New Record Brown Trout

Yes, it happened again. Last time we saw the Missouri Brown Trout record fall there was a little controversy as to whether or not the fish was caught or snagged, but then almost immediately after that incident in 2005 another huge Brown was caught from Taneycomo in front of witnesses, becoming the certified record.

 
 First "Record" Brown of 2005. Snagged or not, it was a big fish.

 The actual record, caught later in 2005. 27.8 pounds.

That record stood until this past Friday. State Record Brown Trout
Story at Branson.com
Thread at OzarkAnglers.com
Taneycomo Info @OzarkAnglers

The great thing is I expected a little grumbling about the fish being caught on powerbait from some quarters but it didn't happen at OzarkAnglers.com. I'm sure somewhere out there that'll be the topic de jour.
Now I have to try and fit fishing Taney into my upcoming week.

Deer Season, Drake "Bake", and April Vokey.

Since I'm feeling pretty good as compared to last weeks hell, I will try to get out somewhere and fish this weekend. It's still firearms deer season here in the mighty MO, so I'll probably not want to go poking around near a stream in the woods wearing my khaki fly vest. I'm not that dumb. Maybe I'll wear my hunter-orange "Pheasant hunting" vest while fishing Crane. It will certainly lessen my chances of getting lead flung at me, but probably won't help in the stealthy fishing needed to catch decent fish out of there. Maybe Table Rock dam won't be generating so Taney's accessible. Lots of decisions to be made, I'm just not sure yet. I've got to get ready for Thanksgiving (going back to Beaver Lake) and try to get a dozen or so other things done, too.
A couple of things I am sure about on the flyfishing end of things are the impending "Drake Bake" planned for the White River this weekend. Drake "Bake".
So what does this mean? Liquor stores are likely to have a run on them, you might lock up your livestock, family pets, and send your daughters/wives/woman folk to a secure location. Locking gas caps on vehicles are a good idea, and a decent working fire extinguisher would also be handy. If you are downwind from this location, some type of air freshener would probably be nice, too.
Seriously, I hope those guys have a great time, and manage to stay out of jail.

On a far less scruffy note, the ever photogenic and friendly April Vokey will be over in Northeast Oklahoma putting on a class for ladies beginning flyfishing. Ladies Learn To Fly-Fish School
April had to stop answering her messages on her Facebook page due to the large volume of people trying to "friend" her or whatever, I'd imagine a certain percentage involved a marriage proposal, at the very least. She suffered a bad crash last year, and was lucky to not be permanently injured or worse. Crash She's an interesting person, you don't see to many women guides out there.
She has a killer article in the current This Is Fly, check it out here: This Is Fly
If there's one thing I love to see it's an independent person (male or female) doing what they want in the world, and basically telling the world that it's just going to have to get used to it.
Anyway, if you know a female flyfisher, it would be a great class for them to take.
And quit bugging April. You know who you are.

Oh yeah, one more thing - HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICHARD!

How to find Crappies

If you've poked around the Internet for any amount of time, you will surely find a message board or forum about whatever type of outdoor activity you like to pursue. Forums are a great way to learn new things from people who enjoy the same type of thing you do, and a great way to connect with those same people, too. But there are unwritten rules on how to go about joining any forum. Every one is different, and some are more lax than others.
For example, on any of the really big forums, you can join and start making posts (and answering them) without much hassle, or even anyone really noticing your status as a "noob". (That's a "newbie" or new person)
But there are exceptions. I've written before about the hazing ritual over at The Drake message board, but if you haven't been doing your homework, here's an example: Drake Newbie Hazing Good luck there.
90% of it isn't anything to do with fishing anyway, so there you go. But there are other hazards out there, and the new person joining the forum can be just a bit too much. Example? Sure. On my local board, I was kind of targeted by a new person because I do post plenty of reports on stuff, and they were a tad "aggressive" for a new person. Crappie Time@ OzarkAnglers.Com
I don't mind questions, hell, I ask for them here, but there's a way to go about doing this type of thing.
First. Read the board for a while. Read how the people interact, how they ask questions, and if they get direct responses or "off the board" (personal messages). For fishing or hunting spots, don't expect me to tell you exactly where to go, at least not at first. If I read you are mostly a catch and release type guy for several months, you post a couple of good reports from your trips, then I am much more likely to give a little info out.
Second. Kidding around is good, but through typing some types of humor fall flat, especially one of my personal favorites, sarcasm. Most boards have little "emoticons" called "smilies" that seem childish to use, but help convey a  tone better than straight typing. Try to use them if you think you are just the funniest guy in the world.
This post isn't intended to pick on any one person, just to help some people get the info they really want, without it bugging the hell out of people. Or making it where people would like to help you, but your stumbling around like a drunk has them trying to just stay out off the way.
You can see by my header picture there are nice Crappie in the Finley, but you have to know where to look. And who to ask. And how to ask, too.

Shut off, restart, reboot, and go...

