Buckshotdad1960

UUUUHHH Yeah! When I saw that map I swear I could hear a lone wolf cry followed by the sound of a lonesome loon’s soft echo in the distance. And for a moment there I felt home sick as my heart wept from fawn memories of days long ago gone by. Then I shivered so violently my spine almost snapped and reached down to feel if I still had my testicles! Thank God I moved away from there! LOL I don’t fall for that any more! LOL Sure I miss the fishing but the rest I can live without. I lived there for 20 years so you know what I’m talking about. You people are crazy. You can have your bitter cold and your little snow flakes. Besides all ice fishermen are just mentally ill people who haven’t been diagnosed by a doctor yet! LOL DON’T TRY AND DENY IT! LOL It’s true! So true! They’ve got a fever! And the only cure is more cow bell! LOL But I got away. Sure I live in a crappie less hell! But I do it without a shirt on darn it! LOL Also I’ve never had to say to my neighbor, “see ya in the spring if you make it.” And another thing, if you see that punk that stole my gloves and snow blower that time I was stuck in that snow bank tell him I haven’t forgot about it! I know he sold them for crack! LOL those were Eskimo gloves too! SSSHHIII* I darn near had to kill that Eskimo to get them! LOL But I know your gonna say well I love it here. STOP EATING THE SNOW! Give your brain a chance to thaw! In the spring go out side and walk towards the sun! When you get here you can stay with me and I’ll take you around and show you what paradise is really supposed to look like! In the mean time don’t be sticking your tongue to anything metal. LOL Singed: The one that got away

Well Brownieman makes a valid point here. They are a fish you have to make an effort to keep in check. But a fish that is well worth the effort you’ll put out for in my book. One thing I’m not is lazy! Why I’ve been known to boss lots of people around while they did my work! LOL I’m not the only one who will be fishing this pond. There will be others to help me thin the school. Why is it when a man jumps out of a plain he’s called a thrill seeker? Why is it when a man climbs a mountain so high he has to bring his own air he’s called an adventurer? Why is it when a man jumps the Grand Canyon with his motor cycle he’s called a dare devil. But when a man wants to put a few crappies in the pond he’s a fool? LOL I say that this can be done. This mountain is not so high it can not be climbed. And if I fail this fall will not kill me. Let the word go out from this day on that a man has dared to dream the dream! That a man has dared to do the impossible! I will do that which they say can not be done! I will plant the garden of my dreams because the ground is there. I will tend to it and pluck the weeds as they come. And I will in the end enjoy the harvest that will ripen for me!

Yeah, that seems to be a growing problem now a days but I have never had any problems there. Of course I’m a little on the sneaky side anyway when ever I wade streams. I find the less your seen the better. This isn’t a spot that see’s a lot of traffic. However as I mentioned there are the signs that indicate the old boy who’s stocking the place is aware that the possibility of others finding this place is probable. However if you are by chance confronted be friendly and humble. Many a time I have turned the situation around and been given permission to fish just by knowing how to deal with people. Sometimes it doesn’t work, in that case quickly gather your stuff together and leave. If you hear banjo music, leave quicker! LOL If a gun is pulled on you remain calm. Odds are they don’t really want to shoot you, their just intimidated by you and want to scare you off so you don’t come back. Don’t argue with them but don’t show fear either. Crazy people are like dogs, the more fear you show the likelier you are to get bit! If there is no gun involved but you think they might get physical, let your eye start to twitch and start looking all around like your looking to make sure the cost is clear so you can kill them. LOL Start talking to Satan! Scream out loud something like “No Satan! Don’t make me kill again”! LOL Then get out of there! I’m joking of course but maybe not. If people think you’re crazy they may be less inclined to worry about you as long as you leave. Remember around here you never know, you might have just trespassed onto a place where someone is making meth. In that case they don’t know what you have seen or will say to someone that will get them caught. Confuse them by changing the scenario of how the encounter was supposed to go and get out of there as quick as you can. Leave him thinking that maybe you were just another meth head looking to steal something and that you are not likely to say anything to the authorities. Remember just because you don’t see a gun doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Do not linger in making your exit. Now that I have scared you and you’ve decided to never go into the woods again. LOL let me say this about the spot we are talking about. Once I heard a rumor, and I believe it’s just a rumor, but perhaps I should pass it along to you. It never has stopped me from going there but what if, so here goes. Once by accident I ran into an old hillbilly who took a liking to me. We were talking in general about upper Bull creek and he said to me, “I hear there is a judge that lives some where up that way on the creek, he’s the one responsible for getting that law passed that says if a creek isn’t navigable by a canoe then the creek can be considered private property” Which means you can be arrested for trespassing. So keep all that in the back of your head and make like a chameleon. Go have some fun but remember to keep your eyes open and use a little common sense a long the way.

