eric1978

Better take it with you now since you talked about it...you know how it goes... I'm a little foggy on the concealed/non-concealed thing since I don't carry a gun anywhere. Are you saying because you don't have a concealed-carry license that you have to have the thing strapped to you in a holster the whole time and can't just have it in your dry bag until you set up camp? That wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but then again, a lot of laws don't make much sense.

Oh man, my stomach muscles hurt from laughing. Hoglaw, I know exactly how you feel about the "peace of mind" thing. I've thought about it, too. But I think he's right, a pistol may be a little dramatic. How about a nice machete? I certainly wouldn't take a gun without a CCL, and I'd look carefully at the laws if I did. But you're the lawyer, you should be telling us the rules. Anyway, I would't worry about it unless you got a real purty mouth.

Unless MDC biologists get some kind of huge grant to develop a drug that alters the genes of spots to make them incapable of reproduction, I think they're here for good. That would have to be a heck of a good drug, too, because their DNA is so similar to that of smallies they can cross breed and contaminate the smallie gene pool. How you would isolate that gene in just spotted bass, I have no idea. And come to think of it, that wouldn't work anyway because the particular DNA change that makes them sterile would also make them incapable of spreading that gene (duh). Biologists messing with DNA strains is totally unrealistic anyway; that simply won't happen. So like I said, I think they're here for good. Since it's too late for prevention, electro-shocking would be the most direct and ambitious way to get rid of them. That too will never happen, because even if MDC had the desire to pursue such an aggressive removal program, they would never get the funding. They simply don't have the money for a project of that size. I also think it would be pretty stressful for the other species of fish to be juiced to near-death on a regular basis. So Flysmallie, I think your ideas for SMAs are really the only practical and possible solution. On streams where spots are native, I think the 18 inch, 1 smallie limit, or some kind of slot limit would suffice, depending on the populations of each particular stream. On streams where spots are invasive and are having a negative impact, I think a catch and release only regulation would be best, at least until the ecological need for "thinning the herd" arises, if it ever did. Limits on spots on these streams should be removed altogether, and the law stating that the "edible portion" of a fish cannot be wasted should be changed for spots only, so that those of us who can muster the will can just kill 'em and leave 'em. (I hate doing this, but I was for a while until I found out it was illegal). For those of us who really care, we know some variation of the above is what is needed to improve the quality of our smallmouth fisheries. That's great. But the problem is, what can we do about it? I've personally emailed the MDC about this issue, but I would say that amounted to less than the proverbial drop in the bucket. The MO Smallmouth Alliance does everything they can to raise awareness and push for stricter regulations, but their power is limited. They are a tiny constituency in the grander scope of the legislative mechanism, and their voice is but a whisper in terms of the general melee of state politics. But the squeeky wheel gets the grease, so the MSA needs both more members (I am guilty of not joining yet because I've never really been an "organization" kind of guy, but I will be joining soon), and MONEY. They need MONEY. Nothing speaks louder than the holy dollar, and I think if they could raise enough cash to hire a lobbyist, we'd be much closer to realizing some kind of actual progress. But most people simply don't have the extra bread laying around to just be forking it over, including myself. If I had a few hundred bucks to blow I'd probably wind up with a new pair of waders or a new fancy reel, so I could go fish in some great smallmouth waters and catch a bunch of spots. So, hypothesis: The MO Smallmouth Alliance is our best resource for potential improvement of our beloved hobby. We should all join and save up our loose change to contribute to their efforts. For those of you who made it through this post, thank you and I'm sorry.

Nice fish! Definitely a challenge with 6# flouro. That stuff can make for a real heartbreaker. I know I'm done with it. Anyone know why some smallies have that white spot on the rear of their gill plate?

Maybe if he's not too busy clearing the streams of other floaters for me.

Really pretty fish, especially the one in the middle pic. Almost as pretty as a smallmouth!

Hmmm....really don't know what to tell you about that. I've had a lot of Curados and Chronarchs over the years and I can't say I've ever had that happen. I've had to have some older ones serviced that sounded like they had sand in the gears but...never that. The only thing I can think of is if maybe you were tinkering with the brakes and didn't put it back together right, or if your drag was set too heavy and the force of setting the hook just sheared some of the guts. Maybe call Shimano and send them back. I've heard of people getting brand new reels from them. Otherwise I guess you gotta either get them serviced or toss 'em in the trash. That sucks. I've been using my new Curado 200E7 a lot lately, which is the first one I've had of the new models, and it's working perfectly so far.

If it was certain that that would work, and wouldn't affect the river in any other way, I'm not sure I'd be against it. I'm not the type of floater that really freaks out when I have to portage, it's all part of the deal. That said, I don't really think it would work. There are a bunch of low-water bridges for example on the Bourbeuse, which may have slowed the encroachment, but they still make it up somehow, through floods or whatever. Even a bird of prey could pick one up from farther down stream and accidentally drop it upstream...probably not likely, but possible I suppose. I think the best option at this point is to make any stream with invasive spots a Smallmouth Management Area, with even stricter regs than they have on current SMAs. Change the size limit from 15 to 18, or making them illegal to take altogether, at least for several years, would be even more ideal. Also, remove all limits, size and quantity, on spots. The MO Smallmouth Alliance is having a Spotted Bass Roundup and fish fry this weekend on the Bourbeuse, and I think things like that will also help some.

