Mitch f

I saw the River Hills Traveler article on the cougar capture last night at the Sports show. The cat weighed 122 lbs and some reports say 145 lbs. Either way a cat that big would be able to kill a full grown man quickly. I talked with a guy who went to those big cat sanctuarys in the past and he noticed the cats would react differently to a small child in the crowd. I think an opportunistic cat would definately kill a small child/toddler if they though it was easy prey, heck I bet even a coyote would do that, just ask Lindy Chamberlain in Austrailia what a wild dog can do.

What a joke!

I will be manning the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance booth tonight at the 2012 St. Louis Boat and Sports show tonight. Please come and become a member. Here's a few perks that come with the membership: •A copy of Chuck Tryon’s 200 Missouri Smallmouth Adventures (a $20.00 value all by itself)* •6 issues of our newsletter the Bronzeback News •1 year of Outdoor Guide Magazine and 3 months of River Hills Traveller •Membership in Stream Team 509. •Opportunities to learn where, how and when you should fish for our Missouri Ozark stream smallies from experienced smallmouth anglers. •Opportunities to fish with other members during outings like the Ozark Rodeo or the Spotted Bass Roundup. •Permission to use our online forum to find other fishing partners and share fishing reports. •The Opportunity to help promote world class smallmouth fishing in the Missouri Ozarks and have a great time doing it. Hopefully see you tonight! BOOTH# 1623

Welcome, the hoosier boys can outfish us city boys all day long! a jig man always catches fish! Glad to have you.

That sounds a bit far fetched, where do you come up with these stats? Have been involved off and on in church my whole life and the only fight that ever broke out was when our youth group went into a basketball game down in the city and a couple of the players got punched. On the other hand I know of several drunks on a float trip that have harassed other canoers and several fights broke out. Just ask Corey at Huzzah Valley or Mark at Adventure Outdoors how many times there have been problems. There actually used to be a sign on Hiway 44 Eastbound by a Law firm that stated "Trouble on the river?" call "the Blankity blank Law Firm". Here's a link: http://www.rollanet.org/~conorw/cwome/article71.htm

That's a great idea, thanks for sharing!

I've got more tackle than I will need in 2 lifetimes already (just ask my wife), All I want to do is consolidate this year. I have a 2 year old baby at home which pretty much eliminates going on a 3-4 day trip, so I'm confined to just day trips. My tackle box keeps getting smaller and smaller every year and I tend to see things in groups instead of individual lures. There are a couple of new lures I'm looking at to try but for the most part I've got all the groups covered. I'm also trying to get away from tying jigs with real hair. Some of the synthetic stuff lasts longer anyway and you don't need to kill another arctic fox to get it. Granted pretty much all synthetics are straight like spaghetti with an abrupt end and every feather or fur has a tapered end which makes the action a little better. I'll sacrifice. A buddy turned me on to Yozuri hybrid line last year which is great for bait casting euipment and is not too expensive either. Won't do straight fluoros anymore, knot strentgh just not up to par. Haven't convinced myself to use full braid yet even though some great minds have told me different. I don't feel the need to try fly fishing, I can catch all the bass and trout I need with conventional equipment. Unless something game changing comes out,I haven't decided to buy anything in particular. My 2 year old seems to be infatuated with all things outdoors, so I'm going to concentrate on being the best daddy I can and show her how to respect nature and the environment... after all this is the only earth we have.

I think fishermen for the most part are all good people, we may argue a little on the forum but if we met around the campfire we would all get along well! Now golfers are a different story......................................

Eric the trophy hunter!!.... Sounds much better than Dog the bounty hunter. Same for me except for the "on the fly" part.

This explains why Kit Bond always said "Missourah"

Nice article Phil!

Classic spotted bass, the frying pan is a good place for that one! oh wait....thats a different thread. These guys obviously taught you too well! Great job! nice fish!

Definitely a hybrid

California I'm sure, those fish have a year long growing season!

no, this has been doing a slow burn on me for the last 15 years or so. but i'll be ok Actually Eric I found this : http://tacticalbassin.com/trophy-fish-photography-part-1/

Just like those darn jet boat owners ruining nature's beauty

Pilot joy ride

Newton's First law: Every object in motion tends to remain in motion Newton's Second law: The relationship between an objects mass, it's acceleration, and applied force are vectors with equal strength Newton's Third law: For every action, there is an equal or opposite reaction Newton's Fourth law: YOUR FISHING PARTNER HAS NO FREAKING IDEA HOW TO USE A CAMERA TO CAPTURE A PICTURE OF YOUR TROPHY FISH With catch and release being more popular now, the ability to take a good picture of your trophy fish is essential. I've been screwed so many times I can't count. So I'm going to pass on a trick that was taught to me by a fishing guide at Table Rock lake. The obvious things are the camera man should have the sun at his back, the guy with the fish needs to know how to hold the fish, and this needs to be done quickly to make sure the fish gets back into the water as soon as possible. If you want a 20" smallie to look like a 16 incher follow the middle picture. This trick in the first picture is taking the photo from a vantage point below the fish. This will make the fish look like the actual size and will keep you from being frustrated the next time you catch a big un.

Be careful Ness, A guy in Arnold, MO died a couple of weeks ago shooting a homemade cannon that blew up

I think MOsmallies has a very good list for you. Smallies love crawfish!

I actually tried a similar product before, you spray it on a hard bait and let it dry for 30 seconds. I think it might help when fishing in deep water to help the fish locate the bait easier. Probably better for lake fishing than river fishing. Don't have any way to tell if it caused me to catch more fish than without it because I've only used it a few times. I think the big wooden muskie baits in the video might be a better fit. If you are trolling a big wooden bait with no rattle at 20 ft depths this product might work.

I'll put in $100

Thats a very powerful picture! I've never seen a lure get people so crazy so quickly...and you can see why. It's kind of like the fishing of live bait vs the artificials question to me, I choose not to do it. If someone wants to do it in a tourney, let them do it, just make it fair for everyone. Anytime money is involoved it will bring out the "best" in people ya know. The fish haven't seen this before and they're crazy for it, kind of like when the arkie jig first came out only an order of magnitude more efficient. I also think it brings out the "competition" instinct in the fish because they see their buddies getting something they don't have, then see another bait in their face and bingo. How many time have you been in a canoe or boat with your buddy who is reeling in a fish and have a big follower behind his fish...this is the type of lure that will catch your fish and that big follower at the same time.

Wow Jeremy, what a great couple of kids! Great meeting you, Gavin, Cricket, and Coldwater on the Float and Boat. You have a great 2012 as well!!

I was contracted to laser scan and model a knock off version a few months back. To be honest, I didn't think much of it either when I first saw it. I've only casted it a few times and never caught anything with it. However, when you get it in the water you will immediately see why it is so effective. There's something about the baits moving in perfect rhythm that is extremely appealing to the eye, just like a real school of fish. You would think that 5, .045" wires would make the bait look fake, I assure you it does not. Not that I will ever use one again though. Like you it's just a personal choice.