Hey Look at my Elk.... Err, ah, wait a second what's that ?

Email contributed by Fred M., Nov. 2, 2010:

This is freaking scary. As you know I was alone when I downed this elk in ND. I was using my camera’s timer attached to my shooting stick to give me enough time to get into the picture. I knew there were a lot of cats in the area but had no idea they would come in this close to people. He had to be within 10 feet of me and I didn’t even know it. I about crapped my pants when I looked at the pictures the next morning and saw he was there.


Ok what do you think is this real ??

Ever find any these on the river ?

Bob Laymon - Niangua River Darter Waltz

Niangua River Darter Status: Threatened

Habitat: This fish prefers clear, shallow pools in medium-sized streams. The Niangua darter prefers streams with gravel or rocky bottoms and cannot live in silty water.

Behavior: With its slender snout, the darter probes crevices for aquatic insect larvae, crustaceans and snails. To reproduce, males follow females into shallow riffles and may engage in threat displays with other males before spawning. Males change color during spawning; their bellies become orange-red and their sides develop iridescent blue-green bars.

Why It's Endangered: Dam construction has created barriers in the darter's habitat, fragmenting its range and blocking escape from streams that become polluted or altered. Highway and bridge construction straighten and widen streams, eliminating the small pools in which darters live. Construction and other streamside activities such as clearing brush and gravel dredging has also increased erosion and added silt to the streams, disrupting the fish's habitat.

Other threats include exotic predatory fish such as spotted bass and rock bass, which were introduced before 1940 and have spread throughout the darter's range.

Listen closely you will learn the secret the "Miniature" version of the "Golden Jeddi"

"We all want to be Legends someday."

Cryptobranchus bishopi - In our waters and live more than 30 years

Ever seen one ? Share your story.

The Ozark hellbender is a large, strictly aquatic salamander endemic to streams of the Ozark plateau in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. Its dorso-ventrally flattened body form enables movements in the fast-flowing streams it inhabits (Nickerson and Mays 1973a, p. 1). Ozark hellbenders have a large, keeled tail and tiny eyes. An adult may attain a total length of 11.4 to 22.4 inches (in) (29 to 57 centimeters (cm)) (Dundee and Dundee 1965, pp. 369-370; Johnson 2000, p. 41). Numerous fleshy folds along the sides of the body provide surface area for respiration (Nickerson and Mays 1973a, pp. 26-28) and obscure their poorly developed costal grooves (grooves in the inner border of the ribs; Dundee 1971, p. 101.1). Ozark hellbenders are distinguishable from eastern hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) by their smaller body size, dorsal blotches, increased skin mottling, heavily pigmented lower lip, smooth surfaced lateral line system, and reduced spiracular openings (openings where water is expelled out of the body) (Grobman 1943, p. 6; Dundee 1971, p. 101.3; Peterson et al. 1983, pp. 227-231; LaClaire 1993, pp. 1-2). Despite these distinguishing characteristics, the two subspecies are not easily or readily distinguishable absent the presence of both subspecies or when encountered outside of their subspecies’ range.


The Ozark hellbender was originally described as Cryptobranchus bishopi by Grobman (1943, pp. 6-9) from a specimen collected from the Current River in Carter County, Missouri.

Adult Ozark hellbenders are frequently found beneath large rocks in moderate to deep (less than 3 feet (ft) to 9.8 ft (less than 1 meter (m) to 3 m)), rocky, fastflowing streams in the Ozark plateau. In spring-fed streams, Ozark hellbenders will often concentrate downstream of the spring, where there is little water temperature change throughout the year. Adults are nocturnal, remaining beneath cover during the day and emerging to forage at night, primarily on crayfish. Ozark hellbenders are territorial and will defend occupied cover from other hellbenders. This species migrates little throughout its life. For example, one tagging study revealed that 70 percent of marked individuals moved less than 100 ft (30 m) from the site of original capture. Home ranges average 91.9 square (sq) ft (28 sq m) for females and 265.7 sq ft (81 sq m) for males

Hellbenders are habitat specialists that depend on consistent levels of dissolved oxygen, temperature, and flow. The lower dissolved-oxygen levels found in warm or standing water do not provide for the hellbender’s respiratory needs. In fact, hellbenders have been observed rocking or swaying in still, warm water to increase their exposure to oxygen.

Typically, Ozark hellbender populations are dominated by older, large adults. Hellbenders are long-lived, capable of living 25 to 30 years in the wild. Hellbenders may live up to 29 years in captivity.

Breeding generally occurs between mid-September and early October. Males prepare nests beneath large flat rocks or submerged logs. Ozark hellbenders mate via external fertilization, and males will guard the fertilized eggs from predation by other hellbenders. Clutch sizes vary from 138 to 450 eggs per nest, and eggs hatch after approximately 80 days. Hatchlings and larvae are rarely collected during surveys due to low detectability. Larvae and small individuals hide beneath small stones in gravel beds.

Ozark hellbenders are endemic to the White River drainage in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri historically occurring in portions of the Spring, White, Black, Eleven Point, and Current Rivers and their tributaries (North Fork White River, Bryant Creek, and Jacks Fork) (LaClaire 1993, p. 3). Currently, hellbenders are considered extirpated in the mainstem White, Black, and Spring Rivers and Jacks Fork, and their range has been considerably reduced in the remaining rivers and tributaries.

Hellbenders are state endangered and federally protected. Hellbender expert Jeff Briggler states research has been conducted that proves “Between 1971 and 1973,researchers observed more than 1,000 hellbenders in the Niangua River. By the 1990s, however, the population had declined by 80 percent. Hellbender numbers in the Big Piney, Gasconade, Eleven Point and North Fork rivers showed similar decreases.

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The Little Finger Does It ! Ever Seen One of These ?

Antique Fly Fishing Reel The Utica Reel... For sale on Ebay found at an estate sale.

Horrocks-Ibbotson Co., Utica, N.Y., made a lot of tackle for a long time, most of it in the low- to mid-priced range. Although a few of their very early automatic fly reels are sought by collectors, their baitcasters have little value.

An automatic fly reel does just what the name suggests - it automatically retrieves all fly line. To retrieve line on this type of reel, an angler does not turn a handle. Indeed, automatic fly reels generally don't even have any handles. Instead, the angler uses a trigger that releases a spring that allows the line to be retrieved. The problem with automatic fly reels is that they are very heavy, not very durable due to the numerous temperamental parts in the reel, do not offer a fine drag setting (to prevent light tippets) and cannot hold as much backing. Changing spools can also be a painful and time-consuming process, too.

In short, automatic fly reels are not popular in the world of fly fishing today simply because they just don't work very well. While automatic fly reels have improved over the years, anyone serious about fly fishing will stay away from these fly reels. Additionally, for saltwater fishing, automatic fly reels are virtually never used. The temperamental parts and lack of backing makes controlling any large fish next to impossible. Oh, well I like the slogan at least.

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Iron Eyes Cody

70's PSA Keep America Beautiful (Crying Indian)

On Earth Day 1971, a new campaign was launched with the theme "People Start Pollution. People can stop it." It was a Public Service Announcement featuring the now iconic "Crying Indian" played by Iron Eyes Cody.[5]
In 1975 Keep America Beautiful introduced its "Clean Community System" which encouraged local communities to prevent litter through education efforts, advertising, local research, mapping of litter "hotspots", and clean up activities. During the height of the campaign KAB received over 2000 letters a month from people wanting to join their local programs.[4] The "Clean Community System" evolved into KAB's current network of roughly 580 local "Keep My Town Beautiful" organizations nationwide. By the end of the campaign locals had succeeded to reduce litter by 88%.

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