Terry Beeson

Sah... WEEET!!!

He's been kind of worried about you fixing him PBJ sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner along with snacks... and that PB ice cream for dessert... Good thing (for Mr D) you're not an RN. Cindy keeps me well informed that she and her best friend know 52 different ways to off me undetectable by CSI... I love that woman!

AAAAaaaahhhh.... The ol' "Double-threaded Flashabou-backed Furnace-burning Midge-hatch-sack Floating Wooly-tater-bug...."

I totally agree with Rob. That looks a whole lot more like a Tilapia than a Crappie. They are native to Central and South America, but you will find them stocked in the warmer climates in the US such as Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. You can fish for them in states just a little north, such as Arkansas. AGFC stocks several lakes with Tilapia every year. They have a fast growth rate in these lakes and can get to a pretty decent eating size before dying out in the winter. I forget the water temp, but at some point the temp is low enough that the entire stocking will die. Lake Hogue (RiverRunner) south of Jonesboro, AR near Waldenburg is stocked with these fish. They have a very good flesh similar to Crappie and are quite tasty. You can sometimes find them in the seafood section of your local supermarket here in the Springfield area. They make good fillets to grill... or fry... And they are fun to catch if you get into them.

Welcome JT... I know you can bring a wealth of information to the guys on this board... See ya at Sowbug! (You gonna have a booth this year?)

I know! I know! It was a red-eared wolff-elk-haired whitlock rabbit squirrely adams pine-hackle caddis midge-crack!! No? Maybe a mallard-flank davy-thread butt-hopper-john white river scud-missle shad? Am I close?

I don't know that I've ever seen anything but "black" on the trout cam... maybe I'm doin' something wrong? Is there a certain plug-in I need or sumpin? Hey Phil... you moved the cam in your office... Now I can't gauge the water level!

OK... Who are you and what have you done with Leonard? I only scare the big ones... The li'l ol' 10 inchers ain't skeered of me and just love to tease me into thinkin' I can tie a decent fly...

Barring any unforeseen circumstances.... I'LL BE THERE!!! I'll probably come down Saturday morning and spend the day harrassin' some of the tyers, buyin cra... I mean much needed tying supplies, and watchin' some good casters out in the "yard." Of course if I can sneak away Friday, I'm comin' down to spook Leonard's pheeshes... (Sshhhh... don't tell Leonard I may go fishin' Sunday....)

Yep... John Wilson pointed that fact out and I booked a trip with him on February 30th this year... HEY... he gave me a good discount! Hey, Phil... got any good deals on rooms on Feb 30th and 31st?

I use to live next to a "hunting club" back home. One day I was walking by my front window and had to do a TRIPLE take... Sure enough, there was a nice cock pheasant walking up my driveway - a strange sight in Arkansas at the time... (lucky for him, my black lab was in the back yard chasing moles and armadillos... Well, maybe more lucky for ME that's where Bo was...) Anyway, we had a nice meal of pheasant that Saturday night...

Saturday my wife and I planned a day together doing some things around the Nixa/Springfield area. The first one was kind of interesting. Nixa had an “Outdoor Swap Meet” at the community center. This was basically a “flea market” for outdoor types. They had some speakers and seminars that I didn’t attend, but we did walk around looking for “bargains” and I did pick up a couple. Most of it was old lures and rods/reels. If you collect old lures or rods, it was a good place to look. There were also some odds and ends camping, backpacking, etc. A couple of local bait and tackle stores had “stuff” at bargain prices. A couple of points of interest: I talked at length with a guy from Bolivar who is an artist. He had several pen drawings and I picked up a trout set (two trout prints with a fly – matted and ready to frame.) My wife picked up a drawing of a farmer plowing with a mule because “that’s my grandpa!” I’ll post an image of the two with more info on the artist later. I found about half a dozen old wooden spools of Wapsi tying thread. I didn’t need the thread, but the spools were a novelty for sure. He had other wooden spools of thread and some individual flies in small boxes. He got this stuff at an estate sale. Only wish he had gotten some old tying tools. Several booths had old lures and even quite a few hand-carved and hand painted ones. These were neat to look at and if I was into collecting, I would have spent more money for sure. Quite a few old rods and reels as well. Not much in the fly line (my forte) but I did see a couple of reels and one bamboo rod in a wooden case. Almost wish I had bought that rod at least for the case. The rod was one you would “display only.” James River Basin had a booth their on water quality. An organization from one of the colleges (don’t remember which one) had a booth trying to raise funds by selling hiking stoves. These were made from Pepsi cans and burned alcohol (PGA, Isopropyl, HEET, etc.) This was really neat and I found a link to how to make your own... Click here to learn how to make a soda can stove. Anyway, all this got me to thinking why we don’t do more of these? Maybe there ARE more of these and I’ll see more in the spring. But I know I’ve got some “stuff” around the house that my wife would love if I would get rid of it. Camping, fishing, and even a bit of hunting stuff… Maybe an OAF Swap Meet?

