THE BRONZEBA CK NEWS THE OFFICIA L M A GA ZINE OF THE M ISSOURI SM A LLM OUTH A LLIA NCEJA NUA RY 2018

CA RPE DIEM , FLY FISHING FOR CA RP A ND SM A LLIES BY WILL BRA NCH

Table of Contents

M USINGS FROM THE PREZ

SM A LLIE FISHING FA M ILY STYLE!! BY JUSTIN SK ILES

STICK A FORK IN IT! M INERA L FORK CLEA NUP A ND WA TER QUA LITY M ONITORING

Bronzeback s, Brew s, & Other Vices

February Freezeout

Tie one on for Tryon

Past , Pr esent , and Fut ur e: Some Musi ngs f r om t he Pr ez...by Mat t Wi er

The phot o of Just i n Sk i l e's daught er Car l ey i s on our cover t hi s mont h

because I f ound t he scene deepl y t ouchi ng. I t per f ect l y r epr esent s t hat

chi l dhood gl ee f or whi ch I 'm sear chi ng when I go f i shi ng. And, I 'm a

sent i ment al guy. That 's why I chose t o use t hi s Under wood f ont f or t hi s

par t i cul ar col umn. My gr andpa al ways used hi s ol d Under wood t o t ype al l of

hi s cor r espondence. I l oved t hat machi ne. The keys st uck al l t he t i me but I

can st i l l cl ear l y see i t s r at t y ol d cover , i t s wor n r i bbon, smel l t he oi l he

used t o l ubr i cat e i t , and hear and f eel t he cr i nk l e of t he oni on sk i n t ypi ng

paper he used when he was t ypi ng l et t er s t o send t o al l of hi s over seas

cor r espondent s (he was an av i d st amp col l ect or ). Gr andpa di ed i n 89' but he's

al ways i n my t hought s. I see hi s mar r i age cer t i f i cat e (he and gr andma wer e

mar r i ed on t he same mont h and day as my wi f e) each ni ght bef or e I go t o bed

and ever y mor ni ng when I wake up. A cheap St . Chr i st opher 's medal of hi s

has al so wor n i nt o my wal l et j ust as i t di d hi s, and I see phot os of hi m and

my gr andma ever y day as wel l . Rambl i ng? Sur e, her e's wher e I t i e i t al l

t oget her .

Si ght , sound, and smel l ar e i nt i mat el y r el at ed t o our memor i es. When I

opened up t he phot os Just i n sent me, t he one whi ch t ouched me t he most was

t he one on t he cover . Don't get me wr ong, I l ove t hose smal l i e pi cs but when

I saw t hat l i t t l e gi r l wi t h her dog and t he pumpki nseed, I gr i nned f r om

ear - t o- ear . The f i r st f i sh I r eal l y r emember cat chi ng was a bi g ol d

Channel Cat f r om l ake Sam Par r i n SE I l l i noi s. I was usi ng a Zebco r od and

r eel and a hook bai t ed wi t h a bi g ol d cat al pa wor m I pl ucked f r om t he

gi nor mous cat al pa t r ee f r om my gr andpar ent s house i n Newt on, I L . That was

at l east 40 year s ago. When I saw t hat phot o I t hought , man, I hope she

r emember s t hat moment when she's my age. As f or me, I cher i sh each t i me I 'm

on t he wat er . When I 'm f i shi ng I t r y t o shut out t he t hought s about my

day- t o- day l i f e and f ocus on t he pr esent . I t r y t o push my wor r i es,

aggr avat i ons, envy, doubt , anger , and pr i de down deep. I t r y t o i mmer se

mysel f , somet i mes l i t er al l y , i n t he beaut y ar ound me i n or der t o r econnect

ment al l y and physi cal l y wi t h t he r eal wor l d. I 'm doi ng a t wo- st ep back and

f or t h bet ween t he past and pr esent whi l e movi ng f or war d i nt o t he f ut ur e.

My r i ver t her apy hel ps me r econnect wi t h what I l i ke t o t hi nk of as my

r eal sel f . I t humbl es me, r ev i t al i zes me, and hel ps me r e- ent er my

wor k- a- day l i f e a l i t t l e bet t er pr epar ed f or t he t r i al s ahead. I l ove, i f I

can, t o shar e t hese exper i ences wi t h ot her s i n per son or v i car i ousl y t hr ough

my st or i es. I r eal l y l ove r eadi ng about ot her 's exper i ences and I hope you

enj oy r eadi ng t he ar t i cl es wr i t t en by t wo new member s Wi l l Br anch and

