drew03cmc

I agree, which is why I do not mind spin fishing at all. The spinning rod is an amazing fishing tool, with which you can be very stealthy and don't have to worry about a line the size of a small rope landing on the water. You can fish 1/32 marabou jigs and be perfectly stealthy while making your casts into the pools and riffles that trout inhabit. In waters where it is legal, toss a crankbait and enjoy the trout smashing it. Do you want names or just screen names? Fly fishing is very exclusionary and is viewed as elitist. There is a sense of entitlement among those who solely fly fish that I do not understand. If you are abiding by the laws, single hook, no soft plastics and no bait, I don't care if you are using an Abu 6500 and 20 pound monofilament.

Wader,thank you! That gives me hope that you don't have to go to the spot-ravaged waters to catch quality fish

KC, it was indeed perfect weather. I enjoyed taking a float on a gorgeous Ozark creek and cannot wait to do it again!

I have developed a feel with glass that I can't explain. I can feel the lure all the way through the cast and retrieve. I am fishing plastic and am not against that, but I would love to find me a vintage 5-6' glass rod rated for 4-10 pound line and a Mitchell 408 to put on it, but that is just to have classic and classic. I might just grab one rod and rig it for cranking and use carbon with the plastics.

I like the softer actions and the ability to feel everything. Graphite is okay but lacks some of the sensitivity, imo.

I just bought a graphite stick for the interim, but will be getting a glass rod to fish with on creeks and what not. The glass is, in my opinion, a better fishing tool for creeks.

Not quite, but you all might be surprised to know that I prefer glass to carbon. I have fished glass fly and spinning rods and they are a better fit for my style.

Hey all, help me out here please. I am looking for an older glass spinning rod from 5-6 feet long and for use with 4-10 pound line. Let me know what you have and what you are seeking for it.

The fishing was delightfully difficult. In the shallow, clear water we had to be stealthy and make casts into the thickest cover we could find which consisted of exposed roots, ledges, boulders, trees and deep green holes. It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend with good fishing on tough fish!

You should have been Wheatie. It was a fun time.

On Friday night, I met KCRIVERRAT to take the drive down to Cedar Camp on the Little Niangua River to float on Saturday with Chief and little Chief and WoundedOne and Ian. Friday night we relaxed, told stories and made a new friend. Saturday morning with ambient temperatures in the lower 40s, we slept a bit and got on the water by noon following one of the best camp breakfasts I have ever had. The river was low, slow and crystal clear. The fish we were after were smarter than us apparently and fishing was slow until the latter 2 miles of our float. We picked up a few bass here and there while the kids caught bluegill and longear at a nice pace. We did not take a camera, or if we had one, did not take a picture, but the scenery, company and camaraderie made up for the lack of fish. In the four mile, seven and a half or so hour float, I personally caught 7 bass and I am unaware of how many everyone else caught, but these fish were extraordinarily spooky with the clear, shallow water. All three species were caught, one largemouth, one spot and five brownies. All of them were absolutely gorgeous and I am eagerly waiting to get back down there and float all the way to Fiery Fork with a night on a gravel bar or something. Saturday night after our dinner of medium rare ribeye and baked potatoes is kind of a blur, but it was thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. I do remember our new friend coming by Saturday night as well. WoundedOne and Ian got a new dog Saturday night. Sunday morning was pretty uneventful and breakfast again was astounding. If any of you have the chance to eat Chief's camp cooking, don't pass on it. Guys, thanks for letting me tag along and showing me a few new techniques.

Al, I have to say you are wrong. Spotted bass were collected during 1974 in the Gasconade, which would mean their arrival occurred before that. USGS has this record on their site and it can be seen here: http://nas2.er.usgs.gov/viewer/omap.aspx?SpeciesID=397 Pflieger's book was copyrighted in 1975, so your statement about them "definitely" not being there when Pflieger's book was written is absolutely incorrect. You continue to proclaim your "theories" as gospel and people drink it up. I would like to see any scientific data you might have regarding the migration of spotted bass up the Mississippi and down the Missouri. Is it possible that these fish migrated there naturally, without the hand of man, and became well established in recent years? I would believe it could be extremely possible, as climates shift and things warm up a touch, the creeks they are in now may have become more hospitable to the spotted bass. Show me some science to back up your theories. My "theories" are primarily conjecture, on spotted bass anyway, and I do not claim to be an expert on them.

