FlyFishinFool

If you want to see how high the water is at Bennett at ANY time - just check out the USGS website - shows the water at the Gage House in Zone 1: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/uv/?site_no=06923500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060 Oneshot is correct - the water level is on the way back up after the heavy rain.

I agree with Eddie Ray, and this issue is probably the primary reason I do not participate anymore than the few posts I have done. As I recently posted on another thread; the best solution to that handfull of argumentative "Trolls" is to ignore their posts. Do not be baited by the troll's "over the top" arguments and "endless points" - when they do not get a response, they will leave or not reply. Just my humble opinion. Thanks for the OA website, I like the forums (most of the time). ;-)

I have to disagree - we are all "keyboard warriors" at one time or another, because we feel passionate about something. For those folks who don't seem to be able to do anything but complain about everything that is not the way they personally do it (or wish they could do it!), I prefer to use the term "Trolls" or "Keyboard Trolls" ! Basically these types just hide (anonymous userids) under the bridge and throw stuff at the folks going past the bridge (the forum). Best thing you can do is do not encourage them - don't reply to them, don't let yourself be baited by their comments. Just ignore them and their posts - when they cannot get any response to their rants, they will give up and go away. And personally, I don't care where they go, just as long as they go somewhere else. Ignore the Trolls! Have fun guys!

Can you publish a map and a plat of the subdivision? or provide a link to a plat map & location map?

Went down to BSSP to fish the last weekend of the C&R season. The highway is completely cleared, but the park still had a lot of snow. The stream was not crowded at all - I thought there would be a lot more folks down since it was the last weekend and the weather forecast was to decent weather. A few parking areas were plowed, but many were not - thus a lot of parallel parking along the park road. After 2 warmer days, the park roads had melted quite a bit, and were almost clear of ice/slush ridges. After a couple more warm days, there probably won't be much snow left at all. Saturday temps were a little brisk in the AM but were over 40 by 11:00AM and peaked out in the mid-50's or so. I got there late and did not start fishing until almost 11AM - but the fishing was pretty good! Lots of fish hitting a variety of flies - I caught almost 2 dozen fish in the first 2 hours I fished, mainly on small midges. But I saw folks catching a good number of fish on thread jigs, glow balls and lots of wooleys. The fish completely shut down about 3PM - no one caught a thing after that! Sunday morning the temp at 7:30AM was already 40 and it was over 50 by 10AM, with a peak temp over 60 - great weather for February! The fishing was slower on Sunday - everyone I talked to said the fish simply were not as aggresive and they were catching fewer fish than on Saturday. However, the fish were still there; I averaged 3-4 fish per hour on a mix of drifting small midges and stripping cracklebacks. Watched one fellow just knocking them off by stripping a BIG weighted brown wooley. Early in the day the same guy caught a very nice 20+" fish (I saw the picture!). There were several small hatches, but I did not have any luck throwing small dry flies, nor did I see anyone else having success with drys. And again, the bite basically shut down about 3PM. In summary, it was a great weekend to fish at BSSP; and it was a really GREAT weekend to do it in February!

Lot of ready-to-fish barbless flies are for sale at all the well-known fly shops and fly websites. Looks like your site also sells barbless flies. I routinely make my non-fly fishing lures barbless - just take a pair of forceps and about 2 seconds per hook, and presto....instant barbless!

Gavin - Your comments pretty much reflect what I was thinking. I have owned several canoes (15' to 17') over the years, and as the knees got steadily worse the shorter the time I could sit in a canoe. I tried one SOT kayak, and that did not work at all. I did find out the NFO offers an upgraded seat as an option for the frameless pontoons, with EVA padding and more support. I also agree that the trolling motor mount would be the way to go for still/slow water. However, the NFO pontoons are expensive, and I do not want to pull the trigger without trying one out. I will keep looking!

Sunfish - I hear you...IF I can find a place that rents the frameless pontoons I will definitely spend some time fishing out of one to make sure it works for me. I talked to several folks who own, or have used, regular framed dual pontoon boats and they all had comments similar to yours, basically they do not have great tracking. From quite a few of the independent reviews I have read, that is one of the areas where the frameless pontoons are superior to the standard framed dual pontoon boats. If anyone has a NFO Outlaw frameless pontoon (Renegade or Rampage) and would be nice enough to let me try it I would appreciate the opportunity - I'll bring the beer!

Aftershock - I can lift a fairly heavy amount, but walking for any distance while carrying it is the bigger issue. I was hoping to keep the outfitted weight to 50lbs or so; the lighter the weight the better. The heavier the overall outfitted weight the shorter the time/distance the back and knees will last.

Gavin - I would be using it mostly on some private ponds, then a couple of small local lakes, and on one or two small-to-medium streams - basically where you could fish using a canoe.

