggy, strip jiggy, strip jiggy. 😄

I'm thinking more like Jeff was hallucinating.

Yeppers he will help. 😆

Epic comeback!

Maybe I'll set that back for you Jeff 😁.

A Nebo Hill lanceolate and a generic dart point. I warming up 😆.

What about Brown trout, brook trout and rainbow trout out West where they are trying to keep those fish out of native cutthroat ranges that are screwed up?

BilletHead and @fishinwrench in the same sentence? Wow looks like I'm running in a tough crowd. Then to think a shell is involved gives me the creeps 😬.

Sounds to me like you need a million old men and a lobbyist. The bucks to back it up.

Which chaps my rear. Catch and drop back in water immediately is one thing but setting the hook and crossing their eyes then hauling around in a live well all day looking for a bigger one then dumped who know where on the lake is ok but no one else is that fishes. Just shows you money talks in conservation making rules. You started it @snagged in outlet 3 with the tourney guys. I can't let you be alone in this.

I call this one nopocolypse here. Called for 1 1/2 to 2 inches. 5 1/2 when I measured still snowing. 6 about now and snow about done. I cleared the hive entrances that needed it. Pat cleaned off the bird feeders. Bummer I won't be wearing my crocks to the woodshop today.. lol Glad the ice pretty well went off the trees yesterday snow was sticking if it was added to the ice it could of added to the ice storm mess.

It will affect us someday.

Then you had darned be sure and be there.

Hey there David, we were in Springfield at the ENT. We could have had lunch .

Burrrrrrr we have 10. Trying to decide if I want to go to shop and turn on the lathe or tye flies. Right now cleaning off the fly tying bench. This is turning out to be quite the task 😵‍💫.

Lots of ice inch of snow. I would rather have the deep snow than that ice. Even though we didn't loose power many did with the ice. Trees with leaves that had not shed yet created limbs that are down. I feel for the ones that are out of power. Taking the ice picture the mousdash froze up.