SilverMallard

Not true at all. Anything that can be caught on a line and hook can be caught on a fly rod. The sport of it all to me is FOOLING the fish into biting something I made within a restricted set of options. Sticking a hook in a minnow, crayfish, snail, worm, shrimp, etc. is not fooling them into anything. Now lures is a different story...same thing as fly fishing in my book. I just don't enjoy it as much. You see, it's all a matter of taste and preference...the same way some folks prefer to hunt deer and turkeys and stuff with a bow and arrow instead of a gun.

The first spool of Orvis Mirage I ever bought was their 7X. That stuff was totally worthless for me. I couldn't tie knots in it very well and when I did get one tied they were slipping or breaking off on every little dink trout in Taneycomo. It took a moment of desparation a few years later for me to buy another spool in 6X. But that one actually worked out just fine. Curious, I emailed my buddy JP Mazierkowitz (Scientific Anglers) and asked him what was up with that. He said that there are occassionally bad runs of tippet material, but very rarely from any name brand mfg. He said that almost any of the mfgs will replace them for free via mail if you think you got bad tippet or leaders. He also said that on some occassions a shop will get some tippet stock or leaders that have been sitting in a boxcar on a railyard siding and in a hot warehouse for way too long before getting to a store shelf and they become brittle. He said most of the top names in the business watch their supply chains HARD to try and minimize this. I have always read from monofilament fishing line mfg's and various writers since I can remember that fishing line becomes brittle when exposed to too much heat or sunlight. And I know from experience that when I get lazy or desparate and use some old tippet or line that has been laying around for a few years I do get more break-offs than I do when using fresh stuff.

Yeah, well, my snail flies still need a lot of work at the tying vise. LOL But you are right about that. Nah, I do quite a bit of trout fishing; but I also chase crappie, white and smallmouth bass, salmon, and bluegills with fly rods. I will admit to owning two good quality ultralight spinning combos that I can occassionally be talked into taking crappie fishing with the right group of people. And I have used them a few times on trout when taking nieces and nephews out fishing...the ole power bait, tiny treble hook, and a slip-sinker rig. Of course, growing up, I fished whatever and however and wherever opportunity presented itself from trot-lines and jug-lines to yo-yo's and baitcasting for bass from the trolling deck. I've even done a little saltwater fishing with spinning gear. But I gave everything else up for the fly rod about a decade ago. Nowadays, if I can't catch them on a fly rod, I don't really want to catch them. But I am no purist fly fisherman! I carry and tie a wide array of micro-jigs and I am not afraid to use them when conditions favor and they are working better than anything else. Come to think of it, a snail micro-jig might be just the ticket at Capps!

Oh, we do have choices. But it would require a lot of work, cooperation, and coordination...not to mention persuasiveness and charisma. "Save gas...stay home from work." Get a few million people to participate in that for a few days and the politicos will start figuring they better do something. However, I generally think that the expected outcome of the politicians thinking they should do something is less than desirable. It's usually best to just let that sleeping dog lie, because they haven't got an individual measure of common sense among the bunch of them. That's what we get for electing people we "like" and whom we think are "nice" and then having the media rummage through their personal lives like welfare mom's at a garage sale. We need to elect people we think are intelligent, fair, reasonable, and TOUGH...people who will say and do what they think needs to be done even when SOME folks whine and complain. Then we need to realize they are human beings just like the rest of us and hammer the media to keep their noses out of the extraneous personal BS they love to focus on because we lap it up like a bunch of thirsty dogs. If we wouldn't want to be looked at that closely, then we should insist that our leaders be given the same courtesy and respect. We need to restore some decency to politics if we want any decent politicians. Decent people currently will not run for office and cannot get elected if they dare. Our society is very psycho-spiritually ILL. And whether it is gas prices, food prices, the war, illegal immigration, or whatever; these are all just SYMPTOMS of the collective dysfunctional mindset and whacked out priorities of a culture that is spoiled rotten. We actually prefer delusions and illusions to reality these days, and often insist that we are told and shown what we WANT it to be rather than how it actually IS...in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary that is intuitively obvious to the casual observer. OK. I'm getting off my soapbox now and going fishing. LOL

Those are hook sizes, Chief. LOL Science would be naming the bugs in Latin down to the sub-species, talking about the turbidity and alkaline levels of the water, discussing nutrient loads (TDNL)and dissolved oxygen levels...that sort of stuff. But there are 3 major food groups for trout that I am concerned with, not two. You are correct about the first two: crawdads and minnows. But the third would be BUGS. And that's the secret to not getting skunked very often. And it was THREE times.

