NoLuck

Sub 4 in too. I've caught more fish under 6 inches this year than I ever have at Bennett.

Standard zebra midges and scuds under an indicator on the fly rod will work well. Wooly and a spinner or black and yellow marabou jigs on the spin outfit.

Fly fishing or spin fishing??

Jerry, Although I like catch and release too, it no longer in an uncrowded affair. It can be when the weather is rough or the Super Bowl is going on but it has gotten too popular. I still do it but I expect normal size crowds. That being said,,, I may make it unless I'm out chasing deer.

Well being there Friday morning is out the window again. Looks like another late night drive.

Wayne, I use a ceramic heater when I think ahead. This past weekend I did not. I then set the furnace to kick on at around 60 if it gets real cool. It worked real good in my pop up. So it should be even better in the travel trailer.

No I haven't heard from JJ in quite a while. He was hanging out on Ozark Chronicles some but that was the last I seem of him. The fish tank business must have got real busy. Jerry I don't hide a key. LOL . The way I lose keys though that may be a good idea. Along with an extra truck key to as I walk around looking for them while they are on my finger under my rod. LOL

I saw 1 guy Sunday below the island catching quite a few fish on an olive scud. Size 12 I think he said. He consistently caught fish on it while I picked up about half of what he was catching. Brown and olive midges worked best for me. I only fished for a total of about 5-6 hours all weekend. Next weekend if its dry I'm painting the shed. Other than that I should be pretty well open to fish more. After working 50 hours its hard to get real motivated. Even more so when I have work to do around the camper. Plus crawling out from under the blankets when it's 55 degrees in the camper is pretty hard. Then it's just to turn on the furnace and right back in bed. LOL I didn't even set foot in zone 2 last weekend either. That's usually where I start and move from there. I did fish Z2 just below the spillway for a couple of minutes and I headed up to seal my picnic table. I'm hoping to be down early Friday but it looks like a night time drive again unless things change on this job.

Just your typical olive dun mayfly Jerry. They are there fr time to time. Not a big hatch though normally.

I got my picnic table sealed and now I gotta bug spray and weed killer spray. Nest weekend the shed gets painted. Someday I'll get to fish. LOL

Yeah still the same number Jerry.

I'll be there Jerry. If you need a place to shelter you can stop by my place.

Oh I just found out I'm working Friday in Hannibal MO so it'll be late Friday when I get down there. But I will be there.

That's why lime green crackle backs work so well Wayne. I use either French braid or lime green turkey rounds with no peacock hurl.

Size 18 on the G-nats Ruthead. 16 may be fine also as I picked up a couple on a #12 CB too.

Oh I almost forgot. I was down fishing last weekend on Saturday eve and Sunday from about 4-7 and it was probably as crowded as it was Labor Day weekend. I was amazed at the amount of kids and people in general. Fishing looked pretty tough from what I saw getting dressed. But I did pretty well up by the spring Sunday eve. Saturday from 5till the whistle I caught 33 fish. Not bad really. Most were small fish but I did catch a few nicer ones as well. The water is in great shape. I picked up a few on a g-nat. My furled leader was sinking as I forgot to clean and grease it so I just fished midges. Up by the island and down to the old wooden dam was elbow to elbow so I stayed below the spillway and bridge. The water flow has really slowed since the end of August. But you still need to gets good drag free drift. Cya all later

I know the feeling Jerry. I have friend too. Hard to believe yeah I know. Maybe they just tolerate me because of all the pretty women that are always with me...... Umm no that can't be it. Either way ill see you all there. Lets do breakfast someplace Saturday morning.

I'll be there either Friday around noon or Friday night.

Heck they should make zone1 all C&R. Zone 2 keep and 3 keep. That would cut down on the demand I would think. As long as they put decent fish in the C&R area. It'll never happen as too many people sit on top of the dam and also they fish the gut hole above the Holland dam. Lots of fish are hauled out of those 2 places. Which is fine because they are just fishing by the rules.

Pat, we did catch some nicer fish this weekend. Don't know if they were held back or if they brought them in from Shepherd of The Hills. There was still a bunch of dinks left and I saw plenty of people keeping them too. Hopefully they kept a ton of the little things. Crowd was pretty big sometimes and sometimes not. The water is starting to come around pretty good now also. I probably only fished a total of 6 hours from Saturday around 6pm till today at 12;30. Got everything pretty well lined out at the RV park and I just need a few more little things to complete the set-up.

I am in the process of turning that job over Pat. But I gotta train him first. This job is a little more than just turning on a machine.and watching it run.

Well Pat, I'll be back in NC next Wednesday and I'll fire up the old laptop and send an email or two. I'm back down at Bennett getting all leveled out and hooked up on my seasonal spot. I'll let you know if the holiday crowd has any effect on fish size and quality.

Jerry, I've heard a few people saying Montauk has declined also after the flood. But over the last few years Montauk has had better quality fish.

We fished the river too. There was supposed to be a hole full of lunkers. LOL Well that was a false statement to say the least.. The fish there were pretty much the same except they seemed to fight a little better.

Wayne, To the casual observer Bennett hasn't changed much really. But to us old grumpy folks it has changed considerably. Some people will accuse us of being over critical. They say that all things change. Opinions vary and all that other stuff. I heard a lot of people that only come down to Bennett a trip Or two a year and they were all pretty disgusted with the quality of fish. One guy and his son were planning on staying a week and were only there for the second day. They said that they were packing up and headed to AR. They both claimed it was the worst they ever seen also at Bennett. Maybe we all just need to go to the park store and buy a 2 wt and all the matching gear!!