About seven, a little bigger when full.

Thanks Nathan RN, You’re my only friend! LOL 3lbs sounds good! Still small enough to keep alive and transport to the pond and yet big enough to start working on eating up some of those little Blue gills and green sunfish. I had heard there where some big Flatheads caught there years ago but like all spots that the public can get to in heavy numbers, not much is left to be caught. So congratulations on your catch! I have already made up my mind to give the area a look over next summer and see if I can talk one or two of them into coming home with me. Thank you for the tip. Now here’s a tip for you. Catfish have the best smell receptacles of any fish that swims. Having skin rather than scales allows it to have smell receptacles all over its body including on its tail. Yes, a catfish can literally smell with its tail. Use your worms to catch a small pumpkinseed or blue gill then cut it in half or in chunks and use it instead. Fish it for 15 minutes then put on a fresh piece. Make your cast to the calmer water just below the swift water of a riffle area. Keep a tight line. (no slack) Be patient! Also switch over to Kale hooks, match the hook to the size of fish you’re going after. Kale hooks will hook the catfish in the corner of his mouth almost every time. Leave that hook exposed, don’t hide the hook in the bait. Never use treble hooks, a big fish can roll them in their mouth and spit them out even with tension on the line. Keep some needle nose pliers handy. Let me know what you find. Good luck and thank you.

Thanks smallmouthjoe, You’re my only friend! LOL The flatheads are there. The question is how far do they extend up the James? My guess is all the way up to the darn at Springfield Lake. Flatheads like channel cats are fish of rivers and live in the deepest holes. Perhaps my question to the people shouldn’t be where are the fish, but where are the deep holes. Of course the size of a fish will determine how deep of a hole it needs. That’s why in the summer you can find smaller fish in just about any size hole but only find the bigger ones in the biggest holes. In winter they all stack together like cord wood in the deepest holes. Now that I have a kayak I will float the James and Finley to locate these holes. Not all holes hold fish. That old saying that %10 of the lake holds %90 of the fish and %90 of the lake holds %10 of the fish is thumb guide line to go by but I believe it holds true on rivers as well. Locating deep holes with proof fish have been caught there can zero you in on a hot spot and eliminate a lot of dead water that you don’t have to waste your time on. But keep an eye open and if you see or hear of anything drop me a line. I would appreciate it. Now, here s a tip for you. any there is a road called W hwy. Take that road and go about five miles or so until you see a green street sign on your left that says Red Barn Bridge RD. Follow it until you cross the old red barn bridge. Park your car and go under the bridge. Go up stream until you find a small water fall about 100 yards or so up the creek. Below the falls there is a deep pool loaded with small mouth bass. Some real nice ones too! Notice the catch and release signs on the trees. I don’t know who put them there but it’s safe to figure that someone is stocking this hole and is willing to share it as long as you throw them back. This is the upper part of Bull creek. Have fun!

Thanks Ozark Trout Fish, You’re my only friend! LOL I know you don’t live near me but thanks for the advice anyway. It sounds like good advice and may be my only hope of making a connection. And if I keep looking I should have several leads to try by this coming spring and summer. I know I clown around a lot but I am very good at what I do and catching what I need will be no problem once I zero in on where to start looking. A little leg work on the forum here will no doubt save me a lot of leg work out there on the river. These old hillbillies know these rivers and lakes don’t think they don’t. They know where to find the little ones as well as the big ones. Getting them to understand I’m one of them, even though I’ve been gone awhile, and to share their hard earned information with me is the tricky part!

