Take A Stand - Get Involved - Speak Up!

As summer draws to an end and fall settles in, I want to address an issue, that, believe it or not, effects all Missourians and those of you in all the other states of this country. Water Pollution!

I fish in several streams and reserviors in Missouri and Arkansas and I have been observing for many years, that the quality of water in our reserviors and streams has been slowly but surely, becoming polluted in one way or another! Being quiet is not the answer, people!

Those of us who fish, or boat for recreational purposes, have become careless and down right inconsiderate to the fish, and wildlife that depend upon these streams and water sources for their very survival!

How many times have you flipped a cigarette, lure box, trash, or whatever on to the bank or into the water? I have observed jugs used for cat fishing just floating around, deserted and left for some one else to worry about. Well in fact here in Missouri, there are people who do care, and I am one of those who do care!

I remember a commercial on TV, of an Indian in a canoe, paddling down the river and the Indian, was observing trash, broken glass, etc! At the end of the commercial it showed the Indian with tears streaming down his face. I, as a little boy was touched by this commercial and all my life, I have had high regards for the outdoors, whether it be rivers and streams or lakes and woods. The very wildlife that we seek depend on us to keep it clean!

Here is an exact copy of an article, that I hope you will read and get involved!!!!! You don't have to be a Missourian to get involved, because, whether you know it or not, affects all the people in the USA! Not only does the wildlife and fish depend on clean water, but so do WE!

Read on Please! This is the article from the - "Missouri Coalition For the Environment"

Please join in the effort to restore and protect Missouri's streams -- your streams -- for ourselves and generations to come.

Missouri is a "water" state, being home to over 180,000 miles of streams, as well as many lakes and reservoirs. We would like to say that all of these waters are clean, safe for recreation, and healthy enough to support a full range of aquatic life. But we can't--not by a long shot.

In fact, Missouri streams are in serious trouble, and they need your help.

Platte Creek More than 85% of Missouri's streams lack basic protections for recreation and aquatic life -- protections required by the federal Clean Water Act but never put in place in Missouri. As a result, most of the thousands of legal waste water discharges to our streams do not remove dangerous bacteria or keep hazardous toxics to levels safe for fish and other life.

And then there are the other sources of damage to our streams:

* agricultural runoff that dumps huge amounts of soil into streams as well as nitrogen and phosphorus that create algae blooms and suck critical oxygen from the water
* storm water that erodes streams and fills them with oil, grease, bacteria, road salt, and other chemicals from streets, parking lots, and lawns
* development construction that covers, channels, and allows sediment to wash into streams
* gravel mining that alters stream channels and destroys ecosystem integrity
* 4-wheel drive vehicles and ATVs that damage stream beds and banks
* and, unfortunately, much, much more...

So, there are lots of problems. Can you really make a difference? Yes!

Click on this link to learn more---->"Missouri Coalition For the Environment" Do Not be quiet when you see some one or a business polluting our land and streams, it is our responsibility to maintain and preserve our outdoor lands and water resources, if not for the wildlife, just do it for yourself and the future generations of your family!

So, until next time, boat safely, and take your trash home with you! Report all violations of pollution whether it be an individual are a big enterprise, It Is STILL POLLUTION! GET INVOLVED, SPEAK UP!



Cool quote of the day:

Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself. --Anonymous

Big Piney Late Summer Fishing!

It's that time of year again, you know, schools are gearing up again, August is drawing to an end and we are getting near the end of summer! Baseball is gearing up for the final pennant races and fishing starts to pick it up once again! We are all doing all the outdoor stuff that we can possibly get into each and every remaining day of summer.

I went fishing today and floated on the river. You could just feel the weather and sense the changes about to come. I caught several goggle eyes and small mouth bass, before noon and I was just enjoying the 82 degree day, kinda over cast and a gentle breeze blowing across the water. Squirrels were jumping from tree to tree, and I saw a few deer getting a drink from the river! They are really beautiful with their velvet attire and all. I lost a couple of good smallies, so I settled in for a noon time sandwich and a soda and of course some chips!

I spent the rest of the day just relaxing and enjoying the scenery, the sounds, just taking it all in and catching some decent fish. I took out of the river and went home and cleaned all of my fish and while the wife was cooking the fish and fries and hush puppies, I was out side building a fire to enjoy after dark, when the temperatures drop down into the 50s again! We sat around eating fish and chips and drinking cold soda and watching the great fire as the sun went down.

We were enjoying the fish, listening to all the nite creatures, like frogs, crickets, hoot owls, coyotes, and whipper wills. Of course the smell of the fire and listening to the noises a fire puts out like the wood cracking and popping, and the gases hissing as It burns of as the wood is consumed by the blazing blue fire. Was a pretty neat picture and a wonderful evening in the "Great Outdoors!"

