eric1978

I find it hard to believe you've never been responsible for a trout's death. And even if you don't think you have, you have, and you should pay for the stamp...all $7 of it. What happens when you hook a big fish on light tippet and have to play it so long you can't revive it? Just let 'm float down the river I guess. Very cool of you. It's a tiny amount of money for a ton of enjoyment, and if you're going to use the resource, you should be willing to fork over the few measly bucks.

Expect? No. But in all fairness, Tony Hayward or whatever his name is - and all the rest of the BP and Halliburton millionaires - should be sleeping in cardboard boxes before we have to pay a penny more for a gallon of gas. I said "should."

X2...Compare the effect the Native Americans had on the buffalo population to the effect whitey had on the buffalo population. Not a perfect analogy, but close enough. There were so few Indians that the impact they had was negligable, I'm sure.

Yep, they've got us over a barrell, so to speak. But as long as they're forking over money to the victims in the Gulf, it'll be a little easier to swallow. Those people need help, and it's not their fault. I don't think most of them have seen a dime yet. We'll see how it plays out.

While I agree with everything you said OB, I'm taking Cricket's position. I'm too lazy for all that other stuff. I'd rather just complain and hope the problem goes away. No, I'm only half kidding. If I didn't have to work and could spend unlimited time on whatever I wanted, I'd participate in those kinds of things, and I'm fully supportive of those ideas. But every chance I have to get on a river, which is few and far between, I spend every second of fishing. I could probably last about ten minutes at an access talking to people before I'd be wandering upstream, rod in hand. Call it an excuse or a cop out or whatever...maybe it is, and maybe that means I don't have the right to whine about it, but I'll continue to anyway. I do have to admit, though, if I ever saw folks from the MSA or other conservation-oriented group up at BPS or Cabela's talking to people and handing out pamphlets, I'd be much more inclined to join and participate. Maybe they have, but I haven't seen it, and it makes any effort I might consider making seem that much more futile. It just seems like a lot of time-consumption for very little impact, and that's why I'm always preaching about broader-reaching actions like regulations. I think the conservation-minded, C&R mentality is growing with each passing day, but my opinion has always been that it takes so few anglers to put a big dent in a population on most streams, that if you leave the decision for people to make, they'll inevitably screw things up. That's what humans do. Sometimes you just have to force the issue and tell people what they can and can't do. Like it or not, some rules are necessary for the benefit of the greater good, since often we seem unable to control ourselves as a group. Again I want to point out, this whole argument isn't transferable to any other MO gamefish species, as far as I can see (trout notwithstanding...entirely different conversation). I wouldn't be arguing this stuff for gills or crappie or temperate bass or catfish or whatever. It's pretty universally agreed upon by those who have hooked into a nice sized smallmouth that there's something special about the species that makes it stand out above the rest. They fight harder, they live in really cool places, they're beautiful, they grow very slowly, they're more elusive...on and on reasons why smallies deserve special attention and regulations. They're not just another fish. I don't understand why it's selfish of smallmouth enthusiasts to want to restrict harvest of ONE species of fish. I don't hear people having these conversations about any other species (in our region), so it goes to show that either there actually IS a need for new regs, or people just like this fish more and the number of those who support tighter regulations has reached critical mass and it's time to get it done. Either way, it's enough for me to disregard the desires of the small percentage of greedy meat anglers who disregard the desires of the larger percentage of recreational anglers and who depress the quality of fishing for everyone. THEY are in the minority now, and THEY are behind the curve. THEY should make the adjustments. I'm rambling.

That's true in farm ponds, but not necessarily in streams. A healthy riparian system offers high forage production, far more than a muddy hole in the ground. By your rationale, there would have been no big fish in our streams 500 years ago, and I'm pretty sure that's not right.

I would be fine with a slot limit, but I would want it much more restrictive than your version, CGB. 14-20, 2 or 3 under, 1 over (smallmouth), and a total of 6 black bass per day (except no limit on spots on Meramec watershed). That's plenty of meat for the eaters, and would leave more of the big boys for the anglers. I'll support any increase in regulations. Any.

I listen to it every day while I'm out working. Pure comic relief.

I'm a baseball guy, so I'd say you hit for the cycle. The goggle eye was a single, rainbow was a double, and depending on the sizes and quality, the smallie and brown have to fight it out for triple and homer. Sounds like fun.

Regulations Nazi. It's a good idea to have one even if you don't intend to harvest, in case you gut-hook or otherwise mortally wound a fish and need to keep it. Right wrench?