I gathered from overheard campfire conversation that one of you at least was a fireman...I heard "at a fire" and "2 on/2 off." He's a great dog and he rarely interferes. He mostly tags along behind out of casting range and sniff around on the bank. When I land a fish he comes over to check it out. And when I cross the stream he crosses behind me most of the time. Occassionally, he'll get ahead of me. But it's pretty rare. And he's very well-mannered around people and other dogs. He used to be one of my guide dogs. So he's an old pro and comes from very good stock. Flies? Hmmmm...I caught fish on three things: a beadhead prince nymph, a rainbow glo-ball, and a hot pink 1/100th micro-jig I tie on a bright orange head. I had by far the most luck with the latter micro-jig...drifting it along big logs and boulders near the banks. I pulled over 10 fish off of one big deadfall, hooked that big brown on the prince nymph at a huge deadfall, and pulled another 6 off of 1 other deadfall. Most everyplace else, once I caught 1-2 fish I had to move on because they would stop biting. This is fairly typical of wild trout. Not so much of hatchery raised park fish. I am retired. I fish almost exclusively on weekdays, and when I go to the Current I will camp for a day or two because it's a 2 hour drive and the freaking gas prices are too high to spend a tank of gas for a few hours of fishing. Much cheaper to pay the $6 tent fee. And...yes...I liked the security and convenience of that campground. Not to mention it is in a very pretty spot. It's not fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't care about that. I want quiet, safe, and preferably almost empty.

I was the guy with the Weimaraner in Eagles Park Sun-Mon. Actually, I just left there today. We were the only ones there, so you should be able to figure out which one was me. LOL I've never been down there before. I didn't fish the park. I fished the blue ribbon water from about 1/4 mi upstream of Tan Vat down to Baptist Access. I was very impressed with the river. We caught enough big trout that my right arm is a bit sore, and that doesn't happen from casting...especially not the short casts on that part of the river. Those trout were down-right ornery! Best fighting trout I've ever caught in MO. The first couple broke me off until I figured out I should try using 3X instead of 5X. It didn't seem to bother the fish. I think I caught 30 trout on Monday alone. The smallest were a couple that went about 14". The biggest was pushing 20". I had a Brown on 5X that was over 20" I know, but he wrapped me around a submerged branch and that was that. That's when I got smart and went to 3X. A lot of the fish were nestled up in the deadfall along the banks. And horsing them out of there was the order of the day. I think that's why my arm is tender. Like you, I don't care much for state park campgrounds and such unless it is off-season and they're almost empty. And Eagles Park is only $6/night for a tent. And they even had hot water in the bath house! But most importantly, I fell asleep to the sounds of the Whipper Wills and the Hoot Owl and awoke to the sound of that gobbler talking to his girlfriends instead of the sound of screaming kids and vehicles moving around. Upstream from Tan Vat, I ran into 4 other anglers...2 couples. Between Baptist and Tan Vat, I never saw or heard another soul. That's pretty awesome too! FYI, the 2nd couple I ran into looked to be in their 40s. They were very nice and polite. He had on a panama hat and they appeared to know what they were doing with a fly rod. But they both were toting streamers with illegal fish on them! He had a 24" Brown and 2 Rainbows under 18". She had a Rainbow that was probably 16-17", but certainly not 18". Some folks just think they're entitled to things the rest of us aren't, I guess. I doubt they were both illiterate. There's no cell signal down there, so I couldn't call them in. I said to him, "Wow! That's a nice Brown." He thanked me and I said, "So what are those other two for?" He just laughed and walked away. Then she came around the bend with her fish. She said what a pretty dog my Weim is and I just thanked her and let it pass. I watched them leave about 30 minutes later. They were parked right smack dab in front of the blue ribbon sign in the Tan Vat parking lot.

Science? That wasn't science. LOL Gavin, I was actually told just the opposite by some folks fly-fish Capps quite a bit. I was told NOT to only fish good looking spots, but to cover as much water as possible. So I did that with streamers and soft-hackles on the swing. Usually a very good fish-locator...fly angler's "trolling." I talked to a guy on the phone Saturday who knows...and he informed me of a few things I need to change. Seems big nymphs are the way to go...for example. And I need to get further downstream in the timber and such. It's rough going out there right now because of all the down timber from the ice storm. I NEVER wade unless I have to.

Were y'all the 2 guys in the pop-up @ Eagles Park Sun/Mon?

