tjm Posted September 16, 2021 Posted September 16, 2021 I think kayakers are right there with otters. Even the ones that don't fish provide exceptional stress on the entire ecosystem.
Flysmallie Posted September 16, 2021 Posted September 16, 2021 32 minutes ago, tjm said: I think kayakers are right there with otters. Even the ones that don't fish provide exceptional stress on the entire ecosystem. Well I've been floating a stretch for years. One that float pressure has blown up on in the past several years. You can barely get down it on a summer weekend. It also has it's fair share of otters. The fishing is as good right now as it's been in the last 25 years. I'm not saying the otters can't create issues on smaller rivers but they are hardly a death sentence to a body of water. And I actually think that all the floating has helped the fishing. Nobody wants to fish in all that mess. So the fish are not targeted. And if a fish grows up with boats floating over him his entire life it's not going to bother them.
fishinwrench Posted September 17, 2021 Posted September 17, 2021 3 hours ago, Flysmallie said: I actually think that all the floating has helped the fishing. Nobody wants to fish in all that mess. This ^ It's also the main reason why Lake O is the #1 fishery in the state, for every species it is housing. Not the most pleasant lake to be on....but the fish don't care about your feelings. 😉 Flysmallie, evilcatfish, nomolites and 1 other 4
jdmidwest Posted September 17, 2021 Posted September 17, 2021 What I am seeing on Otter infested waters is the lack of snakes and frogs. And we do run across otters while fishing. A few weeks ago we run into a pack of them while drifting the 11 pt. Floating like snakes thru a riffle. A riffle I could not take the jet thru. The area they were in was more fishless that it was a few years ago when we fished it. They may have spooked them all out before we got there. They did not dispatch the young Dystemper Coon that was crippling along the bank just above them. I guess they are smart enough to avoid a scroungy looking coon in daylight near water. But, I did not see a river snake the last 2 trips over there. And the St Francois, Current Rivers are the same way. Snakes are rare where they used to hang off every limb. "Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously." — Hunter S. Thompson
Seth Posted September 17, 2021 Posted September 17, 2021 16 hours ago, jdmidwest said: What I am seeing on Otter infested waters is the lack of snakes and frogs. And we do run across otters while fishing. A few weeks ago we run into a pack of them while drifting the 11 pt. Floating like snakes thru a riffle. A riffle I could not take the jet thru. The area they were in was more fishless that it was a few years ago when we fished it. They may have spooked them all out before we got there. They did not dispatch the young Dystemper Coon that was crippling along the bank just above them. I guess they are smart enough to avoid a scroungy looking coon in daylight near water. But, I did not see a river snake the last 2 trips over there. And the St Francois, Current Rivers are the same way. Snakes are rare where they used to hang off every limb. Now that you mention it, I can't recall seeing very many frogs or snakes on the Gasconade this year at all and I've been on it quite a bit.
jdmidwest Posted September 18, 2021 Posted September 18, 2021 They are like cats, kill everything they see for fun. I have seen them dragging snakes around at Duck Creek for years. That was the first place they misplaced them and they took hold fast. No real natural predators. They opened them to trapping and fur price for them was high. Then all fur dropped to nothing and no real interest in trapping them. About the only thing aquatic I have not seen affected is turtles, hard shell natural defense. But the softshells are getting scarce around here. "Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously." — Hunter S. Thompson
FishnDave Posted September 18, 2021 Posted September 18, 2021 Best Smallie stream in Missouri: Des Peres River. evilcatfish 1
Mitch f Posted September 18, 2021 Posted September 18, 2021 17 minutes ago, FishnDave said: Best Smallie stream in Missouri: Des Peres River. Corn eyed trout FishnDave 1 "Honor is a man's gift to himself" Rob Roy McGregor
marcusearlt Posted October 11, 2021 Posted October 11, 2021 Just an FYI on Friday we put in at Leadmine ramp on the Niangua and went up and down the river a little in my Shawnee. Ran across numerous very friendly and talkative Amish folk floating by in aluminum canoes showing off stringers of smallies caught on live bait. Lovely river but that's gotta be taking it's toll on the place. We did ok ourselves on random flies and Z-Man frogs. Camped 2 nights on gravel bars and had great weather for it. Greasy B 1 "If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're doing something wrong." John Gierach
fishinwrench Posted October 11, 2021 Posted October 11, 2021 1 hour ago, marcusearlt said: Lovely river but that's gotta be taking it's toll on the place It's a fairly looong river too. The stretch that the Leadmine area Amish haunt is relatively small.....and they work pretty steady too, so their actual free-time to spend on the river isn't like you and me.....who spend more time fishing than we spend doing what we SHOULD be doing. 😅 I hope they enjoyed their fish fry. 👍 Daryk Campbell Sr and marcusearlt 2
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