Well, those are good reasons. Having to get the scissors out every time you retie is a pain. What I like most about the PP though, is when I'm making super-long casts on clear water, I've found the hook sets are really superior because of it's low stretch. The sensitivity is great, too, although that really hasn't been a factor yet this year because I haven't started using baits that require that sensitivity. Made several thousand casts by now with it, and haven't had a single backlash.

Yeah, don't you wish. I think the next time I go for a float I'm gonna call the governor's office and have them clear that stream of other floaters a couple days in advance.

Would you say it is a priority for a smallmouth in high water to find current it prefers? I guess what I'm asking is how far do you think they will travel to find more acceptable water? Just from one spot in a pool to another spot in the same pool, or do you think they will travel up or downstream to find a new haunt altogether?

It's pretty hard to deny the troops any training that might help them out in combat, but you'd think with all the military's resources they'd have their own river to train on. I guess there has to be some rivers in the watershed areas of the mountians around the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where they're beefing up operations. Of course that's easy for me to say. I don't really fish the Osage. I guess if they were training on the Huzzah or Meramec I'd be pretty upset. Hopefully they don't have much impact because there's not much you can say and definitely nothing you can do to stop them. After all, they have tanks and we have fishing rods.

We just did that one a couple weeks ago and it also ended up a little nasty. Maybe one of us should start a thread under the heading "why I like fishing" so we can all have a kumbaya moment. Happy birthday Wader.

Well I was thinking vessel as in canoe or kayak, but I guess a drinking vessel wouldn't be a bad idea either, maybe filled with some potent potable in case the fishing stinks.

So soon we speak. Are weather forecasters worthless or what? It's raining all over the eastern half of MO, and it looks like it's gonna drop a decent amount of precip. Better take a vessel just in case.

I was down that way yesterday and planned on wading an upper Huzzah stretch, but it was MOVIN'! Not blown out, but not wading material either. Went to my default hole where high water doesn't really matter, and in the few hours I was there it had dropped about 6 inches or so. I don't think there's much more major precip in the forecast, so you should be good to go by the weekend. Good luck and report back! If a bunch of things go right I might be fishing below you somewhere on the mec. The wife made plans that I'm hoping will fall through, then I thought about hitting the SM Alliance Bourbeuse Spotted Bass Murder Rally, but I've been craving a Meramec float.

Could it be...Tito?

Hey Al, what keeps you from using braid on your BCs? I just started using 6/20 PP on mine and I love it.

If the water is chocalate milk, I'm probably packing up and going home. But if it looks fishable, I'll throw big, black spinnerbaits with big colorado blades, a big, dark, wide-wobbling crankbait with noise in it, or a big, dark jig and pig with a rattle. If I don't hook up on any of those, I really don't know what else to do. I like your idea of discussing tactics for conditions. I started a thread yesterday called "Fishing High Water" under the forum category "Other Ozark Streams." I'd love everyone's input on that as well!

KC, I really don't want this thread to get argumentative, as it seems it is heading. But this is a thread about spots so we should continue to discuss it. I have to say this: Spots were not introduced into the Meramec system by stocking. However, their migration was facilitated by man tinkering with the waterways. Specifically what we did to allow this migration, I honestly don't really know, but others have theories. But the fact is, spots just got there in the last few decades, so clearly man had something to do with it. If they had migrated into the Meramec hundreds or thousands of years ago for some other reason, I would agree with you that they are native. There would be no question about that. But that's not the case. It's because of us that they're there. And regarding your other post, a species cannot "become" native. Native means that either they were always there, they evolved there, or they migrated there on their own, without human influence. I'm not saying that a non-native species can't reach an equilibrium with the ecosystem (i.e. MO trout), but they will NEVER be native. Also, the spots are not reaching an equilibrium, they are taking over. They are throwing the ecosystem out of balance, and native species are suffering because of them. What's happening in the Meramec and its tribs is not what the earth intended, and we should do what we can to fix what we've screwed up. I'm not sure why this is such a debatable point, it just seems like obvious common sense to me. I do have a feeling that if the streams in your area were under attack like the ones closer to us, you would have a much more negative opinion about the intruders. Another incentive for you: the better our streams are up here, the less often guys like me will drive down and fish your waters...more fish, peace and solitude for you!

I'm also busy but I think this is great and greatly needed on the Bourbeuse. They should have one of these once a month. They should also occasionally hold a gigger fry...that would help, too.

All the fish I caught seemed to be roaming around in the water with the least current. The water was really moving and I think they were looking for some more desriable current. I tried casting a jig into the current and letting it drift some, but no dice.

I heard that anyone fishing on a foggy river is a ghost. Is that true?

I've never heard anywhere that smallmouth are not a native species of the Meramec system, but if you find any credible info about that, I would be very interested.

I don't see any meanmouth. That fish is all smallie.