straw hat

Congratulations!! That is a fish to be proud of. May you catch many more.

I contacted the Corp about these docks nearly 15 years ago. These docks were built before the ban went into place a few months after the lake filled. Because they were already in place they were allowed to stay. (like you said; grandfathered in). They are allowed to repair but not replace or move. They told me that they are rarely sold and that the last one sold for nearly $50K. The guy seemed serious but if you have ever looked at them up close ... well surely he was kidding.

Everything helps Larry and welcome to the site. I look forward to more reports. Did you happen to notice the water temperature?

Thank you all for your best wishes. My family will carry them in our hearts. Enjoy life, your family and freinds.

Today I mourn the loss of my brother and good freind. He lost his long battle with cancer yesterday. The word "sportsman" is often overused but not in his case. He never took a shot unless sure of a kill. He never ever left a wounded anmal to suffer. He belived in hunter safety and never killing any wildlife without having a use for it. He has taught hunter education, as well as teaching nearly all my nephews and neices to hunt and fish. Many of you will express your sympathy for my loss and wish there was something you could do for me. Little do you know you already have. During the last 6 months he was unable to get around and was often in severe pain. I frequently read him fishing reports and stories from this forum. He felt like he had gotten to knew most of you and through you it brought him back closer to the things he loved. For the peace and cover it brought him I thank you all very much. He never wanted you to know what he was going through because he would not want the attention or sympathy. Now that he is gone I want you to know that you all helped him feel just a little bit better during a time of great pain. Sometimes we don't realize how even little things we do sometimes can have a big effect on others. Be sure and value the time you spend with family and freinds. My brother will be dearly missed.

Are huskers and sooners a type of fish? Maybe a member of the carp family? ouch!! Sorry guys, I just couldn't resist. To me the only true sport is fishing. Everything else is a distant second. Good luck on you next fishing trips everyone and keep the reports coming. I really enjoy reading them.

I often fish both areas this time of year. I find that CC is a little better that Ruark but for bass and walleye I would prefer Ruark. I don't think you could go wrong with either one though.

I can't promose that the road is open but I checked the MoDOT website and they don't list the road as being closed.

Thanks for the good report SmallyWally. That is a good ratio for keepers on those walleye. Good luck on your next trip.

That happened to the wife and I once. It was in August about 3 years ago. When we saw the graph we got so exited. We drifted minnows through the school and after we caught our 15th drum (+/-) we moved on. I can't say for sure that is what happened to you but it is food for thought.

You have to let us know how the trip turns out. Catch a 10 lber for me!!! lol (This time that stands for lots of luck!)

Nice catch Kwall. With this cooler weather it should just get better and better.

Thanks for the info Zac. I will check out their website. I considered the fiberglass but it looked like it would be too slick for my boat deck. It should sure work great though for the sides of your Crestliner. As far as the "ancient" boat... well I understand what you mean. I am pretty ancient too but I am still out there knocking around on the lake getting the job done! lol

Back on August 6th I mentioned that my carpet was falling apart on my boat. First of all Gilly was right about the UV degrading the carpet. The carpet under the protected places was still in good shape. It took me a few weeks to remove everything from my boat, strip the carpet and scrap/sand the glue off the top. Much to my suprise the high grade marine plywood I had used had been eaten up with dry rot. I thought marine plywood was suppose to be waterproof. I guess that just shows how dumb I am!! After talking to two manufacturers I found out that marine plywood is made the same as regular plywood except they use denser layers of wood and compress the wood to minimize the air pockets in the plywood. It is only considered 20% less suscepable to water damage and dry rot. It has no waterproof treatment at all. In fact the manufacturer of the plywood I used last time refused to honor the warrenty. It is what they call a "limited warrenty". The warranty is invalid if you drill any holes of cut the plywood as this increases the risk of water damage. How are you suppose to fasten it down with out drilling holes for bolts/screwws? You also have to mount the live wells and seats as well. Both manufactures recommended that I use a UV resistant epoxy coating on the surface of the plywood and a deck varnish for the bottom. This would seal the surface against water damage. They recommended a product produced by American Safety Technologies called AS-75. It is simply applied using a textured roller and is sold by Sherwin Williams in Springfield. I also asked about the Herculiner and Rhino Liner that Walleyed Mike had mentioned. They said that it work but the AS-75 was a lot more slip resistant. A couple of local dealers quoted between $2,800 and $3,500 to replace the decking and carpet. The new wood, epoxy and deck varnish will run me around $600! A lot less. All this stuff will be in next week and I will let you guys know what I think of it.