In reference to your first bolded statement, the spotted bass were stocked into the Osage system by the MDC. To your second, explain that to Al.

Hmm, thanks a million!

I never said you sucked at fishing. Re-read what I said, but I realize I might have been out of line. I had a bad day, I will admit that and I will bow out. Anyway, I do understand that a stream can only support a fixed amount of fish of any size based upon habitat and forage availability.

Hmm, are big head carp present in the Meramec then? I am curious about this. It might be a seasonal thing like was mentioned already. I concur.

I am asking why habitat limitation is the first place someone goes on that topic rather than predation or somewhere more logical than just saying that a stream with a bunch of young trout is limited by habitat. How is it then that other small streams in the Ozarks routinely produce wild 13" and larger trout? A stream can only handle so many big fish. The rest of the population is invariably dinks and YOY of the past two or three spawns. Every year, the amount of fish surviving from a particular year class is going to decline almost exponentially due to predation from otters, raptors, etc. There are more small fish than large fish and if you think otherwise, you are living in a dream world. If you want to debate this, go ahead and tell me I am wrong. There are resident trout already in the White Ribbon streams, but it is up to you to use your angling skill set to find them. If you cannot, perhaps the park atmosphere is better for you. A C&R stretch on a stream like Capps would almost have to be in an inaccessible location such as below the last bridge all the way to Shoal Creek. That would be okay with me, but there would be no way to enforce it. The agents are not going to wade down the stream to check if ONE angler has a fish on the stringer. Rather than put unenforceable regulations on the books, how about wasting our money to pay the agents to enforce the ones that are currently there. Then, we can move on slowly as our trout program (as against the stocking system as I am) is currently managed well. That is not to say that I am pro-hatchery-provided fisheries, but I enjoy catching trout in wild looking streams too.

Oy vey. Have you missed the 13 other threads on spotted bass? This has been hashed over numerous times and yet nobody can come to agree on a means of removal or tolerance. Grass carp are largely herbivorous while common carp (I highly doubt there are silver, bighead or black carp in Big River) are omnivorous. The only real food source that these species will compete with bass over is crayfish. Largemouth are native to the system, so quit with the invasive largemouth talk. Spotted bass have found their way to the Big, and rather than complain about it, why not find a way to enjoy them?

Habitat limitation? What are you speaking of? Are you saying that the smaller fish are limited in growth by their habitat? Funny, I have heard of 20+" rainbows out of Crane and Mill Creeks, along with 15+ from most every other smaller wild trout water in the state. Could it not be that the larger fish are more wary than these smaller fish and didn't get big by being dumb?

I hear you on that one, but that is why I try to plan things out as far as trips go. Shoal is a nice creek and we would need Chief as a guide to show us some of the upper accesses as I couldn't find them again if I had to.

Gavin, isn't the NFOW also fed by the stocking trucks? I know there is some natural reproduction, but there is not sufficient reproduction to be entirely free of the trucks. Ness, I am down for some local stream fishing anytime. In fact, I know you have a MO license too, so the Blue River just past State Line is good fishing some of the time. I would also be up for a trip down to Shoal Creek with a bit of notice. Let me know. I could not agree more Buzz. I like that about Capps. If I had to pick an area to keep as C&R, or a slot or what have you, it would be from the bend in the creek with the huge pool down to Shoal, or even from the lower access down to Shoal.

I think I am going to cry...I got a compliment of sorts.

Looks like a good time was had by all. Hate that I had to miss it, but I had to pick one weekend out of town...two in a row wouldn't fly.

Like I have said multiple times on this forum, the self sustaining fisheries, or the ones that you can't figure out why the hell there are trout here, are special. I am not against chasing wild fish in a place they have adapted and learned to survive. Only 3...Ha, about the Goggle eye, I can change it to a smallmouth you can barely see in the picture if you, and everyone else, prefer. I have pictures to use, but I like the coloring on that shadow.

I would keep that one quiet. It is those types of finds that people lose limbs for disclosing.