Just i n Sk i l es. Even t hough bot h guys wer e ver y humbl e and di dn't know

about t he r el evance of what t hey had t o shar e compar ed t o ever yone el se I

r eassur ed t hem t hat ever yone woul d r eal l y enj oy r eadi ng what t hey had t o

shar e. I hope you agr ee wi t h me! We have l ot s of exper i enced angl er s i n

t hi s or gani zat i on and I 'm al ways awed by how much we'r e wi l l i ng t o shar e

wi t h each ot her . We al l want t o cat ch some hogs but we don't hog t he

knowl edge. We can al ways use new st or i es so don't hesi t at e t o shar e your

st or i es and pi cs. Send t hem t o us v i a emai l t o

mi ssour i smal l mout hal l i ance@gmai l .com and we'l l shar e t hem wi t h t he gr oup.

Speak i ng of r i ver t her apy, I 'm pl eased t o announce t hat we'r e suppor t i ng

t wo gr eat or gani zat i ons whi ch hel p suppor t our vet er ans: Pr oj ect Heal i ng

Wat er s Fl y Fi shi ng and The Fal l en Out door s. Some vol unt eer s f r om Pr oj ect

Heal i ng Wat er Fl y Fi shi ng wi l l be at our Br onzebacks, Br ews, and Ot her Vi ces

event on Febr uar y 10t h. We've al so par t ner ed wi t h The Fal l en Out door s and

wi l l host at l east 6 vet er ans at our upcomi ng Febr uar y Fr eezeout on

Febr uar y 16t h t hr ough 18t h. I hope you enj oy r eadi ng about bot h of t hose

and ot her upcomi ng event s i n t hi s i ssue. As al ways, t hanks f or your

member shi p and par t i ci pat i on. I f I don't see you at one of our upcomi ng

event s, don't say I di dn't t el l you about i t !! These ar e gr eat ways t o get and

st ay i nvol ved, meet ol d f r i ends, and hopef ul l y make a f ew new ones.

Thanks, Mat t .

Hello MSA members my name is Justin Skiles. Some of my friends call me Skittles I assume this is because of the close spelling as there has never been any outstanding skittles candy incidents or things of that nature, that I can recall hahaha!! But, anyway it never really bothered me one way or the other and it kinda stuck so that?s me. My Instagram page is called Skittlesfishin, it is comprised of my whole skittles family as we all enjoy freeing the fighter, so please follow us as we share our

experiences learning this adrenaline pumping sport and exploring the most beautiful streams the Ozarks has to offer.The knowledge I can share I feel is far far outweighed by the knowledge I will no doubt gain from the MSA group, but we do catch fish from time to time and are happy to share some of our secrets with like-minded individuals. My home water is the beautiful Big River and man has it ever been good to me and mine. I know it well from Belgrade to Browns Ford but hope to get to know the whole 138 miles well and soon. I also enjoy a short drive to the Courtois, the Huzzah, and their confluence into the Meramac but I know nothing of the Meramac past that and hopefully I get to learn it more soon. The St. Francis River is a further drive where I like it for smallie fishing and we try to hit it a least once or twice in the warm months but a winter trip there is in the near future. I have many 1-2 day exper- iences in others like Black River, Marble creek (which I love), the Castor, Jacks Fork and the Current but I always end up coming back to the beautiful, unique, Big River. I grew up near the Big and have memories of swimming in it and jumping off of rope swings as far back as 5 years old. I can remember my Dad teaching me how to flip over rocks looking for ?Crawdads? and showing me how to fish for bluegill with crickets and worms. I remember seeing older kids I knew pull out nice sized bass at the local low water bridge, but that seemed too hard for me at the time as a young boy and so I swam. A lot of years passed

Smal lmouth Fishing, Fami ly Style.

By Justin Sk i les

before I would get interested in the river again but I eventually arrived to the point that I had to have a pole in my hand at all times when near it. Don?t get me wrong, I fished from time to time but not near like I do now. As the years went on I found myself getting into squirrel hunting, deer hunting, rabbit hunting, and lastly predator trapping. The challenge of trapping held my attention for quite a while and I got good at it but I was always near a river and I knew what the river held by this point, but still not much fishing was done. Then, one beautiful late spring day three years ago, after a long couple months of working 12 hours-a-day 7 days-a-week in a power plant I finally had time to relax and decided to take my wife and two youngest daughters to a river bank on a property I had permission to trap the previous winter. As

the sun warmed us up, my daughters got their ankles wet and built sand castles and my beautiful wife sun bathed on the ever warming sandy beach. I thought to myself I wonder if I can catch a bass with my 29 dollar ultralight and pack of gulp minnows. I casted several times catching several small bluegill and the occasional goggle eye and I thought to myself this is kinda fun but I want a big bass to impress the wife (we are a blended family and were newlyweds at this time) and so I kept casting. Finally as my wife was getting the kids dried off and thinking about heading out, I cast one last time in a pool I thought I had missed earlier and worked the minnow close to some rocks. I held my pole limp with little expectations and then outta nowhere he slammed it and almost ripped it straight out of my hands.I set the hook and the drag screamed, I was