AAYYHH…sometimes it’s just best to move on along without saying anything! LOL What can you say to something like that? But did you see how fast fishingcricket quite me when I told him he’d have to get up in the morning? Can you believe that? Oh well, if you see him tell him he left his briefcase here by the table leg! LOL

Thanks Wayne, You’re my only friend! LOL But where on the lake? I know TR has flatheads or I assume it does. But I have to have a spot, a place to start looking, a point of reference. The lake like a river is a big place with a lot of water. Where have you seen them caught? Heard of them caught? Think they can be caught?

Really? You liked that? And my mom always said I was retarded! LOL See, one mans retardation is another mans humor! So mom if you’re out there, take that! Maybe I should keep my brain tumor? LOL I see your sense of humor is improving too with that Der fishin’ furor stuff! LOL Maybe I should lead the new world order around here! Lord knows we need more crappies! Ok, from now on you’re my only friend! Assemble the troops we march at day break!

Ok, Vail Colorado! Hollister! Yep, I’m picking up a pattern here! Diagnoses: YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHERE YOU SHOULD LIVE! LOL Ok, don’t panic! It’s not too late! Here’s what you do, take the next paycheck you get and pick another town you want to live in. When you have everything packed up point yourself in the direction of the town you chose to move to. Then turn around and go in the opposite direction! LOL Any where you end up will be better than the place you picked to move to! LOL I have a similar problem only it’s with picking a shopping carts that don’t have one of those squeaky crazy front wheels or a check out line to stand in. Never, I repeat never follow me into a check out line! At least not if you have some where to go before the days over! I am cursed! Yes, it is I, the cursed one who speaks with you. LOL This is how I learned to deer hunt! I got tired of getting skunked. So when I thought I knew where the deer where at I started going in the opposite direction and started seeing deer. Soon I was bringing them home! I now apply this strategy to picking shopping carts. All though I understand your motivation, I think you need to start applying this same strategy to the places you pick to live in. LOL And although the alignment of Jupiter and Mars doesn’t allow this strategy to work on picking a check out line it should still work ok on picking a place to live. LOL I know we’re supposed to be talking about fishing here but I want to say this then I’ll shut up. My Grandfather was sheriff of Pulaski County for 20 years. Both my father and mother were cops for most of my life. My father died in 2001 just shortly before my birthday on September 11th. My mother was a dispatcher and is now retired. So I think I know a little about what I’m saying. Men like you don’t send men to there deaths. Men like you send men to save other men’s lives. Some times these men die in the attempt to carry out the duty in which they were sworn. It’s ok to morn the loss of a friend but if you can’t accept that there fate is out of your control then get out of the business. In the bible in order to trap Jesus, the religious leaders at the time asked him about a certain tower that was being built. It collapsed and killed some workers. They wanted to know if it was Gods will that they should have died. So Jesus asked them if they thought these men who died were bigger sinners than any of the other men who didn’t die. His point being, what he was saying was, no, S*it happens. It is possible to be born with a body that will last a hundred years but you can be killed at any age by any number of things if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, maybe you just make the mistake of zigging when you should have zagged. Let it go and move on. The dead are in Gods hands. Jesus is the God of the living not the dead. Your father and your friend are very much still alive. There just not here in this whelm with us. But the day is coming when they will return with the father and once again your family will be reunited. Now, where can I catch some crappie in Hollister? LOL

So true Tippet7! The best trout stream or any other stream for that matter is the one you enjoy the most. The time we spend here on earth is not nearly long enough to enjoy all it has to offer. Though we die in the flesh, no one truly dies until after the great white throne judgment. All those that pass away we shall see again. Personally, I feel the best days for you three are yet to come. P.S. What in the heck ever possessed you to live in Hollister? Run! Get out! Move away! LOL Taney County sucks!

