I was on Lake Wappapello this past week with an old-days college roommate, Darrell Hamby, of Patterson. We were fishing for crappie and reliving old times. That lake is something and though there isn’t room to talk about it much here, I am going to get into it more in a column next week or the one after. Darrell and I fished with a native of the area by the name of Jack Street, and I cannot wait to tell you his story.

Wappapello Lake has an unusual situation with crappie regulations. You may keep 15 crappie above 9 inches in length and another 15 BELOW 9 inches. Just to see what it amounted to in the frying pan, I filleted six eight-inch fish and by golly, it made a very good meal… a couple of ounces of meat in each filet. I am going back in a few weeks to write more about Jack Street. What a story that old-time outdoorsman is. I intend to spend a couple more days on that lake with him and Darrell.

A lady who read what I wrote about that Alpha-Gal allergy, which makes it very dangerous to eat red meat, wrote to indignantly tell me that she has that disease and I goofed up by leaving pork off the list. She says that pork is also meat you cannot eat and milk and other dairy products may be just as bad for some people. It does not affect all people the same! There have been deaths, (although that is rare) from this disease, or this ‘syndrome.’ You need to read all you can about it to try to understand it. If you get on the Internet often you can find the info there. It is caused by the bite of a lone-star tick; a fairly common big tick with a white spot on it’s back. I never paid much attention to tick repellent in the past, but I will now and I urge you to also.

In just a couple of weeks we have signed up almost 100 members for our Common Sense Conservationists group. I am often asked, what is the purpose of the organization, since there is little chance of affecting corruption in a rich and powerful state agency like the Conservation Department. I am aware of that, but I have two immediate goals.

For one, I would like to send out a small free magazine three or four times in 2024, letting folks know the truth about what is going on in the MDC. That needs to be done. So many are in the dark as to what they do. We will then allow the MDC to give their side of each story in answer within the publication. I also want to raise money to help defend those innocent people charged with violations they didn’t commit, often on some ridiculous technical matter. I have found lawyers willing to help them or perhaps you, for much reduced costs that we can help pay. That way innocent people can have a defense in court. We can make a difference in that way if we can sign up several hundred people.

I don’t want membership money, we don’t ask for it. But there is power in numbers of people, and those magazines telling the truth about what rights we all have and what is being done outside the law by MDC personnel cannot hurt a thing. How our tax money is being spent needs to be a part of that magazine.

It is amazing as I go around to different meetings how little hunters and fishermen and landowners know about what is and isn’t the law. Ignorance of what any law officer can do allows conservation agents to get away with violating your rights. It is time we clarified that. To join up, just mail me your address and phone number… to CSC Box 22, Bolivar, Mo 65613. E-mail me at lightninridge47@gmail.com. The office number is 417-777-5227. Read part two about the deer disease this week on my website, www.larrydablemontoutdoors.blogspot.com