NoLuck

Yes, Last night it was facing at the stone bridge. That is the second time I saw it facing that way.

Hey Kim, Its all about balance. I have only been a couple of times since last year myself. My job has been taking up all my time here recently. I just keep hoping for some slow time. You will get time when you make time. At least thats how it has to be sometimes. Cya, Rich

Hey Pat, Glad to see you are doing OK. I was kinda wondering where you been. Hope we can get together some weekend or a few weekdays would be even better. Saturday is kids fishing day I think and then there should be plenty of fish in Zone 2 swimming around for the people that have trouble catching fish. LOL I have to go to Enders NE here in the next couple of weeks for a small job then it looks like it may slow down,I hope. So it looks like it will be the end of May when I should be freed up to maybe get some time off to get in some R&R. For the people that have been fishing and not seeing any fish, you just have to get down to them. They are there but deep. The fish don't just jump on your hook by no means but you can catch them if you adjust to the conditions. Something to think about is last years fishing conditions. That goes into the average for how many fish get released for this year. It will get better soon. Even though last years high water kept people away, the average will still get more fish in the stream. I didn't catch too many decent sized fish the last trip till I started getting down deep to them with a sinking line. Then most of the fish I caught were better than average. Hang in there people they are there, Rich

I was down the Saturday before the last and it seemed to me I saw more fish than last year at this time. Zone 2 has quite a few fish but you have to really look for them. The water color makes it tuff to see them. The place I did best was above the dam on a full sink line. I caught about 20 fish in about 1 hour and a half. 2 of those fish I'm pretty certain were over 2 lbs. Most of the fish I have caught other places down there have been pretty small. PC, I know what you mean about the crappie. I haven't been this year but I need to. Maybe we can hook up this year with BrittsnBirds if he ever gets out again. LOL I gotta get my camper down there so I can have a place to stay when I come down for more than 1 day. Cya guys soon, Rich

Sheesh, to look at the Bennett forum you would think the place closed up. Hasn't anyone been down fishing?

OK, I'm home and happy to be here except that I saw some of the streams coming in from out west near Bennett. I looked at the USGS flow and levels and it don't look to good for a couple of weeks. Maybe I'll have to hit Montauk first.

Well gang I'm almost home and ready to do some fishing. I'm at a Best Western in Shamrock Texas and I'll be home tomorrow eve. To say I'm exited to get down to Bennett is a major understatement. I've been on the road since Jan 1st working and now I'm almost ready to wet a line. I have a lot of junk at home to deal with first then look out. Pat, how did your trip go? Hope to see some of you guys on the stream soon,, Rich

You know I don't really like the video camera everywhere thing myself. But..When you are 1800 miles from home you can take a peek at whats going on there. That alone makes it enjoyable. If you are worried about your wife or boss spotting you just wear a really wide brimmed hat and keep your back turned to the camera.

The helmet I bought must be too tight when I put it on and take it off. Must have rubbed off some hair. I know what you mean about being tough. Over half of my company is not working right now. If I wasn't an operator/foreman I'd probably be sitting at home too. But I'm out here suckin up prevailing wages on a government job. 40 reg hours and 10 over for the last 8 weeks. The job in AZ is regular wages but it'll be close to 80 hours a week. So yeah I'm still having to work some. Hopefully I'll be home in early April. Cya, Rich

I would sure like to be there but I can't. Gotta be out here another 6-8 weeks it looks like. But its not all work.LOL

Looks like you guys are all scared....LOL I don't blame you though. If I was home I would go but probably not be fishing unless it was an unusually small crowd. PC you probably take the same approach as I do. Have fun if you do go, and be sure to post some pics for us all. Rich

Who is going to be there opening day?? I won't be able to make it this year because I'll be gone for another 7 weeks. Maybe more. Even if I was home I doubt if I would try fishing that day. The weather out here in Las Vegas has been awesome with highs in the mid to high 60's. But, I would trade it for a cold day in the snow slingin a fly rod in a second. Hopefully when I get to AZ I can do some fishing for some Apache trout in the Little Colorado river. I'll have 5-6 weeks there and hopefully I'll be headed home in early April. If I do catch a few Apache trout I'll try to get some pics posted on here. Take care yaaall, Rich

Dennis I'm glad to hear Montauk has got their fish cleaning station done. You would think that with the amount of people that frequent Bennett that it would be a no brainer. I know at Mark Twain Lake the fish cleaning station gets its fish ground up to make fish food also. I don't know exactly what the trout get fed but you would think that it could at least offset some of the cost associated with feeding them.