Beaded Prince Nymph #16 and a whole bunch of pink thread 1/100th micro-jigs! (based on my trip Sun-today. LOL

Branson's tourist market is kind of unique in that folks from the midsection of the country sometimes decide to go to Branson when other options get too expensive. The Branson regulars will no doubt spend less IN Branson and more getting there and back than usual. But a bunch of folks MAY choose Branson who otherwise would have gone somewhere further/more expensive. It is usually in times like THIS...when travel costs REALLY start cutting into people's budgets...that Branson generally picks up the "we could go to Branson istead" crowd. When that happens, they usually see an increase in business overall due to the greater # of visitors.

Did anyone else catch the ironic name of the state agency in WI that threatened this gas station owner for selling gas at too low of a profit margin? ..."Consumer Protection?" LOL

Well, if your boss was doing that in WI, the gov't would come down on him like a ton of bricks for selling gas too cheaply. Isn't free enterprise wonderful?

Gas Station Owner Told to Raise Prices Tuesday, May 8th, 2007 at 7:32pm MERRILL, Wis. A service station that offered discounted gas to senior citizens and people supporting youth sports has been ordered by the state to raise its prices. Center City BP owner Raj Bhandari has been offering senior citizens a 2 cent per gallon price break and discount cards that let sports boosters pay 3 cents less per gallon. But the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection says those deals are too good: They violate Wisconsin's Unfair Sales Act, which requires stations to sell gas for about 9.2 percent more than the wholesale price. Bhandari said he received a letter from the state auditor in late April saying the state would sue him if he did not raise his prices. The state could penalize him for each discounted gallon he sold, with the fine determined by a judge. Bhandari, who bought the station in May 2006, said he worries customers will think he stopped the discounts because he wants to make more money. About 10 percent of his customers had used the discount cards. Dale Van Camp of Merrill said he bought a $50 card to support the local youth hockey program. It would have saved him about $100 per year on gas, he said. (Mediacom Newswire. 5/09/07) Who says the gov't doesn't have any influence on gas prices?

Small Clouser Minnows in gray/white or chart/white.

I have no sympathy for HIM, either! That's not the point. It is not the auctioning off of private property that the Constitution forbids without due process. It is the SEIZURE that is forbidden. The USCON is clear: it is not legal to seize private property based on SUSPICION of a crime by law enforcement. It can only be seized when a warrant is issued based upon probable cause OR as the result of a conviction/judgment in a court of law. Now, in this case, I'm sure they had a warrant. And all of that stuff should be seized as evidence of the crime. I also agree with the seizure and sale of proven ILL-GOTTEN gains from criminal activity. But a guy getting his bass boat stolen by the gov't because he violated a game law (which is NOT the case here, but does happen) is BS unless he's a tournament pro and the boat was part of a pro-deal with a sponsor. This is a special concern for waterfowlers because all of the laws are federal. A recreational hunter should NOT lose his guns, dog, boat, and truck because he shot the wrong duck! And the IRS, Justice, and DHS use these confiscatory policies based on SUSPICION of all sorts of crime to freeze assets, force evictions of homeowners, etc. without a conviction being in place yet. It's excessive and abusive.

I think this situation is ripe for some "creative sentencing." I do NOT agree with confiscation of private property! I can't believe so many Americans have become so accepting of this unconstitutional practice. But there are all sorts of cool things they could do to this jerk short of sending him to prison. I would start with making him give back the $800 to the tournament. They should sue the guy for damaging the credibility of their tourney, too. Then, I'd say about a $1,000 fine (minimum), a WHOLE BUNCH of community service to be performed on weekends cleaning up around the lake and stuff like that to keep him off the water for a couple of years, and a 2-year loss of his hunting and fishing licenses should suffice. For an avid fisherman, that's close enough to prison. Just keep him from fishing for a couple of years. Oh, and let's add in a lifetime ban on fishing tournament entries within the state of MO for this jerk.

2 to 7 years for cheating in a fishing tourney, but the average rapist spends 4 years and a typical murderer gets 8? Somehow, we've got our priorities out of order. But I'm glad they caught the jerk. And I think 2 years of having to answer the question, "So, buddy, what are you in for?" by saying, "I cheated in a bass tournament," is probably about right. He'll be the laughing stock of the exercise yard!

Anybody been fishing on the Little Sac lately? What's up with white bass?