thinking ?o shoot I?ve never caught a bass this big what to do what to do? finally I was gettin nowhere reeling and reeling and realized I needed to actually tighten my drag so I gave it a few turns and was slowly able to gain on him. When I finally got my hands on the toad my heart was beating 90 to nothin? and I just gazed at the fat fish overwhelmed with joy and a smile ear ear. The kids were just as excited as me both of them asking to hold it and of course we snapped some pictures with our phones. With little knowledge then and no measuring devices I just knew he was big and that he fought like hell, but knowing what I know now I guesstimate that fish to have been in the 18?-19?ish range and around 2 ½ to 3 pounds. I got him back in the water and my girls screamed and cried ?no no Dad we wanna keep it? put it in this bucket please

they shouted. Well I tried, he won?t fit I said with a laugh. This was the first of many times to come of me explaining the theory of catch and release knowing not much about what I was even talking about at the time.My little girls bought it hook line and sinker and to their now understanding smiles and joy we released the brute back to his home. The fire was lit for me, what an awesome fight that beautiful fish put up! Wow that wasn?t going to be the last one like that I?d catch.I knew I would have to have more of that rush. Later that week while sharing some of our photos of our awesome river day on social media with friends and family I came across the group Ozarks Smallmouth Alliance. Scrolling and seeing the pics I immediately thought I like their message and goal and decided to join. After joining and sharing and talking with Ryan

"

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Walker, my urge to catch more smallies and help spread the good word grew, and so I fished and caught fish and my addiction to the drug of the tug also grew. The amount of people in my area that did not know or understand or care about the regs was astonishing to me, I

must have told ten people at different river accesses in my area that were tryin to keep undersized, not in season, over the limit stringers. Most of them very understanding and apologetic. I also gained awesome knowledge from the guys at OSA along the way. Among that knowledge shared by

the guys at OSA was the very existence of MSA. I was oblivious to it and I apologize for that, but I immediately researched it and after seeing the awesome group of knowledgeable guys at MSA I had to donate and join and so now here I am and I can?t wait to meet

share and fish with you guys. The work you guys do with the signs and everything is phenomenal and thanks to OSA and their social media promoting,I?m now the proud new owner of one and it?s going to look great in my man cave thank you!

The gear I prefer goes hand in hand with my style of fishing I feel. For a long time, and kinda up until lately, my style was run-n-gun and cast in as many spots as possible covering the most water I could. I felt like I needed to learn all the water and eliminate possibilities quickly.Only up until now have learned enough to slow it down a little. Fishing like this tends to be rough on your gear and we broke lots of gear.Cash is king and, as much as I despise the place, to Walmart we went, for the most part. With that being said I?ve recently spent a little more but not much on some Lews combo rod n

reels for me and my son, both spinning and bait casters medium action.However, my stepson thinks he needs G Loomis rods and Quantum reels (which he buys with his own money so that?s ok)but his last 400+ dollar setup was quickly swept out of his reach with one swipe of his kayak paddle never to be seen again. In his defense, he enjoys pounding the ponds and has conquered some monster large mouth with his high dollar setups. For tackle I do prefer 6 and 8 pound fluorocarbon and love throwing Texas rigged Zoom baby brushogs of all colors depending on the sky. I also like Strike King?s 3 inch peanutbutter and jelly colored Rage Craws Texas rigged. Sometimes I like to throw it weightless like now in the winter.I also love throwing jigs.The Crock-O-Gator ¼ oz. jigsin pbj with a Rage Craw trailer combo tops that list for me.My

favorite time to fish is on a January or February warm u.I?m convinced that?s when my best smallmouth will come.Some toads that I?ve caught at this time of the year fell to things like a ned rig, or a half of a purple senko worm Texas rigged and worked slow real slow and those Crock-O-Gator pbj colored jigs still work at this time for me. Lastly, my second favorite style of fishing is using 3 1/2? jointed jitterbug at night in the summer and early fall on all the rivers. A 3? solid black one will land more smallies for me, but the bigger 3 1/2? jointed one has produced some of my biggest river largemouth with some in the 23? 6 pound range. Color on these doesn?t seem to matter much I think but the black one is just a little harder to see I feel and honestly have caught with almost every paint scheme. Disclaimer: This sounds easy but unless you?re willing to

by author

push yourself beyond your comfort limit, you won?t catch big fish and by that I mean you kinda have to get cozy with the critters in the creek in pitch dark.I mostly do this wading and that takes some getting used to. The last entry to my tackle box is one I?ve been wanting to get my hands on for awhile now.The Tackle HD craw. This thing looks so real my 6 year old won?t even touch it hahaha!!I Literally just received it a couple weeks ago thoughand can?t wait for a thaw to get use it. There?s no doubt this is possibly the key to my personal best smallmouth this winter.