Maybe somewhere in the budget there will be a little money for that fish cleaning station that they keep putting off. Then the gut fisherman will have to change their tactics. But on another note I'm not really sure that the fish shortage is due to having enough space in the hatchery. I can almost see them doing something about the Blue Herons getting to the fish in the hatchery too. Every time I get there a couple hours before the whistle and wait for the store to open I see Herons fishing in the hatchery. That has got to take a toll on the output too. Rich

Hey Don, You may want to look around a little. I picked up an Abel reel for a pretty good price late last summer. It was not a large arbor but it was an Abel and I am convinced after using the one on my 3wt that it is a pretty good drag system. I don't know how much you are looking to spend but I think there are some still out there. I don't know exactly what the reason for the discount was but it was a pretty good one. Take care, Rich

No Pat, I'm still at Hoover Dam for another month or so. Then I'll probably go to AZ for another 6 weeks. Maybe I'll be home to get in on some early season fishing. That cloud doesn't always follow me around....LOL. I think when I do get back I'll probably take a week off to regroup and relax. I bought a Honda 700XX ATV out here to kill time. You can ride for hours out here in the desert. Sand dunes are all over too not far from here. I am headed to the dunes on Sunday to ride. Now I'll have one more thing to spend money on when I get back. Good thing I paid cash for my Pop-Up. Cya, Rich

Ok Thats it. Now I know I really have absolutely NOLUCK. I come to the desert and it rains...LOL. Before this series of rain is done it will be more rain in the last few days than they have averaged in the last 7 years. Lake Mead may even rise back up to a respectable level. I guess my bad luck is good luck for some. Rich

OK I'll guess. The best fly to use is a flo green crackleback. Strip it or fish it dry over slower water. Then put a 18 or 20 midge under a crackleback. I would tell you what color to use but people would hang me when I get back. LOL have fun. Rich

Loks like I did something right.Here are a couple more.

OK lets see if I can get this right....LOL

Hey Pat, Hope Dixie is well. You can have the police work thing. I'll stick with what I know..LOL. I didn't get to do much hunting after working 23 days straight in Nov and early Dec. How did you do up north? I put my pop-up in storage the day before I left St.Louis for a couple of months. I don't know how long I'll be out here yet but as soon as I can I'll be back down to Bennett to catch up. After this job is done we are supposed to be headed back to AZ to do some more work there. I know we have work at home to do too so I'm pretty sure I'll have to be back there to get that stuff done. I'll give you a heads up and maybe we can get some fishing in when I get back. Cya Later, Rich

This is the first time I've been here so I don't know much about fishing here. Lake Mead probably has some good fish in it I would imagine. The lake level from what everyone at the dam says, has gone down continuously for the last several years. I have not had much time to look around yet. Hopefully this weekend I'll get out and about to see what this place is all about.

I'm hoping that they carry on the storage for campers that I had from Jerry and Brenda Miller. It wasn't worth hauling that thing back and forth with that price.

Hey guys, Just thought I would say hey from sunny and 63 degree Las Vegas NV. I was feeling pretty bummed that I would be missing some winter fishing at the trout parks till I saw the weather back home. If its any consolation to you I have been working nights from 6pm till 5am. Hoover dam sure is a sight to see from the bottom of the dam where I'm working. When I get me a usb connector from the electronics store I'll post some pics that most people have never seen. That new bridge that they are buildinng is also really cool to see from the bottom of the dam. Take care all, Rich

I used peacock herl at first but I don't anymore. I guess if you want to be nostalgic go ahead and use it. One of the best things I've found lately is this stuff called Lagartun mini-flatbraid. I just wrap it with the stuff and put on my hackle. Works extremely well for stripping them on sink tips and full sink line. If the fly doesn't land with the hook point on the bottom I could see how the herl would look like a vein running down the back though.