Guest Blogs
Tommie Taylor shows one of the turkeys he killed during a recent hunting season. This one had four beards. His wife Donnis told the Times, “I can’t even imagine all the men he’s taken turkey hunting” in the 52 years since this story started.
Editor’s note: Ozark County native Tommie Taylor retired in 2016 after working for the county in different jobs for more than 20 years. He and his wife, Donnis, live in Gainesville.
My turkey hunting story started when I was 14 years old. My friend Dale Chisam was working on my family’s barn one...
The best bass fishing is at night with plastic worms, jigs and single spins. Look for bass along bluff ends in 20 to 25 feet of water. Early mornings are showing some top-water activity, especially if it’s cloudy. A few anglers are having some luck with deep-diving crankbaits, but it’s a hit-and-...
Striper and walleye fishing on Norfork Lake is the hot bite right now. The stripers have set into their summer pattern of being higher in the water column at early light then moving deeper as the sun comes up. The good news is the bite is lasting longer in the morning. We have been catching...
Grubs, jigs, flutter spoons and swim baits have all been effective recently on bass. Most of the bigger bass are down 15 to 20 feet during the day. Look for the old brush line and throw a jig, or fish the main lake bluff ends with a grub or flutter spoon. Both grubs and swimbaits have been most...
My wife and I spent a little time in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago. It was the first time either of us had ever visited the “Crescent City,” and that’s odd, because I obtained a good part of my higher education in Mississippi and had visited the Gulf Coast many times but never had the desire to...
The striper fishing on Norfork Lake continues to be very good for the first two hours each morning. Now that we are entering the dark moon phase, you can expect to find feeding stripers later in the morning on the flats in water depths of 40 to 60 feet. We are still catching some stripers on long...
Even in the heat, bass fishing this past week was very good. The Special Olympics tournament out of Theodosia was won with 18.43 pounds. Numerous boats came in with a five-fish limit. Top-water early in the day works well; then it’s time for jigs and plastic worms. Both the creeks and main lake...
Editor’s note: Father’s Day is Sunday, and baseball season is in full swing. Ozark County ball parks are filled with fathers teaching their kids about sportsmanship and how to hold a bat, catch a ball and run the bases. We salute those fathers who know how important it is to spend time with their...
To read more of retired Gainesville educator Jane Elder’s blog, Ozark Road, visit gainesvillemo.bogspot.com.
I looked up the word extravagant in my dictionary just now: It’s defined as going beyond reasonable limits: too ornate or showy: wasteful.Truly, I have to argue with those definitions. ...
It was right before sundown on a cool, late spring afternoon. The skies were still overcast from an earlier shower, and Kornelijus and I were driving the pastures on the UTV searching for the last few cows that were due to calve. Taking in a deep breath, the exchange student who has been our son...