Oh, by the way, we ate all the fish but 2 pieces and the fire felt good all evening! Just taking in the outdoors and enjoying the rest of summer! It just seems natural to be in the outdoors and enjoying all it has to offer, see ya out there, I hope!

Tough Day At Truman Lake - But Still Fun!

Well, last Sunday we had a northern cool front and about a 3 inch rain to boot! I figured it would put a damper on bass fishing, but none the less, had a trip to Truman Lake on the agenda for Tuesday, so we went ahead as planned and went fishing anyways!

We started off fishing with crank baits and spinner baits, and we tried every lure in the tackle boxes! Well, not every lure, but you know how it seems when the bite is not there. We fished hard and managed to catch 3 bass with only one being a keeper but a pretty good one at that! He weighed about 3 1/2 lbs! Not bad quality, but poor on the quantity side! One of those days, which we all experience from time to time, but we still enjoyed the "Great Outdoors" anyway!

Couldn't ask for a better day, weather wise, 78 degrees and pretty much sunny all day, even though we did endure a 5 minute shower early on in the morning. We saw a few eagles, deer, and a half dozen or so big gobbler turkeys! There weren't many other fishermen and we didn't take long to figure out why!

After lunch, we decided to try a different approach, Tom tied on a jig n pig and I tied on a 10 inch Texas rigged worm. You know, the old reliable stand bye lures! Now most of you that follow me, regularly, know that I always manage a limit by days end on Truman, but it wasn't to be the case this day! I did manage to catch 3 bass, all about the 3 or 4 lb range, and all of them big chunky fat ones!

We called it quits about 4 pm and put the old Blazer into the wind and headed home. Sometimes you just have to be grateful just to spend the day on the water, just enjoying the "Great Outdoors" and good old fishing buddy fellowship. We had a blast, and both commented about not remembering the last time we was on Truman in July, with 70 degree sunny weather, and almost no wind, to speak of. At times the lake was like a mirror, and that is truly beautiful and fun to cruise the lake when it is smooth!

If you all enjoyed this post, be sure to leave a comment and check out the archives for a whole lot more of the great adventures in the great outdoors, and loads of tips and articles to make your next trip, hopefully, more productive and fun! I hope you all like the new look of the site and Please, give me some feedback, good or bad it all helps me to make things more exciting and more enjoyable for you all, here, at "Kenny's Great Outdoors!"

See Ya out there, and good luck with your next outdoor adventure!

ProperBoat Ramp Etiquitte- Helps To Avoid Ramp Rage!

Just recently, I witnessed a terrible scene at a local lake boat ramp, boaters getting into a fist fight and cussing each other because of impatience and inexperience at the ramp! While entertaining to some, ramp rage is aggravating, dangerous, and time consuming, and can easily be avoided!

While this can be a sensitive and delicate subject, especially at the ramp, on the lake, it needs to be addressed in a way that makes sense to all boaters. It is a matter that we all deal with every time we access the lakes and streams where we fish or boat.

We get up early in the morning and drive to our favorite lakes and streams and anticipate a wonderful day on the water. By the time we get to the boat ramp we are wired for sound and the Adrenalin is flowing good. When we pull into the ramp access parking lot, we immediately see that there are 10 or 15 rigs waiting for their turn to untrailer and go fishing, or boating which ever the case might be!

Now while there are no set rules for unloading your boat, everyone has their own routine they go through to get from point A, boat on trailer to point B, boat in water! Some people are very quick and some are very slow. Some are slow deliberately, while some just don't have the experience yet, usually a new boat owner!

Here are a few pointers to make your trailering and untrailering experience go a little smoother at the ramp.

Pull into the parking lot and get your boat ready to launch BEFORE backing down to the ramp! This is the best procedure even for the most experienced boater and down to the least experienced boater! This is where you tie on lures, put in drain plugs, organize your gear, and transfer gear from truck to boat.I know while this is going, on a few boats might get in front of you and cause you to get a later start, but in the long run , avoids hassles, and ramp rage, which can quickly ruin the atmosphere of the day, making an unpleasant experience!

If you are a new boat owner go to a large parking lot and practice backing up your rig, as this is tricky, for new boat owners, and can cause you a lot of anguish at the ramp with other boaters waiting their turn. If you have a new boater in front of you , remember, you were inexperienced and slow when you first started out with your new rig. Practice being patient and offer the newbie, assistance with untrailering his new rig. Offer practical advice in a friendly tone of voice, so that his next experience along with the present experience , can be more pleasant and enjoyable.

It is hard enough to untrailer and trailer your boat, without someone chewing on your keister, and arguing, and quite possible even fist fighting! I have witnessed these very unpleasant situations and I am sure you all have witnessed them too!