Quillback, we're going to see a LOT of ridiculously high hidden costs of ethanol. Just hide and watch! 20% of historical food production acreage is being converted to fuel production. That is a 1/5 reduction in the world's grain supply, dude! Ethanol production uses MASSIVE amounts of water that all nat'l resource orgs INCLUDING the ones in the ag industry say will deplete ground-water resources FAST. Wildlife will suffer because of the pen-stroke moves to reduce CRP as you mentioned. And value-added food products that rely on grain like MEAT and DAIRY are going to SKYROCKET! It's gonna make $3/gallon gas seem like a GOOD thing by comparison.

I don't think the economic equation is that simple. Refiners and distributors artificially constrict supplies domestically for finished product to keep prices high. OPEC doesn't deal in finished product in terms of pricing and production. They deal in crude. I think 2/3 of the price of gas is market-driven and 1/3 is domestic manipulation of supplies. They KNOW demand is inelastic...especially in the near and mid terms. When you have inelastic demand, the old rules of supply and demand don't work on prices the way they should. My problem with domestic oilco's is that 1/3, not the 2/3. And it is a much tougher proposition to get 25% of American workers to use public transportation or high volume carpools than it is to get American drivers to stop buying a Big Gulp or Slurpee when they gas up. What you propose would take YEARS to achieve any desirable results. What I propose would take 1-2 months. Distributors and refiners cannot sell finished product without their retail outlets. And their margins and cash reserves are TINY. They are VERY vulnerable.

Dave's such a BS'er! He's actually buying Momma a new HOUSE for Mother's Day! Can you say "whooped?" LOL We have no kids. Saves me a TON of money!

The better half and I noticed this week that several gas stations in Springfield are no longer updating their outdoor gas price signs. Some still read $2.19 for regular unleaded. Don't know if they just can't keep up, don't have enough of the higher numbers to like 5-9 to depict the prices, or if they're just so embarassed that they can't bring themselves to advertise honestly. I'll tell you something we can ALL do to make them feel it like we are: STOP BUYING ANYTHING ELSE WHEN YOU BUY GAS! No soft drinks, beer, smokes, gum, mints, maps, coffee, snacks, etc. Just get your gas and GO! These retailers make about 70% of their profits on the C-store purchases, not the gas. They make about 4 cents/gallon on gas. Of course it's not their faults...we know that. But the wholesalers (refiners...oil co's) NEED them to distribute their product. And if they all start screaming bloody murder and/or closing their doors, defaulting on their leases, not ordering product for the stores, etc. the oil industry will realize PDQ that they have reached the point they are looking for: their max profit point. We just keep it up until gas gets back down to a realistic price for the average American family. I have talked to dozens of gas station operators and the execs at QT about this over the years. And that's where this idea came from. It is the retailers' greatest fear whenever gas prices rise. And without retailers, the wholesalers are screwed. P.S. We ALREADY have put this into practice ourselves for the past several weeks. But this is largely out of necessity. Gas prices have all but eliminated our "walking around money" for non-essentials...our "pocket change." And we have had to cut our driving down as much as possible to minimize the budgetary impact. And that means a LOT less fishing for me. And that torques me off!

When I was a boy, I used to fish a 110 acre spring-fed impounded swamp called Lake Brenda in East Texas that was chock full of 1-2 lb. sand bass. I caught most of them on shallow running shad pattern crankbaits like Rapalas. The 2-3" ones worked best....floating crankbaits that ran no more than 3' deep on full retrieve. We also caught them on TX rigged rubber worms...mostly purple Creme Scoundrels. I fished that small private lake in a pontoon paddle boat like the kids rent on tourist ponds. It was HEAVEN! At dawn and dusk, I could catch at least one fish/cast every day like clockwork from March through October. Many times, I would catch 2 fish one the same retrieve...one on the front hook and one on the back. Thus began my love affair with white bass. But I sure enough can tell the difference between a white bass fillet and a crappie or catfish fillet! An old cajun taught me to prepare panfish. We marinated the whites in mustard or a cajun spice rub before battering. Crappies got buttermilk. Catfish got the cajun rub. And we blended white and yellow cornmeal 50/50 with some salt and pepper to taste...and cracked red pepper flakes for whites or cats. Oh, the memories!

Maybe someone should alter their tourney rules or put together a white bass tournament on TRL. That could be fun! We did them in TX on whites (called sand bass down there) and crappie. When you can keep like 20 fish, if you're on a good white bass fishery, the weigh ins can get interesting! I've seen stringers pushing 50 lbs win tourneys instead of the typical 20 lb bass tourney stringer.