New to MO & getting back into fishing after 30+ years

[Carl1969]

Howdy all. Wife & I retired & moved from NC to Osceola last year. I retired from the Army out of Ft. Bragg back in '08 & after 26 years in NC, it was time to come "home". I grew up on a cow farm in Leavenworth Co. & the missus is from IL, so we figured MO was a good middle ground & in our house hunt, we looked at a property in Osceola & fell in love with the place.

Haven't fished since I was a teenager & that almost exclusively farm ponds with a bobber for bluegill & catfish, with the occasional 2 or 3 week run of running bank lines for catfish on a local creek. Friends nearby have boats & have invited us to go out with them, whether Truman or the rivers & I have family with places on  or near LOZ, so I'm excited to get back into fishing & start broadening my horizons in that regard. Looking forward to some fillets on the table , as well.

We're also in the middle of digging a little quarter acre, spring fed pond in our SW pasture & I'm looking forward to growing some some psycho little sunfish for fun & food. Specifically, hybrid 'gills, redears & yellow perch, with smallies to ride herd on 'em. Lookin' forward to grandnieces/nephews fishing &/or sitting by the fire on shore with fam & friends, passing a mason jar & doing some night fishing.

I'm basically just yer average farm/country kid, coming home to the country after traipsing around the world for long enough. I like to shoot, hunt & reload. I do enjoy a fine whiskey every now & again, but I really prefer to drink my likker from an old fruit jar. I like to get out & explore the back roads on my Harley from time to time, as well.

So yeah, that's me & thank y'all for having me. We're both so happy to call MO home & looking forward to exploring all these lakes & rivers.

[Bushbeater]

Welcome. It's Crappie time at LOZ. Go get em.

[T.J. Clarke]

Thanks for your career in the Army, and welcome.  We are in the middle of building a pond as well, so know how that is.  Ours is going to take a LONG time to fill, not spring fed like yours.    Send us a pic when yours is all done/filled.  

[Johnsfolly]

Thank you for your service and welcome back to the midwest and onto this forum. Looking forward to seeing your reports in the future. We like reports both for successful and maybe not so successful trips.

[Bass Yakker]

Welcome! 

[Carl1969]

Thanks, fellas. Much appreciated. Just glad to be home & getting back into enjoying my favorite outdoor activities that I've had to put on hold for far too long.

[Carl1969]

Just got back from my aunt's place on LOZ. Ended up with 5 keeper white crappie, including a nice 12"er, along with a couple green sunfish & a dink 6-8" largemouth. Missus caught herself a keeper crappie yesterday (my, what a delicious little fish) as well, along with a 18" blue cat this morning & has decided the fishing is a very appropriate use of one's free time. 'N this, just fishing off my aunt's dock, while visiting with family & getting to watch my 2 1/2 & 7 year old grandnieces catch their very first fish.

[BilletHead]

On 5/2/2022 at 9:21 PM, Carl1969 said:

Howdy all. Wife & I retired & moved from NC to Osceola last year. I retired from the Army out of Ft. Bragg back in '08 & after 26 years in NC, it was time to come "home". I grew up on a cow farm in Leavenworth Co. & the missus is from IL, so we figured MO was a good middle ground & in our house hunt, we looked at a property in Osceola & fell in love with the place.

Haven't fished since I was a teenager & that almost exclusively farm ponds with a bobber for bluegill & catfish, with the occasional 2 or 3 week run of running bank lines for catfish on a local creek. Friends nearby have boats & have invited us to go out with them, whether Truman or the rivers & I have family with places on  or near LOZ, so I'm excited to get back into fishing & start broadening my horizons in that regard. Looking forward to some fillets on the table , as well.

We're also in the middle of digging a little quarter acre, spring fed pond in our SW pasture & I'm looking forward to growing some some psycho little sunfish for fun & food. Specifically, hybrid 'gills, redears & yellow perch, with smallies to ride herd on 'em. Lookin' forward to grandnieces/nephews fishing &/or sitting by the fire on shore with fam & friends, passing a mason jar & doing some night fishing.

I'm basically just yer average farm/country kid, coming home to the country after traipsing around the world for long enough. I like to shoot, hunt & reload. I do enjoy a fine whiskey every now & again, but I really prefer to drink my likker from an old fruit jar. I like to get out & explore the back roads on my Harley from time to time, as well.

So yeah, that's me & thank y'all for having me. We're both so happy to call MO home & looking forward to exploring all these lakes & rivers.

              Welcome Carl to the forum and area. When you are settled in perhaps we can meet and have a cup of coffee.  We are not that far away from each other. 

[Carl1969]

5 hours ago, BilletHead said:

              Welcome Carl to the forum and area. When you are settled in perhaps we can meet and have a cup of coffee.  We are not that far away from each other. 

Thank you. We've been here just over a year now, so we're fairly well settled in at this point & able to start getting out & exploring more.