If you have properly readied your boat and trailer, all you have to do is back it into the water, unhook the bow hook from your boat, and pull your vehicle out of the lake and up to the parking lot. With 2 people this is rather simple, and if you fish alone, there is always someone who will pull your rig up to the parking lot for you. After you dock your boat, you can always go get your keys and lock up your rig or reposition your rig where you want it. Drop your access fee in the box, and off you go fishing!

Now I haven't given you a check list , on what all needs to be done, because to me, this is just common sense. Before you go to the lake get a routine that works down, and practice it till you are quick and efficient with this procedure, and when you get to the access you will appear to have experience, and will not slow down anyone waiting behind you! No one will ever no you are a newbie!

While we wait our turn, be patient, and offer assistance, nicely, and make this part of boating as pleasant and enjoyable for all involved.Another thing, if you are easily agitated, and don't like to wait, then leave earlier and arrive at the ramp before all the other boaters, this will help to insure, you don't have to wait.Remember, one day you will be in front of an impatient boater and what you have put out in the past will in fact come back to haunt you.

While there really is no set rules or secrets on launching your boat, a little common sense goes along way. So until next time, boat safely, and enjoy the "Great Outdoors!" See ya Out there!

Truman Lake - Bass Fishing Fun!

The weather here in Missouri is still doing its thing, some days are nice and some days are rainy and if you can catch the water color when it's right then you can have a fairly decent day! Tuesday, Jerry and I went to Truman Lake and the plan was 2 days!

We hit it hard and caught several large mouth on the deep running "fat free shad" believe it or not this lure is one of my old reliable bass getters! Pearl white colored "fat free shad" by Bill Dance is a lure I go to, and I would put it up against any crank bait on the market!

We caught bass on it all day long until about 3 pm! The bass was running small but we managed several 3 or more pounders! We caught around 40 bass. We liked 2 for our limit and moved to another good spot and I tied on a "Zara Spook!" It was a good call as soon caught a nice 7 lb bass and lost 2 more good ones! One broke my line and stole my spook! We watched him try for 15 minutes trying to get that spook out of his lip and finally threw that spook at Jerry and hit him right in the chest!

Jerry said that the bass was throwing it at me and missed! I am just glad it hit Jerry instead of me. He now has a few holes in his shirt where he had to cut the shirt to get my spook back! I think he still is pouting about that , but he will soon get over it! Jerry was tossing a glass shad rap and when it hit the water , the water and lure simply exploded and Jerry was wearing another lure in his already damaged shirt. I was of course, laughing my butt off when something blew up on my spook and off it went!

He bent my pole double, and was stripping off line with little or no resistance, and I yelled to Jerry "Grab the net!" A huge striper had snagged me and was not in the mood to stop! Now my ambassador will hold close to 300 yds of 14 lb of Berkley big game line and he was getting past the half way mark and then the line went slack! I told Jerry he came off and started reeling it in and when I got caught up to the slack, he took off again and darned near took my rod and reel with him!

And then, the line went slack and that was it! He came off! Now those of you who keep up with my posts, know that this is starting to become a habit of mine this year. These Missouri stripers are kicking my butt this year! Well enough pouting we got up this morning and started fishing again. Now if you remember earlier I said it was a 2 day trip plan, well , guess what?

Today the wind and rain provided by a northern front, was tolerable at best. It was windy, wet and the wind chill was down right COLD! Not as in freezing, but it was cool enough to make your butt pucker up to the seat and you would shiver and shake when you would rung across the lake! We fished till lunch and only caught 4 keepers and trailered the boat and pointed that old Blazer into the wind and came home!

So to sum it all up if the weather cooperates you can catch a lot of good fish, and of course you can have loads of fun either way, but it sure is a lot more fun when you catch! The bass loved the spook and the fat free shad, we didn't use much else, but then why would you change lures, if the lures you have on are working? ;-)

Loads Of Rain Keeps Missouri Rivers Muddy!

Missouri, as of late, has been getting a lot of much needed rain!
We have been getting rain almost every day for over a week
now! Now, these rivers are running into our lakes and, well,
you know what that means! Dirty water!

So we have watched the river and lake levels rise up and
down all spring, but we need the water. This has the fishing
and spawning all messed up, this could be good for us when
the water clears up some. Those fish are needing to spawn!

This next picture is "Mason Bridge" decommissioned and
closed due to age and deterioration, the floor of the bridge
was made of oak timbers several yearsago! Notice the water
on bridge girders, it is dropping pretty fast, again!

This is the "Big Piney" river and it is usually clear, it is spring
fed, and you can see the bottom in almost every bit of the
river except really deep water! With "Memorial Day
weekend coming up, you probably should check the rivers
out or contact someone who can check them for you! I will
try to remember to keep you all posted.

So until next time, keep your hooks wet! Good luck to you
and yours!