In case you didn't find out, Wayne... That one is black... If you look at the pictures form the seminar at BCO, you'll see SEVERAL of those caps displayed on the heads of some good fly fishermen... and one on my head...

I am? Ssshhhh, Ken... You're liable to ruin my reputation... There are people lke that? I have to say that I've been lucky to hunt with some of Cindy's relatives in their blind on occasion (an open invitiation any time they are not "full") and it really does make a difference...

Go by Backcountry Outfitters and take a look at the funky new "prism" line... Way KEWL! Wow, man... Like they're like so kewl to look at man. If you've been tyin' and like smokin' a lot while you're tyin' man, they look like all funky and cool man! Like I'll just stop tyin' man and just like STARE at 'em man... Like for HOURS, man! Hey man! Like, where are my Doritos, man!?!?

I almost have to laugh when I hear about these type of hunting and fishing clubs. But then again, I was fortunate enough to grow up a true "country boy" and had access to fishing waters and hunting grounds on my dad's and neighbor's property. But then I have to realize that the vast majority of people don't own any land at least certainly not enough to hunt on and probably not fish on. Would "I" pay to join one of these clubs? Most likely not. I would consider joining a duck blind/club, but there would have to be a lot of stipulations. There are many things to consider when looking at these clubs. Many of them are plain "make the landowner rich" schemes and you simply pay for the privilege of hunting or fishing on their property. Nothing wrong with that if the price is in line with what you get out of it. What sort of management "guarantee" do you have? Are their "improvements" going on such as parking, trails, or other amenities? Is their a limit on how many hours/days you can fish? Is this a "wild" stream or stocked? How many members are there? I would think the main reason to join something like this would be to have some guarantees of good access to good fishing and to avoid the hassles associated with public fishing. No crowds, easy access, good fishing, and other positives would help justify the costs. However, you have to be aware of the "negatives" as well. All I can say is $20,000 can buy a lot of time on Taneycomo and the rest of the White. I think I could make a nice fishing trip to Alaska on $20 grand...

Happy Birthday to both of you!!

They're in a hurry to get home and get out of the weather.... Yep... it's funny how "stupid" some people get when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle... snow or no snow...

Hey GoFish.... Well, the hives are gone, I've lost my bees The chickens are sleepin' In the willow trees Cow's in water up past her knees, Three feet high and risin' (Fellow Johnny Cash fan...)

Hey!.... I noticed YOUR coat pockets were bulging a bit, too!!... Yeah, that's OK... I didn't need another 5 wt anyway... I do hope you enjoy a big ol' trout on the end of that rod soon, mathman...

I can see it now... All the members of OAF lined up around that pond... It'll look like opening day at BSP or RR...

Welcome to the forum... look forward to pictures of huge bucketmouths!!

If you weren't catching fish, it wouldn't be fun to make fun of your slow strip mink.... Good report... You are tougher than the ducks... that's impressive!...

Welcome David... Glad to see you over here as well...

Welcome to the forum. Now if you can just scare us up some "fair weather" to fish in.... HEY!!... Suppose to be sunny and 60 deg F in Springfield next Thursday! Good job, Northwood!!