Linden Lately?

[Jack Jones]

Mic, if my stomach was as flat as that hell I might consider it, LOL.

[mic]

Mic, if my stomach was as flat as that hell I might consider it, LOL.

Yea, like watching a train wreck. LOL

[exiledguide]

Mic, if my stomach was as flat as that hell I might consider it, LOL.

So if I see a guy on the James singing "I'm to sexy for my Speedo" that would be you. I'll introduce you to the Shelvin Rock cougars.

[bigredbirdfan]

I understand the landowners' point of view, I really do. There have been a lot of times and places when I was a little uneasy, let alone seriously disgusted, to reach a public access and see all the crap that goes on there, and the last time I was knocking around the area south of Springfield one summer day just driving to various stream accesses to check them out, every one I went to that was listed as a good access in Chuck Tryon's book was either posted, gated off, or completely covered with river dorks.

What I think needs to be done is for a bunch of you SWMO anglers to get together and form an organization, either a Smallmouth Alliance chapter, a Stream Team, or a Riverkeepers type organization, and meet together with the county officials to get something done about this...and at the same time, let it be known that the organization will be watching accesses like this, reporting on illegal activities, and keeping the places clean. Guys, I suspect that we're going to be seeing more and more of this stuff because it seems like more and more people are ready and willing to trash any access they can get to, and more and more landowners are getting fed up with it. We need to be a counterbalancing force that will be the "good guys", keeping these accesses cleaned up, but also the people who are willing to fight to keep them open.

Al: Could you respond to the Federal Law references in this article? http://ccheadliner.com/news/lindenlure-sees-the-color-purple/article_32ced4b4-25bd-11e1-8999-0019bb2963f4.html

Additionally, I would like to hear how a dam that doesn't produce power can be a private dam? My only issue here is the dam. How does one get a deed on a dam in public water?

[FishinCricket]

From the article referenced above:

"They (the public) can’t establish themselves on the shore; they can’t park their cars on our land. They can still walk up the river. Those are our rocks, they can’t sit on those rocks. They can walk in the river all the way to the dam. But we do own the dam."

Uh-huh

[Daveinozark]

I took my chances for a few hours on Linden lake Thursday morning. Plenty of no trespassing signs to walk past to get to the lake now. I still don't see how it is trespassing in the river bed and on the banks. Did fairly well with a small spinnerbait but struck out on crankbaits and top water. I ended up slowing it down with a plastic worm, weightless. Throwing it along the banks, the fish would grab it right away. If they don't grab it within a few seconds, reel in and repeat. A weightless lizard did well too.

any one else brave enough to ignore the signs?

one good thing is there is a lack of trash there now.

[2sheds]

Under Missouri's law:

•Any owner or lessee of property can post property with the purple paint marks.

•Purple paint marks must be placed on either trees or posts

Doesn't say nothin' bout' no bolders.

[Clintmax]

I was down at John's Ford last weekend (hadn't been there in a LOOONG time) and there was an old boy with his horse right at his fence which bordered the slab there. I waved, went over the slab, turned around and came back and he had put on a gun to show me that I wasn't going to get out of my truck, wasn't going to be down on the river and that I wasn't gonna mess with him! It really hacked me off! The problem is, I think, these landowners deeds were mistakenly drawn to the center of the river bed instead of to the high water line like it should be. So...they think they own the river.

I called the Ozark Police department on Monday and they told me they've had a lot of problems like that and that I am perfectly able to be on the river bank and in the water and if I go down there again and any of them displays a gun or tries to force me off the river, that I should call 911 immediately. That's all well and good and everything, but it would take the police/sheriff so long to get there that "everything" would be over by the time they got there.

I think it's ridiculous that we have to deal with stupidity like that just to go fish the river, go swim in the swimmin hole or just enjoy the water.

[RSBreth]

... he had put on a gun to show me that I wasn't going to get out of my truck, wasn't going to be down on the river and that I wasn't gonna mess with him! It really hacked me off!

So he had a gun on his hip - did he actually say anything to you or you just assumed he was strapped for your benefit? There's a guy down there that always has a little .22 revolver on his hip - half the time he stops me to chat about the river.

[OzarksRiverman]

The thing about John's Ford is that they've blocked any place you have to park. I just go down to Braden then come downstream. In my experience, if you don't show up with a case a Bud Light and loud music, you usually don't have much of a problem gaining access.