My methods of getting around on the water vary, but my favorite is in a stealthy kayak which gets the job done but isn?t very comfortable because,as we?ve already established, I?m a cheap ass and you know where I shop if you?ve read this far. This is one area I?ll definitely go ahead and spend more on in the future but it?s got to be lightweight as I?m by myself a lot of the time. I also have and like to use different Jon boats with just trolling motor power and a paddle.Lastly I own a homemade JetJon that can get me where I wanna go quick but some people like my buddy Cody Holloway have been

reluctant to jump on board as of yet and not sure why haha!!And that?s it folks,I?m Justin Skiles and our Instagram page is skittlesfishin please follow us as we share our experiences. Thanks for your interest.

Look s l ik e you taught her w el l dad! .

7

Justin's son on that river j on w i th a f ine smal l ie (love those mark ings) and his pup giv ing the old seal of approval to h is w i fe's catch...

I t 's real ly great to see a w hole fami ly enj oying al l the

simple pleasures w hich w e can al l f ind in our M issouri

Ozark s. For those of you w ho bel ieve in the pow er of

prayer that's Justin's daugher A shley in the photo on the

right. She's tough as nai ls, but is f ighting for her l i fe

against Hodgk ins Lymphoma and she and her fami ly

need al l the help they can get right now so send your

prayers her w ay. Thank s for sharing!!

CREATING THE HATCH By Will Branch

Editor's Note: Yeah, that's right, that's a carp but please don't stop reading!! Will chases both carp and smallies because carp are also abundant, hard-fighting fish. Dan Kreher and Matt Wier met Will Branch, an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist and fly fishing nut from Springfield, at the MSA/OSA Bronzeback Brews event last March. He makes some really great posts on Instagram as limbwalkerwill and is also an MSA member who we're looking forward to seeing again at our upcoming Bronzebacks, Brews, and Other Vices event on February 10th at the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood, Mo. We hope you enjoy reading his article. Thanks Will!

Here's a little about what I?m using when I?m fly fishing for both Carp and Smallies. Carp are my primary focus and most targeted species, and my gear, fly selection, and tactics for other gamefish (smallmouth bass) are influenced heavily by my infatuation with carp.

Rod/Reel/Line Selection:My go to rig is a Temple Fork Outfitter Mangrove 9' 6wt and a Lamson reel.The drag on the

Lamson is super smooth, which is a necessity when carp fishing. I keep spare spools of line for one reel. I?ll have a couple sink lines (different sink rates) and a float line. With carp

I'll usually fish a floating line, the

depth of the fish I'm after is only a few feet. Adjusting the weight of the fly will get the sink rate where it needs to be. With smallmouth I'll fish some version of a sinking line, with a

subsurface fly, and adjust line type and fly weight to get the sink rate/depth right. While fishing top water flies can be incredibly productive, it is not the way I fish most of the time. That said, sometimes (mostly when I?m floating in the kayak) I'll keep a second rod rigged with a float line and a surface fly just in case the fish are looking up. An unweighted streamer paired with a floating line can

work great when fish are hitting on top, Stouffer's Shuttlecock works well for this, I keep a few with rattles tied in just for this purpose. My subsurface leader set up is the same for everything, couple feet of 30lb mono for a butt, couple feet of 15lb fluorocarbon, few more feet of 8lb fluorocarbon, all tied loop to loop with perfection loops. Each section can be adjusted/replaced as needed.Since fluorocarbon sinks, sometimes I'll replace it with 15lb mono if top water fishing.Flies

I'll ?match the hatch? as often as possible, but most of the time the reality of the situation is that the forage can't be seen so Creating the hatch is my more common approach. The characteristics of the bottom and other surrounding structure provide great clues about what fish may feed on in an area.You might, for example, use a crawfish pattern on a rocky bottom and a leech pattern in muddy stagnant water. When 'searching' I like to throw patterns that mimic the movements and profiles of several different things. Factors such as water clarity, light conditions, and the color of the bottom help determine the color of the fly I?ll choose and I keep several different colors of sculpin to match the gravel where I'm fishing as closely as possible. When I?m fishing during low light or in muddy water I use darker colored patterns and favor those which are tied with bead chain eyes or rattles to make a little noise when they can't be easily seen by the fish.

