NoLuck

PC, It is right at 155 miles from my place to the park entrance. Like I said, I don't stop though. Set the cruise on about 77 and off ya go. When I wasn't worried about getting points against my licence I would drive 80 plus. Now that my job depends on my CDL I slowed down a little. Granted once in a while traffic will slow me down and I stop to get drinks or snacks and that adds a few minutes to my usual time. People hate riding with me when I go on a road trip. I just go until I need fuel.

Maybe by me going at such an early time and avoiding traffic in Rolla it makes it quicker. I used to drive like a mad man and it didn't really save that much time to benefit really. Unless you are driving 4-500 miles it makes no sense to drive 10 -15 mph over the limit. I make it to Bennett most times in 2.5 hours just running normal too. Sometimes if traffic is light and I push it I can make Bennett in 2 hours and 10 mins.

Seriously??? Maybe I hit a time warp in my Super High performance Ranger V6. In all seriousness I just set the cruise on about 74 on 44 and I run 63 at about 2-3mph over the limit with no troubles at all. I don't stop anywhere though. I just stock up on drinks and snacks before I hit the road. It takes a couple extra minites if I stop at Casey's though in Licking. Too many goodies in there to pass up.

Are you guys talking about time from St.Louis?? I make it to Montauk all the time in just under 2 hours going down 44 to 63 and across from Licking. I don't have any problem going the other ways there it just seems like an easier drive going this way. I don't drive overly fast either. The only time I have a problem is when I get stuck behind a camper or slow driver on the road from Licking to Montauk Park. I am only about 10 mins fron 270 and 44 though and you guys may be a little bit farther into the city.

We already have bear and Mt.Lions. Buffalo would be too big of a risk for cattle from what I can remember. Seems like I remember readiing somewhere that the ranchers out near Yellowstone do all that they can to keep the buffalo away from thier cattle. Some type of sickness is what I can recall.

After driving for a month out in the White Mountains of AZ at dusk and dawn, I can tell you that you don't want to hit one of those things in a car. I saw 4 of them hit within about a mile of the cabins I was staying in. I saw anywhere from 3-5 to 100 per drive back and forth from the jobsite. When you saw a deer it was just a couple you had to worry about. With Elk you had to watch for a herd of maybe 25-30 at a time. All that being said I think its an awesome idea to reintroduce them to MO. Look at TN and what they have done. They actually have a hunt or 2 for them. I'm sure getting a tag would be like winning the lottery though. I'll try to put a pic here of the morning I was leaving Greer AZ if I can find it.

Ahhhh....... So that would explain all those rainbow flags and bumper stickers. LOL Not that there is anything wrong with that LOL.

Kim, I stuck with a size 18 very seldom do I fish anything smaller. I may use a #18 tied a little more sparse though. It seems to me when I use smaller hooks I don't get as many hook ups.

Dennis, I didn't really try any dries at all. I did see some fish breaking the surface though. But, I think they were hitting bugs stuck under the film. You would see their backs mostly and that to me usually means they are hitting something under the surface tension film. I did see a few people fishing for them with dries and occasionally hooking up. There was a bunch of people fishing crackelbacks and stripping them back with quite a bit of success. I was doing fine with fishing midges so I just stuck with that. I didn't use any one color in particular though. I changed up quite a bit too. I tied up a few new combos of midge patterns and some worked and some didn't. Some of the ones I tied I'm pretty sure will be productive in the future though. On another note, if you tie midges you owe it to yourself to use a Tiemco 2499SPBL hook. So far this is by far the best hook I have ever used in a #18 midge and scud hook. Wider gap and a super super sharp point. JJtroutbum can attest to my dissatisfaction with the usual hooks I used in the past for midges. I always expected a certain amount of LDR's and non hook-ups. Now I am suprised if I have a LDR. These hooks a great.

Was down Saturday late morning till Sunday early evening. I was amazed at the huge crowd that was there. Early and late the place was packed even when I was leaving Sunday at around 7pm. Saturday afternoon and evening seemed to be the best for me. I caught good numbers of fish in zone 1 and 2. Most fish were small fish but I did see a better number of bigger stockers being released. I caught one fish that was near the 4lb mark that Saturday eve. Nice rainbow caught on a #18 midge on my 3wt Winston with 7x tippet. At first I thought that I hooked a decent fish that buried me up in the weeds. But when I walked out to try and free it up I saw that was a big bow that didn't budge after the initial hook up. The fish then took off on a small run downstream and luckily I got him slowed down. Thank God for that smooth drag on my Abel reel. We took a couple of pics on my disposable camera that has pics of BrittsnBirds on it of his nice brown . So now I can get them developed. I landed a couple more fish I'm pretty sure were over 2 lbs also. Sunday was a so-so day of fishing with a decent number of fish caught but nothing like Saturday.