NINE! NINE! NINE! DUNE COUGH! SWINE! PARTY POOPER! LOL NONE SHALL ESCAPE MINE CONSINTRATION POND! MINE OVEN WILL BURN NONE STOP! LOL YOU WILL BE SHOT!........UUUUUHHH….I mean, how would you like to come and tour MINE POND as my personal quest, with all expenses paid, to see for yourself just how safe my facility is? This should put to rest any concerns you might have. LOL Yeah, yeah, that’s the ticket! Bring a friend! Signed; Heir Death Reaper

What about Rock creek in Montana? It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before! People come from all around the world to fish it. Here’s a tip though, the creek is full of fool’s gold so just concentrate on the fishing! LOL Plus out west especially they have a thing called piss fever. That’s where the Beaver pee in the water and cause a parasite to get in the fish, so if you eat the fish make sure their well cooked. Never drink unboiled water from the stream or you can get it that way too. The parasite lodges in your intestines and shuts them down. A few pills from the doc cures it right up. Watch out for Bears, this place is a wild life Mecca! The ferny bottoms of this creek make you feel as though you have stepped back in time to the beginning of creation. This creek splits into multiple streams with pockets so deep and clear you can count the rocks at the bottom in 30’of water.

Thanks for starting this thread Fishingcricket, You’re my only friend! I read what everyone said and found it most useful. My thanks goes out to all of you for the info! Now I know how Hitler felt when he took Czechoslovakia and the world looked on! I will build the best crappie pond anyone has ever seen and MINE POND will last a thousand years! Soon I will sign a non stocking agreement with the DNR to not stock any more ponds! I have no further desire to expand the crappies range in Missouri! LOL

LOL Alright then! Let me get on my hunt’en boots!

LOL Yeah, well you could be right? I don’t know? You sound a little like a good friend of mine today, who told me when we were kids, he said, “Boy! Don’t you ever kiss no p*ssy”! “What ever you do in life, don’t kiss a p*ssy”! I couldn’t wait to kiss a p*ssy! Well….he’d been wrong about everything else! LOL So let’s don’t and say we did. LOL

Does anyone know where I can catch some flatheads? Small ones preferably for the pond. I was looking for some crappie but apparently where there is some is so top secret that not even the President of the United States is allowed to know this information. LOL But basically, Its probably more like there are none and you have a few people who like to tell stories that they caught one kind of like people like to tell stories that they saw Big Foot! LOL

Well, the spring influences the last mile of the Roubidoux anyway! I don’t know, it could be 2 or 3 miles if your walking and don’t have cigarettes! LOL

Well, it’s all good information. Yes, the spring only influences the last 2 or 3 miles of the creek. And I don’t know but you could very well be right about the creek going underground. There are a lot of creeks that do that, even if it’s only in spots or for short periods of time. In the case of the Roubidoux, if that’s what it’s doing then it goes underground for a long ways in the summer.

That’s right; it’s called the Roubidoux, named after an Indian tribe or chief (or something like that). As far as being void of fish nothing could be further from the truth. The first mile or so up above the spring that holds water gets fished hard by the locals all summer and soon holds not many fish. In the spring just after the floods all the locals know to search the holes before they dry up above the interstate 44 bridge. If they don’t get the fish the raccoons will as the pools shrink, then for miles it all just becomes a dry creek bed for the rest of the summer. I was told the flood waters came from the Gasconade when it floods but I have never looked at a map to verify this. I only know that when the Gasconade is flooding so will be the Roubidoux. As a kid the Roubidoux flooded like clock work. I could tell a few flooding stories. My father in law who still lives there told me that the creek doesn’t always flood now every year. In fact he said he saw three years in a row without flooding one time. That seems weird to me and perhaps is due to the weather changes we’re seeing around the world. It’s the end of days! WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!! LOL Just kidding! Bottom line, if it floods get there early. Finding a real trophy in one of these pools is not out of the question.

