eric1978

For those of you who are interested, I emailed Kevin Meneau last night to ask him about both the mutated smallmouth and also the assertion that Gasconade fish seem to have characteristics exclusive of similar nearby watersheds such as the Meramec. This was his response: I've seen this type of issue before, in several MO watersheds. However, the incidence is rather rare (much less than 1%). It is not clear if this is a result of genetic mutation or environmental condition (metals from mining). Given we see this issue from several watersheds, I would lean toward environmental condition, rather than something genetic. I'm not aware of any evidence which establishes specific strains or appearances of smallmouth bass, by watershed. Given the relative geographic isolation of the Meramec from the Gasconade, it may be possible. But, I've not seen anything definitive.

Bobber, if you venture high enough into MO to do this class and I can get away for a day, I'll be in, too. My skills are somewhere between moderate competence and complete retardation, depending on the river. I understand intellectually all the strokes and some of hydrodynamics, I just can't seem to put them to successful use when it counts. I don't swamp or spin out of control all the time, but I could use some Jedi training.

Not in my experience. I use braid tied straight to the lure on even gin clear streams without problems. Could I be missing some strikes because of it? Possibly. But I still catch fish, so they're not all line shy. Using a leader will allow you to break off from snags without amputating your fingers, and you'll still have most of the sensitivity left, but it eliminates the incredible strength advantage of braid, which is one of the main features that makes me use it.

You're right Mitch. I noticed this fish of Wheat's fit your exact description before you mentioned it...long and lean and a way bigger tail fin than normal it looks to me. Wonder why that is? Seems like the Meramec and Gasconade watersheds are pretty similar...they're right next door to each other.

+ 2. Touche, Pat! No kidding. Nothing like the pot calling the kettle black.

Looks like a good one gm. Nice smallie and rainbow, and it's cool you got a pickerel out of it, too.

Well done guys. And nice lookin' smallie there, Chief! Hope she ain't headin' for your omelet in the morning.

Cool article. Thanks for posting it. Do you know what year it was written, and what magazine did you find it in?

Mitch, that fish wasn't stunted...it was fat and healthy as could be, just had a screwed up face. That's not to say it was for sure caused by a hook at some point...it could definitely have been a genetic mutation of some kind, or damage caused by natural predators, who knows. It didn't look like there were any old wounds though, so I would lean toward genetic. I should have gotten some more pics of it. I've never seen one quite like it before. Wheat, didn't you take a pic of it too?

You probably need to invest in a little bit bigger net to scoop those gills. Good teamwork, though!

Thanks fellas. It was a helluva good day. Yeah Chief, it's the heavy metals in the smallmouth that makes them eggs so tasty. Enjoy your scrambled smallie eggs with a side of fibromyalgia and immunological, kidney and liver disorders!

I'd rather catch a fish with a screwed up face than not catch him at all...he still pulled mighty hard and was healthy as could be. Ugly, yes, but still fun. I would have been more disappointed to make that cast and come up empty than to make that cast and hook elephant face. There were plenty of greenies to be had for the fryer...more greenies than I care to remember, and they didn't mind wasting every other cast trying to eat something half their size.

Yesterday Wheat and I floated a Gasconade tributary and a bit of the Gasconade itself. We also did a little fishing. The rivers were pretty. Lots of bridges on this float. We got rained on, and it was great. Had a few cold ones. Some plump largemouth... And some hard-fighting smallmouth. The dangers of chewing tobacco... A fantastic day on the river!

6/20 Power Pro. Be careful about neck-breaking hook-sets...you CAN rip the hook out of a fish's mouth with it. Great for plastics, fine for jigs.

I'm sure your buddy redbud with the vet clinic would let you use his X-Ray machine. Just blast a couple breeders a few hundred times and you'll have Mantiszilla on your hands in no time. Cool pic.

Yeah, I had a similar experience with the smallies on Sunday on a different river to your northeast. Couldn't pin them down at all...nothing seemed to work well, but everything seemed to work a little, at least with the dinks. The big boys seemed elusive that day. And you're right...man, was it muggy. I thought we were in for a real treat with the overcast skies and slightly cooler temps, but the humidity made it pretty uncomfortable, and when the sun came out mid-morning, we were lobsters in a pot.

I haven't done that particular stretch, but I can tell you the Bourbeuse is an extremely slow river, so 7 miles can be a long float. It can fish very well at times, other times it'll seem like it's devoid of life. I definitely recommend you stay below Wenkel right now, as you would be doing a ton of dragging above there. Around Peters Ford would probably be a good choice at this time.

I'm not familiar with that livery. What stretch of the river do they service?

I'd pay the extra money for fresh oil if I was putting it into any engine I cared about. Oil breaks down and goes bad, opened or unopened. Your motor probably won't blow up, but why risk it to save such a small amount of cash?

I hear ya, but quite a few of my friends went to private schools, and a few of them are some of the dumbest people I know. It has more to do with the parents and general aptitude if you ask me. I went to public schools my whole life, paid very little attention, and I can spell just fine. As they say, you can't fix stupid, publicly or privately.

I got a laugh out of the hippo. The Obima thing didn't bother me because the irony is so sweet. Cool snake. Too bad he got mushed.

Scroll down a little farther and you'll find the "Canoe & Kayaking" forum, or you can always post in the product review area or general angling discussion.

There was a time when I was a kid that I remember, when we had one of those gigantic cicada hatches. Must have been one of the special years or something. I'd go to Busch Wildlife every night for a couple weeks straight, and the cicadas were falling out of the trees en masse and into the water. I'd throw a tiny torpedo and catch fat, engorged bass on every cast, including more 2-4 pound fish than I've ever caught out there. They were going nuts. When the hatch ended, the fish disappeared.

Big River was not good to me today, either. It was also up a bit and quite off-color in parts. Didn't get skunked, but nothing over 14". That is such a sweet boat Bman.