Justin Spencer

Amen to that, unfortunately the main populous allowed the dams to go in in the first place. When you work intimately with the general public like I do you find that while most people are good people they don't look at the natural world like most of us do. We avoid the weekend summer crowds and float and fish in the off season as much as possible, we take our trash with us and pick up other people's trash if we can. I wish everyone would have had the opportunity to grow up hunting, fishing and floating like many of us were able to. We had a respect for nature instilled in us that most people don't have. It is not because they are bad people it is because most people are from cities and a trip to the river or lake is a vacation where they let loose, drink beer and have a good time. Unfortunately when you get alcohol involved people don't take care of things like they would if they were back home. Cans find there way into the river, feces finds it's way into the middle of the floor in my bathhouse, showers get left running, etc. I wish everyone thought like the bassnerd I know I do, but I also understand reality and am constantly amazed by the actions of the general populous.

I don't neccesarily think that it would be all "drunk rednecks" on the river, and you are right the worst of them are locals. But most I see who travel from far away are looking for an outdoor experience usually with alcohol. Think of all the powerboaters/bass fishermen who would have to fish on the rivers and I just see a busy river with boats up and down it all the time. Where do you think most of the fishermen were coming from that used Owen's outfitters, they were not the poor locals they were well to do city folk who travelled shitty roads for hours to come get away from it all for a week or so. If there is no Lake of the Ozarks no Truman, Beaver, Taney, Table Rock, Norfork, Bull Shoals, etc. where do you think these people are now, on the White, the Current, Eleven Point, in numbers that would make the current summer weekends seem like a late September Royals game. The landscape would be as nature intended, but the quality of the experience would not be as it was in the early 20th century due simply to a lot more people in the world.

You evidently don't know much about the tourism industry. It is surprising to me the number of people who travel long distances to have a fun quick weekend and then drive home. Our summer business is probably 75% Kansas City which is 5-6 hours away from here. People are searching for some sort of outdoor experience and will travel a long way to get it, if only for a short time. It is naive to think that a treasure like the White would stay pristine and only be used by those who live around it. I'm not defending the dams but just looking at things realistically if they weren't there. It is more fun to look at it through rose colored glasses but unrealistic I'm afraid.

Deer hunting in Mo. this weekend, then loading up Finn (my Boykin Spaniel) for a trip out to central Kansas for a few pheasants and quail next weekend. Seasonal businesses are a real downer

Something that just occurred to me due to the size of the White it would be a much different experience today even if it still was free flowing. Technology would have still developed resulting in scores of jetboats using this river as it would be one of the few big rivers where powerboaters could recreate. I would bet most of us would still be wade fishing, canoeing and kayaking the same rivers we do today because these are the intimate, sporty, scenic rivers we prefer. While the White was an impressive river, I don't think it could have matched the beauty of the smaller free flowing rivers we still have. When we get good rains I still prefer floating many of the seasonal creeks that normally can't be floated. The White would have been primarily a fishing (not floating) river and with today's population (and lack of reservoirs to fish in) I would assume it would be a mess of drunk rednecks (myself included) zooming all over the place shooting guns, gigging fish, and treating every big gravel bar like party cove.

You may be thinking of the White in Arkansas, this is the NFoW in Missouri, no new licenses needed. Different style different results from tailwaters, if I put up all my bad fishing reports for this river no one would come here. Might not be a bad idea since I'm not a guide!

Look me up I usually need the money in the wintertime, if you got the money honey I got the time! Ramen noodles get pretty old by March.

I'll be first but I need my bank note paid off to make it work, please send donations. Not sure I could get Amy to buy into the idea and would probably get old after a year or so. Another thing I can daydream about and make sound much more romantic than it would really be. Could I at least put in solar and wind power, and maybe a dam here on the NFoW.

I agree, I'm sure when power poles and lines started going in everyone complained about how ugly they were, substations, power plants, bridges etc., in 50 years people in areas that can support wind power won't give a second look to the windmills, same goes for solar. I personally hate seeing cell towers everywhere but haven't heard many people complaining about better service. Unfortunately I think it will take us running out of coal (or frying from global warming) before we really take clean energy to a new level. In this part of the country we don't visibly see the problems associated with air pollution (smog, etc) and unless we can see a reason to change it is easy to ignore the affects that this pollution has on our planet. Not sure what this has to do with the White River before dams, oh well.