Yeah the BBQ is pretty good stuff. Make sure you try the tater salad. It is prett good too.

Dennis, Apparently you have not seen my screen name. It is NO Luck. I just have a good streak every now and then. I haven't been much this year because of a busy work schedule so I'm kinda behind a little. Maybe Pat and Jerry can fill me in on how to catch fish this time around. I'll be down tomorrow and maybe sunday to give it a whirl. Cya

I would be willing to bet most places in or close to the park are booked. Try the Super8 in Lebanon. I stay there once in a while and it is a pretty decent place at a pretty much normal rate. Tell them to be sure to give you a triple A rate which usually knocks off 5-10 bucks. It is about a 20 minute run in the morning to the stream.

You know it's kinda funny that I have never caught one of those things. I have been fishing Bennett and Montauk for close to 39 years and have never even hooked one.

I'd be darn near willing to bet a paycheck that there are a group of local punks doing this stuff. I tend to sit in my truck and nap on occasion and if I ever see these punks they will not be doing it anymore. I can only think of a few things that get my blood boiling more than thieves. Go to town to a local pawn shop and I would be willing to bet you will find some of this stuff being sold. I have worked hard for the things I have and I expect others to do the same. The only way these scum are going to be caught is by everyone being vigilant and keep an eye out for them.

Jerry, That wasn't a brown that was one of those suckers. LOL. Really though if you do hook into a good fish in that fast water you gotta make sure that you are ready for a good fish to make a run on you. I have caught a few fish in there and you gotta be ready for that bonsai run. Them bigger fish always seem to know how to get unhooked.

Ok let me get a list together of things that won't work and I'll post it up. Then you can tie them up Jerry and when they don't work you can just give them to me so they won't take up room in your fly box.

Can you believe it??? I actually asked my brother to come along and he said he would. I've been asking him now for 2 years to come and he finally said yes. He is the one that pretty much taught me how to use a flyrod and we used to go to Bennett when we were kids. He would get the car from Mom and Dad and we would drive all the back roads till we ran the car almost out of gas. He will not take any advise from me about trout fishing though. When he used to fish quite a bit way back when he thought he had it pretty well figured out and he is going to use the same stuff that he used back then. It will be interesting to see if all that stuff still works. I am ready now more than I was before. Come on August 27th

I'm not sure cricket will be able to function without his boat. LOL

Ok Guys, I made reservations for camping from the 27th till the 30th. I'll be on campsite #412 in campground 4. Hopefully the weather cooperates and everyone can make it so we can all get to meet some new people and trade stories and stuff. Maybe we can all get a cookout going too. Lets try to get this thing rolling and make this the best one yet. One to say I was glad I didn't miss. Rich

Hey Jerry, Lets try for the weekend before LaborDay. I was at the office and my schedule was clear on those days. I put in for Monday and Tuesday off. I will try to reserve a camp spot from the Friday before then through the next Wednesday. I'm on my way back out to Hoover Dam right now but I will be back Friday or Saturday and I will look for a spot to reserve. Rich

You guys make me realize how lucky I am to have two of the best fly shops around within 20mins of my house.

Pat, If you can find them still the L2 Simms waders like I have are pretty decent at $200.00 roughly. They are light and fairly durable. Some places were clearing them out for the new models and I saw them going pretty cheap. The headwaters are the newer model but theuy went up in price like usual.If you don't know they still make the freestones too. Rich

Jerry, If I can wrap up this jobthat I heve been working 12 hours and 7 days a week I may be down Sunday. I have put in 88 hours so far this week. I need a break.

Jerry, The midge I think you are thinking of was a hybrid of sorts. This one is similar to a zebra midge except it has light or dark olive thread. The color of the bead and wire depend on what the fish want. I would tie up a few different combos and play with them.The small flashabou works for the tail. The tail don't need to be very long, maybe a quarter of an inch or less. Try to use the smallest bead on a #18 hook you can get on so it will have a better hook gap so you can hook up better.