With scent and taste being taken completely out of the situation, I like to buy stronger takes with texture. My most productive invertebrate patterns are tied with materials that provide a more

realistic feel or crunch.There?s nothing worse than watching a take and seeing the immediate rejection before you can set the hook.I feel that fly texture has a serious influence on how long a fish is willing to hold a fly. Finally, and the best way to screw everything up, is the retrieve.You have to always consider water speed, temperature,

and fish activity.I?ll generally, for example, slow my retrieve when the water is cooler, the fish are more lethargic, or when I?m fishing in slower current.I often change my retrieve a few times before I give up on a pattern or a spot.I use mostly the same flies for carp and smallmouth with a few exceptions. Some of my favorites that you can find online are,

Luke's Deadbeat 'dad

Missouriflies Black ops

Sculpin bunny

Stouffer's Shuttlecock

I'll wrap this thing up by saying that my approach to 'tricking' lower lifeforms into eating stuff that isn't food is constantly evolving, ask me these same questions in a year or two and you may get totally different answers.....

Wil l is going to be at the Bronzeback s, Brew s, and Other Vices event on February 10th so i f you have questions, introduce yoursel f !!

Love smal lmouth f ish ing? Join us on February 10th

Hopefully t h is isn't t he f ir st not ice you've seen about t h is event . I'm encouraging

you t o sign up for it t oday even if you're not a f ly f isherm an. Joe Oelke, one of t he

23 new m em bers (so far ) who have joined t he MSA by buying a t icket for t h is event ,

t old m e he was look ing forward t o seeing som e old f r iends and m ak ing a new one

or t wo on February 10t h. That sum s it up per fect ly as far as I'm concerned. You

don't have t o be a f ly angler t o enjoy t h is event . I'm a m ediocre f ly angler at best

but I organized t he event because I t hought it would be FUN. At t h is w r it ing

(January 27t h) at least 39 guys and 5 ladies agree w it h m e. As I m ent ioned 23 of

t hose t icket holders joined t he MSA t hrough t h is event . So, if you're reading t h is,

and you st i l l haven't bought your t icket yet , please go t o our websit e and buy a

t icket !! Think of i t as a m ini banquet and fundraiser for t he MSA. There's going t o

be a t able of volunt eers f rom Project Healing Wat ers at t he event and I'd l ike for

t hem t o have a chance t o m eet as m any pot ent ial new volunt eers as possible. I'd

also l ike all of you cur rent m em bers t o m eet som e brand new m em bers. This is as

m uch a social event and m ixer as it is a sem inar and f ly t ying event . I have a goal

of 80 people at t ending. It would be great if half were new m em bers. You guys are

generous and I know t hat w it h your help, we can do it . If your son, daught er ,

n iece, nephew, co-worker isn't a m em ber yet and you t h ink t hey would l ike t h is,

sign t hem up as a gif t ! I also want t o t hank Schlaf ly Beer for donat ing t he room

t o us, Jef f Tr igg for being our guest of honor , Feat her -Craf t Fly Fishing Co for

prom ot ing t h is and donat ing t ack le, Gat eway TU for helping prom ot e t h is, Plan D

Fishing for t heir generous donat ion of t ack le boxes and st ickers, August us

Knickm eyer for h is help w it h t he prom o im ages, Sim m s for som e cool decals, and

m y w ife for let t ing m e hog t he dang lapt op!!

Here's a l ist of ot her event s and out ings we've scheduled for t he rest of t he year .

St eve Har r ison and Jim Sieber t are work ing out som e f inal det ails for an out ing on

t he Big Piney in June as I w r it e. If any of you have any ideas or suggest ions for

ot her act ivit es (and would l ike t o help plan t hem ) please let us know. As I hope you

can t ell, i t t akes a l i t t le bit of legwork t o organize and host an event and m any

hands m akes for easier work !

Thank all of you, it s an honor and a pr ivi lege t o serve as your President !!

February 10: Bronzeback Brews and Other Vices Stream Smallmouth Clinic, Fly Tying, Social Event and Membership drive at the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood.

February 16-18:February Freezeout at the Meramec Scenic View Lodge outside of Steelville. Food, drink, fishing, tackle crafting.

March 10: Tie One On for Tryon Two great Stream Teams tied together by Chuck Tryon. Social event at the Piney River Brewing Company in Bucyrus and sign posting outing on the Big Piney.

March 31: Mineral Fork Cleanup and Water Quality Monitoring. Access to the Mineral Fork has become very limited over the past year and this is a great way to help clean up this special stream.

Apr il 14: Castor River Cleanup. Wonderful day long or overnight event (our recommendation) which you'll love.

