Here We Go Again!

[bigredbirdfan]

I will allow all the drunken naked women to come, no questions asked.

Can we organize an annual fishing float with these guides?

[flyfishmaster]

I just noticed something, the bill was created by "Republican Sen. Delbert Scott, of Lowry City". Most state representatives (does matter what state they are from) try to pass bills that will help their District and prove worthness to their voters.

I'm not familiar with the district that he is from (West of Truman lake), so are there floatable streams by this guy? Or was he been on a recent float that caused him to take a stand?

later,

FFM

[FishinCricket]

Here's what I wanna know...

If "anything used for quick consumption" is illegal.. What about the beers with the indentation for a smooth pour? If I pop a hole in the bottom of the can and chug it, do I get arrested? What if I do it 5 times in a row (the equivalant of a beer bong)?

And if beads are illegal, will they arrest my wife for wearing her fake pearl necklace? It's basically just white beads that make her sarong look good..

Anybody out there feeling me?

[flyfishmaster]

Anybody out there feeling me?

Cricket.... only if you are 5'6" blonde, a 38DD rack and wearing hip huggers with a gaudy "tramp stamp".

[Fishhand]

I'm just not sure what the answer is. This may sound a bit off the wall, but the real problem is that among most casual river users, there is no reverence for the rivers. They don't realize what a precious resource our rivers are. This morning, while suffering from some kind of flu bug that has kept me from doing much of anything productive for the last couple of days, I got out my collection of topographic maps. I have topo maps of Table Rock and Beaver lakes before the lakes were built. As I do now and then, I traced the White River from the upper end of Beaver to Table Rock Dam, along with the lower Kings River and the James below Galena. You can see all the bluffs and gravel bars and you can tell where a lot of the pools and riffles were. I don't know how many miles of spectacular Ozark rivers are involved--certainly hundreds, buried under hundreds of feet of slack reservoir water, but as always I lamented the loss of this greatest of all Ozark waterways, along with the lower North Fork. Environmental awareness and the realization of the uniqueness of these rivers came too late. Sure, the dams brought prosperity to a region that was sorely lacking in it, but I suspect that prosperity would have come eventually anyway, and maybe it would have been a different and less venal form of prosperity than the Branson tourist traps. Or maybe not. And maybe without the lakes we would have had much more pressure put on the rivers. Maybe the biggest problem is simply too many people, and too many people with no ties whatsoever to the land.

Laws in this case are stopgap measures. They don't solve the problem, but maybe they control some of its worst aspects. People like myself who are fortunate enough to be able to float and fish the rivers on weekdays when the crowds of idiots aren't so bad can still experience a little bit of what they once were. And there are still streams that don't have the hordes of idiots, and those I treasure. But I never get on an Ozark river without feeling profoundly grateful for being there.

Hey Al...I was working in a gentleman's home a few months ago up in Crane. He grew up in the area and used to guide on the James before Table Rock Dam was built. He had some great fishing stories of the float trips he'd taken clients on....He also had some old photos of the James River around Virgin Bluff....I currently live right below Virgin Bluff, so, I was definitely looking to see how the area looked before the lake.....It was gorgeous.... looked just like areas above present day Galena.....a long / slow stretch leading up to a riffle before spilling into the Virgin Bluff hole...I always find looking at old photos and topographic maps interesting. He was telling me of a book but I can't quite remember the name of it....something like "What Lies Below Table Rock Lake" or "What's Beneath Table Rock Lake"...are you familiar with the book? I guess the lakes were a necessary evil....I'd sure like to know how many Indian artifacts got buried below....

I would think anyone who respects our rivers and streams are not the one's who will be effected by this law (if it passes). Jello Shots...Beer Bongs, etc. should be outlawed on the river...Just like Glass....What I found interesting was this part of the article I read out of the Joplin Globe, "The legislation also makes it illegal to possess foam or plastic foam within 50 feet of rivers, except for high-density bait containers and in developed campgrounds and picnic areas. That seeks to address concerns about pollution, not lewdness". Sounds pretty good to me.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Here is how up to date I am...what the heck is a "Jell-O shot"?

[jdmidwest]

I believe it is Jello made with some kind of Liquor instead of water in the form of a shot glass or cube. You can carry the cubes and pop them in your mouth as you go. Never had one, I am a beer kind of guy.

[Chief Grey Bear]

I was thinking along those lines. I'm not sure that my Wild Turkey would set up though. If they made a Coke flavored Jell-O, I would test it out.

[Fishhand]

Hey Chief, Jello Shots....Jello (pick your flavor) with Vodka in little dixie cups with lids. The lids are for being able to lob them across the river to your buddies in another boat. Of course, everyones' usually drunk or "otherwise" by the time the jello shots come out so alot of the shots don't get caught and fall in the river or people overturn and spill their supply...I was behind some people on the Current one year and they had what seemed to be an endless supply of Jello Shots...it was sick....we followed 'em just to pick up their litter....they eventually got busted and ticketed by the watcher in the woods....

[Chief Grey Bear]

Thanks Fishhand. And also a big thank you for staying behind the idiots to clean up after them. And just think, these are the same people that then jump in a car to head home. I thank God Big Sugar and Elk are really the only rivers around my parts that play host to wannbe paddle jockeys.