Fish do get moved around during flood stage. Although I’m not so convinced that the water is forcing them to move as much as maybe it’s just allowing them to travel up and down the river with ease. I find that good holes are still good holes after a flood if not better because their restocked. How many times have you heard the old farmer story about where he found a big cat fish stuck in a puddle in the middle of his field when the water went down? As a young boy in the summer I fished the Gasconade when it was rising and when it was lowering. I found that the rising stage was better than the lowering stage until the river had settled. Then things were back to normal. I believe fish know how to get out of the main current where all the debris being washed away is moving. That’s not to say some fish don’t go back up in holes in the bank or hide in the rocks but this could be risky due to the fact that these places could be covered up with gravel or mud. I believe fish that learn to survive learn to move. The water doesn’t force them to move up or down the river as much as it just forces them to move out of the way. If they travel up and down the river it is because it is what they want to do. You’ve heard of catfish being trapped in holes due to low water levels but when the water level rises they travel from hole to hole. Catfish holes that are fished out are restocked because of this. I grew up in Pulaski County, and there the Gasconade has a branch that breaks off from it and runs through Waynesville which winds back around and meets the gasconade again at the Crocker Bridge. From Waynesville to the Crocker Bridge it’s only about 2 miles. From Waynesville to where this branch breaks off the Gasconade, I have no idea how far it is. I only know the branch from Waynesville to about five miles up and I’m sure it much farther than that to get back to where it branches off from the Gasconade. In Waynesville there is a spring in town that of course runs cold water, but above the spring for a mile or so this branch runs warm water all year round even if there’s not much flow. Above that for the next 4 miles or so of the branch I know it only runs water in the spring when the Gasconade floods and the over flow fills this branch that breaks off of the Gasconade. Now, I have painted this picture of what this branch is like and said all that I said so I can say this. The area above the 1 mile mark which is above the spring in Waynesville always dries up for the summer after the spring flooding. As it dries up you find fish (and some times big fish) in these shrinking pools of water all up and down the 4 miles of it I’ve fished and I have no reason to believe that the same scenario isn’t being played out up and down the entire length of the branch that breaks off from the Gasconade. Now, if fish don’t move up and down the river on their own free will, what are there fish doing there? Look at all the places they could have found to get out of the current if they where interested in or wanted to stay in the same place they where at before the flood. Perhaps some do decide to stay in the same place while others prefer to move. I don’t think the size of the fish has anything to do with anything. Because if a small fish can be washed away but a big fish can’t then what about the smaller fish like minnows? If the wash away small fish theory was correct the big fish that remained after the flood would have nothing to eat then.

I picked up the wildlife code book tonight of the March 1st 2009 issue. I can not seem to find anything on the transportation of live fish to be put in your pond. I found where it says that fish can be transported as long as you have a fishing permit. But it doesn’t distinguish between whether they are alive or dead. So I think I’m right on this that its ok to take, transport alive and release the fish into your pond. What say ye?

Now, now fishingcricket, You know you’re my only friend! However, I’m just trying to keep it real! Your fish have downsyndrom! LOL Chances are I will be personally breeding with the crappie I put in the pond so I can’t be polluting the genes of my offspring now can I? LOL If all my children have hair lips I’ll never be able to set the hook and catch anything! LOL Please feel free to post the pic’s of the crappie you catch! I need all the porn I can get! LOL

Crappiemagnet, I lived in N. MPLS until over run…….. then No Hope (new hope), Brooklyn park, Mounds View and three or four other places for short periods of time. I fished about a 10 mile stretch of the Mississippi that included the dam. If you eat the fish (which I did not) pay attention to the PCB’S. But if you just like to fish any of the locks will hold crappie, smallmouth and catfish…..plus! Here’s a tip from your uncle Earl since you’re not that far from the dam. Fishing above and just below the dam can produce fish, but it is often more a disappointment than not due to the fishing pressure it receives. Here’s what you do, In the middle of the darn just below there is an island that you can get on by foot. Go to the very end of it and look for large trees that have been washed up along the shore. These trees will come and go with the rise and fall of thee river so there not always there. If you find no trees get in your car and leave. If you do find one it will (do to the lay of the land) be lodged out in the water and you will have to wade to it. Ease up to the tree and climb on, give it a minute or two for any spooked off fish to calm down and return. Then drop your tub jigs straight down and work both sides of the tree. Then get ready to be surprised. Many a time I have caught my limit using this tactic with fish running from ¼ to 1 lb. If nothing else it’s worth it for the looks on the other fishermen’s faces as you pass back over the dam on the way to your car! Remember, always show your humility to the other fishermen who haven’t caught anything along your way by allowing them to kiss your ring and lick the mud from your shoes! LOL And never let them know how you did it! (RIGHT GUYS?) It’s the American way! (You B*s*urds) LOL