no figuring some folks

[Norm M]

Just got back in from early am outing, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits on the seams. Channel cats taking chatterbaits.

Ran into 2 yahoos, said they drove 1.5 hours to get there . They were turning around to go home because it was too high and muddy to catch fish. This after watching me catch fish. They were bitching that there should be somewhere on line where it's posted the river is unfishable . I asked who defines unfishable ? To me, if there is open water, it's fishable . I advised they check the USGS gauges before they left, they said that was too much trouble. Lord two minutes on the net beats 90 minutes on the road .Morons

[jdmidwest]

At least they left. Some would have shoulder up next to you when they see you catching fish, cast their line over yours, and tangle you up.

[ozark trout fisher]

I'm not sure I agree with calling someone a "moron" because they have a different definition of fishable water, but okay.

That said, I have found that in most cases it's better to just go when there is a question as to whether a stream is fishable. If you skip out on a trip because the water is too high, you're admitting defeat before you even have a chance to find out otherwise. Worst case scenario if you go is still a day spent on the river, which is generally quite a bit better than whatever you'd be doing instead.

The exception of course is when the water is high enough to create a hazard, a lesson I learned the hard way on the Bourbeuse. It had not rained at my home, so I didn't suspect anything and never checked the gauge. When I got there the river was very high and up in the willows, clearly unfishable, but I deemed it safe enough with a good life-jacket and decided to go anyway for the scenery. What I didn't account for was that the flood waters were still pouring in from the headwaters following what had apparently been a real gully-washer early that morning. By the time I got to my take-out, things were pretty hairy. The creepiest part was actually how peaceful and non-threatening the water looked, totally smooth, nothing to break the surface even in the shallowest riffles. But simultaneously, the sheer power of the river was literally palpable, and you knew what was going to happen if you ended up in a root-wad. It was definitely an interesting experience, and one that gives me a level of appreciation for our rivers that you never get at summer low-water. But I will never willingly put myself in that position and thinking back it was a pretty horrible decision that luckily turned out okay.

[Norm M]

I said they were morons because they would rather drive 1.5 hours than spend 2 minutes on line to save them selves that drive . They could have decided it's unfishable before they left and been executing plan b.

[MOPanfisher]

They complained that there should be some place on line to check, then when told there was they didn't want to do it. OK fellers good choice make the drive instead.

[jdmidwest]

They did it the old fashion way. Like they did in the old days before the net. And gas was less than a dollar a gallon.

[Terrierman]

Some people really are moronic. These guys probably weren't technically morons as at least one of them could drive and find the river, but they surely showed moronic behaviors.