What A Day On The River

[Chief Grey Bear]

Hit the water again about 9:30. As I was putting in, the wife asked me if I brought my lead. I had forgot it on my last trip and sure enough, I forgot it again. My lead it is about a 80lb ingot from Doe Run that I use as a weight in the front of my canoe so the nose doesn't stick up in the air so much. I actually have two of them but can't find one of them. On my trip last week, someone had left some larger logs for a fire, so I tossed them in the front and they worked just fine. This time though, there was no wood. I did know of a spot up stream a little from where I put in that should have some big rocks. So I paddled up stream a ways and found one. I liked it so well and it was such good company all day long, I brought it home.

As with most fishing trips, it seems, the action was slow to start. I tried topwater again and periodically throughout the day. Nothing. So as always, I began tossing my favorite Tadpolly to see what was going on. And it wasn't long and I was on the scoreboard. Then nothing for a little while. I get out one of my favorite shad cranks and it is game on! I started picking fish right and left! Brownies and LM. Funny thing though, in the last month, I have not caught one Kentucky.

So I am now about 45 minutes into the float and I am working a log along a high bank. Then I hear the strangest noise. I look up and right down stream in front of me, a flock of turkeys is flying across the river almost at the point of my canoe. I could literally see the pupils of their eyes. I thanked them for the arial display and I went on about my business as they did theirs.

A few fish and about a mile later, I am quietly floating and casting to the other bank oppisite from where I am. I don't usually do that but didn't really care so much about boat possition at this particular time. This is also though, a great way to pick up some brownies from the middle water. As I slowly floated with the current, I passed by a River Birch and just on the downstream side of it was a patch of willow weed. In that patch I came face to face with a fawn. We both looked each other with a surpised look and it seemed to finally realized that it needed to get the heck out of here! It retreated up the bank and I lost site of it. About a minute later I heard the doe sounding off. I kinda chuckled at the thought of the feller getting a butt chewing for being so close to such imminent danger! Either that or she was yelling at me for scaring her baby!

So know I am about 5 hrs into this trip and I don't have a clue as to how many fish. I come up on area that has a sharp bend but it is slow water. There are logs and brush in this bend but nothing even remotly close do dangerous. I make a hook up and release the fish. I make a few cast and then move on to the next set of logs. I make another hook up and as I am reeling him in, it gets wrapped around a stick. A nano second later, its free. The bad part though is, the fish kept my Tadpolly. And it was my all time favorite, go to, customized it myself, fish catching machine, when they would bite nothing else it would produce Tadpolly! I was sick. I almost didn't feel like continuing on.

I had a back up but it was a different model in that it had a narrow bill. The narrow billed Tadpolly's don't have anywhere near the wobble as the wider billed ones do. But it was of the same color pattern that I customized my favorite from. So I got out a skirt, put it on the belly hook and began trying to force myself to use it. I will give it credit though, it did produce fish. But it just doesn't work like the other one did. So I am off to Ebay to score TWO more for some customizing.

I forgot to mention that when I first pulled into my put in spot, the wife reminded me that there was a huge log jam down stream that was very difficult to manuver. We had encountered it earlier this year when we all took a family float. I told her we have had some big floods since then, maybe it has a hlol blown in it. NOPE! even worse now! But someone has been through there with a chainsaw and made it some what better. There is a hole just wide enough to get a canoe through but you still have to get it up and over the jam. And! AND! The Poision Ivy on the back side of this hole is bigger and thicker now! And the strange thing about the place, and I wish I could have gotten to my camera at this point, there was a female snapping turtle up in this hole that you had get through. You talk about a workout! I do not know how this ol' girl done it! I think she was going to lay he eggs there. But holy cow! I can not describe to you with words how difficult it had to have been for her to get to where she was!

So I get through that and the sun is making its daily run for the horizon and this fishing is still good. But I think to myself, I am getting bored. How can a person get bored with fishing? Heck if I know. So I decide I am going to take a little break and just slowy float with the current. I kick back in my seat and throw my feet up. I lay the paddle across my waist and adjust the trajectory of the canoe as needed. Boy that spot looks good. Down go my feet and up comes a rod. I can't do it. I have to fish.

And so goes another day on an Ozark stream.

Here are some highlights from the trip.

Catch of the day!

[Jeff Tief]

Nice photos on what sounds like a great day to be outdoors.Used to switch the Doe Run plant first at Glover then at Herculaneum.Had a friend give me one of the smaller ingots of lead,don't know how many jig heads we molded out ot that piece.Again thanks for the pic.

[denjac]

I only know of one place where there is doe run, and its in Carthage. I used to work there and have handled more of those bars than I care to remember. Good trip Chief!

[Chief Grey Bear]

These came from that place. I don't think they use them anymore though. Or so I thought I heard. I'll have to check on that.

[Buzz]

Nice fish Chief. Sounds like a great day to be on the water.

[denjac]

These came from that place. I don't think they use them anymore though. Or so I thought I heard. I'll have to check on that.

Yep. They still use the lead pan for tempering. Plus have to add lead from time to time to the zinc pan.

[Jeff Tief]

Doe Run has a smelter at Herculaneum that we would get 10-15 boxcars of lead a week from several years ago-but don't know what they are producing now.The plant at Glover ,Mo also had the big ingots-told they weighed a ton a piece . They haven't done much for years now

[Chief Grey Bear]

Did you work the old Mike and Ike Jeff?

[mic]

Nice report. Love the bull gill.

[Chris Barclay]

Nice report. Love the bull gill.

Same here - that really got my attention!