Apr il 28: Adopt-an-Access Cleanup. Help us clean up the Sappington Bridge, Sand Ford, and Red Horse Accesses on the Meramec.

May 18-20: Jacks Fork Outing at Bunker Hill Retreat. Really fun fishing and social outing at a unique place in a beautiful location.

August 25: Operation Clean Stream. We traditionally help clean up stretches of the upper Bourbeuse on this Meramec watershed wide event.

Sept em ber 7-9: Bronzeback Bash with the Ozark Smallmouth Alliance

Sept em ber 28-30: Fall outing at Meramec Scenic View

We'll have more meetings and events scheduled throughout the year. Sign up for Bronzebacks, Brews, and Other Vices TODAY online by visiting our website:

www.missourismallmouthalliance.org

February

Freezeout:

2/16/18-

2/18-18

Where:

Meramec Scenic View Lodge

75 River Bluff LaneSteelville, MO 65565

From Steelville: Take Hwy 8 east (1 mi) to State Rt TT (left) 4 mi on paved state maintenance, continue straight on county paved road (Liberty Rd) which turns to gravel for another 2 miles. Look for MSV sign and turn left, follow road to Scenic View Lodge sign on left.

When:

Friday February 16-Sunday February 18, 2018

Why:

As always, fun, fishing, and some fundraising for the MSA. This year, however, we're privileged to do something a little more. This year, we're partnering with the Missouri Chapter of The Fallen Outdoors, a veteran owned and operated non-profit with the mission of facilitating organized hunting and fishing adventures for veterans past and present. We're doing this not to call any attention to the MSA but simply because we can. We've been working with Mike Unruh, who is their Missouri Coordinator and an active duty soldier and avid catch-and-release smallmouth angler who is stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood, to host, at the time of publication, Mike and six other vets for the weekend. MSA members Aaron Click, Gregg Lamb and four other anglers (who aren't MSA members but will be by the end of the weekend) have agreed to guide these guys for a days smallmouth fishing on the Meramec. Gregg also graciously provides us with FREE access to MSV for this event. It would normally cost $685 per night with a 2 night minimum to rent this great place!!

What are we going to do?

Well, we'll eat, drink, fish, swap smallmouth fishing knowledge, plan for the year ahead, relax, and have a good time. Steve Harrison is going to bring his soft-plastic pouring gear and we'll pour some soft plastics. We'll create some swim jig hooks to use with swim jigs. If any fly tyers attend they'll tie some flies. I'm planning on bringing my solo canoe so folks can see how I rig it for fishing and anyone who wants to bring their kayak should do the same. In general you should look at this as a great opportunity to meet some old friends, make some new ones, do you part to help some vets get a little river smallmouth fishing therapy and generally have a good time.

What does this cost and what do you need to do?

As I mentioned before, Greg donates the whole place, which can sleep up to 24 people for FREE. I'm going to be preparing 2 dinners, 2 breakfasts, and 2 lunches for everyone. We're not talking cold cuts and microwave meals either. I don't have the menu worked out yet but I take my duties as cook and host really seriously and want guys to leave satisfied. To quote

Jim Siebert I t 's a beautiful winter get-away with M att 's gr eat gr ub, cold

beer , war m fir es and a lot of smallmouth ta lk, nothing better !!"

We're providing the lodging and meals but you can help out by bringing your own favorite snacks and adult beverages to share. If you're planning on spending the night(s) and you should it will cost $30 per night per person. Keep in mind that we're also feeding the vets and their guides so if you want to donate more, please do so. If you can't spend the night and can only come down on either Saturday or Sunday for the day you should please do so. We ask that you donate at least $10 to help cover the cost of food. We're going to use any profits to help fund the costs of feeding volunteers during the March Cleanup and Water Quality monitoring event on the Mineral Fork so don't hold back. If you can't make it but want to donate anyway, let us know.

We'll have dinner and a bonfire on both Friday and Saturday nights. This is a great time to enjoy some food, fun, and fellowship. I joined the MSA to meet other smallie fishermen, this is a great way to come out and enjoy each other's company and share the wealth.

In order to sign up for the event you simply need to send an email to missourismallmouthalliance@gmail.com and let us know when you're coming and how long you plan to stay. If you've never visited, this year is the time to do so. This is really worth a few hours of your time. If you already have other plans for that Saturday afternoon you should come out later that day. This is a great cure for your cabin fever. Let's pack the place and help show our support for the vets and have a great time. Thank you for your membership and support,

Matt

Tie one on For Tryon: M SA & Roubidoux Fly Fishers Social Saturday, M arch 10, 2-6 pm @ the Piney River Brew ing Co.