I have looked at pond boats, jon boats, kayaks, canoes and pontoons, looking for a solo fishing craft. I am 6'4" and weigh 250lb. With a bad back I am looking for a craft that weighs as little as possible to transport from truck to the water, and/or portage. With very bad knees, I am looking for a craft that will let me sit upright and stretch my legs, but still has back support. So after a lot of research, I think one of the frameless pontoons will best meet my needs, like the NFO Renegade or Rampage. Does anyone have personal experience with either of these frameless inflatibles? Specifically the NFO Outlaw Renegade or Rampage?

Trout Commander - I also have used the thread furled leaders from the Simontons, but for a year I have been having a blast with the Spiderwire furled leaders - they are more expensive (of course, the Spiderwire line is a lot more expensive) but you do not have to dress them with floatant like a thread leader, they are MUCH more durable, and they lay a fly down as well as or better than any other furled leader I have used, including Feather-Craft, Blue-Sky, and a several other vendors. Finally, you are absolutely correct - the customer service from the Simontons was truly superior. Dan Sweeney - I have not tried a furled leader from Fountainhead, but you can get furled leaders in many more sizes, lengths or materials. Instead of only mono furled leaders, you might want to try a fluro furled leader for deep fishing when you want to strip a wet fly or bugger back. Mono tends to have a little better strech when it is fresh, but after several hours of fishing mono softens and can stretch too much, making setting a hook a little tougher. You might want to try a thread furled leader or even a Spiderwire furled leader, since these other materials do not have the same wet stretch like mono that has been sitting in water for several hours. P.S. Simonton's furled leaders are also less expensive! Regardless of brand, or material; I will continue using furled leaders for fly fishing rather than go back to the old knotless mono leaders - try it, you'll like it!

I have been using furled leaders for several years, and use them for all my fly fishing, from 3wt/4wt rods up through 8wt rods. The biggest advantages for furled leaders are that they are much stronger than knotless leaders, they last many times longer than knotless mono/fluoro leaders, have almost no memory (especially thread furled leaders), almost eliminate wind knots (and if one does occur it will come out without kinking the leader), and they often cast better with many flies and nymph-indicator rigs. The big differences between furled leaders and the twisted leaders demonstrated in the video are 1) ease of construction, 2) strength vs. 3) flexibility, and 4) line spray. 1) The twisted leaders are much easier to make, requiring nothing more than your hands; vs. the furled leaders which require a furling jig and are more difficult to make. 2) The twisted leaders does not add a lot of line strength - you still end up with a single loop of the line at the point where you attach your tippet, so in essence you get a stronger leader body, but the same strength tippet loop as though you were using a straight piece of mono/fluoro; vs. with a furled leader you end up with multiple loops of the original material at the point where you tie on your tippet (either a tippet ring or shorb loop), so the overall leader is stronger. 3) Thus the twisted leaders are great when throwing heavier flies and bass bugs, but often do not work as well with smaller flies or dry flies; vs. the furled leader which results in a stronger leader that can handle heavy flies and bass bugs, but still retains light line flexibility to allow presentations with smaller flies and dry flies. 4)Finally, furled leaders will not spray water like a twisted leader does when you pick up your line prior to re-casting. For example, on a typical day using a 4wt or 5wt rod I will be using a furled leader made from 6lb Spiderwire, that has 4 strands at the tippet ring, thus the leader has the flexibility of a 6lb furled leader with the strength of a 24lb leader. I routinely throw size 14 through size 18 beadhead nyphs with this rig, and then switching from fluoro tippet to mono tippet throw size 18 through size 12 dry flies. I can also tie on a tippet of straight 6lb or 8lb mono to this same leader and fish for Bass. Last comment - yes, furled leaders can be expensive purchased off the shelf, but there are a few places where you can get some good deals on furled leaders. Try the following link for some excellent furled leaders and great customer service. And no - I have no connection to these folks other than being a satisfied customer. http://www.thesimontons.com/Fishinggear.html

For the last year I have been using 6' to 7' furled leaders made from Spiderwire, manufactured by the Simontons: http://www.thesimontons.com/Fishinggear.html They make the furled leaders out of 6lb Spiderwire, but with the furling you end up with 4 strands at the tippet ring; super-durable and uber-strong! The furled leaders work great in warm water, smooth with small flies but heavy enough to turn over big flies, with no splash or spray on delivery/pick-up. You can get the leaders made to whatever length you want, and then add tippet (again, whatever type or length you want) depending on your fishing depth. For tippet I use 4lb to 8lb fluoro or mono depending on the targeted fish (gills-4lb, smallmouth-6lb, largemouth-8lb, etc.) and method (top vs. sinking).

Any idea where we could get the plans to make a wheelchair fiahing base like the one in the article? I have posted a query on the linked website, but have yet to receive a response.