I agree with Thunderin Gobbler but would like to add this. If I am casting the minnow for a slow retrieve then it has to be through the lips so the minnow comes back in straight. If I am fishing vertical with a slip bobber then I prefer through the middle of the back so the minnow stays horizontal in the water. If you hook it through the mouth then it usually hangs vertical and you won't get as many hits. If you are fishing vertical with a tight line (no slip bobber) then I prefer it through the mouth again. That way the minnow will tend to move head first through the water as it is jigged up and down. Best of luck on your trip.

Holy Cow Dave!! I fish north of CC a lot myself. In case you can't tell I am green with envy. A deep dark green!!! lol Due to some family issues I can't get out on the lake right now and you are breaking my heart. I really look forward to your reports in the future. Welcome aboard.

Wayne SW/MO, Cute picture. For some reason it really made my day.

Just in case you haven't heard... We had several inches of rain last night. The creeks and rivers are rocking and rolling so the back of the coves and major creek arms may still be pretty dingy. I thought I would let you know so you can plan your trip. Good luck, it should be a beautiful weekend.

I totally agree with you rps. I had monitored this "Stocton" site for a year. I was so impressed with everyone and their support of each other I just had to join. My hat is off to everyone. (I just hope you can still see with all that shine from my bald head) lol

Zarraspook, well said. You nailed it on the head.

I don't know how close to Springfield you live but I have dealt with Woods and Water Marine (they use to be Center City Marine) for nearly 20 years and I have never had a problem with them, their prices or their work. Good luck.

There was one difference! I bet your wife is better looking than them.

Just a few more tidbits of information. If you have trouble going to sleep at night reading one of these will do the trick. As you can see, the scientist in me gets a little carried away at times! (That's an understatement) The bottomline to all of these is that algae blooms are going to get worse,(that will lead to summer depletion of oxygen), the politicians kow about it and while some minimal work has been done we are losing ground fast. Water Quality of Little Sac River; http://mo.water.usgs.gov/Reports/WRIR02-4154/report.pdf A list of places that are permitted to discharge in the Sac River, these woild all be heavily enforced; http://mo.water.usgs.gov/Reports/WRIR02-4154/report.pdf The following site documents the spread of a foreighn Daphnia (microscopic animal which feeds on algae) into Stockton Lake. Nature’s way of controlling the increasing algae in the lake. http://ks.water.usgs.gov/pubs/abstracts/arch_hydrobiol2006.htm This document really details the levels of dangerous bacteria in the Little Sac. The discussion of site sources is very interesting. Remember, what he says about the bacteria level applies to the levels of phosphorus and nitrogen as they are also present in waste. http://www.fapri.missouri.edu/outreach/publications/2005/FAPRI_UMC_Report_06_05.pdf

In one of the recent strings someone brought up the issue of water quality in Stockton. I managed to find the most recent report for Stockton (April 2007). It is pretty good except for the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus which control algae blooms. I am really concerned about how much these levels have risen in the last few years. This data matches what I have seen the last few summers in the CC area. At this rate the summer algae levels will some become very high and will drastically effect summer fishing and growth. From my experience working in this area I would contibute a lot of it to the water discharge from Springfield (which now has ne regulations concerning phosphorus), livestock waste and fertilizer runoff. Missouri has had a law in effect for a long time which requires farm owners to limit the access of their livestock to streams (unenforced) and to require control and treatment of livestock waste from feed lots. In the 90's I worked on setting up a few of these treatment systems for a couple feed lots (very expensive systems) but I can assure you that not many places have these systems and the state, due to financial issues, does little to no enforcement. As far as I know there are no regulations on the use of farm fertilization. http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/lakes/WaterQualityReport/06_Stockton_Lake.pdf

A quick note on what I found regarding the toxicity of lead to fish. First of all, I have attached an article that really does a good job of summarizing the issue. When reading it you might want to know that the tailings from mines are oxidized lead that is why it is so much more toxic than the solid metal lead like split shot. I also found several references to lead compounds that fishery biologists use to inject into fish as a tagging method. Lead deposits in the scales and the bilogists can then remove a scale at a later time and determine if that is one of the tagged fish. There is MUCH evidence that this injection of lead does NOT harm the fish. I also found a couple of articles showing that the oxidized lead from snow mobiles accumulates in the snow during the winter. In spring this lead is released into the lakes and does contaminate the rainbow popualtions leading to increased mortality and decreased production of fry. Hmmmm, I wonder if they are going to try to ban snowmobiles too? http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2188/do-lead-fishing-sinkers-threaten-the-environment