Had more teal on the rivers this year than I can remember, had quite a few shovelers on some of the ponds around lately. Seeing good numbers of woodducks on the river.

Finished Zen in the Art of Flyfishing a few weeks ago good book not only for fishermen. Thinking about getting the new issue of Playboy to read next (articles are really good!).

I don't think we can ever think that the dams will be removed, we'd probably be dissapointed with the result if they were removed. I'll just keep daydreaming and thinking how cool it must have once been.

Hopefully will be going, trying to get out of an engagement party my mother in law is hosting, I think I'm getting close.

Interesting information, I always just assumed that we used the power that was produced closest to us. Kind of pisses me off that is doesn't work that way, but regardless of where we get our power, if the hydoroelectric plant wasn't there a replacement power plant (probably coal) would be somewhere offsetting this power. I'm sure what Gavin said is true that the White was a "very forbidding place". I'm sure it gets more use now than it ever would have had the river been left to its own devices. I would guess economics plays a role in why we send this "clean" energy elsewhere probably to areas that need it and pay a higher price, while we pay a cheaper price for our "dirty" power. I always thought we should get a super cheap rate on this "cheap" energy since it was our landscape affected by the damming. I hope that this energy gets taxed with the money coming back to the local economy where it was produced, but somehow I doubt it. If anyone knows how this power grid thing really works I would love to find out.

Not in the south yet, have to watch ducks fly over every day, you're not getting them all. I'll do my share to keep them out of that oil.

Playing devil's advocate here these reserviors have given this area clean power without the use of fossil fuels. It's hard to decide what is worse on the environment, the dams are just a different kind of damage. Bull Shoals and Norfork I don't think were built for developers and still have very little development (other than marinas) on their shorelines thanks to the corps. Unfortunately to feed our "overpopulation" we will continue to need sources of power, and that comes with a cost. Arguments are made against every type of power from windmills being too ugly to solar being inefficient because sometimes it's cloudy outside. While I would love to see the White flow freely again, I think this may be one case where more good comes from the lakes being created for both recreation and the economy, and while the ecological changes may have been a high price to pay, I do feel good knowing my power doesn't come from a coal burning plant.

He prefers to be called a yell leader. A $62 million yell leader at that. Our receivers don't give him much help but I get tired of watching his passes float high most of the time that he does have an open man.

Not exactly sure when Norfork and Bull Shoals were built (late 40's early 50's I believe)so they have been there 60 years or so. Still pretty deep don't see them filling in in 40 years, but if I make it to 76 I guess I'll have my answer. I'm sure topography and erosion plays a major role in how quick these will fill in and some will fill quicker than others. That is an interesting question, bet it would get back pretty quick, think of the old home places that can now be found in mature forests, in the grand scheme of things even if it took 100 years that's pretty quick as far as the earth is concerned.

Now that you have some time you may wish to torture yourself and take up fly fishing. You have a great resource in St. Louis at T Hargroves they can tell you everything you need to know about trout fishing in Missouri if that is what you are interested in.

But I like the Chiefs (just not right now)

I beg to differ the baseline if turned up loud enough works like dynamite, and the stanky dank is good for catfish.

Big Smith has to be at the top of the list, great Ozarks band, we had them here at Sunburst this June and everyone loved them. Cruising through the hills listening to Big Smith is the only way to travel. If you haven't listened to them give them a chance, the more you listen the better they get. You owe it to yourself to see them live also! They hit Silver Dollar City and Music festivals, Hammonds Center, but the best place is at a little bar in a college town. Another artist to check out is JJ Grey and Mofro, great Florida band you should check out! If you really want to put it to the fish don't forget Motley Crue or you can go gangsta and drop some Snoop or Dr. Dre on their a@@.

Plus you'd be dead, just one other downside. Maybe someday when we get some alternative energy sources going they will once again flow freely. Not sure that is what most people on the forum really want to see however. Might make an interesting topic (what if?)

Great deer, congrats!

I think I have a permanent knot on the back of my head, but after a few times your casting improves quickly. I don't really think a jig is cheating, no more so than a bead head wooly bugger. Most of the big nymphs we use are wrapped with lead prior to tying the fly so fishing these bigger faster waters is usually chuck and duck. The key in catching more fish on these rivers is to get it down. Big fish like that rainbow are usually looking for an easy meal on the bottom and can be surprisingly lazy. Great fish Brian I think its' tail looks funny because it is so darn big!