Comment #1 - I did the same thing, I cut the feet off a pair of old inexpensive breathable waders and I use them as a rainsuit when I am fishing or hunting - works great. Regarding #2 - if they are breathable waders do NOT fill them with water, the water pressure can bust a seam - The quickest way to locate the source of the puncture is to turn your waders inside out and spray the general area of the leak with rubbing alcohol. Take your hand and spread the rubbing alcohol onto the inside fabric. Turn your waders right side out and look for a dark spot to appear on the face fabric. Then repair with a breathable patch kit or Aquaseal.

Well, I believe that everyone that went down has been enjoying the wonderful weekend and maybe even catching a lot of fish. Unfortunately I spent the last 2 days packing and moving the offices of a children's charity organization - a good cause (and the weather was great for moving) but still a PITA. This was probably the last decent weekend of the C&R - looks like a big ice/snow storm is going to hit on Monday and temps are forecast to down to zero before next weekend. Hope you had fun guys!

Or just call the park at 417-532-4307 and push the voice message button for lodging and camping.

Not true - you can get barbless hooks (Tiemco, Daiichi, Mustaad, etc.) at Feathercraft, T.J.Hargroves, Cabela's, BassPro, and lots of other mail order stores like J.Stockard. If you are going to try to plug your specific website, you could at least not try to justify your shameless plug with a total mis-statement!

I agree with fly2fish - I would just use the reel on the rod and not worry about swapping reels. Like F2F I also put an Orvis BBS3 (5wt-7wt) on a 3wt rod (with 3FWF flyline) and it actually balances just fine. Getting a slightly smaller reel will probably save you less than 1/2oz of total weight. If the rod/reel balances OK then you just have a reel with a little extra backing capacity for your 4wt rod. Just make sure you load enough backing so the flyline will not be wound too tighly on the arbor.

Several years ago I purchased a Ross Flycast reel and a Ross Flystart reel for family members when they were starting out fishing. The less expensive Flystart reel has performed well, and is still being used by my daughter after several years of hard use. Thr Flycast reel was defective and the internal guts just fell apart the 2nd time it was used. Feathercraft replaced the Flycast reel and upgraded it to an Orvise Battenkill Barstock (BBS) reel for all the trouble we had. Additionally I own 2 other Orvis BBS reels and my brother has an Orvis BBS reel as well. The Orvis BBS reels are much better machined (Orvis is machined out of barstock, while the Ross is machined from a pre-cast reel), the BBS is lighter in weight and the drag on the Orvis BBS is better than the lower cost Ross reels. The Orvis BBS is not better than some of the more expensive Ross reels, but then you are not comparing apples-to-apples. Only disadvantage to the Orvis BBS is that it is a traditional arbor reel, while the Ross Flystart and Flycast reels are closer to a mid-arbor reel. The Orvis BBS is a little more in cost than the Ross low-end reels, but if you watch you can usually get the Orvis BBS reels on sale several times a year directly from Orvis, and can frequently get them on sale through BassPro. If I were to buy another reel at that cost level, I would take the Orvis BBS instead of the Ross Flystart in a flash. However, I would also check out the reels at Allen Flyfishing - they have some very nice reels at very good prices. Sure can't hurt to check them out!

Well, I managed to make it down to BSSP for one day (Sunday) over the holiday weekend. Not highly crowded, but more folks that I expected for the Winter C&R season - I guess the prospect of some warmer weather and wanting to avoid shopping with the family drove a few more folks out of the house to go fishing! ;-) The fishing was great - I had a lot of fun just getting out and working a few flies. Fishing by the island in zone-1 I ran into rcguy, who I had not seen in a while, and Paola Cat (nice to meet you and put a face to a name). Fishing was decent early in the morning, then slowed down mid-morning, then picked back up mid-aternoon...in other words, a pretty typical pattern for BSSP. I managed to land over 30 fish, of course I did fish pretty much all day with only a 10 minute break for a quick bite of food. The only issue was windy, windy, WINDY! After about 9:30am it blew almost all day, 10-15mph and frequently gusting higher. A big surprise was the late afternoon hatch - from the big pool above the hatchery dam as far upstream as I could see, there was a BIG hatch of little tiny white midges (callibaetis?), probably the biggest hatch I have seen at BSSP in a couple of years. Standing on the island in zone-1, with the wind, at times it looked like a light blowing snow, and you had to keep your mouth shut or you could easily inhale multiple midges in a single breath. Also mixed in with the white midges were a scattering of the usual black caddis. I saw one guy who managed to get a few hits on top fishing a couple of white drys in sizes 28 & 30 (a lot smaller than I can see to tie them on!). All in all - a great day to be out and fishing. I am already planning to head down again in a few weeks after a couple of planned hunting trips. Maybe I'll see you there!

I had a thought about going down to BSSP for a day of fishing over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I was wondering if the park would be crowded or will most folks stay local to shop and spend time with family at home? Anyone have any past experience regarding fishing BSSP C&R over the T-day weekend? Thanks,

Jerry, Change of plans, I will not be able to make it down due to a family issue. I will look you up the next time I get down. Good luck fishing!