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JEFFERSON CITY - 2008 was a year of extremes for wild Missouri and those who love the outdoors. High points included fishing records and record rains, while lows included weather-related woes for ground-nesting wildlife, such as quail and turkeys.

The Missouri Conservation Commission started the conservation year in January by inducting Nadia Navarrete-Tindall, of Columbia, into the Conservation Hall of Fame for her efforts on behalf of environmental education. Her diverse roles have included botanist, focus group facilitator, language trainer and environmental educator.

I arrived at the lodge to pick up Brad and Mark at 8:00 AM. They arrived a couple of minutes later. Their favorite breakfast spot had been closed and they had been required to venture further to find a suitable restaurant. We loaded their gear in the back of my station wagon and headed toward Rim Shoals with my river boat in tow.

My fishing buddy, Jeff Trost, called me on Friday Night. “Are we going to go out for beignets at Angler’s Coffee Café tomorrow morning?” No, I said I just read the generation forecast and they are going to have both rivers on the bottom for twenty four hours. We had not been able to wade in a long time and were eager to take advantage of the great conditions so we hatched a plan to meet early the next morning to make the final decision as to where would fish.