The best part of JF is the upper end, from the Prongs down to Bay Creek. Next time you go, hit Buck Hollow to Rymers, that's the best of the best.

They don't always hand you the book, but they're usually sitting at the counter wherever you might buy your license. You need a trout stamp on top of your regular license, which I believe is an additional $7. You'll also need a daily tag to fish at any of the trout parks, but the regular trout stamp is good enough for the Blue, Red or White Ribbon trout waters.

That report with impeccable grammar? I'm sold. When I finally make it down to the White, I'm heading straight to your shop. Keep 'em coming!

Well, not the slow response to fix this thing, we can't blame that on them. But they are certainly at least partially responsible for the spill, because of the backroom deregulation and the Cheney cronyism at the MMS...like it or not, it's fact.

Sorry, but he's no longer a lawyer. He's the President. And the buck stops with him, as they say. BP is responsible for the leak and responsible for the cleanup. But I would have preferred to see Obama get on this thing the day it happened, order every resource available to dispatch to the gulf, gather all the best minds in the oil industry, the Corps of Engineers and MIT, and set up camp down there until this thing was stopped and under control, then send BP the bill. But instead he decided to play politics with it, and tried to keep his distance and allow BP to clean up their own mess. Big surprise that they haven't. I do have to say though, that if Obama had jumped in with both feet right away and grabbed the bull by the horns, conservatives would be up in arms about how he's interfering with the private sector, and bailing out another corporation and how only a socialist communist Nazi Marxist would do that plus he wants to kill your grandma and blah blah blah the usual Republican talking points. He's really in a no-win situation, but I wish he would have erred on the side of the environment. He definitely blew it. At least he got a 20 billion dollar slush fund from BP today for the folks down there who are hurting. It won't be enough in the long run, but it's something.

Yeah, scary stuff. Refresh my memory...which freedoms have we lost so far?

Don't forget, I voted yes on your "would you fish with me poll." I'll fish with anyone who doesn't keep smallies .

Difficult wading at the Tea access. There's a deep pool right at the canoe launch, and you have to walk through the woods (I think private property) up and around a feeder creek to get downstream, and it's equally as difficult to wade upstream. The Mint access is one higher, and it's a little better wading. The problem with wading the Bourbeuse is the riffles are separated by long, deep pools. I would recommend upper Huzzah, Courtois or Joachim Creek (Smallmouth Managament Area) for the easiest wading nearby. Most streams above Hwy 44 hold few to no smallmouth, but they certainly have other species to pursue.

Sounds like a great float. Glad you guys had a good one. Gotta love JF! But, um...where are the pictures? Any big smallies?

It would help us to give you ideas if we knew: A ) Do you have a canoe or other type of watercraft, and if not, B ) Do you plan on renting and floating or wading? C ) Do you plan on keeping any smallies? Just kidding. Kinda. Not really. You may have trouble getting people to tip you off to their favorite small creeks, but there are plenty of other more popular waters you can fish. A good starting point is the Missouri Paddler's Guide. It's only 6 or 7 bucks and it gives you most accesses for many MO streams. Living in St. Louis, your closest smallmouth rivers are the Meramec and its tributaries, Big River, the Bourbeuse, and Huzzah and Courtois Creeks. There are other small streams and creeks nearby, but accessing them can be more difficult. If you don't mind driving a little more, your options are nearly limitless. Need more info from you to get any more specific.

You forgot to mention under "Government": Previous administration - backroom deregulation and cronyism at the MMS. If we extracted every drop of oil available from ANWR, we would still be dependant on foreign sources. There is not enough there to become energy independant, so what's the point? Do you really want to see that beautiful place destroyed?

I'd say right around 21 also, maybe slightly more...4.5-5 pounds. Looks like a long fish. Nice one, too.

Cool. Did you attend Regent University by any chance? (Just ribbin' ya...I couldn't resist.) Given your background, I'm surprised you don't have more science-based opinions. Most people in your field of expertise don't share your views.

Yeah, even I wouldn't give a guy a hard time about keeping a catfish, as long as it's eaten. The article said he got 50 pounds of fillets out of it. Meat's meat and a man's gotta eat, ya know? Yuck. He would have been better off fryin' up the bait he caught it on.

Yeah, and the Tooth Fairy might sneak into my house and strangle me in my sleep, but it's not keeping me up at night. In which branch of science do you have your PhD?