Thank s to the generous support of Joleen Senter Durham and Brian Durham (the

nice couple in the photo above), the founders and ow ners of the Piney River

Brew ing Company, I 'm inv i t ing you to j oin me, members of the Roubidoux Fly

Fishers A ssociation, Stream Teamers, and other anglers and conservationists w ho

love smal lmouth f ish ing and the Big Piney on Saturday M arch 10th at the BA Rn at

the Piney River Brew ing Company in order to Tie One On for Tryon. We'l l talk

smal lmouth f ish ing, t ie f l ies, sw ap stories about Chuck , eat pizza, enj oy some

craf t beer, and talk about how w e can help w ork together to conserve the

w onderful Big Piney. We'l l be stopping by accesses on the Big Piney on the w ay

to check for our signs and pick up trash. This isn't a f ly f ish ing event. I t 's simply

another w ay to raise aw areness and have a good time. Hopeful ly you see some old

f riends and mak e a few new ones. Joleen and Brian have supported the M SA in

the past w i th generous donations of beer and cash so let 's repay the favor by

spending some time and money at the BA Rn. I f you don't l ik e beer they mak e a

dandy root beer as w el l !!

Members of both The MSA and the Roubidoux Fly Fishers Association share some common passions: angling and working to help sustain the waters we love. Chuck Tryon and Mark Van Patten helped found the RFFA. The RFFA became Stream Team #1 almost 28 years ago and to say that Mark played a key role in helping turn the Stream Team program into the envy of the nation is an understatement. Chuck was a long time member of the MSA and when he finally left Rolla to go an live with his daughter in California he generously donated his entire remaining supply of 200 Missouri Smallmouth Adventures

to the MSA. While we're nearly out of the book, that gift has played a huge role in helping us attract new anglers who are excited about learning more about smallmouth fishing in the Missouri Ozarks. As great as the book is, its events like this where you get to meet other passionate anglers and conservationists and really learn more about the sport while having a good time. While I expext we're going to have some fly fisherman at this event this isn't a fly fishing event. It's a smallmouth fishing event and open to anyone who loves fishing for our native smallmouth and wants to help play some part in helping conserve and improve our Missouri Ozark smallmouth fisheries. Here's all the details. Let us know you're coming by sending an email to missourismallmouthalliance@gmail.com

When: Saturday March 10, 2108 2-6 p.m.

Where:

The BARn at Piney River Brewing Company 15194 Walnut Grove Drive. Bucyrus, MO 65444

Loated off Hwy 17, just West of Houston, MO. From Hwy 17, take ZZ about three miles to Walnut Grove Drive. Prior to reaching Walnut Grove Drive, you?ll cross a small bridge and German Road will be to your right. You?ll go up a steep hill, and as you descend, the pavement will curve sharply to the right. There?s a gravel road to your left that is Walnut Grove Drive/Hightown Road. The gravel road immediately makes a Y. Stay left on Walnut Grove Drive. You?ll be on Walnut Grove Drive for about 2 miles. You?ll come to a sharp 90-degree turn where our farm begins here. Cross the cattle guard (watch out for cows that may be drunk on mash!) and take the drive down to the red roofed BARn.

Cost: The event is free but the beer and pizza cost so bring money.

Can I bring materials to tie? Sure, bring what you want and tie your favorite fly for flies. Be prepared to share why and how you like to fish them!!

Can I bring someone who isn't a member? Absolutely, we hope that they are ready to join both groups by the end of the event.

Why so many beer and fishing events lately Matt? Folks like beer and fishing and I think there's a natural synergy between the two anyway. Healthy watersheds and their fisheries require good land use practices and clean flowing waters. Good beers require the same. Success in both fields requires attention to detail, good ingredients, and consistent application in order to achieve success.

Thanks,

Matt Wier

Pesident

Stick a Fork in I t!! M ineral Fork Cleanup and Water Qual i ty M oni toring M arch 31st.

Those of you who live in either the St. Louis metro area or eastern Missouri in general know that the Mineral Fork is one beautiful small river/creek and deserves all the love and help it can get . It's status as a MDC special bass managment area speaks volumes about its importance to the overall Meramec watershed smallmouth fishery. The MSA is truly fortunate to count Tim Kirchhoff as an active member. Tim, in addition to being our all-time best mustache bearer, general great guy, rod builder, and mentor is our Level 3 Missouri Stream Team water quality monitoring guru and a landowner on the Mineral Fork. He's been the lead for our water quality monitoring efforts for years and is leading the charge on this cleanup and water quality monitoring outing as well. Tim and his family have fished the Mineral Fork for years and have a vested interest in its health and well being.