I thought I was feeling better Thursday, so bright and early I head off to work a 10-hour day, followed by working my part-time gig at night, and pretty much died before I got home. I spent most of Friday in bed, just flat worn out. Not very sick, I didn't reverse gears on any food or beverage or anything like that, just weak. A little fever, and weak. I had some tea last night and felt a little better, answered some emails and went to bed. I woke up this morning with a little nasal stuff going on, but feeling better than I have since Monday. The bad thing is now the Mrs. feels not-so-hot after thinking she'd dodged the bullet. We will see how that goes.

I fished a little this past weekend over here in the park, but nothing much came of it. I have to go to Crane or somewhere tomorrow, I have cabin fever or "shack nasties" or whatever you like to call it - BAD. My son is even tired of looking at me. Cross your fingers. I still have to work sometime tomorrow, but I can move that around a little, so I think it's still a go.

I have to go find my hip waders now, I think I moved them when I replaced my water heater...

Speaking of dangerous animals...

I was poking around the usual outdoor websites and came across this one at Field And Stream:
Muslim Insurgents Mauled to Death by Bear After Hiding Out in Its Den
You simply can't make this stuff up- "Allah Ak- uh BEAR!!!!!" CHOMP!
I'm riding out some kind of flu or bug or something. My son is just a snotty mess, I'm weak as a kitten, and the Mrs. has a coarse grating cough, but has the least damage as near as I can tell. I may be home again tomorrow, might as well quarantine with all the other stuff going around.

Shaping up to be a great weekend

I came back home the other day and my water pressure was fine. The city never called me back, so I don't know what happened, but at least we have water. I have plenty of emergency water for drinking and cooking, but still - no hot shower before heading off to work in the morning makes me an angry boy.
We had another stray/angry/aggressive dog incident close by, this time it was a Pit Bull-type dog on a rampage just north of us, up in southeast Greene County, just outside Springfield.
Pit Bull Seized After Killing One Dog..
That's why I tell people to be careful out running around on the fringes of civilization here in the Ozarks, it's much more likely you'll run into a Meth Lab or vicious dog than have to worry about a snake or bear or whatever.

There is really only one answer to the question of overly aggressive canines, and that is whether or not 9mm is as good as .357 Magnum for dropping them when they are attacking your dog, let alone your kid. I love dogs, but that type of thing won't fly near me and mine.
Here's my answer:
"Growwwwwllllll"
"Bang. Bang Bang Bang."
Your Deer rifle or shotgun is even better than some puny handgun (and in the real world, handguns are pretty puny) but you have to "run with what you brung". I know a couple of people who got their concealed carry permit mostly for stuff like this, and not because of muggers or whatever. It's a big problem around here.

Speaking of Deer rifles - Firearms Deer season starts next weekend. If you aren't ready, you better go this weekend. The public range near me (Busiek State Forest) will be a mess. It's unsupervised, and people usually don't really know what they are doing. Avoid it if at all possible.
The best public place around here is at the Bois D'arc conservation area - the Andy Dalton Range.
Deer Rifle Sight In Days
Map to Bois D'arc Conservation Area
This is a first-class facility that's supervised, has nice restrooms, and is a great place to have nearby. I'm surprised how many people don't know about it, especially considering how close it is to Springfield.
Prices are reasonable, and it's a safe place to go and shoot. They don't take safety for granted, but it isn't some place to practice speed shooting or self-defense type drills. There is a sign on the range that clearly states "No Rapid Fire" - and they mean it. The rifle range is really just for sighting in hand guns or rifles, but that's good enough for me. I can do the other stuff down here at Busiek when the crowd goes away after the next couple of weeks. The combination Trap/Skeet fields are great and hardly busy except right before Dove season. They also have classes you can sign up for, I think I'll do one just to report on how it went, who taught it, etc.
I'd bet they are good classes. Out of all of the ones listed, the most interesting to me would be the reloading class. It would probably be redundant, but you never know, sometimes I pick up tips and tricks from folks who are trying to learn stuff from me.

I hope to get done with 20 different things I'm working on today, work tomorrow early, and fish either Crane or Taney Monday. I think Taney will still be blown out due to all the rain, but we'll see. I may go fish for Largemouths at Lake Springfield. Should be a good spinnerbait bite going on, that would be fun.

Still surfing the Web

Some great stuff came out this week, the new issues of Catch and This Is Fly.
Catch

This Is Fly

I'm really digging this format, these two magazines, together with Fish Can't Read, are always highly anticipated from yours truly. I just can't wait until the new issues are available. I can't say that about very many other magazines, online or in print. Go now and waste your office's high-speed internet, you'll love these.


I woke up this morning with no water pressure at the homestead. Doesn't appear to be my problem, just no pressure, nothing. So I shut the electric water heater off, (they can burn elements out if not fully filled when turned on) and called the water department. Of course they aren't there at 4:30 A.M. so I left a message.
"Hello, water department, could I get some some pressure, that would be super."
O.K. - that's not exactly the message I left, but similar. I did leave my name and address, too. Happy?
We will see what the deal is as the day goes on.