Pubic access to the Mineral Fork has always swung back and forth over the years and is currently limited to the MDC's Kingston Access. While that is what it is and not necessarily a bad thing for the fishery it has put a damper on those who want to legally access the Mineral Fork for some time now. That said, we're hoping that the work we're putting into making this event successfull will help us make some inroads in that regards. We've been working with with Chris Riggert, the Stream Team Program Coordinator, and another Mineral Fork landowner to gain some additional access to the Mineral Fork for water quality monitoring. I recently learned from Kurt and Augustus Knickmeyer that they have some access above Hwy. 47 and that, with their help we may be able to get access to the river there for the cleanup. We believe that all of the contacts we're making as part of this event will reap reawards for all of us in the future. If any of you have any access to the river please let us know and we'll work with you to get access for at least this event. Our goals for this event are pretty simple. We want to clean up as much of the river as possible with as many stakeholders as possible. We want local folks and the Washington County authorities to know that we love this river and are willing to prove, through our actions that we're serious about doing what we can to make sure that its as healthy and clean as possible. Clean, flowing waters are vital to the health every smallmouth fishery. Our actions as a group speak louder than words and we want our actions as Stream Team 509 to be loud, clear, and direct. We LOVE the Mineral Fork!

This cleanup and water quality monitoring event is a work-in-progress and we need all hands on deck. We'll be sending out updates and reminders as we progress. Add March 31st to your calendar and let us know if you're able and willing to participate by sending an email to missourismallmouthalliance@gmail.com and we'll count you in!!

New Year 's Resol u t i on s: Fi sh M or e by Ti m H ol sch l ag Editor's Note:

Our conservation Director Dan Kreher read Mr. Holschlag's recent email newsletter and with

Tim's permission we're reprinting this timely and informative piece here.

Your New Year?s resolution for 2018 should be to fish more. I?ll tell you why, and also how to make this happen.

First of all, why.That?s easy, fishing is good for you. It?s much healthier physically than many other pastimes. This is especially true for river smallmouth fishing, which requires plenty of physical effort to do well. And mentally, a day on a scenic stream or a quiet lake is much more relaxing and stress-reducing than many other activities. And of course, we all really enjoy fishing (or you wouldn?t be reading this).

But How?So we?ve agreed that fishing is great, but how do can you actually do more of it in 2018? The answer is to plan and organize more trips ahead of time, the farther ahead the better. If you don?t plan and commit to fishing days in advance, there are always plenty of other things that will come up the next weekend or any other day you may have free. Even for all the retired guys I know, this is the case. They had expected that after retirement they would fish lots and lots. But just thinking they would didn?t make it happen. Their wife wants them to visit Europe with her. A grandkid in California is graduating. Some extra yard work comes up. A friend has gotten into golf in a big way and keeps inviting you along. The list of non-fishing distractions is endless, so don?t just wait for a day you are free of other things to do, because that day never comes.

Ink Them In!Therefore to get more fishing days in 2018, you need to put specific fishing trips on your calendar. The best trips are those where you have book specific dates and put down a deposit. This way a spouse, someone else or something else can?t distract you with some other activity or project during that period. You?ve put real money down, the dates are inked in on the calendar, so you?re sure to go on that tripWhen many of you think of traveling for fishing, your mind drifts towards Alaska for salmon, the Keys for tarpon, Montana for trout or maybe the Bahamas for bonefish. Certainly these can be great experiences, but don?t forget smallies. They often offer faster fishing at a better price. Ontario lakes offer some spectacular smallmouthing, as does Maine. Even in Western states like Idaho and Oregon there are great smallmouth rivers. Heck, even exotic South Africa produces some superb smallmouth fishing, along with excellent trout and yellowfish.

Book a Guide

Besides booking multi-day fishing trips you have to travel for, also booking some guided

days during the season, even close to home, will likely ensure that you go fishing. While

hiring a guide for multiple days over the season will cost a bit, if you share the expense

with another person it is reasonable. More importantly, the quality of the experience is

likely to be much higher than if you only went by yourself or with a friend. Not only are

you likely to catch more fish with a guide, you?ll learn a lot and get to experience those

fishing waters with a knowledgeable expert.

Set Dat es w it h Fr iends

Another way to make sure you will actually fish, instead of getting sidetracked with other

things, is to plan some outings with a group of friends or with members of a club or

organization. Then you offer to be a driver and/or provide the boat or at least bring the

lunches. This way other people are depending on you, so backing out will be difficult.

The entire point is to make fishing a priority on some specific days of the season. Of

course, if you also find time to grab the rod and fish on short notice some other days, so

much the better. But if not, at least you?ll still get on the water on those

planned-in-advance trips. You can thank me at the end of the year.